Buying a big Mac [updated]

22 May 2009	13:14:00	Wellington	Shipment Delivered In Good Condition.
22 May 2009	13:13:24	Wellington	Out For Delivery.
22 May 2009	11:07:53	Wellington	Shipment Received At Destination Depot.
22 May 2009	04:58:01	Auckland	Shipment In Transit.
21 May 2009	16:12:24	Auckland	Shipment Received At Origin Depot.
21 May 2009	13:50:22	Auckland	Shipment Received At Destination Depot.
20 May 2009	08:36:49	Hong Kong	Shipment In Transit.
19 May 2009	22:57:00	Hong Kong	Shipment Held In Warehouse. Follow Up Actions Underway.
19 May 2009	21:30:00	Shenzhen	Held Awaiting Correct Address. Follow Up Actions Underway.
19 May 2009	21:14:00	Shenzhen	Shipment In Transit.
19 May 2009	20:41:06	Shenzhen	Shipment In Transit.
19 May 2009	19:16:26	Shenzhen	Shipment Collected From Sender.

2 Degrees

At last some solid news about the long awaited third mobile carrier in NZ. NZ Communications or whatever they were have emerged as 2 Degrees. Hang onto your hats chaps. I think things are going to get interesting, and hopefully we can actually TALK about it, not just flamin’ text to one another. Here’s hoping.

Signs

Naming your url

Smashing Magazine posted a decent little article on strategies for naming your url – especially useful for times when you are convinced that the best names have all been taken. And, while your could take their advice you could also try this (sticker on a wall somewhere in London, made me look, and 3 months later check it out. Don’t fret it is safe for work and can be quite interesting).

Typealyzer tells it like it is

If you haven’t heard of Typealyzer I’ll fill you in: It’s an app that processes the content of a blog and spits out the personality of the author; thus:

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment and are highly skilled at seeing and fixing what needs to be fixed. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

Sounds a lot like me. Hours of fun on a Friday (and a useful too to understand potential audiences).

Mono-Stereo

Diptych poster set. One of those “rainy day projects” that has eventually come into fruition.

Ignore awards and have fun

Saying that I was at the opening of the BeST Awards exhibition last night and I had fun.

Salzburg Travel Guide

One of the best things about the world we now live in is how one seemingly irrelevant piece can become something much bigger. Like this photo on Flickr that I took last year while I was in Salzburg which is now part of mobile travel guide. A beautiful example of WebNext where we all help each other make the best of each experience.

Art imitates life imitates art

As designers I believe we have a certain responsibility, or at least we ought to. More a best practice than a code of conduct, self regulating rather than a book of rules. Like not misleading the audiences, or promoting behaviours that one might find morally objectionable. Or this, seen on the back of a truck about 1ookm south of Dubai. Try as hard as I can the only message I can see here is “to hell with the red light, let’s rip!” And if you ever decide to investigate the number of pedestrian casualties on the roads in the UAE you’ll see that this message is getting through.

Do brands matter in a recession?

Ije Nwokorie, Senior Strategist, Wolff Olins.