Readymade, the book by the founders of the magazine with the same name, is a perfect marriage between sustainability and stellar book design. It features dozens of useful projects (organized by material: paper, plastic, wood, metal, glass, and fabric) most of which can be created with discarded materials from around the house. Although the publication has been out for a few years, I constantly return to appreciating the clarity of its design vision. If you love DIY and/or an amazing book with tons of projects and humorous tidbits and facts, this is the must-have for your library.

The multidisciplinary trend spotting group, Trendincite Xchange, will be making a visit to MSLK’s studios this evening for a presentation and round table discussion on the future of social media. Trendincite Xchange is an independent group of professionals in the fashion and beauty industry who meet once a month to discuss trends they see emerging in product formulations, scents, colors, fabrics, materials, marketing, retail, and overall consumer behaviors. Participants include qualitative researchers, trend spotters, product developers, retailers, independent brands, and marketing professionals. If you’d like to join our round table group tonight, or in the future, please contact us at mslk@mslk.com.

Much like snowflakes, no two MSLK business cards are alike. The reason for this is simple: we use recycled paper as the base, and wrap pre-printed stickers around them. It’s all part of our firm’s environmental commitment, repurposing makereadies — the waste from offset printing — to use as business cards.

It’s an approach that caught the attention of Marc Praquin, designer, author, and publisher of the 288 page, full-color book, “MyOwnBusinessCard – VolumeOne”

Skipping the plastic bag while shopping isn’t just great for the environment – the alternatives can also be so much more fashionable. Stockholm’s Stadsmission, the Swedish equivalent to the Salvation Army, repurposes clothes and fabrics that can’t be retailed into super eco-friendly shopping bags. Created in collaboration with the renowned Swedish architecture group Claesson Koivisto Rune, this line of shopping bags is marketed under the brand Remake.

Over the past year, MSLK has been very involved in the social media hype, figuring out the best strategies in using these medias to reach our clients and potential clients in creative ways. In light of the upcoming FGI presentation, we thought we would give you a sneak peak of various key statistics and demographics of users of blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Read more to find out a few of the fun facts that we found. You can download a pdf of the presentation here.



MSLK’s two eco-art installations “2663 Urban Tumbleweeds” and “Watershed” are featured in a new art compilation entitled “Urban Interventions – Personal Projects in Public Places.“

The editor, Matthias Huebner, states:
Evolving from graffiti and street art, urban interventions are the next generation of artwork to hit public space. Using any and all of the components that make up urban landscapes, these mostly spatial works bring art to the masses. They turn the street into a studio, laboratory, club, and gallery and challenge us to rediscover our environment and interact with it in new ways. This is the first book to document these very current, personal art projects in a comprehensive way. It shows the growing connections and interplay of this scene with art, architecture, performance, and installation as it turns public spaces into surprising and provoking individual experiences.

To order an advanced copy, click here.
For more information, follow the jump…

In the years since Janet (Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty)’s half-dressed halftime show debacle, the musical choices have been less about pushing the envelope than they have been about nudging it gently (U2, Prince, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, and Broooce).

For me, this has been an overall good thing, with the performers as been classic rock icons — very much my cup of tea.

This year’s halftime show was fantastic. Even though I have never been much of a Who fan, singer Roger Daltry hit all the high notes with conviction, while guitarist Pete Townsend’s flair transcended his 65 years of age.

What more could you have asked for?

Really awesome graphics to complement the performance. And the Superbowl delivered, with the Who’s stage as inspired as the band itself.

Please join us as MSLK CEO and co-founder, Sheri L. Koetting, moderates a talk about utilizing social media platforms to communicate with clients and customers. You will learn to maximize your brand’s social media exposure by creating measurable return on investment objectives.

Speakers include:
AnneMarie Frank, Director of Digital, E-commerce and Strategic Alliances, mark.
Frank O’Brien, Founder, Conversation
Chris Dessi, Director of Sales, Buddy Media

Presented by: The Fashion Group International and The Canadian Consulate General
Date: February 25th, 2010
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Location: The Canadian Consulate General, 1251 Avenue of the Americas

Please email me at ryan@mslk.com, and I will forward you a form if you wish to attend.

If a take out container is a temporary vessel designed to transport food from a restaurant to your home then why is it made out of plastic, a material which is most enduring? Worst yet containers like polystyrene clam shells leech toxins into your food and are currently not recyclable in any state due to their lightweight and high cost of recycling.

As a resolution for 2010 I’ve decided to make a change. I’m saying no to plastic take out containers. I don’t want to buy food that comes in them, and I most certainly don’t want to take home my leftovers at the end of a meal in them.

After most of the hype has died-down regarding the iPad, days later I still find myself having extended discussions about the latest  Willy Wonka Steve Jobs creation with just about everyone. Being the tech-loving geek that I am, everyone has been asking for my thoughts about what the impact will be… on technology, on media, and on Apple. I  do not think that this warranted all the media attention and speculation devoted to something not due until April, but it’s captured everyone’s attention. So here are my thoughts…

Parties and art never went together as well as this past Saturday’s Lost Horizon Night Market. This free event — entirely arranged via email, social networking, and good old word-of-mouth — involved a variety of mysterious lounges, performances, cafes, installations — all situated within seemingly ordinary box trucks.

A caravan of 19 such trucks were arranged inside a vast indoor garage on the waterfront of a desolate Brooklyn neighborhood. Nothing was for sale, and you needed to bring your own food & beverages.

This is the kind of design innovation we all should all be doing. Why can’t all our outdoor lighting be solar powered? It’s an even input to output exchange, no coal power should be expended.

From lanterns, to garland, and pathway lighting it looks like IKEA’s got you covered. Look for the items to enter stores near you this spring! If you see them let me know, I’ve got my eye on some myself.

Last month found me driving across Missouri while visiting relatives. The cold, harsh winter landscape did little to brighten-up the drive, save for the amusing signage inviting all travelers to see “America’s Cave: Meramec Caverns!” along with “Jesse James’s Wax Museum!”

My time didn’t allow for any stops, but I couldn’t help but take a few pictures. In stark contrast to the over-the-top designs of 5th Avenue’s windows, these were great in their own very different way.

Even though the season is behind us there’s still time for a quick recap of the best windows of 2009. Armed with a camera, a quick stroll proved that even in the middle of a recession, ’tis the season for glitz, glamour and whimsy on  5th Avenue.

What exactly does a graphic designer do? Recently MSLK was joined by nine third- through fifth-graders looking to discover what it means to have a career in graphic design. Students at the Beginning with Children Foundation Senior Academy Program sign up for a field of study they are interested in each semester. As part of the BwCF program they  then visit a related professional office for a tour and presentation by a professional from that industry. MSLK was asked to host the children currently taking a course in Digital Art and discuss what goes into developing a design.

Spark, the design association MSLK helped found, had a banner year in 2009 whose highlights included:

- Launching a new San Francisco chapter
- Press features in a number of industry magazines
- Filing for 501(c) non-profit status
- Increased membership

Above all, it’s the incredible talent of the members — especially our steering committee — who make being a part of this association such a fantastic experience. Fittingly, our annual party at NYC’s Vig bar was no less of a success, as well, bringing together members, guest speakers from throughout the year, as well as the vendors who have helped made our projects possible.

Ever feel like you have problems that no one has any solutions to? Help Remedies may have an answer for you.

Don’t know what to wear?

Never been kissed?

Or maybe you just have a song stuck in your head?

Help Remedies have collected humorous (yet helpful) answers to all these questions and lots more. The brand is known for it’s elegant, minimal design and eco-friendly packaging but they’ve also come up with great ways to get their customers involved in the brand.  The Help I’m Bored page is amusing and a great way to start a Monday morning.  It also gives a good idea of what the brand stands for: making it simple to solve simple health issues.

The October issue of Graphic Design USA was dedicated to green design, and featured MSLK prominently:

- Page 20 turns its attention to our project Watershed, with a quote from Sheri Koetting about our eco art installation.

- Page 45 runs an agency profile about MSLK with an interview with Sheri and I speaking about the ways in which MSLK is a green design firm, and why.

We’ve re-run the interview after the jump…

Sheri and I just got back from a trip today to Wisconsin, visiting the folks at Wigwam to discuss the new marketing materials we’re developing for them.

Having been to the Milwaukee airport more than a few times, I’ve grown accustomed to a few routines: the best airline (Midwest), the best time to fly (avoid late outbound flights in winter), the best place to rent a car (Avis), and the best morning coffee after the plane ride. Sadly, this had always been Starbucks, as I hate Starbucks coffee — too bitter, too expensive, and too ubiquitous. (Sorry, Sheri).

Yet the choices at the Milwaukee airport were always much worse, and the caffeine junkie in me is not always rational… a fix is a fix.

That’s why in my post-flight fog, as I approached the familiar kiosk area in the terminal,  I did a double-take: had Starbucks been replaced by some funky indie coffee shop named Alterra?