CREATIVE TOOLBOX • VISUAL DIARY

Shared reflections — inspirations, insights, fun facts, or tips — gleaned from our spirited journey
through the worlds of communication and design

Examples of CXD’s Own Brand Design & Work of Others

Typography

Happy Pi (π) Day! Pi is a Greek letter, shown here in a sans serif typestyle, that stands for the relationship of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi itself is a so-called “irrational” number, which I just re-learned, is a decimal that goes on...

Handwriting

“Solvitur Ambulando.” Thank you to life coach Michael Balchan for creating this handwritten note (505 of his goal of 1,000 illustrated inspirations) expanding on one of my favorite expressions to live and work by: “It is solved by walking.”

Digital Billboard

Check out this amazing concept! Creator Cosimo Scotucci explains that “Spectrum” is a massive urban-land-art installation that aims to celebrate humanity and the beauty of diversity. Proposed location: Times Square, NYC.

Reinvention

A friend recently recalled flying to London on TWA, departing from the acclaimed JFK “flight center” (designed by architect Eero Saarinen). This was years ago, well before the airline declared bankruptcy in 2001. TWA ceased to exist...

Imagine a World…

This “vision” statement is exemplary in all regards: clear, concise, compelling, aspiring, relevant. And Airbnb is taking “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) to a new level of “global” as more than 210,000* refugees and asylum seekers...

Social Media Feed

According to Urban Dictionary “meta” means about the thing itself. It’s seeing the thing from a different perspective instead of from within the thing, like being self-aware. Facebook’s renaming aside, here is an Instagram* post and feed...

Brand Identity

I booked TaskRabbit today to move two shelving units down to the street. Great name, ID logo & color, and service. Founded in San Francisco in 2009, “taskers” are currently found working in 61 cities nationwide. TaskRabbit is partnered...

Accessory

Continuing on the “happiness” track, how could I not be, given this re-usable (sustainable) water bottle with an exhuberant-creature icon in CXD cyan bluetiful! As is often the case, we have multiple design tools in one. It is always a good idea...

Pictogram

A pictogram (or icon) is a graphic symbol that conveys meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. It is pretty clear — no matter what language you speak — which side is which on the Brooklyn Bridge. With that said, maybe NYC...

Brand Promise

It doesn’t get more basic (and true) than this: Plants Make People Happy. Headquartered on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, The Sill was founded in 2012 and serves “people” in brick-and-mortar stores nationally, and online.

Pattern

Pattern is an element of design as you see here on my favorite tote, created as a branded give-away by Modern Metal. Founded recently by designer Annie Kantor, Modern Metal offers “laser cut metal grilles and panels for residential...

Sidewalk Sticker • 2

Following up on my post last month where I highlighted the NYC Parks Department sticker on my sidewalk announcing I would get a new tree, New Yorkers will be amazed to learn I actually DID get a tree. Here it is being delivered.

Billboard

Our NYC-focused trend continues with this Times Square billboard inspiring us to take action today!

More Color

I am dismayed that my hometown team isn’t playing tomorrow. But I am reassured by the fact that the Seattle Seahawks understand the power of color. Just look at this team in Action Green, a uniform option originally...

Color

The Lyft icon definitely jumps out at me from my iPhone screen. So brilliantly bright, bold, and friendly. Launched in the summer of 2012, Lyft just makes it into the category of brands I am calling “new kids on the block” — brands that...

Sustainability

Check out this The North Face re-use initiative, sub-branded The North Face Renewed. “Whether previously worn, returned, damaged or defective, we inspect, wash, and tune it up so it’s ready for that next adventure.”

Favicon

Not last, and certainly not least is an updated favicon. A favicon is a small but mighty branding element that shows up in browser tabs, history archives, bookmark lists, and text links. I studied and prototyped these nine — and more...

Packaging

I love this Dunkin’ re-name sans “donuts” and the updated identity design too. The stacked version (DNKN at the right side of the cup) is great on mobile. I happen to know as I just downloaded the app to purchase my Zoomer son a gift...

Holiday

January 21 is National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Full disclosure: this “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” creature — agile, acrobatic & positively action-oriented — is definitely my spirit animal. Holiday and holi-month observation...

Values

Chipotle is known for real food made with real ingredients, and also for “walking the talk” of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Lucky for me, there is a Chipotle just three blocks south on Amsterdam Avenue ...

Logo

Our logo updated with PMN Caecilia. Kudos to Peter Matthias Noordzij for designing this beautiful typeface. Stay tuned for more to come!

Symbol

Often a brand name, acronym, or logo employs a symbol to simplify the message. In the case of Communication By Design, the X in our acronym [CXD] and logo is the math symbol for multiply. Multiplication is expressed with “by.”

Typography

While our Communication By Design [CXD] name, URL, color & logo remain the same, I revisited typography within the slab-serif style. The “slabs” are needed to anchor the “X” in the logo configuration. After reviewing 97 slab-serif...

Sidewalk Sticker

Exciting news! I am getting a new tree at 150 West 76th Street. One more added to the 689,227 trees mapped in NYC’s urban forest. Check back soon to see the tree!

Embroidery

I love this thread-illustrated sloth adorning a baseball cap Adam brought back from Costa Rica — a country whose slogan, I now know, is “Pura Vida.” I’m thinking s-l-o-w…

Neon

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo Da Vinci

Color

Color is one of the most important attributes of a brand. In 2009, a new blue was discovered serendipitously in an Oregon State University materials science lab, and is now available to the public. YInMn Blue is named for...

Paint

Black Lives Matter Plaza • Washington, DC

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CREATIVE TOOLBOX • VISUAL DIARY

Examples of CXD’s Own Brand Design & Work of Others

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