"A whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink

I read this interesting excerpt on How Magazine's website this morning:

You've said that in the emerging economy, the smartest thing someone can do is to be a designer and tell their children to be designers. Why is design a great career move these days?
Because the working world that you and I live in is very different from the one that our parents prepared us for. When I was a kid—and I grew up in a middle-class family, in the middle of America, in the middle of the 1970s—parents told their kids to become doctors, lawyers, accountants or engineers. Those jobs were the pathway to a happy and prosperous life. But that's not true anymore. The economy that's emerging today confers the greatest rewards on a different kind of person with a different kind of mind. It rewards not "left-brain" knowledge workers, but "right-brain" creators and empathizers. The future belongs to those kinds of folks—artists, inventors, caregivers and, yes, designers.

We've heard about this left-brain/right-brain division before. How does it apply here?
The best metaphor to describe what's going on in work and business today is right inside our heads. The structure of our brains reveals a lot about the contours of our times. Our brains are divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is logical, linear and sequential. It works like a computer. The right side is holistic, artistic and big-picture. Of course, we use both sides of our brain for most things. But the sorts of abilities characteristic of the left hemisphere are becoming less valuable. And the sorts of abilities characteristic of the right hemisphere are becoming more valuable.

Why is this shift happening?
Three big, unstoppable forces. What I call the three A's—abundance, Asia and automation.

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks on ABC World News

Check out Michael Hearst on ABC World News Tonight, he talks about the album as well as about all the novelty instruments he used to create Songs for Ice Cream Trucks.

Also check out the cover art by yours truly in all its glory for a few seconds!

Doug Bartow and Michael Fallone's ID29 wins Harry Potter contract

[From MSN MOney Central:]

A small, Troy, N.Y., advertising agency played a big role in the marketing campaign for the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

The four-year-old id29 beat out agencies from all over the world to design print ads, Web ads, animated movies, billboards, point-of-purchase, and exhibition displays to herald the release of the book, the seventh and final one in the series about the boy wizard. Sales of the much-anticipated "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," published by Scholastic, began at midnight July 21.

"They loved our work immediately," said Michael Fallone, creative director of id29. "It's a great reminder that in the ad agency and design studio realm, some of the best work is being created by small shops."

The firm developed a design aesthetic and five words -- There Will Soon Be Seven -- that "really resonated with Scholastic," said Douglas Bartow, art director and Fallone's partner in id29. "Our creative became the basis for much of the U.S. campaign and we spent the better part of five months executing the tactical components of the effort."

Other id29 clients have included Pitney Bowes MapInfo, The (Steve) Case Foundation, and Litespeed Bicycles.

Shepard Fairey [OBEY] at Jonathan Levine Gallery

I just saw this show of New York street artist Shepard Fairey, best known for his "Obey The Giant" street campaign that he started in 1989. His work has gotten incredibly refined and detailed over the years, without losing its gritty edge or its cynical, politically engaged sense of humor.



Shepard Fairey [OBEY] at Jonathan Levine Gallery
June 23, 2007 through July 21, 2007

DUMBO Installation Space Opening Reception: Thursday, June 21st, 7pm – 11pm, 81 Front Street Brooklyn, NY 11201
Exhibition on view Thursday, June 21 – Saturday, July 7, open Wed-Sun from 11-7

Jonathan LeVine Gallery: Opening Reception: Saturday, June 23rd, 5pm – 9pm, Jonathan Levine Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, 9th floor, open Tues-Sat from 11-6