It’s cold here today in Baltimore. And when it starts turning cold, the folks here in the shop start thinking about snowboarding. So today I wanted to share with you a snowboard maker that has a pretty cool Web site where you can download a template and literally design your own custom snowboard.

With Prophet Snowboards, you can either create your own or pick from a range of designs created both by the company and other customers. As a creative group, we love the opportunity to design our own lifestyles, and there’s nothing cooler than being out on the mountain and riding a snowboard you’ve designed. I think with improvements in manufacturing processes, we’re going to be seeing a lot of different products come to market that consumers have the opportunity to customize.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

In true Barack Obama fashion, the president-elect gave his weekly address and immediately posted it up on YouTube for all to see. These can be considered the ‘fireside chats’ of the new millenium and if his presidential campaign was any indication I imagine this type of access to the president will be something the world will enjoy throughout his administration.

While Obama’s address was a good one, there was one thing that was kind of shocking to me.  Can you see it in this picture?

While he is a president-elect who believes in change, his new transition office doesn’t appear to be singing the same song. The empty wooden walls, old books and green leather chair appear to be something inherited from presidents long ago - very dated. The whole set creates a strong visual disconnect from his campaign, which many have lauded as the most highly designed campaign in history.

My guess is that the set for the next address will be an updated one. Why? Because a president-elect this connected more than likely has people monitoring the Web to get their impressions of his address.  They could even be reading this blog post right now! 

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

You might remember a while ago when we posted about our brand identity work for our friends at Fastspot. The process of creating the final identity was one we were particularly proud of, so we decided to commemorate it by making a sweet poster out of it. 

Click HERE to see a larger version.  What you see above is a collaborative exploration of possible solutions for a Fastspot logo. Not only is it a stunning visual, but it helps to give a sense of all the work that really goes into finding a mark that fits perfectly with what we are trying to communicate (in this case the fusion of two elements - form and function). 

The gang at Fastspot had the posters we created printed and have a few up for giveaway right now over on their blog.  Go check it out here and let them know why you’d like to be one of the lucky ones to receive this poster: http://www.fastspot.com/blog. 

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

I found a pretty cool poster on AdFreak that I think is really well done.  It’s for The Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, hosted by Mike Rowe, a native of Baltimore.  

Click the image above to enlarge it for detail. It’s worth it.  If you’ve ever watched the show, you know how perfect this poster is for describing what you might find as you watch.  It’s not for folks with a weak stomach.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

With the invention of devices like Amazon’s Kindle and even the increasing popularity of audio books, publishers are struggling to keep traditional book publishing and production from going extinct.  A new publishing house, White’s Books, has a novel idea of how to keep the printed word around for a long time.

With the idea that the classics are the books that most people treasure, White’s Books has redesigned the covers of a number of classic literary works by authors such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte and Robert Louis Stevenson.  The hope is that the new book designs and thorough, luxurious production methods will create a newfound demand and appreciation for these works–possibly inspiring a new generation to pick them up and give them a read.  Read more about the redesign and an interview with the man responsible, HERE.

Beautiful:

I like new twists on old classics.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Special thanks to Rachel Stuart for designing the November edition of the Orange Element Insights blog header, which you can see at the top of your screen. As always, you can find all the previous header designs by clicking “Header Design Archive” on the navigation to the right.

Looks great, Rachel!

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com