Take Me Out to the Ball Game

A Day of Firsts

Waiting for the bus

Little sisters waiting with their big brothers

One last goodbye

For many of us, yesterday was the first day of a new school year. And for my son, it was the first day of Kindergarten, first ride on a bus, first time carrying a backpack, first time going away with strangers. He was brimming with excitement. I was (almost) holding back the tears.

Do you remember your first day of school? How did you feel? Do you remember shopping for 'back to school' clothes, crayons, notebooks, and your all important lunch box?

I remember my first day as feeling terribly shy (which no one who knows me now can believe) and a little bit scared. At least I take comfort that Cole felt the opposite. He couldn't wait to go to school.

I still remember the brown dress with white peter pan collar I wore that first day along with my No. 2 pencils, and my farm-inspired metal lunch box with a cool silo-decorated thermos. I also remember my mommy putting a little note inside my lunch box telling me how much she loved me - which is exactly what I did for Cole yesterday. A family tradition is born.

Goodbye, Young Kyle

Kyle manning his station

Young Kyle, as we call our wonderful intern, completed his time at Elements today. (We know he - and his mom - are reading this. Hey Kyle and Mrs. Kyle!)

So - naturally - we celebrated. In true Elements style. With chocolate cake. (And yesterday we enjoyed the beautiful weather and a delicious lunch at Martin's Riverside on the waterfront deck.) We love food, and we love to celebrate - in case you hadn't noticed.

Ooh...cake and presents!

Kyle offered up his talents on a variety of projects, including proofreading, updating media lists, researching, assisting with marketing projects and cleaning/organizing our office. His help was a great asset to us, and we know he'll be successful wherever he lands after his senior year at Quinnipiac. We wish him the best of luck in all future endeavors, and hope to see him again soon.

Had to get an action shot.

Thanks for all your help Kyle! Bon voyage!

Showtime + Metropolitan = Luxe Rooms

Showtime is partnering with Metropolitan Home magazine for a second annual fall season out-of-home ad campaign - and Elements thinks it's pretty awesome.

Californication Study by Jamie Drake

Some of the top interior designers in the country will transform 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor spaces into stunning masterpieces of design, with the Showtime original series like Dexter, Weeds and the Tudors as their inspirations. It will be open on weekends for public tours Sept. 12 - Oct. 18 in NYC at Tribeca's luxury penthouses in the Summit building. Last year's promo was a smashing hit, with projections for this year at upwards of 10,000 visitors. Showtime has amped up the showcase for this year with twice as many rooms and twice as many designers. The event will be featured in Metropolitan Home's November issue. Check out PointClickHome for a full slideshow of last year's rooms.

Dexter Kitchen by Johnny Grey Studios

Yes, it's true - you can view these amazing creations in person for $20, with 100% of ticket sales benefiting Housing Works, a non-profit organization that provides lifesaving services to homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

"The combination of the latest in innovative modern design and Showtime's cutting-edge programming forms an organic environment where consumers can physically experience and explore the Showtime brand," said Len Fogge, executive VP of creative and marketing for Showtime. "The house allows visitors to get a deeper insight into the characters and story lines that solidify Showtime as the premiere destination for compelling programming."

Hmm...maybe an office field trip is in order - what a creative, relevant way to promote Showtime shows for fall - AND it benefits a good cause. This one will certainly stand out from the pack this fall.

Signs at the Fair

Some inspirational typography and concepts discovered at the North Branford Potato & Corn Festival!

Did You Hear About The Morgans?

All of us at Elements love movies. Here is a trailer for a holiday release "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" that will be on list of movies to see. Not to mention, I'm a fan of SJP and Hugh Grant.

Cocktail napkins are where I find my best ideas

Here at Elements, we are very visual folks. Sure, it makes sense. We're in the business of making communication effective, attractive and easy to read and understand. We like to see things laid out in front of us, whether it's deciding between concepts for a client or sketching a brilliant idea on the back of a shopping list in the grocery store.

As an example, we make a giant office checklist on Monday, and check items off as we go through the week. It helps to write everything down and - let's face it - the satisfaction of crossing completed tasks off with a thick red Sharpie is great!


Which is why I love the idea behind Dan Roam's book Back of the Napkin - (which was Amazon's #5 business book of the year in 2008) - using visual thinking to solve problems in business.

"Roam argues that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who depend mainly on their left-brain analytical skills. The problem is that most of us — especially in the business world — are never encouraged to develop our intrinsic ability to create pictures. Roam teaches business leaders around the world how to look, see, imagine, and show — with immediate results."

The pictures I've posted here are cute and all, - but, you've got to check out his site which incorporates video to explain this process. It's an interesting take on the thought process.

There are many people famous for scribbling extraordinary ideas on ordinary items. Here's just a few:

• In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner on the back of a letter
• While out for drinks with Donald Rumsfeld in 1974, Arthur Laffer sketched the initial idea for the Laffer Curve on a cocktail napkin
• R&B hit "Louie, Louie was written on toilet paper in a men's room by Richard Berry in 1957.

I love the concept of visual thinking for business - after all, it's what we do here at Elements day in and day out. What's your favorite way to solve problems? Let us know!

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Perhaps you've seen that sentence on websites that sell fonts, or were forced to use it when in a qwerty typing class. Wonder why such a nonsensical sentence was used? There is actually method behind the madness. A sentence such as this is called a pangram, because it uses each and every letter in the alphabet.

For those learning to type, it ensures that your fingers start to memorize the position of every letter on the keyboard. For visitors to font websites, it allows you to view every letter of the font in use in a more practical way, rather than just listed as Aa Bb Cc...

It is amazing how different font styles can be. Check out the samples below and compare letter styles and shapes. (Click for a larger view)

Is Social Media a Fad?

Underground in Toronto...

Check out this brilliant installation by Toronto-based artist Justin Broadbent in the city's Lower Bay Station, a currently unused subway stop. A one-day invite only event for Absolut, some elements included a car full of plants and vending machines spitting out love letters. Really cool!


More photos at Ovrbored's Flickr stream.

Behind the Scenes: Twitter Swag

So, if you hadn't heard (yes, ok, tounge in cheek), Amy spoke at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce this morning on best practices of Twitter for business use. Some highlights included:

Raffled "I'm Huge on Twitter" t-shirts from Threadless

Really cool Twitter calling cards designed by Kerry

Delicious Twitter bird cookies baked and decorated by Chelsea


And surprise visit from the Cupcake Truck!

You can read a description of the events in today's New Haven Register. Thanks to everyone who attended in person and via our live stream.

Amy has been invited to speak about social media next month, Tuesday, Sept. 22, to the Rotary Club of New Haven at the Yale Graduate Club.

Thanks, Everyone!

Thank you to everyone who attended "It's All About Twitter" at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by the GNH Technology Council and Microsoft.

An extra special thanks to our friend Steve at Bright Street Productions for helping with the technical aspects of the presentation, and for taping the event for posterity.

Look for a wrap up post - complete with pictures - tomorrow!

Can't Make Tomorrow's Twitter Talk?

No problem!

Join us via UStream, a live, interactive broadcast platform. You can watch the event on your computer or mobile device streaming live from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce in New Haven, CT.

Use the social stream to log into your Twitter account, and tweet your questions and comments using @elementsdesign. We'll do our best to answer you all.

The event will begin at 8:00 am EST. Hope to (virtually) see you there!

Social Media Breakfasts

A few posts ago, I mentioned an excellent resource that Elements subscribes to - SmartBrief. We particularly like the social media brief which is always very up-to-date and a quick read right around lunchtime. Best of all, it's free!

Well, wasn't I pleasantly surprised when one of last week's briefs contained a story about my home state, New Hampshire!

New Hampshire is one of many states to hold "Social Media Breakfasts", where "social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn" at venues statewide. The article, published in Manchester, NH's Union Leader, gives ten examples of how NH businesses are using social media platforms to achieve business objectives.

Here are a couple of interesting examples:

Improve SEO. PaladinID in Laconia creates custom bar-coding and product identification solutions. Owner Dana Ritchie says that after just eight months of blogging, his website comes up on the first page of Google search results for his industry keywords - and often within the top 2-3 spots.

Spread inspiration. During the 2008 Democratic Primary, Manchester makeup artist Kriss Soterion made Hillary Clinton look so good, rumors started spreading about whether Clinton had undergone cosmetic surgery. Nope! The founder of Kriss Cosmetics, Soterion has used this opportunity to build a following on Facebook, blog for Yahoo! and parlay her appearances on Inside Edition and Access Hollywood to turn makeup lessons into inspirational events and become a motivational speaker.

New Hampshire is not the only state to hold breakfasts like this. Social media "evangelist" Bryan Person founded "The SM Breakfast" in 2007. The first breakfast was held in Boston and has since spread throughout the country. As you may know, Amy will present "It's All About Twitter" at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce's own summer series tomorrow at 8 am. Hope to see you there!

[Image via PRBlog]

Stay-Cation? Forget it!

If you're like me, you have a distaste for the recently popular word "staycation". I pride myself on my getaway research skills, and love to find low-cost (or free!) activities, either local or not-so-local.

If you're looking for a fun excursion in the last few weeks of summer, why not visit one of our country's beautiful national parks? Take in a hike, set up camp or just snap some photos - the beautiful surroundings are all you'll need for a little R&R on a weekend away.

Even better - this weekend, Aug. 15 & 16 marks the last last two "fee free" days at more than 100 US National Parks across the country. Only three weekends this summer were selected, and this weekend is your last opportunity to take advantage of gratis entry. Meanwhile, many park partners including tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and other vendors will offer additional discounts and special promotions as well. For a complete list of parks, visit NPS.gov.

In the US, there are 391 national parks in 49 states.

[Image via TreeHugger]

Neenah + AIGA

Neenah Paper and AIGA have teamed up.

Neenah is donating a ream of paper for letterhead to each AIGA chapter in the country (of which there are 60+). We love these types of partnerships - anyone who supports the design community is certainly a friend of ours.

And, today, Neenah tweeted about Hello, Elements and posted us on their Facebook page. Thanks, Neenah! (Check out their blog, Against the Grain.)

Fonts in day-to-day life

Pedestrian typography is a blog with photographs of signage seen in everyday life. Everything from a Times Roman menu to spray-painted tags on brick walls. The variety is surprising to see in context, showing how even simple signage can range from the mundane to the sublime.

Here is a sign we have up in our kitchen:



Here is the new metal type in our office:


Take a moment to look around you today and see what fonts you see in everyday signage.

It's All About Twitter

Streaking across our collective consciousness like a fast-moving tsunami, Twitter is without a doubt the most pervasive force of the social media revolution. And while many businesses are well poised to ride the wave, fear of the unknown may be causing a sort of mass paralysis.

One week from today, on Wed. August 12 at 8 am, Amy will be giving a presentation sponsored by the Technology Council and the Non-Profit Council at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce as part of their Summer Series. She will speak about the important marketing implications of Twitter and its place in the broader social media landscape. And, if last month's Facebook talk is any indication, the room will be busting at the seams. Register to reserve your spot today! You can also check out the Technology Council's Facebook event page.

If you’re unable to attend, but would like to learn more about strategies to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to further your organization’s marketing objectives, Elements’ services range from a little free advice to detailed social media plans and assistance with implementation.

Johnny's Too Long at the Fair

It's summer. That means every state across America is knee-deep into fair season.

As a nod to this national tradition, here are few recently spotted fair-related points-of-interest:

On NPR today will air "At the State Fair with Garrison Keillor" (of Priarie Home Campaion fame). Tune in and view more of Joel Satore's images (like the girls with the 'Fair-do's' above), click here.
I love this image (above) by photographer Mike Sinclair. He created an entire series called Fairgrounds that really captures the feeling of being there. I can almost smell the hay and corndogs.

And speaking of corndogs ...


... and to bring it full circle back home, please note on your calendar that the Potato and Corn Festival is this weekend in North Branford! (Above logo and tagline by Elements).

This much-hyped-by-locals festival kicks off on August 7 and runs through the weekend. The rockin' band Steamroller will be performing live on stage on Saturday (one of my husband's two bands he plays in).Being raised in Branford, I can't believe this is the first year I ever heard about the infamous Potato & Corn Fest - and I am equally shocked that I'm really excited about attending this year's event. Can't take the country out of the girl, I suppose. That, and I'm a sucker for summer's sweet bounty of corn. Yum!

See you on the Fairgrounds!

From the Bookshelf: Smart Brief

Here is a helpful resource for anyone who would like to receive a FREE time saving, relevant, informative debriefing of their industry every day (takes less than 5 min. to scan through and pick articles of interest to read). Smart Brief offers free subscriptions in these (and many other) industries - with multiple briefs in each category. I particularly like their brief on social media.

• Advertising
• Accounting
• Legal
• Nonprofit
• Health care
  
• Manufacturing
• Retail