It’s Not Art - Blog Edition

I’m well aware of this blog.  I assure you that I do want to update it often, but I’m having trouble finding time.  The good news is that when I do find a moment to update, I’ll have a lot of great content to share.

I’ve been working about 50 hours a week for a corporation & will be able to share my marketing and graphic efforts later this year.  Alongside that, I’ve been doing some illustration & graphic work for Your Online Go To Gal, including a great portrait that I’m anxious to share.  Oh, and creating a beautiful poster for Those Darn Accordions summer tour.

…and other stuff, but you’ll have to stay tuned.  May I recommend signing up for my RSS feed while you’re here? Post a comment if you’d like assistance.

I’ll leave you with a fun YouTube video - Julia Nunes performing a track by Weezer.  I have no connection to this, aside from popping on Julia’s YouTube channel for an occasional listen while working.  Enjoy.

Everyone is free to join social networks, but is Corporate America going too far?  As a marketing professional myself, I know advertising is always more effective when you can get your message to your customers rather than making them come to you.  BUT… what type of person needs tweets from auto makers, insurance companies, & widget factories?

Small time companies can be fun for all involved.  Bands can tweet about new MP3 releases, tour dates, and let you know what your favorite member is up to.  Small stores can let you know about a new shipment they got in that’s been selling out.  When companies and business owners get to know each other via tweets, it brings a small town feel back to cities.

Corporate America can announce their latest product or service - which they’ll just advertise on TV & radio; inundating you there.  I really don’t want to be woken up at 7am by a company tweeting their NASDAQ.  Are you following any businesses?  If so, who and why?

I’ve may appear that I’ve been slaggin’ off a bit, but really I’ve been busy meeting with potential new clients, working on projects, and ….rambling about old photographs over at Misadventures with Andi.

This past week I was invited down to Google.  Now we’ve all heard what it’s like, at least during the dot-com pinnacle, but what’s it like today?

The first fun thing that I saw was a giant Android logo & cupcake.  I couldn’t resist taking a photo with my Android-based G1 phone.  I love meta-photography!

There courtyard you pass on the way to the main lobby has a volleyball court that’s being used, a life size T-Rex skeleton, & pink flamingoes scattered about.

When you arrive in the lobby it’s so slick. Nice fabrics & colors - none of that awful “calm colors” that doctors and corporations usually use to keep you complacent.  You promise not to steal anything (physical or intellectual) with a slick touchscreen that prints out slick name badges with your name & purpose.

This is merely the obligatory “I’m at Google photo.” I felt like a jackass as employees meandered about, but I had to prove to you blog readers that I was actually there, right!?

The main entry after their lobby has a model of the Virgin SpaceShipOne.  I eventually plan to take a trip on Vigin Galactic, I couldn’t resist this photo-op.

They have a garden.  A real garden in their courtyard.  Does your work have a garden?

Throughout it was interesting how they used their Google colors and logos.  The vibrant colors are used every chance they get.  More interestingly, they bastardize their logo frequently.  I love it. It shows a feeling of confidence in their brand and displays a certain joie de vivre — or shall we say joie du travail.

Free Food!  It’s always interesting to me to see how companies invest in their employees.  Food is a great symbol of that.  There’s places that offer no food options.  There’s places that offer full priced food options.  There’s places that offer deeply discounted food options.  Then there’s places like Google that seem to invest in their staff and offer free food.  At 6pm, dinner opens at the various cafes across the campus & people line up immediately.  The food is not only free, but fresh, full of variety, & plentiful.  In the 5 hours I spent at Google I chowed down on Choco-Banana-Hemp-Milkshake, Sushi, Pizza, Grilled Asparagus, Zucchini Casserole, Black Bean Burger, Blueberry Cobbler, Cookies, Lime Calistoga Fizzy Water, & Chocolate Milk.

On my way out, I realized the lobby had live search results projected above the waiting area.  Fascinating!  It’s bizarre how many people search for full URL’s.  Instead of searching for It’s Not Art or Sean Pete - people are searching for www.ItsNotArt.com but I guess we can’t all understand what an address bar is, right?!

So, what’s Google really like?  It’s nice. It’s not as playful as the media has made it out to be, but it’s fun. There’s people still working and wandering about after 10pm - a sign that they’re not anxious to leave.  It seems like a really trusting environment and to use an awful cliché, it’s very Work Hard - Play Hard.

I admit having various opinions of homeless people. I also have various experiences with homeless people - some are fascinating, some get my pity.  Heck, even some of my friends have been homeless at one time or another.  Everyone has a story.

Friend, client, & kind soul, Andi, contacted me and asked to repost a story she found about homeless woman.  I won’t reiterate the story, but it’s great to see how the woman found herself in a bad spot, but is working to move up and out of that spot.

Learn more on TangoBaby’s blog:
Part One |  Part Two

This past Saturday I was treated to some live Hawaiian music.  I’ve been a long time fan of Jim West’s Hawaiian music and know of him through other projects.  Jim and opener, Hiram Bell, christened the stage of the new venue- The Union Room.  Absolutely great show!  Mahalo to them for the great great show!

Check out Jim’s site - http://www.JimKimoWest.com
And check out Hiram’s site - http://hirambell.wordpress.com

Enjoy some photos of the show - Hiram first in the hat, Jim second in the lei. Traditional hula dancer is ???? - I don’t know her name, but she was as fluid as an ocean tide.

In honor of Earth Day, here’s five steps you can take to raise your business to the challenge of being green.

1. Every bit counts: If you’re still need to print documents throughout the day, stop printing the pages you don’t need.  Software like GreenPrint assist in removing extraneous sheets.  This particular program also gives you a one click PDF output option so you can start cutting back further.  Need to see numbers? There’s a built-in utility that helps you track what you save; paper- and money-wise.
2. Choose wisely: When filling your workspace with new furniture & decor, don’t think new.  Think reuse.  Most urban areas have building material salvage yards.  Places like Urban Ore in Berkeley, Calif. can be a goldmine for perfect condition tables & chairs.
3. Phone it in: Does your team’s job really need them to be on-site seven days a week? Carbon emissions are elminated when staff can work directly from their home office.  As office life transitions more towards a paperless environment, working off-site becomes more and more tangible.  Bonus: High performance employees often leave companies due to low morale.  Work-From-Home days are a proven way to boost morale & keep valuable team members.
4. Be collateral smart: Business cards are a vital part of your collateral and one of the first chances to show your customers you’re green.  With designers such as Sean Pete, you can opt for digital proofs.  Intead of paper proofs, which waste resources to print & ship, you only print what you’re going to use.  When designing cards, consider using less ink.  If you trust a good designer, they will work with you to create a design that sells your company as great as ever and uses minimal ink.
5. Do it truly: Find a reason that appeals to yourself directly.  Don’t just do it because the business tides are turning this way, but because you have an invested interest.  Passion always produces the best results - Do it for the animals.  Do it for the plants.  Do it now, not tomorrow.

Want to learn more? Cotact Sean Pete to learn how to prepare your business for the future and learn how Sean Pete can produce imagery for your project that’s as green as green can be.

From a dog portrait shoot I did this past week, here’s either an outtake or the best shot of the day!  You decide!

Are you looking for new music? Tired of the same tired ol’ Peruvean pan flute album?  Why not try The Bran Flakes‘ latest album “I Have Hands?”  I created this while working on other projects and listening to their latest album.  Anyhoot, they’re a great band that recently released a new album and I just downloaded it tonight.  Head over to their label’s site for a pay-what-you-want download or seek them out on YouTube for a sample.

Zipped down to the farmer’s market this morning.  Totally boring selection, but I did make it home with some strawberries.  Do you have a favorite farmers market item?  Greens? Foreign fruit? Pastries? What should I keep an eye out for next visit?

Click the pic if you’d like a ginormous photo suitable for desktop wallpapering.  I made it for myself, but y’know I’m totally generous.