Hasta La Ideas

When Palladium Footwear asked Johnny Knoxville to give us a tour of Detroit, we were pretty blown away and inspired by some of the communities and people they profile and the creative energy that comes across in this four-part series. Yesterday, they launched their newest city profile focusing on the architectural gems of Los Angeles including Rosslyn Hotel, a Frank Lloyd Wright property in Malibu, and the Brewery Artist Complex. We especially love the snippet about the Watts Towers, hand-built by Italian immigrant Sam Rodia from bottles and objects largely collected from his neighbors. Check it out after the jump!

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Des artistes de rue à Madrid ont décidé de s’attaquer à 106 emplacements publicitaires pour les remplacer par des messages rappelant les intentions mercantiles. Une idée ingénieuse réalisée en 1 heure par plus de 100 personnes sur une organisation de PublicAdCampaign.

Previously on Fubiz

• Stationery of Horror
• Levitation Series
• 1000 Poems by Mail

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Reader Allicia submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I recently moved to Minnesota from New Mexico. I didn’t have a job at first so I moved most (almost all) of my stuff into a storage unit. Now that I am settled, I have a plan to go to New Mexico to unload and organize my storage unit and get rid of stuff I no longer need, etc. I am sitting here in Minnesota and cannot fathom an idea of how to sort through the stuff packed away. I also wonder how to deal with family who will be helping me and may not want me to get rid of stuff. They have more attachment to things than I usually do. Can you help me devise a plan to attack my storage unit?

Storage units are great resources when you temporarily need a place to put your things for three to six months, like you needed to do with this move. Storage units, however, are not where things should go to live for years. When you abandon things in storage units you end up spending more money storing the items than you would selling everything and buying replacement items in the future. Additionally, the storage units are much more likely to be infested with bugs, rodents, mildew, mold and other possession-ruining things than they would be in your home.

It’s not exactly clear in your question if you plan to move your items to your new place in Minnesota or if you just want to organize the unit and leave your things in New Mexico. Whatever your current thoughts, I’m advocating that you completely get rid of the need for your storage unit. I think you’ll find that you don’t want or need the majority of the things you left in New Mexico when you headed to Minnesota.

Think of the first step of your storage unit clean out like a treasure hunt. Go through the unit on your own and find the irreplaceable things you truly value — photographs from your childhood, your favorite pieces of jewelry, and whatever else you would feel truly crushed about if they were destroyed by a fire. For most people, these items fit in one medium-size box.

Tape up the box and carry it with you on your flight or drive back to Minnesota.

For the next step of the process, have your family come in to help you sort through the remaining stuff. Before opening the storage unit door, let your family know that you plan to close the unit by the end of the day. This goal should be crystal clear in everyone’s mind, including yours.

Then, clearly mark four areas near the storage unit for your objects — trash/recycle (these are things everyone agrees are ready to be purged), sell (these are items you can post to Craigslist or take to a consignment shop), donate (these are things in good shape that a local charity could benefit from having), and family stash (these are items your family members will take with them at the end of the process).

The family stash pile is going to be the most controversial pile you create (or, rather, don’t create). What will likely happen is that someone in your family will say, “Oh, you can’t give that away!” about an object in your storage unit. In response to their declaration, you can respond, “I will gladly give it to you if you would like it.” If the person says she wants it, then it will go into the family stash pile for that person to take home. If the person says, “I don’t want it, but I think you should keep it,” the object will then go into the donate or sell pile. If someone doesn’t want an object enough to want to care for it themselves, they have no leverage to try to guilt you into keeping it.

Have a truck or trucks available at the end of your sorting process to immediately haul the four piles to their appropriate destinations. If you are selling objects on Craigslist, you will likely need to store these objects in someone’s garage for a few days so potential buyers can come by and view the items. Give yourself a strict deadline that any objects that haven’t sold by the day before you leave will be donated to charity.

With the money you get from selling items on Craigslist or through consignment, you can buy things (if you want) for your new place in Minnesota.

Finally, I strongly recommend thanking your helpers by providing them with drinks and snacks as they work and dinner when you are all finished. People tend to be more level-headed and easy going when they’re well fed and hydrated.

Thank you, Allicia, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope I was able to help you navigate this process, and congratulations on your move. Be sure to check out the comments for even more suggestions and different perspectives from our readers.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

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Known for its intelligent coverage of both film and surf/skate culture, The Church of London has a new quarterly magazine in its stable. It comes as a handsome hardback book and is a different kind of venture for a different kind of client: Google…

TCL has been developing Think Quarterly with the internet giant since December last year. The first issue is themed as Think Data and has been sent to 1,500 of the company’s UK partners and advertisers. As the name implies, Think Quarterly will be published four times a year, alongside TCL’s already successful titles Little White Lies and Huck, its portfolio of contract magazines and the studio’s print, web and motion graphics work.

TCL were kind enough to have an edition of Think Quarterly printed up for us (well, me) and having had a chance to pore over it, it’s a very encouraging start to what could potentially have been an overwhelming project for a small creative company.

While clearly a Google project, the design of TQ only subtley references the company’s branding; there’s a wax seal, a debossed logo on the box cover and a foiled one on the book itself. Inside, the subject matter is clearly related to the business of data. Guy Laurence, CEO of Vodaphone UK is interviewed on the subject of information overload (and what to do about it); while statistician Hans Rosling is duly probed on the importance of data study in business. Journalists involved include Guardian Datablog editor, Simon Rogers, and WE magazine editor, Ulrike Reinhard.

Google claim that TQ’s intention is to offer some breathing space in our ever-increasing world of data. And certainly, slowing the intake of information down via the printed page is an interesting direction for a digital company. Indeed, when images of TQ first hit the web, the rumour was that Google had launched an online magazine. Not so: while readers can access some of the articles online at thinkquarterly.co.uk, TQ is resolutely a physical printed object, and blatantly celebrates that fact.

There are numerous elements at work here. Each edition is boxed and 1,200 copies of the run of 1,500 arrive with a bespoke cover, tailored to each individual recipient. Housed in its red slipcase, the cover depicts a brain made out of the letters in ‘Think Quarterly’. When this is removed, a light bulb (ding!) made up of sections of the recipient’s name appears, as above, à la Sagmeister’s schizophrenic canine on his Made You Look book.

It’s a sweet touch that will no doubt be a hit with recipients but compared to TCL’s usual fare, which relishes illustration and impactful cover design, the box-and-cover concept feels a little staid, if aimed at the limited edition look. Of course, TQ isn’t necessarily designed to appeal to the average design-literate snowboarder, or indie film lover, so perhaps this is merely more of a compromise, but a subtly crafted one at that.

That said, TCL’s design of the contents inside is a real treat. The studio has used an array of illustration talent to fill these pages and there are particularly strong contributions from Geoff McFetridge, Adrian Johnson, Matt Taylor and Mike Lemanski alongside photography by Spencer Murphy and Jonnek Jonnekson.

There’s also a gatefold infographic in the centre of the publication that opens out to reveal a visual history of data capture, from sundials to the Hubble telescope. Yes it’s geeky, but it’s also golden, too.

Similarly, a pop-up construction detailing usage data captured from the ‘Boris Bike’ scheme in London works brilliantly (designed with help from specialists David Carter and David Pelham). It’s difficult to get pop-ups right – let alone convey data about a bike hire scheme creatively – but this unexpected spread mixes statistics with involving, far from dry presentation. And you can’t convey the physical possibilites of print much better than that.

Think Quarterly isn’t available to buy but some of the content is also published on thinkquarterly.co.uk (also designed by The Church of London). The next issue will be out in May.

CR in print

Thanks for reading the CR Blog, but if you’re not reading us in print too, you’re missing out on a richer, deeper view of your world. Our April issue features our Top 20 logos of all time. You can buy it today by calling +44(0)207 292 3703. Better yet, subscribe to CR, save yourself almost a third and get Monograph for free plus a host of special deals from the CR Shop. Go on, treat yourself.