Blog

Mar 5, 2010
Blog, Tech

Dropbox Comes Correct*

* DeLorean not included.

If your workflow requires shuffling files between two or more computers, then you are well aware of how difficult it can be to manage that process. It’s inevitable that one day you’ll forget to sync your work from home, only to realize your mistake when the client arrives for a design review. Even worse, you overwrite today’s work with yesterday’s file, then spend the rest of the night repeating your efforts. Yippee!

My current solution involves Chronosync and an iPod, which is very effective, but still susceptible to user error (I’ve forgotten the iPod at home, or at the office, numerous times). Recently I discovered Dropbox, which is perhaps the most elegant solution I’ve come across for syncing files on various computers. The service is web-based, but tightly integrated with the operating system, creating a seamless experience. Simply drop files onto a folder and voila, they are now available on your other Dropbox enabled computers, as well as the web.

There are numerous things that Dropbox does right. They clearly explain what they provide and the benefits of using their software. The design aesthetic reflects the product’s simplicity and elegance. They eliminate risk by providing the software free of charge. The product is truly top-notch, but it’s a marketing twist they’ve integrated into the service that got my attention.

The Dropbox business model is based on…

Alexander & Baldwin – 2009 Annual Report

For the fourth year in a row, Airspace Workshop was selected to art direct and design the Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. annual report. The 2009 report utilizes a mixture of illustration, infographics, and photography to communicate A&B’s core methods of creating value for their shareholders. Key strategies and supply chains were examined visually, to provide further detail and clarity into the company’s operations, and create a balanced perspective of Alexander & Baldwin, as well as its subsidiaries.

View additional photos of the report.

Feb 28, 2010
Media, Tech

Tsunami Generates a Surge of Social Media

The Mokapu Point buoy displaying swell direction oscillation during the Hawaii tsunami

In today’s Star Bulletin, Erika Engle discusses the role of social media during Saturday’s tsunami, including a mention of Buoy Alarm, which was flooded with Twitter traffic yesterday after people discovered the Mokapu Point buoy twitter feed (@buoy51202).

While NOAA utilizes a completely different system to monitor tsunami activitiy (DART), the effects of the surge’s ebb and flow were noticeable at the Mokapu surface buoy, mainly in the oscillating swell direction between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. HST. I suppose many chose to follow the buoy on Twitter expecting to see a dramatic spike in wave height, but when you consider the tremendous volume of water in the Pacific, to have it shift direction 9 times in approximately 5 hours is actually quite remarkable, and requires an amazing amount of energy. [Continue...]

Feb 23, 2010
Blog, Tech, Workshop

Finding Value in a Non-Monetary Economy

In October of 2009 we released a customizable Tumblr theme entitled M82. My intentions at the time were motivated by a desire to learn the Tumblr theme engine, polish my CSS skills, and rework the look of my personal blog. The theme was one of the first to integrate the then-new Appearance option tags, allowing for customizable fonts and images, as well as Twitter, Streampad, Disqus and Google Analytics integration directly from the Tumblr Dashboard.

M82 has been available in the Tumblr Theme Garden for about five months, and during that time the theme has organically grown an installation base of 5,150 users (and counting), including some popular sites with a significant number of followers. What I did not realize five months ago, was the important lesson I would learn regarding the value of social capital. [Continue...]

Feb 9, 2010
Blog

A Blog Ain’t Nothin’ But Work

An early social media guru updates his followers via falcon.

When it comes to building awareness of your product, service or brand, there is no denying the power of social media. However, in a dynamic environment full of an increasing number of tools and trends, we find that technology often overwhelms strategy. What people fail to realize, contrary to what some “gurus” claim, is that blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook fan pages are not inherently revenue-generating machines… they’re work. [Continue...]

Feb 4, 2010
Blog

Creativity vs. Invention

Anyone who works in a creative industry will often be challenged with the need to ‘invent’ things to prove their creative chops. Like a magician on stage, a creative will strive to produce results that will stun and amaze an audience. The act of performance as a self-imposed job description is a fairly common feeling, mainly generated by the ratio of working creatives in today’s industries; and the need to define your worth among them. As history reminds us, the inventors club is a small elite group of people while the common folk must live in the scrapbooking rank-and-file. As an artist, subjectivity plays a large role in the ability to determine value in a body of work; just the act of doing something can be considered ‘inventing’. But for designers, the role of solution provider creates a definable agenda with predictable outcomes, making the status of inventor increasingly unlikely. [Continue...]

Jan 30, 2010
Blog

What’s in a Name?

This week brought the introduction of Apple’s latest device to the world – the iPad. A touch tablet running a modified version of the iPhone OS, which appears like a big brother to its tiny iPod siblings. But you know this already, as the media has speculated and traded rumors for years about the mythical device. What we didn’t know is its name. The four letter device has taken criticism because of its decidedly uncool handle . At face value, the word pad can be as boring as a real pad of paper or conjure visions of a particular feminine product. But this is Apple at work, and one thing we can all agree on is nothing is done lightly in Cupertino. I think there is a valuable lesson to learn here. [Continue...]

Trusted in the Tower: DaFin’s New Packaging

DaFin is the #1 choice of lifeguards, bodysurfers, and top watermen around the world and is standard issue equipment for more than 40 municipal lifeguard and surf rescue agencies in the USA.

Airspace Workshop worked with DaFin Surfing Products to refresh their swim fin packaging for 2010. To emphasize the performance and reliability of the product, a new tagline was developed, “Trusted in the Tower,” along with a bold color palette and strong typographical treatments.

Research into the packaging’s presentation within retailer shops led to large logo treatments on the outer faces, to ensure brand identification when stacked amongst competitors. Look for the new packaging in your local surf shop this Spring.

For more information about DaFin, visit dafin.com.

Jan 26, 2010
Tech, Workshop

M82 Themed “Letterheady” Featured on Tumblr Tuesday

Every Tuesday Tumblr selects a handful of blogs from their 3,123,301 (and counting) users to highlight, and today Letterheady led the pack. Aside from being an inspirational resource to corporate identity designers, Letterheady is using the M82 Tumblr Theme we designed. Sweet!

You can see the theme in action on the M82 demo page, or if you’re already Tumbling, you can one-click install it directly from the Tumblr theme garden.

Jan 20, 2010
Music

Synthmagicness

Check this clip of Teenage Engineering’s upcoming synth project – The OP1. A peek at the onscreen display reveals a jet black OLED screen with high contrast graphics. It gives off a ‘neon ceiling decor from an 80’s nightclub’ vibe; and the GUI is pure get-the-hell-out genius. For anyone who’s fumbled with analog tape recorders will appreciate the nostalgic nod to ye old reel-to-reel. Far removed from Native Instrument’s pixel heavy softsynths, TE seems to have taken their design cues from a Texas instrument calculator (and can you blame them) and early Frog Design Mac prototypes. Maybe this is the first sign that we’re getting over emulation and going back to real? Either way, I gotta get a paper route again, ‘real’ is spendy.