Instructables.com is having a laser cutter contest. Basically make a bad ass instrucables post and you could win. But make sure you register for the contest first.

click here for more info

If you didn't know Freitag makes sweet messenger bags out of these old vinyl box trucks. You will be designing a truck cover for them if I am correct.

Click here for more details

Job Summary:

Landor Associates is seeking junior and seniors who are majoring in design to intern in our award winning design teams. Design interns will create prototypes, assist in preparing for presentations, develop design concepts, assist in production and participate in design critiques.


Requirements:

Internship candidates must have completed a minimum of five semesters or equivalent (junior year, second semester), must have a legal right to work in the U.S., should have intermediate skills in Adobe Illustrator and beginning skills in Quark and Photoshop.


How To Apply:

Please apply by replying to this posting AND attach a PDF or website portfolio. If you do not send a soft or hard portfolio for creative positions, you will not be considered for the position.

If you wish to send your portfolio by post, please enclose return packaging and postage, so that we can return the portfolio to you. The review process takes up to two weeks. Mail to:

Landor Associates
Attn: Human Resources
Klamath House
1001 Front Street
San Francisco, CA 94111


About Landor Associates:

Landor Associates is the world’s most accomplished and internationally recognized branding and design consultancy. Offering a multidisciplinary range of brand strategy, design, naming, interactive, and research services, we help our clients worldwide create, renew, and strengthen their brand power.

Some time last month, I caught wind of Kashi's snack drive - an effort to "rid the world of a million bad snacks." Seldom the type to pass on a free bite, I visited their website to request one. Yesterday, it arrived:

Securely encased in a 6"x6"x1" cardboard box, I pulled out a few sheets of glossy paper and a fairly sturdy cardboard tray holding my life-altering cookie. With the cookie in one hand and the stack of packaging in the other, I immediately noticed how much heavier the packaging was than the plastic-wrapped cookie itself.


Now, I'll admit that I'm not the most eco-conscious person around, but being a college student, I am certainly keen on what's wasteful. This is a lot of packaging for one cookie - a self-described "good" cookie from a company that supports "green" practices. Therefore, by requesting my free "good snack", what I (and 999,999 others) actually received was a mixed message.

Messages intended:

• Our snacks are more "good"
• We want to make you more "good"
• Try our "good" snacks for free... and maybe buy some more later

Messages received:

• "Good" quality starts with "good" packaging
• We're spending (a lot) to earn (even more)
• We prioritize success first, health second, and the environment third

Sure, this is certainly no way near as harmful as the millions of AOL mailers in the ground, but shouldn't a company that supports natural living be more practical in their marketing initiatives? What is the proper balance between profitability and responsibility? Do you think this crosses the line, or is it just "good" business practice?

Labels: Kash to burn

12 Western Washington University design juniors did a project based on aproducting using industrial refuse making 20 of their products and marketing and selling through a retail venue. Some of the projects include the ones shown; Light-switch covers made from old street signs, sushi rollers from old bicycle spokes, x-acto handles made from old toothbrushes and entirely compostable pots.
I thought this was totally rad, any thoughts?

-Core77

I saw this ergonomic concept mouse on this site [link]. Its kinda interesting cause it's got a coating on it that makes it anti-bacterial. Any opinions?

Here is a quote that gizmodo.com took from fake Steve Jobs about the recent news of google and their alliance with open cellular software.

The only companies that join consortia are the ones who are too stupid or shitty to make a great product on their own. It's like, Hey, we've got forty spazzo companies that can't fuck their way out of a paper bag; let's put them all together and maybe they'll magically become some kind of big bad powerhouse.


Funny and true IMO

Ok so I have really been getting excited as more news comes in about this, but Google has a master plan to merger every app into one, and then some. Maka-Maka is the code name, orkut is the proving ground, and Open social, is the developer tool. This is all in response the their loss in the facebook bid.

What does this mean to us? If you are like me, a fan of gmail, reader, blogger, calender, igoogle, groups, and more, this is what will bring it all together in a social networking style. Orkut, a pet project from a google developer, is where you and I can go with our existing google id and create a fun little profile.

I know this may seem like "just another social networking platform" but the difference is that we get to now merge our SFSU IDSA group, email, blogger, forums, news feeds, and calender into one portal.

Here is a quote from one of the articles I have been reading:
(read it, its good)

The bigger vision is to combine all of Google’s apps and services through Maka-Maka. Google already has so much data on you, depending on how many Google apps you already use. It just needs to bring everything together. Your contacts are in Gmail. Your feeds are in Google Reader. Your IM buddy list is in Gtalk. Your upcoming events are in Google Calendar. Your widgets are in iGoogle. And don’t forget about your search history. Overtime, Google will connect all of these together in different ways, along with data about you from other social services across the Web, and give developers access to the social layer tying all of these apps together underneath. The real killer app for Google is not to turn Orkut into a Facebook clone. It is to turn every Google app into a social application without you even noticing that you’ve joined yet another social network.

Anyway this will all happen over time but we can log into okrut right now and play with our profile and join the SFSU IDSA group I made. (or not). As of right now, okrut doesnt seem to be synced with calndar or blogger, but if you look at the options for groups or "communities" on the left you will see: forums, polls, events, and members all housed in a shiny google shell.

thank you for your time and I would love some feedback.

Labels: 1984, google, idsa, scalable applications, sfsu