I have never been comfortable with networking. It’s not that I don’t like meeting people. I love going new places and chatting up folks. I just hate being forced to socialize in an arena where everyone is trying to sell themselves. I listen politely all the while dreading the moment when they will ask me, “So, what do you do?” Read the rest of this entry »

by Joel Dualan

Before we begin, I feel it only appropriate to preface this article with a public service announcement, brought to you today by Pi Design:

Friends don’t let friends use comic sans.
Together we can overcome.

With that out of the way we can now proceed.

You might be thinking to yourself (at least I hope you are), “Who in their right mind would choose to use that typeface for a wanted poster?” This example is clearly a dramatization to illustrate a point, but I kid you not, the poster was based on a real life example.

Choosing typefaces to use for your project isn’t something that can be determined by answering a few predefined questions. There isn’t a set of rules that are written in stone that designers can refer to, but we instead rely on years of education and experience to lead us to the best choice. When faced with the task of choosing a typeface, many factors must be considered, but among these, content, media, and audience should be considered foremost.

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Another post from the purposely silly “This Looks Awsome” Series (yes, we know it’s spelled wrong. It was done on purpose to be silly, you nit)

1. Create your project in any program with “Microsoft” in the name. You’d be better off finger-painting with mud on an old pizza box, dousing it with gasoline and throwing it briskly into a portal to hell.
2. OPTIMA OPTIMA OPTIMA. Did I forget to mention that use of COMIC SANS will also immediately discredit you as a designer?     Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter has kept herself busy this summer creating origami animals and geometric shapes out of paper, Post-it notes in particular. I, too have always had a fascination with paper. I love the different textures and colors, especially those of the handmade variety. Fashioning something three-dimensional from a flat sheet requires extreme patience while completing a challenging combination of cutting and folding in just the right places. I have been amazed by the tiny things she does like the miniature presents in this photo. She will often cut a Post-it note down to a half inch square and fold microscopic origami cranes that sit on your fingertip

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We all love our iPhones here in the office but truly there are a lot of useless apps to waste your time out there. This cartoon is pretty funny and puts things into perspective a bit

AeroVironment provides us with constant work. We love everything about them. They are great people to work with and the technology they develop is awe-inspiring. From clean technology solutions to unmanned aircraft systems, they have consistently provided breakthrough engineering since the early 1970’s.

This video reveals the progress on their latest gadget, a flapping robo-sentinel. It is the first-ever hovering air vehicle to use flapping wings while carrying its own power source. The hope is that the hummingbird will be useful for indoor and outdoor surveillance, as well as dropping off listening devices and other super-spy cargo.

Check out their website for more info on their other products:

http://avinc.com/

OK, so I am a dork. But who didn’t love Tron back in the 80’s? Am I showing my age a bit? If you are a sci fi aficionado then you will enjoy this re-creation of the light bikes. It’s hysterically hokey but very well done. It reminds me of the furniture design course I took at CSULB where we had to make a chair out of nothing but cardboard that the teacher could actually sit in. Trust me, there were a few he was afraid to sit on.

Here at Pi Design we spend a great deal of time educating ourselves so that we can stay current with trends. We pride ourselves on knowing what colors are in, what typefaces look outdated this week, as well as contemporary trends in language. We love to share our findings. Please enjoy this very educational video.

Good design doesn’t always require super creative genius. Armed with a basic understanding of typography, you, the non-designer can create well-designed, professional looking business documents that can carry your brand image to the next level. Note here though that great design, however, does require a certain level of genius and professionals like us should be hired for the really complicated stuff.

Typography involves the selection of appropriate typefaces and their arrangement on the page. Bad typography practices can negatively affect the reader’s view of your company. Good ones should be invisible, placing the focus on the content of the document and not the totally cool typeface you chose.         Read the rest of this entry »

I know this doesn’t really have anything to do with Design or Marketing but it soooooo worth sharing. These were a huge hit at our Pi Day event. Amazingly yummy. My client/friend Vicky made them with fresh lavender from her own fields and they disappeared so fast. She was nice enough to share her recipe. She says, “If you don’t have lavender florets, you can always use 1 drop of lavender essential oil.”

The dough needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour before rolling.
INGREDIENTS:
• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dried lavender buds
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 egg
• 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2-1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour          Read the rest of this entry »