Recently in Randomness Category

Now here's a group project that I can get behind -- a shared, virtual scratch pad! Lunchtimers.com has three different "Big Pads" you can view and draw on at their Web site. But don't wait too long to leave your mark because you only have a couple minutes to contribute before the page refreshes and you have a new sheet to "decorate." It's a timewaster to be sure, but an interesting one at that!

My favorite thing about going to the theater to catch a movie isn't the buttery popcorn, it's the long screening room corridor lined with lively posters for upcoming movies. Unlike reviews and trailers, movie posters -- when designed just right set the mood. If much care has been given to the poster, you can bet your booty the director, actors, and everyone else on the film gave it their all too.

Of the upcoming crop of films about to hit theaters, V for Vendetta looks the most promising -- mostly due to their great posters. Sin City did it up the comics-to-film-thing perfectly and still tops V for Vendetta in terms of translating the mood of the comics to the big screen advertising, but V for Vendetta does come pretty close.

Even better than the re-imaging of the original comic book cover art into a poster are the versions with completely new visual concepts. I haven't been this geeked about a movie poster since Fairey strutted his posse-lovin' stuff for Walk the Line. Here's hoping this illustrated posters trend continues in Hollywood!

The only thing I love more than graphic design is music. Specifically, listening to and combining sets of songs into mixes.

If I wasn't an art director working for a magazine, I would probably be a struggling dj somewhere. To pay tribute to my favorite past time, I created a new mix about mixes and posted it to the Web's best mixmaker haven -- Art of the Mix. Be sure to drop into their image gallery. The art that folks submit can range from cheesy Web graphic collages to sophisticated covers featuring original artwork and typographic treatments. Truly a must-see, even for the non-mix lovin' creative type.

But back to those of you who would consider yourself a mix appreciator or creator, be sure to add Thurston Moore's latest book Mix Tape : The Art of Cassette Culture to your library, or just hop over to Wired to read his article "The Best 90 Minutes of My Life" or to NPR to listen to his thoughts.

While most sports fanatics make predictions based on how well teams match up, I'm going to make my first Superbowl prediction based on factor that I know a little something about: branding.

Over all, Seattle's brand looks like a sports team logo whereas at first glance Pittsburgh's brand gives off a more corporate feel. The typography for Seattle's wordmark packs more punch and feels appropriate to communicate power and strength (two qualities one would truly like to have associated with their sports team, no?). On the flip side, the Pittsburgh wordmark's typography seems informal, slight, and less impactful. It is almost overwhelmed by graphic element of their brand. The logos themselves, though, have me routing for Pittsburgh. With its strong bold collection of three repeated diamond-like shapes that have an almost Rand-like whimsy, Pittsburgh's logo is far more memorable. Its uniqueness as a brand, despite its lackluster typography, makes me pick Pittsburgh as a hands-down winner. I guess we'll see if that shuffles out to be true on the field, too.

For a little more on the Steelers logo, check out this well-written story from the Houston Chronicle