This morning I woke to yet another day of winter. And though my Midwestern roots do, on occasion, make me miss mounds of snow, a light dusting every five years is just fine by me. But for some reason, Charlotte hasn’t been holding up to her end of the deal this winter. The deal of course being: I can’t live without warm weather and Charlotte provides it almost year round.

As many of you knew but probably didn’t care enough to google the outcome, Punxsutawney Phil worked his one day a year yesterday. Apparently my desperate letter didn’t get past his handlers because he is predicting six more weeks of winter. That little stinker. (Note: According to his website, he also was excited about the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl. Who knew ground hogs followed football.)

So, despite what the daffodils in my yard might think, spring is not here yet. I am forced to wait patiently under my blanket on the couch with my hot cocoa and book until I can get out and enjoy the sun on my face. Brr.

Billionaire, Warren Buffett pumped $5 billion into Goldman Sachs, and then followed that up with a $3 billion investment in General Electric.

In troubled times, Warren drives a hard bargain and ends up with extraordinary value. In other words, Warren buys low and then sells high. He is a contrarian.

While others go into the panic mode, Warren Buffett goes into the shopping mode. This same kind of thinking can be applied to marketing. While others are into a cut and run mode, the smart money looks for marketing opportunities. (more…)

Last Tuesday night AIGA Charlotte (local chapter of the professional association for design) hosted its bi-monthly meet|market at Tutto Mundo in the Southend area. This event is for designers and all other creative types to hang out and do a little networking. Currently I’m serving as the Financial Director on the board, and we are always looking for ways to make our events fun and interesting for the creative community. This past week was no exception as we hosted our very own music trivia night. In organizing the event, Nikki Mueller our Programming coordinator teamed up with Spencer, the house dj at Tutto Mundo, to create an exciting game not to be forgotten! (more…)

Eye Design Studio owner Chris Bradle always says that being a graphic designer is an awesome job because you get to know a little bit about a lot of things. Whenever we take on a new client we do tons of research on that industry so we can create the most effective design for its audience. We get to learn the insider perspective on many industries which is definitely a unique aspect to our profession.

My first job out of college was as an editorial designer for a network of amateur sports magazines covering running, biking, skiing and other individual sports. While working there I learned more about VO2 testing, speed work and plantar fasciitis than my athletic abilities will ever necessitate. And every year before triathlon season we did a story on what to expect for your first triathlon. It was three years later that I would actually put this knowledge to use. (more…)

It has often been said that graphic designers can take inspiration from anywhere. Lucky for me, I don’t have far to go. Though I am not exactly sure how some of the odd things around our building inspire me, they definitely do. (more…)

This past weekend I had the privilege of being a rider in 24 Hours of Booty, the one and only 24-hour road cycling charity event in the country. This year’s event held special meaning because I had a close friend lose her mom to cancer on July 4th. 24HOB raises money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and other local organizations for cancer research. (more…)