It's Monday already and time for another Strike My Fancy, your weekly sneak peak into my inbox. This week's email images are brought to you by Behance, The Zoe Report, Three Potato Four, ISO50, and Soia & Kyo. Oh, and have you heard? E-mail is now email. Thank you AP Stylebook!
If you were wondering why there wasn't a commute design post yesterday, it's because I never got there. I rode my bike yesterday (sometimes I walk) and in the 1/2 mile between the train station and work I was the lucky example of what happens when bikes and cars mix. The details are fuzzy, but to make a long, confusing story short, I thought I was door'ed (the thing that happens when a driver opens his/her door into a biker) but witness say I was hit from behind by an SUV. The SFPD is investigating.
I landed on my head and experienced a short concussion, so they took me to the ER to make sure my noggin was still intact. After checking out my head and a few other scrapes and bruises, they had me sit in the hallway for observation for a couple of hours.
Fun Fact: The ER in the hospital I was at is actually a pretty funny place on March 17. I had the pleasure to witness a guy insist to the ER staff that he didn't need to wear clothes, and listened to the nurses sing Crack Kills to the tune of Love Hurts. It's not cheap entertainment, but it is fun.
There are a few ironic pieces to this story 1) the guy opening his door was an plain-clothes policeman 2) the SUV was green. So why do I think that St. Patrick's Day hates me? Last year on this same date, I was also in the hospital getting poked with needles because I had insanely high iron levels.
The good news from yesterday is that after delicious lunch and a nice long afternoon nap, we signed the lease to our new apartment in San Francisco. Now thats a good way to end a not-so-good day.
I've been collecting quotes on commuting that I find online, and they will slowly be finding their way into my designs for the next month or so. This evening's commute design comes to you from the 22nd Street Caltrain station and some guy named Gary Roberts. In our area, gas is nearly over $4.00 per gallon and even though we don't need to fill our tank very often (thank you Nissan!), I still cringe a bit when we drive past a gas station.
A couple of years ago, I purchased the book How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy. Apart from TypoMundus 20, it's probably the second best book purchase I've made.
I originally purchased it for one chapter — the first one — for my Senior Project students to read, but quickly realized the entire book was spot on. Since then, about once a year, I pull it out to read through it. Not only does it include insightful ideas for designers, there are interviews and thoughts from Stefan Sagmeister, Neville Brody, and countless other influential thinkers and doers in design.
Originally intended for design students, it's a must-read for all designers at any stage. You can purchase it on Amazon for a mere $12 plus change.
My Virgin Mobile wireless card has been failing me on my past two commutes. So tonight, rather than a design that incorporates an image from my commute, here are a few images from my weekend. Saturday evening we had dinner at a gastropub called Urban Tavern. A definite must if you're ever in the Lower Nob Hill / SOMA area.
Sunday consisted of a 6+ mile walk around the east side of San Francisco. We found so many neat areas, and even stumbled upon the offices of Turner Duckworth. I was starstruck.
Images in order of appearance: Turner Duckworth, Urban Tarvern atmosphere, Urban Tavern Sausage and Pretzel appetizer (a must try), Bay Bridge
It's Monday and that means Strike My Fancy, your weekly sneak peak into my inbox is here. Beautiful things happen when Diesel and Banana Republic collide. Wouldn't you agree?
Image credits go to Banana Republic, Paul Smith, Diesel, Threadless, and Etsy.
To kick off the new Places I Go theme for my Commute Design Project, I thought it would be a fun challenge to create a video. Challenge? Yes. Fun? Jury's still out. Let's be clear, I'm not a videographer by any means. I took a class on Adobe Premier in college, but that was a long time ago. Now, the only tool I have in my arsenal is iMovie, and for most amateurs iMovie is great. But being used having much more control in Premier, I spent the most part of 2 evenings just trying to figure it out.
That being said, I've had so many comments from friends and family wanting to see more of my new San Francisco world that however unprofessionally done it may be, I think Tracing My Steps is a great way to show that.
Music credit goes to Dusty Brown: This City is Killing Me — (It's not by the way)
And if it isn't obvious, the video was filmed entirely by my iPhone 3GS. I know. It's shocking but true. Old technology really does work.
If you're on a mobile device, go here: Tracing My Steps
Tracing My Steps from Brooke Francesi on Vimeo.