Blogs

Big Sisters has always been a not-for-profit close to my heart. I volunteered with the organization as an undergraduate (in group settings and at events), but I never took the plunge to become a full-fledged volunteer, with one specific "little sister" of my own. I worried that too great a time commitment would be required, and I feared I wasn't ready to make a long-term promise to a little girl who I might have to disappoint. Instead, in my 20s, I became a troupe leader and member of Girl Guides of Canada, and put Big Sisters on the back burner.

Lately, Nyman Ink has been receiving offers from guest bloggers. This is great in one sense – it means our blog is getting noticed and that’s a nice thing. Also, as the company’s (relatively) lone blogger, I admit to feeling a little blogging fatigue at times, and it would be nice to have some guest bloggers to take up the slack once in awhile.

The first time I heard reference to "the cloud," I was immediately dismissive. It was, I guessed, just another marketing term, designed to make something technological sound like something magical ─ designed, in other words, to make me buy something.

Turns out I was wrong. At least partly. As "the cloud" slipped more and more into our collective consciousness, I decided I ought to try and understand it and how it might be used.

Good infographics aren't exactly hard to find, but good ones about grammar don't come around very often. Today we are sharing the latest amusing, editing-focussed infographic from Copy Blogger.

It defines and warns of 15 common mistakes you may be making on a regular basis. Beware and be educated.

I decided to blog today about The London International Creative Competition (LICC) for a number of different reasons. First off, you have to love a contest whose main ingredient is creativity. The LICC is open to just about anyone, doing anything creative, anywhere. You've got to appreciate that sort of accessibility. It invites passionate artists, regardless of experience or nationality, to submit work. (By the way, when I say London, I mean the city in England, not the one in Ontario.)

We're been seeing a meme making its way across the web recently and since it's design-based, I wanted to share it with you. It started with American designer Eric Palmer who "pixelated" movie posters to make them look like video game illustrations from the 1980s.

Pantone is, without a doubt, the world's most significant arbiter of what's cool in the world of colour. And makeup is all about colour. Still, I was surprised to hear that the iconic brand would be partnering with cosmetic retail giant Sephora to launch a Pantone makeup line that will highlight the 2012 colour of the year: Tangerine Tango. 

After my blog about Pinterest's somewhat concerning terms of service, I promptly deleted all my boards and stopped using the network. That may have been a harsh step, but Pinterest's terms of service were so disturbing, I felt strongly about taking a stand. And (believe it or not) Pinterest has now responded. Not only to me, of course, but to everyone who had concerns about its terms.

Belinda Lanks, a senior editor at Co.Design, wrote a fun little piece about branding recently that I thought would be worth sharing with you. It falls under the "fun information you probably didn't know" category. She titled her piece "Salvador Dalí's Real Masterpiece: The Logo For Chupa Chups Lollipops" and in it, she reveals that surrealist master Salvador Dalí not only designed the iconic logo for Chupa Chups, he did it at a cafe table, in less than an hour.