Photography has always been a hobby of mine (so much so that in college, it was my secondary concentration, right behind graphic design). It probably started when my now 90-year-old grandfather gave me his old Nikon SLR camera and I needed an art elective. I learned to actually use the camera (no automatic exposure for me) and actually develop the film (granted it was black and white, so the process was easier, but still a time consuming — and a creative — process).

About two years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a real digital camera. While I love it, I admittedly miss being in the dark room and waiting for shots to develop. I do not miss manually dodging and burning negatives. Hello, Photoshop.

Anyway, almost weekly I would take myself on walks — sometimes as far as the Arboretum or Eastern Market or as close as Georgetown. I’d have my camera with me for company, and when the mood struck, I’d shoot. Two themes began to develop: flowers (I hope to eventually continue my bugs life series) and food (I love cooking, food, wine, and everything related). On one walk in March of 2009 (probably one of the first warm days that year) I found myself in Georgetown, and in my favorite gourmet store, Dean and Deluca. I remember walking through the aisles being captivated by the displays of cheese, coffee, fruit, and meats and shooting all of it. And, of all the shots I took that day, I chose just one to post on Flickr — a shot of the coffee beans. There was something about the composition and the texture and the little hand written signs that captivated me.

Several months later, I was contacted by a publisher who liked my image and wondered if I’d be willing to provide a high-resolution version for inclusion in a book they were publishing. “Sure,” I said. They asked for a byline and an address and I sent the photo off on its way.

Fast forward several (many) months, and this arrives at my door:

Power Shop 2: New Retail Design Volume 1: Fashion

And, right there on page 10:

Yup that’s my name. And in the upper right hand corner — that’s my shot.

Here’s the full article.

Cool beans.

Filed under: photography by jacki on October 11, 2010
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This week, Gap quietly began rolling out a new logo: an odd blend of Helvetica typeface and a blue gradient box. Almost as quickly as the logo appeared on Gap.com, critics began slamming the new logo. The Consumerist comments, “the marketing geniuses at The Gap seem to have fiddled around with Photoshop for a few minutes and designed a new company logo that’s as bland and uninteresting as jeans and a black t-shirt. It’s not ugly, but it’s not memorable or creative, either. What were they thinking?” A fan on Gap’s Facebook page comments: “New logo lacks imagination-it’s as if I designed it!”

Gap surely realized there would be a backlash amongst brand loyalists. Let’s face it — getting rid of a 20 year old logo isn’t an easy thing to do. But is the logo ugly on purpose? Was it that Gap knew the new logo was so boring and run-of-the-mill that critics would immediately start talking about it and spur a renewed interest in the suffering brand?

Let’s face it, Gap has been doing some interesting promotions lately. On Groupon.com, Gap was the first retailer to launch a national promotion — one that resulted in the sale of 441,000 groupons and $11 million dollars in revenue. Then, last November, Gap turned a Vancouver store upside down — literally — overnight to promote its new loyalty program.

Most of the criticism of the new Gap logo has taken place on Twitter and Facebook — neither of which have been updated with the new logo. On Facebook, Gap responded to its more than 690,000 fans with a post stating: “Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project.”

Despite the countless articles, Tweets and Facebook posts about the logo, my gut says this isn’t Gap’s the final resting place.

Filed under: branding by jacki on October 7, 2010
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Fall is officially here, and with that, the start of the Fall programming season. Tonight the event circuit kicks off at the Corcoran. Personally, I love attending lectures at the Corcorcan since the small space puts me just feet from design legends. Swoon. In the Spring, I enjoyed a lecture by Stefan Sagmeister in this very same venue. Tonight, Seymour Chwast, designer, illustrator and typographer.

A little background on Seymour: Born in 1931, Seymour attended the prestigious Cooper Union in New York City, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1951. In 1954, Seymour, along with design idol, Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins, formed Pushpin Studios. Their distinctive style later became known as “The Push Pin Style” for its bulgy line style. The work has appeared in publications, posters, food packaging, and publicity art.

Below, a brief retrospective of Seymour’s work.

Filed under: events by jacki on September 22, 2010
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Project: Personal Branding Presentation
Client: The Benchmarking Company
Industry: Agency
Overview: TBC Founder and Creative Director Alisa Marie Beyer needed a presentation to accompany her talk on personal branding. The presentation, which was based on some of the concepts in Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow,” was presented to women business leaders.

Filed under: reports by jacki on September 19, 2010
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