News Archives - Page 3 of 5

A Case of Holiday Madness

The activity level at Bad Feather HQ during the month of December can best be described as elfin. Handmade activity was at an all-time high, as we all abandoned our computers and dedicated all resources to making, baking and packing for the holidays.

Some time ago we decided buttons would be the perfect holiday goody and so, this Fall we set to work designing buttons and buttons and buttons until we selected the 20 best (the 2009 holiday edition, if you will). During the first week of December, while Brad and Heather headed to Miami for a dose of art and sun (did we mention we brought back a hambone and mustache cream as souvenirs?), the ladies of Bad Feather held down the fort and made a mound of nearly a thousand buttons.

The second week of December we decided it was time to explore our stop-motion curiosity, because of course a video is the perfect way to send a holiday message to the world. We created a quick storyboard and began cutting and taping a forest worth of paper feather trees. For the next two weeks we slowly crafted our set, including an ice skating pond and airplane. In retrospect, the hours of photographing and editing that followed were nothing…

And then there was the question of what to give to our friends and family? Cookies of course! One week before Christmas we all headed home to our respective kitchens with many pounds of sugar, butter and all those ingredients that make the word a better place. We returned the next morning each with dozens of dozens of cookies, of which we ate quite a few.

And so we packed, we labeled and we mailed. We battled the local post office which twice returned our button packages (the second time on Christmas Eve!). We designed, we edited, we emailed and eventually we all headed off (just a bit exhausted) to our respective holiday activities. Perhaps we took on too much, but it sure was fun. Thanks to all who have since sent us thanks and compliments – we hope you ate your cookies, are proudly wearing some very bad buttons, and that all enjoyed our holiday video experiment. Happy New Year!

Have you heard 2010 is the year of the Bad Feather?

A Seasonal Greeting from Bad Feather

Feeling Generous?

The holidays are a time for giving (and let’s not forget tax season is nearly upon us). We thought we’d bring a few of the great non-profits we work with to your attention, should you be feeling that generous itch:

The Poetry Project fosters and inspires the reading and writing of contemporary poetry through its live programming, workshops, publications, website and special events. You can make a donation and with your help the Project will continue to be central to a thriving community and will be here for generations of poets and artists to come..

Hot Bread Kitchen is more than a bakery. It’s a non-profit social enterprise that enhances the future for immigrant women and preserves baking traditions. There’s still time to order one of their tasty holiday gift boxes. You can also make a donation to support the future of Hot Bread Kitchen.

Radius Books is a non-profit publishing company based in Santa Fe that encourages, promotes, and publishes books of artistic and cultural value for a wide audience. Consider joining the membership program, which provides the critical financial foundation that makes Radius Books a vital promoter of the visual arts. You can also make a charitable donation.

Another Good Egg

Just a few weeks ago Lan Lam joined team Bad Feather as our newest design intern. Lan is a recent grad of the Graphic Design program at SVA and we’re loving having her around. This lady is full of clever ideas, has terrific design sensibilities and perhaps, most importantly, fits right into Bad Feather DJ rotation. When she’s not at our studio Lan can be found making Chai and practicing her latte art.

Lan Lam Portfolio

For the Love of Corduroy

A public service announcement for people who like Corduroy fabric:

Bad Feather is pleased to announce the momentous unveiling of the newly redesigned CorduroyClub.com, and perhaps more importantly, the imminent Grand 11|11 Meeting of the Corduroy Appreciation Club!

Below is a screenshot of the Corduroy Appreciation Club’s new home. Please visit the website, and if you have a true appreciation for Corduroy fabric, consider both joining the organization and attending the 11|11 meeting, which promises to be epic.

HAIL THE WALE!

CorduroyClub.com

Spin to Win at Sonic Union

SOU_SpinToWin-2

This summer we had a lot of fun designing this prize wheel. Turns out Sonic Union and their clients are having even more fun playing with it!

We created the wheel as an alternative to branded SWAG. Sonic Union is sending its clients away with a memorable experience (and maybe a siiiick prize) instead of more stuff we all get (but don’t really want or need). Prizes vary from ‘Free Stuff You Get Free’ – recycled copy of this morning this morning’s Metro anyone? – or ‘Super Special Commute’, an escort to the subway with a free swipe, to a ‘One Night Getaway’ room at the W hotel. Who doesn’t want a shot at that? A spin of the wheel and a coupon for a free Frosty at the Union Square Wendy’s keeps clients talking about Sonic Union round the water cool for days.

We Got Our Data On, Now Get Your Skis On

We just completed an interactive infographic for SKI magazine online. Data visualization was a new and exciting thing for us to tackle here at Bad Feather and if we do say so ourselves, we’re pretty pleased with the results.

The oh-so-pretty infographic, which represents the top 50 North American ski resorts’ comparative ratings according to the 2010 Reader Resort Survey for such categories as terrain, snowfall, lodging, dining, family activities, is animated in Flash to allow users to interact and discover the top resorts in each category. The SKI site is chock full of resort stats and content to satisfy your inner ski bunny. Ski season is just around the corner – check it out.

Bring the Noise

We are psyched to announce a new site we built for 1928 Recordings, a Brooklyn-based record label helmed by Ryan McReynolds. Designed in collaboration with our friend Sohrab from Shadowless Kick, 1928recordings.com features a catalog of the label’s releases, listings for upcoming tour dates, and label news and info, all editable by 1928 Recordings (thanks again, WordPress). The online store was built separately using the new White Label service from Insound.com.

Check it out.

BF_1928

For the WordPress nerds out there who might be curious, we used GigPress for the tour listings, Cleaner Gallery and Shadowbox for the image slideshows, Audio Player for the audio samples, and Viper’s Video Quicktags for the video embeds.

A Farewell to (The Magazine of) Good Living

Just last week I sat at my desk filling out a subscription renewal card for Gourmet Magazine, debating the 2 year or 3 year option. Why not take the 3 year discount considering 10 years from now I’ll still be subscribing to and reading this magazine? How wrong I was. Monday morning when I started my usual web surfing session I came across one after another article, blog post, tweet, status update, all announcing that Gourmet magazine was shuttering.

(Heather here, by the way…)

Gourmet has been published since January 1941. My relationship with Gourmet was brief in the grand scheme of those 69 years, but I still found myself tearing up when I read the news in disbelief. For those of you who don’t already know, the only other passion in my life that rivals my relationship to design is food. Cooking, eating, traveling to find it, I dedicate much of my spare time and thoughts to the art of food and for this, my bible has been Gourmet magazine. Continue reading →

Project Management The Bad Feather Way

Here at Bad Feather we’re huge fans of the various Google apps. A recent topic of interest is the fact that we manage our studio operations using Google Sites. We’ve set up a web-based project management and collaboration system using a Google Site in combination with Google Docs and Google Calendar. The added bonus to all of these services being interconnected is that they are free (sorry BaseCamp, but you can’t top that). So here it is, an overview of a few of the hot features of Google Sites and some creative ways we’ve come to use them:

The Google Sites service allows you to build your own internal site without any need for a domain name. However, you can map it to a custom domain such as projectmanager.yourstudiourl.com. It is password protected by your Google account, and easily accessible by anyone the administrator invites to join. Everyone involved with the Google Site can sign up to get email alerts when updates have been made to pages; that way everyone is always on the same page (ha)! There are different page options, including a basic web page, an announcement page, a file cabinet page, a list page and the catch-all dashboard. Every page in your site is designated individually so you can tailor it to the content that will be included. Here is a complete definition of each page.

The Dashboard is the first thing we see when we login, and one of our favorite features. You can customize the dashboard to pull from any of the pages you’ve set up within the site, as well as from your Docs and Calendars. Continue reading →

Bring on the Pickle Party!

We recently completed a small packaging project, creating a set of labels for Bradley Farm. If you happen to shop at the Grand Army Plaza green market in Brooklyn, you may know the ever-popular, bearded chef turned farmer, Ray Bradley. In addition to his beautiful produce and delicious, naturally raised pork, Ray also sells his own brand of pickles, strawberry preserves, wildflower honey and other specialty items [Read: homegrown and ground paprika. Run, don’t walk].

To help get the pickles to market, Heather and Kristen headed to Bradley Farm in New Paltz to jar and label some Dills, Bread and Butters, and the almighty Lemon Cucumber pickles. Thanks to Ray’s generosity, we didn’t leave empty handed and we’ve since enjoyed the scrumptious treats in the studio. Nobody ever told Kristen she might have to wear a hairnet when she joined team Bad Feather, but if you ask her, we’re sure she’ll tell you a day in the country and her own jar of those tasty dill pickles was worth it.

BF_kristen_pickles

Bradley Farm is at the 97th and Amsterdam Market on the Upper West Side on Fridays, and the Grand Army Plaza Market in Brooklyn on Saturdays. We also created a hilarious Ray Bradley button that Ray is selling to his loyal customers to help recoup losses from the late blight that severely damaged this year’s heirloom tomato crops. Support the farm and get yourself some pickles!