Vootie's blog

Amongst the many truly terrible providers of online printing services, MOO is something of an exception. Founded in 2004, it now cranks out millions of business cards, postcards and minicards each month, all while retaining a special place within the design community. I've used it myself on several occasions and always found both the print quality and customer service impeccable. Which makes its latest initiative, The Luxe Project, that much more intriguing.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. is best known as the corporation that operates the New York Stock Exchange, although some years ago it merged with Paris-based Euronext to form the first global equities exchange. Its previous logo, shown below, reflected that American-European dualism but in a rather ho-hum, static manner. The firm's new logo is a stylized planet earth that better reflects its global scope. Then there's those stripes, which are an invitation to movement. Marisa Ricciardi, NYSE Euronext's Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, outlined the thinking behind the new logo.

Sure, the new functionality in Creative Suite 6 is great but here's something that could really transform your workflow — a natural on-screen drawing or writing experience, without the need to toggle between input modes. Just introduced, the Perceptive Pixel active stylus is sold as an accessory to the firm's 27- and 82-inch displays.

Arriving two years after CS5, and a year after CS5.5, the scope of the CS6 upgrade, released earlier this week, is ambitious and poses questions for those planning to purchase or upgrade. Central to this is the decision to purchase or rent suites or applications, made possible by Adobe's new Creative Cloud, which is available today.

Announced two weeks ago, Creative Suite 6 represents Adobe's most ambitious release to date of the applications that have become indispensable elements of the workflow of those involved in content creation for print, online, mobile and video.

The concept of design thinking as an approach to problem solving within the sphere of design has developed momentum in recent years, to the point where it's now almost a truism. But if there are more than a few books available on the topic, Design & Thinking would seem to be the first documentary. Consisting of interviews with such luminaries as Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and Richard Grefé, executive director of AIGA, the idea has merit. Finding a screening may prove difficult, however, since no dates have yet been set subsequent to its launch at the Newport Beach Film Festival last Saturday.

A short film on the work of graphic designer Noma Bar, master of negative space. It shows his nifty Cut It Out device in the shape of a massive dog. People can apparently feed paper, rubber and other materials into its mouth to produce their own cut-out images. Fans can also purchase prints of his work at Online Editions.

At least you would if you were the Jon Scraper character in an amusing little HTML5-based retro video game tied to the upcoming One Show Awards honoring top ad work with a respected One Show Pencil. Help Jon dodge well-known advertising icons in Madville, during the quest to reach his deadline at One Show. If you needed an incentive beyond mildly amusing time wasting, keep in mind that the name topping the leaderboard by 10 am EST, May 9, will snag two tickets to the One Show Interactive. Head to killforapencil.com to start jumping.

Arriving two years after CS5, and a year after CS5.5, CS6 is now available for pre-order, with Adobe promising delivery "within 30 days." Adobe's subscription-based Creative Cloud takes a central role in the massive release, which includes 14 CS6 applications and four Creative Suites. The all-you-can download plan is yours for $49.99 per month, which is the cost if you sign up for an annual contract (it's $74.99 per month for month-to-month membership).