Imgembed from Imgembed on Vimeo.

the democratic nature of content creation on the internet is a proverbial pandora’s box. with anyone enabled to post and share copy and images, the minefield of copyright and fair usage is in heated debate as we tread further into these uncharted waters. as the time of the blogger unfolds content becomes more proprietary than ever. for those looking to monetize and protect the usage of their content and images specifically there is a new service available to track and market your image use. imgembed’s services can bring in extra cash for creators and new options for users as an alternate to stock photo sites.

channel you inner easter bunny and get your easter egg coloring kits ready for hatch’s egg coloring contest or vote for your favorite.

march 2013 will mark the introduction of duke energy’s new logo launch. the new look comes as a result of the merger with progress energy inc. jim rogers, chairman, president and chief executive officer of duke energy notes “the new duke energy will be better able to serve our 7.1 million customers’ energy needs in a safe, reliable, affordable and increasingly clean manner,” which seemingly informs the new look and feel of the logo.

the new logo was an in-house creation that replaces the italicized red “d” issued in 1997. the charlotte observer reports that the intention of the logo was to: “‘capture the idea of forward motion and what energy means in the future,’ said duke chief communications officer ginny mackin. ‘The coloring is more in line with values, moving away from the more industrial look,’” and incorporates the abstracted star icon from progress energy. there is a fine line to walk when merging two existing brands into one. it’s crucial to know what brand elements are essential to each, how to fuse those pieces together and most importantly recognizing when to bring something new to the table.

when you think of any brand or company that consistently offers a user experience that fosters a cult-like following, apple or target might come to mind. what do they have that other groups can’t seem to capture? well google seems to be the most recently initiated member of this club, and they believe that it is a unified design culture that informs the entire brand.

here the verge addresses google’s attitude adjustment that is bringing them rave reviews:

and here allan peters [a senior art director at target] features designer, clesete prevost’s work that illustrates google’s new direction:

have you ever found yourself in a target store or viewing an advertisement for the iconic chain and thought to yourself: it would be awesome to design for target? their love of simplicity and affection for the power of white space nearly makes me giddy. not to mention their collaboration with great designers and brands of varying disciplines, like the new shops concept and the recent campbell’s warhol soup cans. target inhouse, target’s “internal creative studio” is behind much of this eye candy, and they have launched a new website that features the work of their “collective of designers, copywriters, art directors, developers, information architects, production designers, account executives, art buyers and producers.” they also have a blog where you can follow the development of many of their creative wonders.

no it is not an obscure math course you avoided like the plague in college, it is a community-inspired type endeavor. the phraseology project is an on-going typography experiment that allows followers to submit words or phrases that the team turns into a type study. this creative community was concocted by drew melon, and has since become popular enough to require the contributions of four other type-lovers.

The Iranian Internet – An Infographic by Maral Pourkazemi from Gestalten on Vimeo.

for infographics to be successful they must distill complex facts into manageable and meaningful visuals that tell a specific story. maral porkazemi has created a six-piece series of infographics that do just that, which is made all the more impressive that she was able to access facts at all. her subject: the iraninan internet. the notoriously isolated country provides very little information and statistics to it’s own citizens, and further censors and or manipulates any information accessed by the outside world. with such a sprawling subject as the internet, which in and of itself is difficult to visualize, these beautiful circuits of statistics depict in detail how iranians are harnessing the power of the internet and social media to access uncensored information.

the key to making a house a home is a little typography. webdesigner depot is featuring a collection of typographic furniture that will have any typophile salivating. hide your wallet… seriously.

the annual report has officially been inducted into the digital era. companies are not only offering a downloadable pdf version of their printed annual report, they are all together abandoning the annual printed tome of business practice past. shareholders are now able to access the usually dry data in the dynamic form of websites. here are a few organizations embracing the future of the annual report.

warby parker

mailchimp

at&t

ge

when we talk design we think of the tangible product that the process yields, but there is often a human application that can inform the way we think and behave. here are two projects that approach design on a more conceptual level that work to change behavior through the design of experiences.

the starving artists project

The Starving Artists Project Film from Thompson Harrell on Vimeo.

design thinking for educators

Why Design Thinking? from Design Thinking for Educators on Vimeo.