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Snapshot: bike lane indicators get straight to the point – Boing Boing

Thanks to the Systemic that sent this my way (whom I forgot to write down who it was, sorry!)

Here’s a great article about the recent addition of the tire pressure emergency light to dashboards, and how nobody gets what the hell it’s supposed to be. Looks like a butt’s force field to me, what do you see? Do You Know What This Symbol Means?- Yahoo! Autos Article Page

It’s funny. Keep refreshing it, it gets funnier. LINK »

UPDATE: It gets even funnier! Check out the source code. (Thanks, Systemic Tate!)

This was sent in by one of your fellow Systemics, but I didn’t write down who Systemic Lionthetiger. Whomever it was, thanks muchly!

Seemingly by the same people that brought us Lost Cat / Problems with Designers comes this gem about a graphic designer, doing work for a client, and not getting paid. Again, told in emails:

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 16 November 2009 3.52pm
To: Simon Edhouse
Subject: Re: Logo Design

Dear Simon,

Disregarding the fact that you have still not paid me for work I completed earlier this year despite several assertions that you would do so, I would be delighted to spend my free time creating logos and pie charts for you based on further vague promises of future possible payment. Please find attached pie chart as requested and let me know of any changes required.

Regards, David.

Don’t you want to go read it now? I’m sure you do. LINK »

Remember my good friend Jami Noguchi? He’s got a new project in store, and it may hurt your brain a bit. Or maybe you’ll love it. Honestly, I go both ways and it makes me make weird faces. This is puppy cow:

He needs your wuv—I mean, “love”. Jamie wants to make plush toys of this little monstrosity. If you want to support him, check out his Kickstarter info below. The way Kickstarter works if you pitch in 5, 10, 25$ or whatever increments you support the project, get free swag, and of course a puppy cow when all the money has been raised. If all the money doesn’t get raised in time (in this case a month) everyone gets their money back. It’s a pretty sweet system. For details on what you can get and more on the project, click down there. Oh and be sure to watch the Kickstarter intro video, watch out for me looking drunk (but actually just very very tired).

I’m sure it should come as no surprise that as a big fan of design, I’m a big fan of Mad Men. It is an amazing show. I’ve taken some flak for this in the past, with Gary “Fleen” Tyrell saying about my blog:

It’s heavily focused on a) graphic design and b) Mad Men;

So here’s one big-ass post to gear up for the season opener just 10 days away.

Everything Don Draper Said

Ever read Unlikely Words? It’s a great blog by the one-time Kottke guest blogger (it’s how I found him) Aaron Cohen. He put together a list of everything Don Draper has said in Mad Men. If you think he was eloquent before, taking out the surrounding dialogue starts to treat it more like Garfield Minus Garfield. It works in a totally different way. A sample:

“Don’t get up.”
“Don’t let me interrupt.”
“You’ll have take radio the way it is.”
“During the Depression I saw somebody throw a loaf of bread off the back of a truck. It was more dignified.”
“Campbell, did you tell him who this idiot’s father is?”
“Horace, Sr is connected to Bert Cooper in a million ways and I don’t know if he would like what just happened in there.”
“Well, there you have it.”
“Has anybody been outside, do I need a coat?”

It’s good stuff. There’s all that and more, here.

Some Awesome Mad Men Posters

I needn’t say anything more. LINK »
(Via Kottke.org)

Mad Men Unbuttoned

A site which strives to provide cultural context to Mad Men episodes by showing articles, book covers, excerpts, music, etc. from the time and scenes depicted. Oh and they feature that poster thingy I just linked to above, so there’s that too. LINK »

Mad Men Yourself

Finally, your own Mad Men 60’s style personal character creator. Here’s me, sippin’ coffee and explaining something about girls in underwear. And I’m pretty psyched about it. It’s proabably the coffee. LINK »

Obama Can’t Be Wrong (In This Case)

And of course our own president is looking forward to the new season.

…after finishing the third season he sent the show’s creator, Matt Weiner, a letter. It now hangs outside Weiner’s office, “congratulating me on my and the show’s success,” and to say “he enjoyed Season 3.”

Wonder what TV shows Bush wrote to? Wow, that’s opening up a can of worms, isn’t it? LINK »

Okay, that’s about it! If you’re a fan, feel free to use the comments to discuss your thoughts on the new season. Are you psyched? Are you ready for the awesomeness? I, for one, could not be more excited. And if you’re not caught up, let’s just assume that there’s spoilers in the comments. Catch up already, you’ve had a year.

Not all designers are perfect. Some try to make a cigar back into something else, if you know what I mean. Here’s a hilarious story about one such case of a woman needing help with a “lost cat” poster, and the designer who “tried” to “help” her. In regards to the poster above:

David,
yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?
Shannon

Dear Shannon,
It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

It gets better from there. Thanks to Systemic (and friend) Lisa for sending this my way. READ THE WHOLE THING »

You ever heard of phrases like “murder of crows,” “pride of lions,” or “flock of seagulls?” This is an expanded set of collective nouns to include “hush of librarians,” “pandemonium of pandas,” and “fish of surrealists.” All illustrated. LINK »

Via Rachel “Bomb Digs” Mercer. I don’t really have to say anything else. LINK TO THE AWESOME »