Companies are shaking in their boots right now. Between the unstable economy and the rapidly evolving advertising industry they aren't quite sure what to do. One thing is for certain in this age of tech, companies want to seem current. What better way to say "hey, we are changing with the times" than to refresh your company image. Not a full rebrand. Just a refresh. But when a brand is refreshed too often does it start to become desperate like a clingy girlfriend (or boyfriend) who can't take the hint that no matter what they do you still just want to be friends?
This is a design I did for a series of modular iPhone and iPod Touch accessories. I posted this on ipodtouchfans.com and got a lot of interest. Soon after I removed the images and began seeking a patent. Unfortunately I ran out of funds and time to finish it. The German version of Mac|Life published the images in their February, 2008 issue. I never got around to doing illustrations to show all the modules. But they would have included speakers, a keyboard, gaming controls and a higher quality camera among other things. Check out the gallery below to see the progression of the product. Or view the entire set on Flickr here.
The iPhone is undoubtedly a revolutionary device. It has changed the way we interface with hand held computers. It's faster than the mac I used in college. Oh, and it's also a phone. I think it is safe to say that when the iPhone was announced there was an audible gasp heard around the world. While gesture-based touch-screens are nothing new, (See the Bill Buxton videos from Alias | Wavefront in the mid 90's. He also specifically addresses the iPhone here.) it was the first time anyone has seen this sort of UI on a handheld device. At least something as elegantly designed. This is the type of gadget you would expect to see in a SciFi movie. You couldn't carry that many albums, movies, etc in your pocket just a few years ago.
Well we got our order of business cards today and they look great! Aside from some minor trim issues I'm pretty pleased. They are made of a synthetic recyclable material, that is water-resistant and virtually tear-proof. We ordered the profile-cards from Zazzle.com because they were based in the U.S. and had similar mini-cards to Moo.com. Of course, the day after I ordered these I get an email from Moo asking if we want to beta test the new U.S. store. Well, we will certainly give them a try on our next order of cards.