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Design process: On creating the Pods & Sods visual branding

Pods and Sods logo by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Pods and Sods logo by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

My very good long time friend Craig Smith recently reached out to get some visual branding work for his new podcasting venture, Pods & Sods, which focuses on a love for music. Craig has always enjoyed vinyl, a Gen X sense of retro style, and sensitive, thoughtful conversation, so I think this venture will be a hit. Craig generously asked for my help. We started, as always in this kind of work, with font choice and color palettes. I wanted to meet his needs for vinyl centricity, funkiness, and urbanity.

I submitted this:

pods and sods font and color study by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
pods and sods font and color study by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

I had my personal favorites in this batch, but Craig responded quickly that he loved the upper right font, and the top most palette. I took this information and played with the font and color to show the ways in which the branding might be expressed.

pods and sods logo set 1 by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
pods and sods logo set 1 by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

In this set, I wanted to play with that retro style, emphasize or de-emphasize certain colors in the palette, and speak to the conversation and love for music. There are more and less elaborate solutions, but I like to give a range of possibilities. Craig responded that he really loved the upper right solution, and we began to talk about formats for Facebook, iTunes, and other uses.

pods and sods final branding set by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
pods and sods final branding set by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

In the final set, I played with a blue linear element, duplicated the groovy record image to balance the overall weight, and created solutions for a square, rectilinear, and profile image. I really enjoyed this process, it only took a few hours, and it resulted in a very fun portfolio piece. Special thanks to my dear friend Craig for the opportunity and willingness to share. I can’t wait to subscribe. If you love good conversations about good music, make sure to like https://www.facebook.com/groups/podsandsods/ on Facebook! If you’d like to have visual branding development for your business or venture, I’d love to help you! I’m always at lemasney@gmail.com and 609 553 9498.

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On informed choices and the invisible hand.

The eight trigrams
The eight trigrams (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I had an interesting discussion today on choice and fate.

A friend asked me if I thought my book was already written and I was living it out, or if I felt like I had a say in what happened. I think that we are entirely choice based beings, and that the decisions that we make lead to the outcomes we enjoy or despise. We often don’t predict the outcome effectively, and are surprised by the result, unless we have experienced success or failure in that situation before. We might not even learn from our previous experiences, but as we experience more, we can at least expect a certain outcome.

How do you read a book, listen to music, or choose movies?

English: Photograph of Roku XDS player with re...
English: Photograph of Roku XDS player with remote. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For instance, when you open Netflix, and look at the recommended movies, called “Top Ten for John”, the suggestor is an algorithm based on your previous choices. Because of the many people in the system who have made choices either more similar or more different than yours, the system can more effectively predict what it is that you will enjoy. Recently, on my Roku instance of Netflix a new line started showing up with random picks. I sometimes stumble upon something interesting there, and am happy for the option, but I am far more likely to find something interesting in my “top 10 for John” list.

Do you believe in an invisible hand of fate?

There is a theory in decision-making called the invisible hand, the idea that people can be categorized in two ways: Those who believe that there is an invisible force at work that influences outcomes, and those who feel that they have most of the control in their outcomes. I firmly land in the latter group. There is a certain satisfaction, even in disaster, in knowing that it was my choices that led me there, because it allows me to make other choices to remedy or counteract it.

Are you lucky? Are you fortunate?

Good Fortune
Good Fortune (Photo credit: lucianvenutian)

I have often said that I am fortunate, reluctantly, because I don;t really believe in fortune. Luck, to me, does not exist. I believe rather that you work to set yourself up strategically for the best possible outcome, and when and if it comes, it’s because you were in the best possible situation for that to happen. I have found money on the sidewalk, and someone might say “That’s so lucky!” I would say rather that it was a good decision to get out and take a walk today. The two points of view are very different.

How does the I Ching work?

I once had a long argument with a pseudo-Buddhist about the idea of embracing chaos as a means of decision-making. I asked them how they decided what to eat that day, how they chose to get from one place to another, and how they came to the realization that they wanted to go there. They explained that those decisions were not so much chaotic as influenced by sources like the I Ching (yee-jing), a book of prophecy and fortunes based on randomness from the tossing of coins or pulling of yarrow stalks. I studied the I Ching as a part of my understandings of decision-making, but in the end I found it to be more about screaming into the night and expecting a valid response than any kind of assistant to my questions. This is with all due respect to the idea, which is a beautiful one.

How do you come to truth?

Fact_001
Fact_001 (Photo credit: dgray_xplane)

In getting to know someone, I often ask some key philosophical questions, key among them this: How do you come to truth? I want to know where someone finds a way to recognize what’s true. I want to know if it’s because they researched it, because they heard it from a friend, or because they just feel that way. I want to know how they begin to make decisions, how they come to a well-rounded philosophy about life, and how they live. It’s a powerful question. For me the answer lies in nature, in research, in fact, and my experience. I may not have the final truth, but I have a comfortably close facsimile.

 

 

 

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Most used phrases with my boys:

There are a few phrases, rules, really, that I say to my boys more than once. I have thought about what they all mean, and wanted to share.

Stay to the right.

30 07 11 Road rules
30 07 11 Road rules (Photo credit: Kikishua)

As you might imagine, my boys and I spend a lot of time walking. Sometimes on a sidewalk, often in the mall, from time to time in a store. I spend a great deal of time reminding the boys to step to the right, in this culture recognized as the key rule of the road. Recently, my oldest said that when you walk on the road, you walk against traffic, and I agreed. I reminded him that that the rest of the time, we walk to the right. It seems to relate to my belief that politeness is mostly nonverbal. When we walk to the right, we show a certain kind of respect for others.

Not a contest.

My boys want me to be impressed by, proud of, and delighted with them. They know very well that I am enthralled with their behavior. Their want to impress me is always present. Very often this comes in the form of being the first to open the door for others, which I love and reward. Sometimes, though, it comes in the form of the statement “I can drink milk the fastest.” I say “not a contest” to remind them that some things are not worth mastering.

No unnecessary arguments.

The Argument Sketch
The Argument Sketch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My 5-year-old will often cite corrections to my 9-year-old because his beliefs, now, do not always align with reality. My 9 yo is a born teacher, and always moves to correct. Sometimes the back and forth goes on for some time. I find myself letting the conversation go until the point of simple correction, and try to shut down longer arguments of philosophy and ideology when they concern whether, for instance, trees or flowers are more alive than one another, or whether a clock says 4:15 or 4:16. I feel like this is one of my key lessons from my boys to me: Sometimes we are inexplicably dedicated to one idea or another, and sometimes they just don’t matter.

Please eat with your mouth closed. 

My boys have the best table manners. I really adore the way they eat, sit, and thank servers, myself included. Every once in a while, a chewing sound emerges, and I squash it. I once worked in a cubicle where the guy next door would eat all day. Candy, noodles, coffee, or licorice, all of it came with a snap, crackle, gurgle, slurp. I wanted to quit. It was so rude, so overwhelmingly invasive, that I was ready to leave. I don’t want my boys to ever be the source of that kind of inconvenience.

Please sit in your seat.

Sit down, please.
Sit down, please. (Photo credit: Natalia Romay)

Sometimes, as we drive, the boys get kind of restless. As you might imagine, they start to move from their designated space in the car, straining the limits of their seat-belts. I think for a moment what might happen in the event of a sudden stop, and ask them to sit in their seats. There are certain rules, borne of the infinite impossible intrusion of fate, and I’ll do my best to prepare them for it.

Why are we screaming?/Can we have some quiet time?

I believe that there is a need for quiet in one’s life. I am addicted to a certain quiet. Sometimes, especially when my oldest is excited, he’ll raise his voice as he talks. I can always tell when he’s excited about something, because his voice increases in volume, and he begins to present, like he’s seen me do so many times. I love that he is adopting a skill of presentation, but I always they to remind him that there is a time for volume, and a time for quiet. He’s just as good as describing what he’s excited about in a normal voice.

I think that my fathering can be described as preparatory, safety-oriented, and kindness-heavy. I think that these rules give my boys the opportunity to be prepared, safe, polite and human. I don’t know that I can do any better than this.

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On the five-minute ten-second egg.

fluffy by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
fluffy by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
English: Soft boiled egg with black lava salt ...
English: Soft boiled egg with black lava salt from hawaii (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Five Minute Ten-Second Egg

I really love clarity. The five-ten egg (the five-minute ten-second egg) does this.

The five-ten egg is a very specific instruction for a perfectly soft-boiled egg. It refers to the amount of time which you boiled the egg to make it simply perfect, that is, easy to disrobe from the shell, hard on the outside, soft on the inside, and neither under-cooked not overcooked. I can attest to this reality, because I’ve done it and reaped the luxurious benefits of it. Boil an egg for exactly five minutes and ten seconds, and you have joy in a shell.

Make it yourself

What’s more, it could not be more simple to make this perfectly cooked egg yourself. Do the following if you want to experience it for yourself.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Set another pot with water at room temperature. Set a timer for 5:10. Don’t start it until we’re set to drop the egg.

Take a pushpin and pierce the end of an egg, and drop it in the water and start your timer. The pushpin pierce gives the pressure in the heated egg somewhere to go. You might also want a drop of vinegar in the boil, but I can’t stand to be around the stuff. I found it fine without.

At the timer’s beep, remove the egg and place it in the cool bath. I use a tablespoon to keep my fingers from the scalding liquid.

After a minute, crack and remove the shell. Use the cool water to help you. I found the membrane and made easy work of it.

Finishing

At this point, be creative. I added the egg to a hamburger roll and had the most delicious explosion of yolk. What will you do?

Maybe some very thin sliced cucumber or tomato? A delicious small batch ketchup? Rooster sauce? Salt and pepper and nothing? Asparagus? A simple spoon into the chamber? A curry of rice and chicken? Sautéed mixed vegetables? A cheesesteak? The yolk would be so incredibly complimentary to a crisp piece of bacon. Since I’m mostly vegetarian, those suggestions would just be for you. 🙂

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Migration is complete!

Gumdrop! by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Gumdrop! by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Gumdrop! by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Gumdrop! by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

Hi all. This is just a note to let you know that our recent move from ‘filehost a’ to ‘filehost b’ is complete, and that our broken links, images, and other issues should now be resolved! If you see anything out of place, please don;t hesitate to drop me a line at lemasney@gmail.com.

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Tuesday, May 14th, 7 pm – Free WordPress Boot Camp!

leaf by John leMasney via lemasney.com
leaf by John leMasney via lemasney.com
WordPress
WordPress (Photo credit: Adriano Gasparri)

WORDPRESS CAMP FOR BEGINNER BLOGGERS PART 1

May 14, 2013 – 7:00pm -8:30pm

Location: Princeton Public Library  Technology Center

Interested in creating your own blog? In this two-part course, social media and technology expert, John LeMasney will teach how to start and manage a blog for free through WordPress. Prior web design experience is not needed. Session 2 will be held on Tuesday, May 21.

Skill Level: Basic

No registration necessary

 

 

 

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