I’m using SlideshowPro Director for parts of my website… This is a test to see how easy it is to publish embed code for desktop and mobile devices. First embed code should work for most mobile users. I’m testing now!

I just came across this new logo for Pricewaterhouse Coopers (now PwC). The logo is an abstract shape that meaning can be built into… a beginning, transformation and endless possibilities. Whatever it represents, it is clearly the foundation for the rest of the brand to come to life. It’s a small part of a bigger picture. From refined messaging to collateral and signage design, to the website and animations, London office of Wolff Olins has created a nice brand system. The concept — that logos alone cannot carry all of the weight of a successful brand — is one that design firms have to convey to clients all to often. A logo is a logo… a brand is everything else. They did a nice job delivering a complete brand system.

BTW, the meaning of the new PwC logo is summed up here:

“We think our new brand expression visually distinguishes PwC in the same way that the quality and expertise of our people differentiates the experience of working with PwC,” said Dennis Nally, chairman, PwC International. “Underlying the visual elements is what the PwC brand really stands for — how we are viewed by our clients, our people and our stakeholders. Beyond our capabilities and experience, we want PwC to be known for building great relationships with clients that help them create the value they’re looking for.” (Ahhh… now I get it.)

This is not atypical for a logo explanation. Abstract is usually more interesting and memorable than being literal. However, is a logo a failure if it needs to be explained in a video or press release? I’m fine with an icon that gains depth with an explanation, but the truly great ones require no explanation. And, on a tangent… it kind of baffles me that the logo is all lowercase, but in text acronym they use cap “P”, lowercase “w” and cap “C”. I don’t get it!

I have mixed feelings about the website design. Specifically, two things I note right away are the placement of logo and the navigation. A leading professional services firm who boast gross revenues of 26.2 billion USD (fiscal year 2009). One of the “Big Four” — the three others are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG — has placed their logo towards the middle/bottom of the home page and has incorporated a very refined navigation. I’m not sure what to make of this logo placement. It works nicely with the animations… but, there’s is a big white space at the top left that is just waiting for it to return. You’ll see that as you navigate the site, it mysteriously reappears there and actually looks pretty good. And by refined navigation, I mean small (borderline tiny) serif fonts spaced out with loads of white space. I love smaller type, but is this a little extreme for a website? I really do want to like it, but for whatever reason, I am missing some visual Q or design element(s) that helps me find my way. Am I alone here?

With the negatives aside, it is an encouraging sign that in 2010s economy, interesting work still can be done with corporate clients. Will this logo/brand endure time? Probably not. I give it 3-5 years.

My 2 cents.

I have embarked upon a new project that has nothing to do with graphic design or visual communications. I’m building a motorized bike! Let me back up… I have been bike commuting for years now over 8 miles each way, however, due to a lower back injury I have been taking it easy and have found myself behind the wheel for just about every day this summer.

My “car” time got me thinking and wondering why are there not many little homemade mopeds or motorized bikes driving around? I’ve seen a few, but not many…. Is it price? Is it too complicated to build one? Is a 150mpg’s not enough? Or, maybe it’s the noise, and the fact that these little engines pollute the air too much? I’m not sure… I’m thinking these little gems will eventually be very popular in many cities. Especially if people realize how easy and inexpensive it is to get/build one. Electric bikes are becoming popular and people might feel that another gas engine is not good for the environment…. I guess that I’m in the camp of, if I can go 150 miles on a gallon of gas, this is a good thing (especially considering most cars only gets around 15 mpgs.)

I spent a few days researching engine distributors… such as:
Gas Bike
Kings Motorbikes
Daemon Bikes
Zoom Bicycles

They are essentially the same kits, but one stuck out. Zoom Bicycles provided a better online experience that was just more believable for me. Plus, I reached out to Gas Bike via a little “Live Chat (offline)” button and never heard anything back. (BTW, live “offline” chat buttons have to be the most annoying feature ever on a website.) Daemon Bikes kits are less expensive (I paid $129 no tax/shipping) and claim to have a superior chain and bearings as well as a handful of other parts.

Anyway there were 2 kits that made the most sense to me… The Black Slant 80cc or the standard 49cc (street legal) kit. From what I can tell the motors look identical. Where I live is very hilly, so I chose the larger engine. There’s a carb upgrade that claims to make the engine idle more quietly and give you a little smoother ride, but I held out for that option. Maybe it’ll be a future upgrade. One other thing to note is that the “slant” is a newer model where the spark plug is on a angle compensating for the angle that the engine is mounted and supposedly performs better than the standard kits. Below are the o/a specs.

This 80CC Slant Head Bike engine has 2.75 to 2.9 HP which is very powerful for an 80CC motor engine of that size. The kit comes with everything you will need to get started. Just add oil and gas. The 2 Stroke engine can reach speeds upwards of 40 MPH and has enough power to move even a larger individual. These engines have excellent fuel economy and gets about 150 miles per gallon of gas. Turn any mountain bike into a moped with this engine kit.

Engine Box #1

* 1 x 80cc Black Slant Limited Edition Bicycle Engine (Model: ZB-80S-BK)
* 1 x Dished 44 Tooth sprocket with 9 holes
* 1 x Thottle Assembly with built in Kill Switch and Matching Grip
* 1 x 48 inch Thottle Cable with tension adjuster
* 1 x 56 inch Clutch Cable with Heat Protection Spring, Separator Spring, and Clutch Cable Keeper
* 1 x Glossy Black Heavy Duty Push Clutch Lever
* 1 x 53 inch Heavy Duty 415 Chain

Gas Tank Box #2

* 1 x 1.8L (1/2 Gallon) Glossy Black Finish Gas Tank
* 1 x Spring Loaded Gas Tank Cap

Accessories Box #3

* 9 x Sets of Mounting Bolts, Washers and Nylock Locking Nuts for the Sprocket Assembly
* 2 x Rubber Sprocket Mounts
* 3 x Semi-circle Metal Sprocket Mounts
* 4 x Nylock Gas Tank Mounting Nuts
* 1 x High Quality Fuel Grade Line
* 1 x Inline Soft Plastic Fuel Filter
* 1 x Gas Fuel Valve with Nylon Fuel Filter and Fibre Washer
* 1 x Spark Plug
* 1 x Spark Plug Removal Tool
* 1 x Black Chain Guard
* 1 x Chain Guard Fasteners
* 2 x Fuel Tank Fasteners
* 1 x EPA Approved Exhaust Muffler with built in Catalytic Converter
* 1 x Heavy Duty Exhaust Muffler Clamp with Nyloc Nuts
* 1 x Adjustable Bearing Chain Tensioner
* 1 x CDI (Capacitor Discharge Ignition) Module with mounting assembly
* 1 x Large Frame Tube Adapter mounting plate with U Bolt and Engine Adapter Bolts.
* 1 x Parts Pack (2 x Exhaust Gaskets, 1 x Master Link and Keeper, 1 x Rear Engine Mount, 1 x Rear Engine Mount Clamp, 1 x Spark Plug)

Bicycle Requirements:
This 80cc Slant Head Bicycle Engine Kit fits most Men’s 24″ and larger bicycles which includes mountain, cruiser, the bike must have a V-frame with at least a 8.5″ height clearance for the engine. Larger frame size might require drilling of the bike. Ride you bike just like a moped

Dimensions:
This 80cc Slant Head Zoom Bicycles kit is about 8.5″ height 7″ length 5″ width and fits on most standard 24″ – 26″ or 25mm 29mm frame bicycle frame tubes.. This engine kit only adds about 22 lbs to your bike.
Gas And Oil Mixture For Fuel Ratio: Use of a good synthetic 2 stroke oil is recommended.

This bicycle moped 80CC slant head motor engine kit is a 2 cycle/2 stroke design, therefore, a gasoline/oil mixture is necessary as follows:
• When New: 16 to 1 (8oz per Gallon)
• After 3 Tanks Of Break In: 32 to 1 (4oz per Gallon)
The engine crankshaft bearings are lubricated from the oil in the gas mix. A rich break in oil mixture ensures bearings will not cease during engine break in period.

Now moving on to my decision about what bike to put this motor on… after hum hawing about picking up a used bike on Craigslist, I decided to look at a new bike from BikesDirect. I previously bought my road bike there a few years back and thought it was a great deal! You can see the picture above, but the specs are here. I’m not a big hybrid know it all, but this bike looks to be a decent bike especially for the low price of $269 (no shipping, no tax), plus it has fenders and a kick stand! Here are the details about the bike:

Frame Lightweight Welded Aluminum with multi-shaped tubes and reinforcing gusset. Replaceable rear derailleur hanger, 2x H2O brazeons, Fender mounts and Fenders (included)
(Fenders are Grey or Black)

Fork Zoom/Enjoy Aluminum Suspension Comfort Front Shock
Stem Adjustable Height/Angle, Aluminum alloy
Derailleurs Shimano Tourney SIS Index, SR Suntour
Shifters/Cassette SRAM Gripshift MRX 21 Speed, Shimano 14-34T SIS Mega-Range Cassette
Brakes/Levers ProMax Linear pull ‘V’ type Aluminum
Hubs Formula Forged Aluminum Alloy with quick release and dust sealed ball bearings
Rims Aluminum 700c with 36 holes
Crank TH Forged SteelArm triple 48/38/28T
Saddle Comfort wide-style w/suspended Spring base Seatpost Comfort Suspension Seatpost, Aluminum alloy
Pedals Resin Dual-purpose
Tires Comfort-ride 700 x 35c
Colors Blue Nightshade or Gloss White
SizesMen’s – 15″, 17″, 19″, 21″, 23″

Both the bike and motor have shipped and should be here this week. More to come!

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

- Albert Einstein

I just came across these pretty cool building blocks from House Industries. I love the color palette, the typography styles, the graphics and the packaging. I just might have to get a set of these someday… for my daughter of course. I Imagine that she’ll play with them for a couple weeks… then, voila! I’ll have a new centerpiece for my coffee table!

Eames House Blocks: $175Tours of the Eames House and Studio require a sizable donation to the Eames Foundation, but you can bring the Case Study No. 8 house to the convenience of your coffee table or kids playroom for less cash than dinner for two at the local upscale chain restaurant. It’s a bargain when you consider that each set of 36 replenishable Michigan-grown basswood blocks represents 29 separate hand-pulled screen passes. In the true Eames spirit, your kids can create a ligneous yard sale on your living room rug while youre in deep conversation with your guests, then build this living landmark to demonstrate how you are properly introducing them to important bits of culture. And, as a whole, they take up much less room than those awkward and unsightly Montessori toys.

36 Alphabet Blocks 20 for the house, 16 for the studio

Blocks 1.75″ 4.5 cm square

House 8.75″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ 22 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm

Studio 7″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ 17.8 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm

Made in the USA!

Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.

Printed with non-toxic, lead-free, child-safe inks.

via House Industries – Objects – Eames Blocks.

Risqué or Risky?//0 There is a new campaign on Broadway… Axe took over the old Bailey and Coy Books store front to advertise their “Undie Wear Challenge”. Axe is always raising the bar with risqué and viral campaigns. Students are asked to sign up for the AXE Undie Run Challenge on the Facebook fan-page. The goal of the competition is to donate the clothes you take off to charity. As for now there are 10 colleges sending their students to take part and win by giving more tees, skirts, jeans and shorts.

Are there any Seattle schools participating?

I took Sophia on Forest Queen at Crystal Mountain for the first time. It was a perfect, sunny day, and she did really good! She even got the snowplow down. Pizza and Pasta… she’s learning quick!

I just came across this post from a year ago… but, if you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty cool. Hats off to Sebasian Lange for his creative genius on this one.

Flickermood 2.0 from Sebastian Lange on Vimeo.

I’ve embarked on a new journey. Something I’ve always been interested in, but have never had the space, or tools to do it. At some point (late summer) last year I got the bug to go for it and set up a small wood shop. I basically started with a few old tools, a cordless drill, a great electric drill, a old powerless circular saw, a couple hammers, a plastic miter jig and 2 hand saws. Overall it was a pretty dismal tool arsenal for the kind of furniture I wanted to build.

So the journey began. I started off by doing a bunch of tool research. I took many trips to local tool stores, and spent even more time visiting various Web sites, reading tool reviews on Amazon etc. I began with a list of necessary tools for basic cabinet making. At first, I was interested in redoing my kitchen and bath cabinetry…. so, the obvious was a decent table saw, a miter saw, circular saw, router, compressor, and air guns. I have a two car garage with extra space in one corner, so I began a small shop plan as well. This turned out to be a bigger project than I anticipated, but after wiring several new plugs, a few new lights, and putting up sheet rock, my shop started to take shape.

I still had no new tools. There were so many decisions to make. And, I wasn’t sure how much I realistically wanted to invest. Well, I decided to fill up my Amazon cart with everything I thought I would need. I put more tools in my cart, I’d change my mind, add more items, take items out, and read more and more reviews. This went on for a month or so. It was finally time to commit. My cart was full and my head was spinning! Then, with a click of the mouse, I did it. I hit the “buy now” button. Done. 5-7 days later all that “stuff” arrived on my front porch. Just like Christmas! Boxes and boxes… a lift gate truck brought the table saw. Oh boy… I opened boxes, put workbenches together, assembled saws and cutting tables for what seemed like weeks. Since then, I’ve added a few things to my tool arsenal… clamps, more jigs, bits and finishing tools… gloves, respiratory masks, lint free rags and foam applicators, to name a few.

For now, my plan is to design and build custom furniture for myself. And as I get more experience, I might take orders! Until then, I just want to get some experience under my belt. I should mention here that I do have 3 years (in college) of woodworking experience where I repaired and built European Pine antique reproductions. So, I have a pretty decent understanding of the craft. In any event, I decided that I should build a reproduction of something I really liked. I did more research and found a few existing pieces that fit the bill. Below I will show a photo essay of the project.

Believe me, there has been plenty of planning and research just to get this project underway. It took me several hours over the course of a couple weeks to source material (plywood, hinges, cork, finish). It’s not easy for a DIY’er or a small shop to get the same quality material a cabinet shop might get. Big box stores don’t have it and I don’t want to get into doing my own lamination/veneering. There are minimum orders for certain materials and the good plywood is $130 (walnut ply) to $180 (bamboo ply). I’m sure that this process will become easier over time.

Here’s the project. A center piece for my living room. I chose this, not only because I really liked it, but because building it would engage many skills that I wanted to explore. A basic cabinet with shelves, a base structure, edge banding, doors and hinges, working with cork, and a rubbed on poly finish. Building this would utilize most, if not all, of the tools I had invested in. I’ll post the finished product and status updates as they are completed.

This is some of my planning. A good notebook comes in handy!

This table is a must. I read about it on another blog. It’s perfect for cutting full size sheets.

I made these, but have yet to use them.

I built this straight edge jig using a metal straight edge, and 1/4 inch melamine. It makes it super easy to cut long straight cuts.

This is 48″ and can attach to the other 48″ to make a full 8 feet.

My handy Iron for pre-glued edgebanding.

Trimming the walnut edge. Go with the grain!

Putting the base on.

Shelf holes created with a Rockler shelf hole jig and bit. Get one.

A Kreg pocket hole jig works great. I can’t recommend it enough for joining.

The assembled cabinet.

I ordered the cork in 5 different styles. It’s 1/4 inch thick. I’ll mount it to 3/4 inch plywood. So my finished door size will be 1 inch. Blum makes a thick door hinge (inset and overlay).

Taking the time to plan the pattern.

The cork cut easily (after some practice) with a utility knife. Several passes around each piece seemed to work the best. I have a few pieces that don’t fit perfect. I plan to create a glue filler with cork dust.

More cork cutting.

All the cork pieces, ready to glue. I’m hoping the low VOC contact cement is the way to go. I’ve yet to test it.

Began the finish process… 2 coats of wipe-on poly (planning to do 3 total, plus 2 coats of paste).

Stay tuned, I’ll update the post as the project is completed.

The following pics show the final steps to completion!

Gluing the cork to the doors.

Rolling the contact cement on to the door.

Clamping the cork and doors

Just about ready to leave the shop.

Finished and in room

Finished and in room

It looks awesome!

Phinney Bischoff Design House recently refreshed the The Washington Department of Licensing’s Web site. I was the lead designer along with a handful of other team members from development and client services.

The DOL site was redesigned in the past few years to provide a much more intuitive experience for users. Leveraging the improvements that have already been made, the creative objective of our work was to capture the attention of visitors to the DOL site, and make them aware of the online option as well as communicate both the personal and greater good benefits of choosing this option. We worked within the existing structure of the DOL Home Page and refreshed it to prominently feature a “promo” area to generate awareness and highlight the benefits of performing transactions online. We also added a new area that integrates some aspects of social media as well as educational videos.

We released working HTML/CSS templates to the DOL Web team and they took it from there. They integrated and executed the update well. We think it’s a vast improvement in usability and brand. Nice work team!

New Design

Old Design