Eisenhower (the tunnel)

If you take I-70 up into the mountains here in CO. you'll more than likely go through Eisenhower tunnel. I had attempted this shot once last year but wasn't fully ready for it, and didn't like the outcome. On this day however, I was prepared...

Camera strapped to my wrist, correct settings input on my camera: I thrust my arm out and snapped the photo.

Obviously I'm talking it up a bit, I'm sure it's been done many times before.

One quick search shows I am correct.

Back from the dead,
~Lee

Photography goodness. real. goodness.

I just had to share this amazing collection of wildlife portraits by photographer Nick Brandt. Apparently Nick doesn't bother to use a telephoto lens but rather gets within feet of these wild creatures. Probably the most awesome collection of shots, next to the Peter Lik collection, I have seen in a while. Enjoy.

Miles

Via yesbutnobutyes

Shameless plug

Thanks to the fantastic illustrative work by local talent Luke Flowers, Handcrafted Media picks up an American Package Design Award (GDUSA) for the in-store creative produced for Wag n' Wash Healthy Pet Centers. Luke is a superb illustrator/designer, be sure to check out his work here.

Miles

Poster Goodness

Awesome collection of illustrative posters here which appear to be self promotional pieces for Italian agency H-57 Creative Station. Enjoy.

Miles

Via ibia

I heart supercars

So close, yet so far away. I'm not sure what it is about cars (especially exotics) that gets me so excited, but as I was visiting the Lamborghini and Ferrari dealerships in Las Vegas last week, I was like a kid in a candy store. Is it the power? The rarity? The sex appeal? Or is it the sheer fact that these automobiles are simply unattainable (for me)? Whatever it is, it's always a treat to admire these works of art up close.

Miles

Now is the time

Ads on Edge

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: branding recession)

Everyone has their own strategy for dealing with the current recession, most are cutting back on their marketing, which is one expense we feel should actually be increased in times like these. It makes sound sense to invest in advertising now so as to bring back revenue and win new market share. Here is a nice 3-4 minute slide show put together by The Economist that outlines exactly why monies should be going towards marketing during down turns.

Via brandflakesforbreakfast

Miles

Vacation

Hopefully everyone had a great vacation, whether it was short or long.

I visited my older bro in North Carolina for Christmas. Got to go to the beach, do some mountain biking and relaxing. Great vacation.

The pic above is of his good friend's dog (on the left), and my brother's boxer (on the right) who is somewhat of a baby sitter at times it seems. Both great dogs.


Lee Stonehouse

A HAHAHAHA

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Take a minute to check this out, simply terrific.

Miles

Via denveregotist

Nice spot for WWF

WWF: Light Bulb
by hourigan

Really well conceived and executed spot for WWF Canada.

Miles

Via denveregotist

Knock it off!

Really funny collection of knock-offs here. Hard not to laugh out loud at some of these...

Miles

Via brandflakesforbreakfast

Looking Forward

Thought I would share a few things (media related) that I'm looking forward to in the big '09.
Objectified:

courtesy of swissmiss

Snow Leopard - Apple's new OS, which is supposedly 20% faster than current "boring" 'ol Leopard.
Windows 7 - Microsoft's new OS, I don't think it has a definite release of '09 but I've heard some great things from people who are currently beta testing it. (that's right I'm a mac AND a pc guy, wrap your head around that!)

Watchmen

Another Graphic novel gone to the theaters... big woopdie doo right? Not really, there's a lot of fuss about this going to the big screen. I've read the book 3 times now and I still notice things I hadn't noticed the previous time through. It's also listed as one of the NY Times top 100 novels (not graphic novels mind you, but novels under every category) of all time. I could go on forever about the book, it's "deeper meanings" and whatnot. Instead, I'm just recommending that you read it if you haven't already.

There's a lot more I'm looking forward too, but I'm rambling now.

Happy New Year to everyone, hopefully everyone has some things they're looking forward to. I wish you all the best!

The Rambling Renegade
~Lee

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everybody! We here at Handcrafted wish everyone a wonderfully prosperous 2009!

Miles, David, Lee, Justin, Stieg & Joy

Happy 25th Apple

Happy Birthday shout-outs go to Apple; the company turns 25 in January. Congrats to the once little operation that grew and came to create products that many of us (especially here at Handcrafted) couldn't live without.

Via logolounge and wired

Miles

Sweet white space indeed!

Love the white space. Here is a great example of white space and clean, simplistic design aiding in popping the product off the shelf. Unfortunately, the traditional way of thinking says that if you add more colors/star-burts/drop shadows/text to your layout it will help in communicating to your customer. What happens, of course, is when everyone thinks this way the shelf becomes one jumbled mess. That is not the case with the new Truvia packaging.

Via brandnew

Miles

Camera on camera

The light was hitting my vintage 1952 Revere 40 movie camera with such nice light I had to capture it.

Miles

Awesome spot for Audi

Audi Q5: Unbox The Box
by hourigan

The stop-motion/animation, the soundtrack, the concept, simple, engaging, all around well done.

Via thedenveregotist

Miles

Fragile cheers

Nice spot here for Fedex from BBDO Canada.

Via ibia

Miles

Your social media plan

Yeah, I know, the world of social media can be extremely overwhelming and, at times, intimidating; especially when your intention is to dive head first into, and market within, the medley of sites and applications out there. Before deploying any sort of campaign or marketing effort into the vast void of social media a certain amount of due diligence must first be made. Taking time to develop a strong strategy and mapping out your route(s) is critical. Here is a nice writeup on the topic.

Also on the subject I wanted to point to this particular blog in which the author discusses the impact of social media and introduces the thought that the sheer number of new tools/applications alone is beginning to dilute their own potential benefits.

Via brandflakesforbreakfast

Miles

100 identities for the years end

A nice collection of elemental designs here.

Via logodesignlove

Miles

How to promote your product; tell a story, make it personal

Origami In the Pursuit of Perfection from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

Here is a fantastic spot in promotion of Aisics shoes. The stop-motion production guides the viewer on a brief history of the Aisics brand, complete with narration and superb origami animation. Enjoy,

via brandflakesforbreakfast

Miles