The other side of Pink

Featured in the Washington Post this week, here's a (totally unrelated to the last pink org) pink project I can get on board with: The Pink Line Project.
The project supports local artists in the Washington DC area making a significant contribution to arts in the area. It's fresh and not pretentious or stuffy. Check out the founder, Philippa P. B. Hughes' blog!

Code Pink

I'm going to preface this post with a disclaimer just stating that I'm writing as just one half of the Teesquare team. I'd rather not be responsible for putting words in the other half's mouth... and so, with that said:

Reading about Code Pink for Peace this morning in the news, creating havoc on the Democratic National Convention, I can't help but think this is possibly not the best use of these women's talents. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink is an activist and writer, widely known for her explosive public displays and involvement in organizations that use scare tactics to bully people into taking their side. I've always wondered what Rachel Carson and Susan B. Anthony have that I look up to that so many activist women in the news today don't have. I think it's tact. Or class. I'm not sure, exactly, how to put it into words, but there's definitely something a little unrefined about the movement Benjamin and team are trying to create with their blood-on-our-hands aggressive campaign. I could be way off base, but I'm not sure it's working for them. How come all these talented, well educated women are sneaking into events to flash homemade signs in hopes of getting 2 seconds on the local news? If these people are so talented, why can't they think of a more effective way to spread the word of Peace? I'd love nothing more than our troops to come home, having friends and relatives involved in both foot and air combat from Desert Storm through today. And I'm thrilled that women are educating themselves on the war, political efforts (or non-efforts) to stop it and how they can get involved. Where does effective anti-war marketing begin and where does anti-war marketing begin to make a group of intelligent women look foolish?

Women Dominate A-School, but...

Where do they go when they graduate? Interesting article a few weeks ago in The National (an English newspaper produced in the UAE) about the odd fact that women dominate architecture schools, but the professional field remains a man's world. Read it here. My general understanding is that this is an epidemic across the globe.

A Change in the Air

In continuing with the political theme for another go, I found a nice critique of Obama's logo (I'm trying not to let my inner greenie show, but I just cannot help it) - (one) because it's used in so many creative ways, and (two) because there's never been another like it. I liked this overview critique on Obama's branding from Under Consideration. If you didn't already notice the clever ways in which the logo is being used (a "flag" element being added to the name of each state as necessary, a school ledger type pattern added to the logo when referencing education, etc.) it's worth going back to the Barack Obama Website to take a look at the multitude of treatments. Shout out to the logo designers: Sender and mo/de, both of Chicago.

Political Base

Since I'm on my political horse today, I also wanted to pass along a new website co-created by the former owner of CNET that tracks politicians across the country in local and federal elections. It's called politicalbase.com and is a HUGE resource if you are looking into campaign donations, religious affiliations, education, past political maneuvers or even simply the first name affiliated party of specific politicians. Today, they have a great opinion piece on the decision the New Yorker has made to run an issue with what many believe is a tasteless satirical cariacature on the cover. See that here. It's user friendly - my mom, who claims to be completely disinterested in politics, has even expressed interest in this. You can get the information with as much milk as you need, but being a wiki in nature, you can easily find yourself browsing one politician to the next for hours.

Visualize Change

Obama's website is getting a lot of really great feedback and I wanted to share the information I have found regarding his designers. The team is basically an Art Director and a script guy. Their info is as follows:
John Slabyk of Chicago, Art Director
Celsius Design
he has a great ethereal sort of portfolio that is worth a look.
Scott Thomas also of Chicago, design and coding, etc.
simplescott
Very cut and dry, to the point design. These guys make a dynamic team, if you ask me. (Although the very "I have a dream" photo of Obama is a bit too cheeseball for my personal taste.)

A Greener Apple

Finally! iPod and cell phone recycling!
http://www.apple.com/environment/recycling/ipodrecycling/