good magazine: internet censorship.

Although it terrifies me to hear about the kind of censorship and retribution that people suffer in other countries around the world, it doesn’t surprise me as we’ve heard about it before. What surprises me, and scares me more, is that Western companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft are selling their technology to these governments and aiding their abhorrent violations of humans rights.

Another eye-opening video from the amazing GOOD Magazine. Plus, one of my fave shops – Lifelong Friendship Society – created a simple, sparse, and effective visual accompaniment to help it all along.

Via Fresh Creation

myspace tv: don’t vote.

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years because he dared to defy South Africa’s Apartheid and fight for equality and the right to vote.

Aung San Suu Kyi, despite having been elected as Prime Minister of Burma in 1990, has been repeatedly held under house arrest as a political prisoner and denied the right to lead her country by Burma’s military dictatorship.

The People’s Republic of China, the world’s most populated country, denies its 1.3 billion (that’s billion, with a “b”) citizens the right to a fair electoral system. Sure, they get to “vote”, but their leader is “elected” to the position for life. One communist government, in it’s self-imposed omnipotence, effectively denies 1/5 of the planet’s population the right to a fair vote.

Don’t forget that there was a man once, nameless and without glory, who literally stood in front of a tank to fight for his right to equality. The very least the rest of us can do, who have had this equality handed to us so graciously, is to vote.

In the next month, two North American democracies will hold federal elections. Canada on Oct. 14th and the United States on Nov. 4th. Countries where the right to vote is seen as unassailable and and an integral tenet of democracy. Yet, significant numbers of eligible voters in both countries, inexcusably, just don’t really give a fuck.

People in other parts of the world have fought, sacrificed their safety, and lost their lives for a right that hundreds of thousands of North Americans don’t even take advantage of. In the 2004 Canadian election only 60.9% of eligible voters showed, the lowest voter turn out in Canadian history. In the 2004 U.S. election, only 60.7% of eligible voters went to the the polls. Even though this is less than Canada’s lowest turnout ever, this was the highest U.S. turnout since 1968. The average U.S. voter turn out, astonishingly, worryingly, is less than 50%.

If you are lucky enough to be a citizen of a country that recognizes your human right to vote, it is your moral obligation, to humanity and to your country, to avail yourself of this right. There is no excuse not to vote. None. Ever. You diminish yourself and the very ideals of equality and democracy by not voting.

In Canada, click here to make sure you’re registered to vote.

In the U.S., click here to make sure you’re registered to vote.

On election day, show up. Go online and read a few newspapers so you can make an informed decision. Do your democratic duty to maintain and energize the country that you’re a citizen of. Honour those who have fought and died in the struggle for something you are now given so easily. And remember the more than 1 billion people around the world who still aren’t afforded this basic human right.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

seth brau: the universal declaration of human rights.

Amen.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Via NOTCOT

trollbäck + company: obama buttons.

I love the work from New York shop Trollbäck + Company. I love them even more for not being afraid to stand up for what they believe in. To show their support for Barack Obama, they created four series of campaign buttons with different Trollbäck designers contributing to each one.

Clean and modern (just like Obama himself…) each series of four buttons is available for free in limited edition sets of only 100 each. It’s probably too late – although I did try myself, I’ll keep you updated if I got in on time – Success! I got mine in early October. They’re now proudly adorning my windbreaker – but send your full name, mailing address, and your two fave sets to obamabuttons@trollback.com and if it’s your lucky day you’ll get some.

My fave is set one. Kudos to Trollbäck for finding such succinct and all-encompassing little quotes. There’s not a whole lot of room on a button, and these ones go point blank. “No one is pro-abortion”… no small statement when you’ve got a female Republican Vice-Presidential candidate who, and I still can’t get over this, wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Via Stimulant

amnesty international + zurich29: ink.

I’m a huge supporter of Amnesty International – both for the actual work it does and of it’s advertising. In a world where the 10% of us who control most of the planet’s wealth have little to no clue of how startlingly lucky we are, Amnesty fights loudly and intelligently for the most basic rights to be extended to every member of our human family. This isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Their promotional films (like last year’s brilliant “Cattle Market”) are equally important. They are smart but honest and don’t back down from the reality of what they’re trying to do. They appeal to our intelligence because that is how they will reach people open and willing to help their cause. Time and again they find subtle ways to appeal to our sense of decency but also to affect us emotionally – they don’t beat us over the head but do confront us with the reality of how other human beings are being treated in our world.

In their latest spot, “Ink”, again created by TBWA Paris, director Zurich29 adds a continuation to their beautifully executed signature concept. This brilliant solution opens the door to illustrate exactly what’s going on in the world, provide a direct realization to how we can make a difference, and mixes them both into a visually arresting and impactful work.

“Ink” is a continuation (really more of a re-interpretation, but hey – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it) from last year’s “Signature”. This spot, again created by TBWA Paris but with animation and production by Magiclab, rightfully earned a Cannes Gold Lion. Watch it and you’ll easily know why…

Via Feed

alex ostrowski.

Even though it’s only been a word for about a month and a half, still I would sit up at nights and wonder if I’d ever truly know the meaning of “bromance”. Now I do. I have a design crush. Meet me by Heather’s locker after home room and I’ll tell you all about it…

To be totally straight up, the work of UK graphic designer Alex Ostrowski makes me tingly and jumpy on several levels. But the ultimate reaction is that it just makes me really happy. “Shiny happy people holding hands” happy. Happy go lucky happy. Happy on the soles of my shoes happy.

Ok, so let’s break it down. I’m a writer, and I love words. I also love design, but most of the time the words in highly designed works are used more as a vehicle to augment the imagery. In Ostrowski’s work, usually in book form, the text and design are fully integrated. Truly, the very medium of the book itself lends itself towards text, but he uses his design skills to enhance the meaning and conveyance of the text in conjunction with layout, not to sacrifice it at the alter of graphic design. Each enhances the other. In the end, the subtlety and clarity of his design shine through while the message speaks much louder.

This year he won “Engage!”, an RSA created competition aimed at fostering social responsibility in young designers and challenging them to create a project that did just that. Working with the Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Clinic in Brighton, England, he created “I Am Here” to help brain injury victims suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. Directly addressing their disorientation and confusion, he created a colour-coding system and book to help patients re-orient themselves to life, time, and place. I have a feeling though that the greatest triumph here would be the sense of calm and stability it would give, just to know that someone is here and someone is helping you. I find there’s such a genuine kindness to this project, especially when you hear Ostrowski talk about it. Click here to watch a video of the man himself discussing the concept behind “I Am Here”.

Though he went to UWE Bristol for graphic design, he’s clearly also got a poet’s touch. If there was ever a more lovely, life-affirming, literary hand-hold than “I am here”, I can’t think of it.

With “Note To Self”, he’s created a big book of happy morale-boosting posters. Each page is designed to be pulled out and posted around your life, wherever you may need it. Besides being hot design with some clever font work, it’s the basic idea of it that I love the most. In a similar vein to You Are Beautiful, in a world that so often focuses on everything wrong with us “Note To Self” is simply asking for the opportunity to remind us to feel good. How fucking rad is that? I want to marry this dude.

But the goodness keeps on coming. One of his smallest projects – no larger than a business card – is one of my favourites. Having once learned from a friend with depression that therapists sometimes tell their patients to look up at chimneys so that they see more light with their eyes and release some happiness-inducing hormones, he created “Look Up”. Nothing more than a business card with the chimney counting tip, which he then distributed around low-light areas in Bristol.

I love how he seems to be on a very simple mission to induce some joy in people’s lives. Every medium can do this. We’ve all been uplifted by the usual suspects: music, film, art. But these media all have the handicap of being intrinsically a little one-sided. A movie is a movie is a movie. We’re all moved by music but once recorded we can’t add to it’s purpose. It will not alter and you can not actively change it or participate in it. The beauty of the wide open door of design, and exactly what I think Ostrowski is tapping in to so brilliantly, is that there are myriad possibilities to inspire interaction. To galvanize people a little. And through one lovely idea, well designed and handed to others in ways they will trust and understand, you can plant a seed that can sprout in untold directions. From this one card, and from the positivity it creates, there’s no telling where each individual will go. Chimney counting… and onward.

His design work might seem really simple at first, but don’t be fooled. All true creatives know the greatest challenge is to take something seemingly plain and make it perfect. I can write paragraphs for days, so much room to maneuver and flap my wings and run about, but it’s honing down a concept into that one, succinct, perfect sentence that really makes me shit my pants. I would try it right now but I’m sure I’d fuck it up.

Above all, this sense of social responsibility and passion to do good isn’t just for flair. As he states on his site, Ostrowski is interested in using “design for good” and has made a conscious decision to tangibly and directly help others with his work.

His site is a must-see for all the projects he’s involved in, but to end off here’s one more that I love:

Ostrowski says “In 2006 researchers at The University of Leicester concluded that Denmark is the happiest country in the world – this was good enough for me. In March 2008 I made the decision to visit happiness, and embarked upon a pilgrimage to find it. My experiences are presented in this book.

Only one copy exists.”

My frustration at not being able to read it is exceeded only by my joy that something like this is exists. And perhaps that is precisely the point.

Via It’s Nice That

costs of war.

Happy Fourth of July.

Via Fresh Creation

todd falkowsky: revealing urban colours.

In an interesting and lovely cultural colour project, Todd Falkowsky, co-founder of the kick-ass Canadian design collective Motherbrand and one of the forces behind the must-visit Canadian Design Resource, set out to capture the visual identity of Canadian cities through simple Pantone colour palettes in his article “Revealing Urban Colours” for Walrus Magazine.

Using computers to figure out the predominant colours from landmarks and landscapes from each Canadian capital city, he then built individual palettes to create a kind of chromatic identity for each city. The end result is a multi-faceted colour theory study, with results similar to the palettes created by people on one of my fave sites, COLOURlovers,

As with the work he contributes to at Motherbrand, there’s an intrinsic simplicity to this whole project that I love. I’m a colourphile, and any work of art or science that examines our relationship with colour gets me going. On top of that, there’s something very Canadian about it. No huge fanfare and glossy pictures of monuments and other stereotypical urban signifiers (“oh, look, the CN Tower, they must be talking about Toronto…”), the colours and the entities they represent are all subtle and true. More so it’s that these are the shades of the things that make up a place but don’t necessarily overwhelm it. These are the hues of things seen and known but not always looked at or thought about…

Sometimes hockey and football, sometimes water and rock, these colours represent natural pulls to the land where these cities lie, to the cultures fostered there, and each one is chosen not for it’s glitz but for it’s purity of presence. These are real things. Solid things. Look at Whitehorse and you first see “Aurora Borealis” and “Fireweed” – it doesn’t get much more elementally beautiful than that.

Each palette has been personalized out of a genuine reality and not out of an urge to impress. Being a Torontonian, I can’t think of any colour more omnipresent than the slightly annoying sanguine red of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). Pretty? Not necessarily. Affection-inducing? Most people’s opinion of the TTC lies somewhere between detestation and apathy. But it’s presence is undeniable and a visual colour-thread for anyone that lives here – and capturing that reality is, I think, exactly what Falkowsky set out to do.

Thanks to Hannah + Matt.

carl sagan + more: my pangea day top five.

If you’ve been checking out my blog for a while, then you know that I’d been waiting for Pangea Day since I first posted about it back in January. As various promo campaigns rolled out for the worldwide live film event, I got even more excited.

Last Saturday the day finally came. I watched all four hours of Pangea Day on the edge of my chair – that feeling of connection in the moment was palpable for me. I sensed that I was part of something special and greater than myself. I knew that millions of people around my planet were watching the exact same thing as I, at the exact same moment as I. The power of it all was more subtle than I expected. Instead of a big emotional wave, it was like a light bulb flicking on. I felt not just like I’d become more aware, but a need within to not let that awareness fade, as it so often does. It’s easy to say you’ll do or think this and that in the middle of a big event, but it’s keeping it going during your every day life that’s the real goal.

I strongly urge everyone to go to Pangea Day and watch as much of the entire broadcast as you can. (It starts off with an intro from Bishop Desmond Tutu – this is big time shit.) But I also wanted to share my five favourite shorts from the day:

1. “Pale Blue Dot” words by Carl Sagan (Earth)

I feel a tad guilty putting this one as my #1 since it wasn’t an official submission, but the genius of Carl Sagan simply can’t be ignored. His words, famously recorded by Carl himself in 1990 after he NASA used the Voyager 1 spacecraft to take a picture of Earth from more than 4 billion miles away. Written for the public unveiling of the photograph, his words are succinct and endlessly powerful. The heart of a poet, the mind of a scientist…

2. “J’Attendrai Le Suivant (I’ll Wait For The Next One)” by Phillipe Orreindy (France)

My jaw literally dropped at the end of this one. I felt everything all at once. Seriously, every emotion ever. I don’t want to be any more specific because then I’ll give something away.

3. “¿Por Qué Le Hago? (Who I Do It)” by Pablo Olmos Arrayales (Spain)

This made me cry. You’ll see why…

4. “The Americana Project: Cuba” by Topaz Adizes (USA)

The explosive authenticity of this short was so real that I honestly can’t figure out if it’s scripted or reality, or maybe it’s a mixture of both. Pure, visceral emotion that could only be born out of generations of family and cultural struggle.

5. “More” by Mark Osbourne (USA)

Amazing animation and a beautiful story, this didn’t at all turn out the way I originally thought it was going to.

dear god.

I’ve never seen anything at all like this before. Dear God is a non-denominational web-based prayer project – people email their personal prayers to whatever they deem their God to be (and a picture, if you’ve got something that represents your prayer visually) and the prayers are posted onto the site. Categorized in a multi-colour sidebar, prayers are searchable by topic: Belief, Confessions, Death, Faith, Family, Friendship, Hope, Humour, Joy, Love, Money, Sex, Work, and Stress.

Maybe it’s my own stereotype of religion on the web, but I can’t get over how good this site looks. At the risk of seeming like a design-trendster, it’s just so well put together that at first I had a hard time believing it was real. Conceived by the creator of The Coolhunter and designed by excellent UK shop Something Somewhere, the site is seamless, modern, and, even though I despise the word “trendy”, it’s just… so trendy. Usually we’re used to seeing stuff on the web this slick dedicated to expensive organic juices, and designer kicks, or electing Barack Obama. But God? Really…?

Just look at how sick this logo is…

There is such a hyper-modern balance of kistch and reality going on here. If you want to sign up for the e-newsletter, you’re invited to “Get on God’s Mailing List”. Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like a joke? Do I have a heart of stone and just can’t accept that something can be this in tune with what I normally like things to look like, yet still so out of synch with things I normally read about? Like “God”.

Yet the visual gloss of the site is weighed out by the truth in people’s words. With soul-bearing stories that remind me a whole lot of Frank Warren’s iconic PostSecrets, the prayers are honest and touching. The site is still new and so most are addressed to “Dear God”, but I did see a “Dear Allah” and a “Dear Universe” in there, so clearly they are open to anyone’s interpretations of who their prayers should be going to.

The prayers themselves range from “Truth Be Told Most Of Us Quit Listening To You A Long Time Ago” to “I’m So Sick Of No One Noticing That I Don’t Eat” to “All I Really Am Is A Kid Desperate For A Hug” to “Maybe The Only Truth We Can Really Understand Is Our Own”.

One thing is indisputably clear. People have things to get off their chests.

Like most blog posts, readers can leave comments for each prayer, literally giving you a direct line to support anyone whose story touches you. Most prayers have dozens of comments – complete strangers from who knows where in the world commiserating and telling you it will all be alright. There’s something undeniably powerful about that, no matter what your religious beliefs are.

In a way, it’s simple and brilliant. In another, I’m terrified that Starbucks or that guy that wrote “The Da Vinci Code” or Bill Gates is somehow secretly sponsoring it and doing data capture. Yet I can’t deny that I keep on reading more and more of it. I’ve spent an hour reading everything on this site now. I’ve been a little bewildered and one time I cried. I’m compelled to feel grateful that I don’t feel a need to write in a prayer right now, and maybe creating gratitude is part of the point. Or perhaps it’s just knowing that no one is alone: No matter who or where in the world you are, someone somewhere else will reach out to you through all the little zeroes and ones to say that they’ve heard you.