Oh, fear.  What would advertisers do without you? The printed medium is a bit harder to get your (horrifying) point across, especially when it’s compared to it’s filmed alternative. Yet, a lot of companies are still managing to scare the crap out of people by using those limitations and using them well.

We’ve all heard that fear is a great motivator, and while that alone has been a fair chunk of the reasons behind the campaigns using the fear to motivate, there is still some debate if the Scary PSA really does push the message. Public service announcements have come a long way in visceral horror since the days of the now famous Reefer Madness so below, enjoy a look at some of the most horrifying (printed) public service announcements.

Some of the below aren’t funny, but instead use fear to accurately make their point. There are some subjects that cannot be tackled effectively without it, then there are others who really just go over the top. Some attempt at making a great point, but unfortunately wind up more offensive than they had indented (although, possibly a bit of common sense would have prevented that).

If you have seen one that you think should be included upload it using the form below (after all, there are a lot out there). Just make sure than you tell what the PSA is for.

You will need to sign up to upload, but it’s a quick and painless process.

Historically, kitchens were often drab, poorly ventilated, and hidden from view in a basement or annex, but by the end of the nineteenth century the kitchen became a bridgehead of modern thinking in the domestic sphere. It served as a testing ground for new materials, technologies, and power sources, where designers could also address growing modern concerns for hygiene, efficiency, and the rational organization of space. Since the innovations of Schütte-Lihotzky and her contemporaries in the 1920s, kitchens have continued to articulate, and at times actively challenge, our relationships to the food we eat and popular attitudes toward the domestic role of women, family life, consumerism, and even political ideology, as in the case of the celebrated 1959 “Kitchen Debate” between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

The exhibition begins in the early twentieth century with the idea of the labor-saving, rational kitchen as a “factory” or “laboratory”. From the Frankfurt kitchen to the standardized, stackable forms of Wagenfeld’s 1938 glass Kubus ware, and to posters issued by the British Ministry of Information during World War II, the dominant ethos is one of work, thrift, and hygiene. The next section continues the themes of ergonomic, functional design and technological innovation while steadily shifting the emphasis to consumer choice and the “leisure” kitchen, as captured in colorful 1950s Tupperware and Tom Wesselmann’s exuberant Still Life #30 collage of 1963. The final part of the exhibition restores a human element to the kitchen—in reality an environment of mess, neurosis, and frustration as well as aesthetic pleasure, sociability, and desire. Photographs, prints, media works and sculptural installations highlight the kitchen-related imagery that has permeated artistic practice since the late 1960s as a means of addressing larger debates around economics, politics, and gender.

The sections hinge around the installation of the Frankfurt Kitchen and a 1968 mobile fold-out unit manufactured by the Italian company Snaidero. These two complete kitchens are complemented by a variety of design objects, many of which represent the changing times: appliances powered by gas and electricity (the earliest a 1907 kettle designed by Peter Behrens for AEG); aluminum, heat-resistant glass and steel cooking utensils featured in MoMA’s landmark 1934 Machine Art exhibition; colorful plastics ranging from Colombini’s 1957 bucket to Japanese artificial ‘display’ food from the 1970s; and architectural plans, posters, archival photographs, printed ephemera, and selected artworks, all drawn from MoMA’s collection, including pieces by Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg. Also on view are rarely seen industrial films by manufacturing giants such as General Electric, spanning back as far as 1915, and stills from Hollywood films that helped to prime consumer desire for modern kitchens and appliances.

Throughout the exhibition prominence is given to the contribution of women, not only as the primary consumers and users of the domestic kitchen, but also as reformers, architects, designers, and as artists who have critically addressed kitchen culture and myths.

The Museum of Modern Art presents Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen, an exhibition that examines the kitchen and its continual redesign as a barometer of changing ideologies and technologies, and explores the twentieth-century transformation of the kitchen as a space of huge symbolic and practical significance. On view from September 15, 2010, through March 14, 2011, its centerpiece is MoMA’s recent acquisition of an unusually complete example of the iconic “Frankfurt Kitchen.” Designed in 1926–27 by Grete Schütte-Lihotzky, it is the earliest work by a female architect in the collection. In the aftermath of World War I, thousands of these kitchens were manufactured for public-housing estates being built around Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, as part of a comprehensive program to modernize the city and society. Schütte-Lihotzky’s compact and ergonomic design, with its integrated approach to storage, appliances, and work surfaces, reflected a commitment to transforming the lives of ordinary working people on an ambitious scale. Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen comprises works drawn from the Museum’s collection, including design objects, photography, film, prints, drawings, and paintings. The exhibition is organized by Juliet Kinchin, Curator, and Aidan O’Connor, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Press Release & Images Via: MoMA

While more than likely you have a lot more than 182 square feet to work with, you can still use the space you have to create a unique and (more) spacious living area. Paradox9 has featured a collection of micro-studio apartments before, and it has become a favorite piece here. For those who may want to recreate the tiny abodes in their own home, below is a look at how one person has transformed 182 square feet into a fabulous (and luxurious) home.

What Steve Sauer has done with his 182 square foot home is nothing short of amazing. (Image: Benjamin Benschneider/ The Seattle Times)

He’s turned the tiny area into a dwelling that is large enough for two people to comfortably live. He has documented the process and given instructions on how to make them at his website, Pico-Dwelling. He may be a bit more capable to build these than the average person, as he is an engineer for Boeing.

In the apartment’s previous life it was an accountant’s office. Sauer spend a few years planning, designing, and building it into the three-story design wonder that it is now. As for the full measurements? The space is 11’3″ x 16’2″ x 10’4″ tall with a total area of approximately 182 square feet. With a lot of furnishings from Ikea (not surprisingly) and his background, he’s transformed the area into a gorgeous living space.

The apartment boasts more than your average version as well, it has a full kitchen, a bathroom with shower, closet space, a dining table, and storage for two bikes. The only real ‘secret’ is the leveled living, as the whole design is fit into three separate ‘layers’.

To get an idea of the process and to get some ideas about how to do it on your own, here is Sauer’s how to page: Build/ Process

This was originally posted 22/12/09. Below I’ve updated some of the content, and added a few more resources. If you know about one that has helped you, feel free to mention it in the comments (even if it doesn’t fall under one of the categories).

For those designers and artists out there who may not exactly be swimming in money, it seems like the only resource out there are the free ones. Mucking through those however, can make even the strongest will snap.

Invoicing

• WordPress 3 Invoice: Handy invoicing in WordPress plug-in form.
• Side Job Track:Web-based job tracking, invoicing, reporting and project management software.

Time and Record Keeping

• Open Office: Open source office suite, comparable to Microsoft Office. While it may have less features, it’s not by too much. It has the word processor (of course), spreadsheets, and a vast array of different plugins and more (not even counting the other great things that this has).
• Toggl: Available as web based or downloadable time keeping.

Free Commercial Use Images:

A good image can make a website that much better, while not everyone may have the ability to pay for them. Below, 100% free (commercial use) stock images. There are a few websites out there that claim to have ‘free images’ and they are either far from free, or there may be some questionable legality on them.

• Morgue File: Morgue File has a ton of images on it’s website. On their home page: “for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not”.  The image library is vast, and you may be able to find some gems in there fairly easily.
• Open Clip Art Library: High quality (and open source) vectors, illustration, and other pieces all of it in the public domain.
• Stock.chng: More free stock photos.

Free Commercial Use Fonts:

• Larabie Fonts: Most of the fantastic fonts on this website have a free version.  They are all commercial-usable as well.  One feature that is seriously awesome?  The ability to change the display/ preview text to anything from ‘The Quick Brown Fox” to the latest headlines.

As a note, be careful when making your selection as not all the font options are free across the board.  If, upon check-out you see that there is a total aside from 0, scan the list.  While I would definitely insist one buys something from Larabie, to support the fantastic website.

• daFont: While you do need to make absolutely sure that the font you are getting is free for commercial use, the notification is right above the download link.  The website has a huge selection of all typefaces.

Information and Tutorials

There comes a time that anyone from beginner to masters of their trade may need some information.  The resources below are all personal favorites and have saved me some time and given their fair share of inspiration as well.

• Typedia:  If you happen to be a typography-o-phile** this website will ruin any chance you may have at free time for the foreseeable future.  It has a ton of information about typefaces, their use, their invention, and a ton of other information.
• PSDTuts:  This website has a brilliant set-up for their tutorials.  If you want to be able to download the sample files, you do have to join.  If, however you are looking for some new ideas or information- it’s free.  Even if you do pay, it’s only $9 a month.  So, just skip two lattes and you are set.

Copyright and Legal

If you are a freelancer, you need to protect yourself.  If you are normal, more than likely you aren’t fluent in legalese.  There are still some resources for when you can’t afford a translator (namely- a lawyer).  While these are far from being end alls, they will help protect you in the short run (at least until you can afford that lawyer).

• Creative Commons:For licensing and all that ‘fun’ thing.  It’s best to protect yourself early and avoiding any damages later.  For more information on Copyright, here’s the US government’s information page: Copyright Office.
• Contracts: About.com guide for designers.  This link has a bunch of resources for contract needs.

Miscellaneous

• Color & Code Cheat Sheets: In the interest of not repeating things, a handy list of cheat sheets (from this very website).
• Blender: Open source 3D software.

If you are building a brand, or looking to improve upon a present one developing a good strategy for social media is a good investment of your time and efforts. While searching for some advice is full of buzz words that really don’t mean anything, there is some sound advice that you can follow to help out with the success of your social campaign. Personally, I cannot stand buzzwords. They are up there with office-speak with the annoyance factor, so this article with be buzzword free (you’re welcome).

• Sign up: Sure, it is obvious that you need an account first.  However, it does need mentioning. If you don’t have a website yet or not, sign up using the name you plan on using. Go ahead and register the domain if you would like, but getting the name out there will help out later.
• Put in the time: Fill out your profile and actually use it. Don’t just set it up and pretend it doesn’t exist, that will not accomplish anything. Use the service as more to just promote yourself. Use it as if you were anyone else, which means updating and interacting with others on the website.
• Link it: On your main website, list (and link) to your profiles.
• Don’t spread yourself too thin: Nobody can update a thousand different websites. So, pick the ones that you think fit best and use them. It’s better to legitimately use a few websites, than have a ton of profiles that don’t do much else besides collect dust.
• Check out your competition: While yes, it is best to do your own thing- it may do some good to check out what similar websites to yours are doing with their own marketing.
• Offer a reason to sign up and connect: If it is a special discount, or something extra just for those who follow you on the network, give them a reason to do it.
• Maintain a steady voice: If your company uses a certain type of message, continue the theme in any social networking as well. If you are funny, use humor. If you are snarky, serious, whatever else – use that. Keeping it steady among all the different areas is important.

While each company needs something different, finding a way to use social networks for yours can help to increase sales and provide a community for customers. If it’s more comfortable for you, start out small on only one or two and build up from there.

With the web constantly evolving, even those with a fantastic memory need to find ways to remember the information about the latest in best practices and usability. This is even more true for those with the memory on par with a goldfish (myself included).  There are a lot of cheat sheets online, and finding some good (and of course relevant) ones is no easy task.

Below, some incredibly useful cheat sheets for those who work with code, design, and other website related things.

• WordPress Template Tags Reference

This reference chart is fantastic, it’s incredibly easy to navigate (simply click the heading and you get the code and description).  This is the very thing that is the inspiration for the rest of this list.  WordPress is one of the most popular platforms on the web, and this can save you a lot of time and headaches.

• Web Safe Color Chart

Finding the right colors can be a huge undertaking, especially if you are trying to work only with the proper code and trying to find a browser safe list (with the code). This makes the task much easier.

• System & Web Safe Font Chart

Not all fonts are system wide. The people at MIT put together this safe font list of the fonts that are found on all systems, for those who don’t want to deal with extra code for web design, this is an incredible reference (with examples of each).

• Style and Color

For those who don’t want to experiment, and are looking for the perfect color combination for their project, Colour Lovers really can’t be beat.  You can search by theme, color, or many other variables. The color choices that you can find a phenomenal, and really when it comes to style- this is the perfect website.

Is there a cheat sheet out there that you couldn’t live without? Post up a link in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list.

Art can be controversial, and at times downright offensive.

It’s a part of the nature of the beast. Art that pulls inspiration from current events will include reference to something the artist feels is important. They may highlight it in a way that they feel best expresses their opinion on a topic, but the presentation in a visual medium can come across as shocking, even more so than the written word.

Fashion and hard hitting current events are not usually thought of in the same way. Often photographers on a shoot for a fashion magazine will pull topics from current happenings and will utilize the medium to make a statement. In the case of Italian Vogue, photographer Steven Meisel and model Kristen McMenamy created a set of images that are inspired by the Gulf Oil spill.

Here is the behind the scenes video of the shoot (NY Times):

Kristen McMenamy in the “survivor” version, where she interprets in images the environmental drama that’s afflicting the Gulf of Mexico. (Italian Vogue)

It’s a topic that will be offensive, there is no way to sugar-coat the disaster in the Gulf.  In looking at the images from the shoot, the mixture of fashion and the oil, grime, and filth that litter the area the photographs are powerful. They are dark and macabre, with McMenamy assuming poses that emulate the suffering that is found in the Gulf. McMenamy is shown caught up in tangled nets, spitting up oil, and even posing as a dying seal. They are hard to look at, especially when the disaster is still happening. With the overtones highlighting the obvious misery, they are hard to look at.

There is a lot of controversy coming from the shoot, which appears in the August Issue of Italian Vogue (only available in Milan), with many accusing Meisel of just being shocking and offensive without any other depth. The images however do serve to illustrate the disaster, and while the presentation of being in Vogue is a part of the problem, the images do serve to show more than just McMenamy and the clothing.

Click an image to view a larger version:

While there really are online jobs out there, there seems to be more confusion involving them and outright lies to be had than real and substantial information. Admittedly, there seems to be more in the way of outright scams than real work when you take a look at listings, however there are ways to tell what is real from what is a scam.

Below are quick points to look out for:

• Promises of huge earnings: Let’s face it no job is going to be giving you any kind of huge sum if you don’t have experience.
• The Words ‘Data-Entry’: Data entry is real work, BUT it is something you need to  train for.  Most of the ‘data entry’ jobs online are surveys which may or may not pay out.

To find legit work online jobs, you do need a definable set of skills.  Considering the largest growing portion of online jobs is blogging, writing is a must.  While you may be able to find jobs for coding or art, typically you need more experience than the ability to code.

No matter what you would like to look into, you need a way to back up any claims.  Anyone can claim to write or code, but claiming something won’t get you jobs.  Create a portfolio or a blog (there are tons of free areas to get set up, WordPress and Blogger being two of the best) and get to work showing your skills.

Any website you create doesn’t have to be insanely popular to get jobs from, it’s just to show that you really can do what you say you can.  It should have at minimum 10 or so posts or examples (fairly arbitrary number, but you need a good amount up to show what you can do).

So what can you expect?

• Rejection.  You will be rejected and ignored more often than you get a declined offer.  It may or may not be anything against you, often you just won’t know.  The important thing is to keep trying.
• Low pay.  You more than likely aren’t going to get much, especially if you are just starting out.  If you are brand new at writing online (and the same can be said about other areas of online work) getting more to add to your resume may be able to help more with early gigs, so it may be worth taking lower paid jobs for a while.
• A lot of work.  You will work, a lot.  Often the hours invested at first may not seem to be worth it, and often you may not want to work on a certain day.  Yet, you are expected to so if you are serious about working online you have to work even if you ‘aren’t feeling up to it’.  It will get better, and those long hours will be worth more in the end, and as you keep it up, it does become a lot easier.
• Topics you may not be interested in.  Most of the time you don’t get to pick and choose what you are writing about.  At times you may find a topic boring, or downright dreadful (admittedly some of us do get lucky).

It’s not a job field for everyone, and you really need a lot of time to invest and dedication to the work.  When you are looking for a source of income online, remember the adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Now, don’t get me wrong for all I know this is something else.  This is all merely something I just noticed and am incredibly uncertain about, see below and judge for yourself.  Normally I don’t write these kinds of articles here, and it admittedly has bothered me enough.  Considering that this ad is normally on this website, I’m putting this here to basically say: Buyer beware.

There is this ‘University’ (well, claimed to be university) that advertises a lot on my websites.  I finally was curious enough to Google them, and lo and behold I found Yelp reviews and they are all incredibly positive.  I read all of them and got to to bottom where it wanted me to verify I wasn’t a robot to see the rest of the reviews.

Last I checked it wasn’t indeed a robot, so I entered the code to reveal the rest of the comments, thinking of course they were simply older and less relevant.

What did it show?

All the negative reviews.

Strange I must add, mainly due to the ‘Review Filter’  heading they have (completely copy/pasted from the website):

Review Filter – Huh?

Yelp has an automated review filter to keep the site’s content as useful and trustworthy as possible. Read More

Erm, but the reviews that were filtered out were the negative reviews.

Before:

5 Star Review:

I have graduated from **** in 2005 and highly recommend it. I am thinking about going back for a Master’s degree in Internet Marketing. Full Sail is one of the best entertainment / arts schools in the world with cutting edge equipment and technology. It can be a very hard school, and therefore a lot of people badger the name when they don’t make it past the core classes. It won’t guarantee you a job, but it will give you all the tool and resources to launch your career in one of the most fascinating industries. Be ready to work very hard.

And:

5 Star Review:

****actually invests in giving each student industry relevant technology to work on that will still be relevant after graduation. My wife ended up dropping out, now she’s going to start at Full Sail in March I believe. She’ll be in Computer Animation, and from what the course adviser said they get even more cool toys than what we get, so that she can scan illustrations and such. I don’t think any competitor does that. Your stuck with whatever computer you had before enrolling, so
everybody is using different technology, which skews performance towards those with the most money. The instructors are definitely good, too. Although I can’t compare to any other online or physical colleges, everybody seems to be working in the field they teach.

Basically the whole comment was how you would be getting a super awesome laptop and some considerably expensive programs.  Okay, well sure no problem.

A lot of schools do that.  Some high schools as well, I sort of understand the logic behind it (really just to level the playing ground and all) but either way the whole review was just… off.  It basically made it sound as if getting new gadgets was the only fantastic part.

I do get that, and can see how it’s a bonus, but for the most part anything relevant to the educational part was.. light.

After the filter turned off:

1 Star Review:

I was a potential student for the online graphic design degree program.  I am a veteran at which my school is being taken care of by the Veteran’s Administration so the only thing I needed to do was find a school.  I have to say that I was very impressed by their website but I was extremely unimpressed by the admissions, financial aid department.  I practically did all the paperwork to include FAFSA but when I did have a question I would never get a return phone call or email.  after a week of no responses I went somewhere else, but usually when schools know I am a guarantee student and the money is for sure they bend over backwards, it was major red flags for me when a school lacks communication because if they can’t get back to me now for simple forms I doubt they are much help once I am a student.  So I have to say  def looks the part but acting it is a whole other story.

And:

1 Star Review:

The production company I work for was looking for graduate cadidates [sic] and we reviewed a couple people from ***. Each of them had completed a degree program but their reels were surprisingly paper thin and the work were only so, so. I heard **** charges $72,000 now, I could use that money, make my own movie and learn more myself. How the hell did they to graduate? Watch out for institutions that are in the business of making money not education.

While those are only two examples picked out, there are others from students and whatnot as well.

To get (finally) to the point, does yelp hide the negative reviews?  After all, if someone is just doing a very quick search, they are fairly unlikely to enter the captcha.  It has a noindex for the bots out there so they cannot ‘see’ the page.  However, the before view (before the captcha) doesn’t (I’ve checked), so all bots can read are those glowing bits and pieces.

Oh dolls, that marker of childhood innocence. That wonderful toy that many a wee child had as a favorite plaything, that oddly horrifying object that has turned so many into a quivering thing in the corner.

So, the below isn’t the ‘typical’, nor are they safe for your sanity. They are however incredible takes on such an innocent toy. Any of these would be more at home in a horror movie than in a toy chest, but they do show a lot of talent (horrifying, horrifying talent).

Click an image to start the gallery, attribution in under all images (the other works my these artists are as incredible):