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Archive for December, 2009
Fostering Sustainability Through Playgrounds: The Outdoor Classroom
When I was a kid, recess was a key part to my day. It gave my friends and me a chance to relax our mental activities and focus on physical ones. Despite the season, we looked forward to the fresh air and freedom of roaming around our school’s playground.
The playground at Buffalo Public School 90 unites learning and play in an educational environment in a way that I would have loved. The playground is designed with the school’s curriculum in mind, creating outdoor classrooms for students studying science, geography/geology, music, language arts, math and physical education. It’s truly the best of both worlds – at least in my mind.
Train Transit
As I mentioned previously, I enjoy trains and everything associated with them! As a part of economic recovery instated by the Obama administration there is a push to invest, and in some cases, re-invest in passenger train routes all over the country. If we can remove political aspect of the situation and just focus on the financial impact to all Hoosiers over the next 20 years, might it be a good thing?
First imagine that Indianapolis’ Union Station becomes, once again, a hub for regional train travel. The IndyGo, and potential regional bus service connect once again at their rightful place downtown. With the SuperBowl coming in 2012, and other events of that magnitude coming to downtown Indianapolis imagine the statement it would make to have of out-of-town visitors arrive to downtown via steel rail transportation.
Books to Inspire Young Designers
Now that the holiday shopping season is officially open, I’ve started thinking again about great children’s books to give as gifts. There are so many out there to help instill an appreciation for art, architecture, design and planning, and that are intelligent enough that adults don’t usually mind reading them over and over again (in fact, I have given these “children’s ” books as gifts to adults too!).
By engaging children at a young age and instilling in them an appreciation for the aesthetics of the built environment, our future might have fewer mass marketed big box buildings and more unique structures with character that contribute to a sense of place.
Lost Wages: Off the Strip
I thought the driving skills of my Hoosier counterparts were suspect – but I was wrong! Las Vegas drivers take the cake.
Driving away the composite area that encompasses downtown, the Strip and University of Nevada Las Vegas one word sums it up: SPRAWL! The advantage is lots of In-n-Out Burger which are mighty tasty – but more Strip malls then I care to count.
The city is on an orthogonal grid only to be intercepted by I-15, the Union Pacific Railroad and a couple of state roads that climb out of the Valley.
Lost Wages: Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip)
How do you celebrate your 29th Birthday? By going to Las Vegas of course! I’ll be honest and state I am not a big gambler but find the Las Vegas Valley an interesting dynamic of American culture and what it states about the collective society. Last year, I visited the valley (and my good friends) before there were any signs that the market was crashing and burning. There was so much construction occurring at the time, that my head was spinning. I don’t think the growth would be comparable to any suburb in Indianapolis.
Logo Design in 60 Minutes
Logo design is one of the most challenging tasks that a graphic designer can face. You’re creating an icon than embodies an entire brand. It’s got to be simplistic, yet complex. Colorful, yet able to be reproduced in black and white. Meaningful without being literal. In short, logo design can scare event the most seasoned designer silly.
Now, imagine being asked to create a logo in less than 60 minutes.
This is the situation I found myself in last week. One of my coworkers needed me to develop a logo for a presentation they were giving in hopes that it would enhance the presentation and create excitement. But I only had a little less than an hour to get it done, as they were leaving for the presentation asap.
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