Hasta La Ideas

It’s the smallest of improvements that often make the biggest difference in my life. For example, Hallmark made mailing cards significantly easier in February with the release of their postage-paid envelopes.

My sister-in-law sent my son a card in one of these envelopes a few weeks ago and when I saw the envelope with that image printed on it, I actually cheered. (I’m weird, I know.) From Hallmark’s corporate website:

Hallmark Postage-Paid Greetings feature the U.S. Postal Service’s Intelligent Mail barcode on the front of the envelope. When the cards are processed at a Postal Service facility, the barcode automatically indicates to the Postal Service the postage is paid. The postage is treated like a Forever stamp, and its value will always be equal to the price of a standard First-Class stamp, regardless of when it’s mailed.

In the article “Birthday cards and reminder systems” from back in 2007, I wrote about how I buy all my cards for the year at a single time to be more efficient. I’ve also been buying enough Forever stamps to cover all the postage for those cards around the same time. These new pre-paid envelopes make it so I don’t have to worry about the second step in the process. Also, it saves time if I need to pick up a last-minute card at the store — I just sign the card and drop it into any mailbox without having to go to the post office (which, since I haven’t yet bought my supply of cards for the year, I’ve actually done twice in the last week). Hallmark saves me from having to run another errand, and I like not having to run errands.

These new envelopes might not be for everyone, especially if you never mail cards, but for someone like me who sends a lot of cards they’re extremely convenient.

What small improvements have made a big difference in your life recently? Share your finds in the comments.

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Focus sur cet impressionnant montage réalisé par Vashi Nedomansky autour des scènes de cascades par le directeur de la photographie Shane Hurlbut. De nombreux exemples filmés avec l’appareil Canon 5D MK II à découvrir en images dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Playing with Fire
• The Carpenter
• Youth Lagoon – Montana

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After two days of Do-ferencing, the third and final day of Design Ethos started bright and early at 8:00am, as several participants skipped the “coffee social” in lieu of dedicating more time to final presentations. “Do-ers” (aka participants of the Do-ference side of things) were scheduled to show their respective concepts for Waters Avenue to the rest of the conference at 4:30 that afternoon. The feeling of an impending deadline was universal, as designers, students, Waters Avenue residents rushed around the city of Savannah to finish on time.

The student panel with constituents from Purdue, MICA, and SCAD.

I decided to desert Team Empowering Culture during their time of need, dropping off Rhino files to be laser-cut into a stork (see below) before heading to Hamilton Hall to check out some of the panelists. Panels ran concurrently, starting with Mark Randall and Ursula Tischner, which ran at the same time as a student panel. Randall talked about how to get social innovation projects up off the ground via building community, finding connections, and getting heard in order to get funded. Tischner focused primarily on sustainable design as a full-time job, urging the audience to “make sustainability attractive.”

Mark Randall

The concept of doing social innovation and making is fiscally viable was a theme seen throughout the day, as each panelist addressed how they funded their work enough to keep the lights on. , The topic of making a living as a designer working in the field social innovation was clearly on everyone’s mind—it even came up in the student panel (which ended up being more of a student table discussion)—and was the topic of Noah Scalin‘s panel presentation.

Noah Scalin on “Making A Living As A Socially Conscious Designer.”

In fact, Scalin’s talk was called precisely that—”Making a Living As a Socially Conscious Designer”—based on his own experience as founder of Another Limited Rebellion, relating how he built his studio practice up in 2001 when a “socially conscious design firm” was a laughable phrase to a successful example of good business. His latest book, The Design Activist’s Handbook: How to Change the World (or at Least Your Part of It) with Socially Conscious Design, is available for pre-order.

A [free] poster designed by Scalin for the 99% movement.

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The Boundaries of Life and Death est une vidéo d’animation magnifique pensée par Saskia Kretzschmann pour un projet d’étude à l’Anhalt University of Applied Science. Basée sur une citation d’Edgar Allan Poe sur la frontière entre la vie et la mort, voici une création splendide.

Previously on Fubiz

• Best Summer of my Life
• Life On Hold Trailer
• Icons in Real Life

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Every furniture piece is a unique item. An innovative design, born from the union between the creative force and the austerity of the forms and adorne..