The Apple Logo

The Apple logo. Is there a more recognised logo worldwide? It must be up there in the top few. This logo is a real success story; it's been around for 34 years and, save colour/texture changes, has remained the same. Not many logos can say that.

Today I read an interview with Rob Janoff, the graphic designer behind the Apple logo. It's a pretty interesting insight into the mind of a designer who kicked things off for a brand that has ultimately been so successful, people get the logo tattooed on themselves. How many companies can say their brand is so strong, their customers want it permanently on their bodies? Not many.

I won't share the whole thing, just my favourite part. Before I read this, I presumed that Apple would have hired the cream of the crop and that the design process would have been a laboured, intensive process. If I was a graphic designer, I'd probably want to know this guy's secret. It's pretty eye-opening, and really refreshing to see that even Apple were a start-up too once - only giving a brief of "don't make it too cute".

"Well, I'm probably the least religious person, so Adam and Eve didn't have anything to do with it. The bite of knowledge sounds fabulous, but that's not it. And, there is a whole lot of other lure about it. Turing the famous supposed father of computer science who committed suicide in the early 50's was british and was accused of being homosexual, which he was. He was facing a jail sentence so he committed suicide to avoid all that. So, I heard one of the legends being that the colored logo was an homage to him. People think I did the colored stripes because of the gay flag. And, that was something really thought for a long time. The other really cool part was that apparently he killed himself with a cyanide laced apple. And, then I found out Alan Turing's favorite childhood story was Snow White where she falls asleep forever for eating a poisoned apple to be woken up by the handsome prince. Anyway, when I explain the real reason why I did the bite it's kind of a let down. But I'll tell you. I designed it with a bite for scale, so people get that it was an apple not a cherry. Also it was kind of iconic about taking a bite out of an apple. Something that everyone can experience. It goes across cultures. If anybody ever had an apple he probably bitten into it and that's what you get. It was after I designed it, that my creative director told me: "Well you know, there is a computer term called byte". And I was like: "You're kidding!" 

Part of me kind of wishes Steve Jobs had designed it, though. I still feel such a sense of "ownership" to my company... I contemplated hiring a graphic designer, but at the moment my company is ME and I wanted to retain, or at least be a part of, what defines it visually.

20 Reasons Why People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower

Today I found an article on 20 reasons why many people get their best ideas in the shower. It's so true! So I thought I'd share it - some interesting points here, I'd be interested to know if there's any real science/psychology behind it. 

1. Showering signals "a new day" or "new beginning."

2. You're usually alone, with time to reflect.

3. Interruptions are rare.

4. The rush of water creates a kind of "white noise" that makes concentration easier.

5. Shower stalls look like little incubation chambers.

6. Water is associated with "contemplation" (i.e. sitting near a river, lake, or ocean.)

7. Showering is a metaphor for "getting rid of the dirt" -- the stuff that covers up what's beneath.

8. Showering is a ritual. Lots of creative people like to have little rituals to get their head in the right place.

9. You can write your ideas on the walls with a water soluble pen.

10. There's not a lot of judgment or analysis going on in a shower.

11. A hot shower opens the pores -- and by extension, maybe the mind.

12. Showering wakes up you. It makes you more alert.

13. Showering is a relaxing and stress free experience. With nothing to stress about, your mind is free to roam new territories.

14. If you shampoo, you're massaging your head. That's gotta be good.

15. It's hard to check your iphone or Blackberry in a shower.

16. Albert Einstein also did his best thinking near a shower. ("Why is it I always get my best ideas while shaving?")

17. Water is associated with "flow." Being in the "flow state" is often a precursor to creative thinking.

18. There is no deliverable expected of you.

19. If you shower with a friend, and he/she happens to be in a brainstorming mode, lots of great ideas get sparked.

20. Showering is easy. Not a lot of thinking is required to make it happen, which frees your mind to think about other things.

Sleep

Gosh, I haven't updated since January! I'm a bad blogger. I've been run off my feet lately - things at my company Little Riot are getting pretty hectic. Pillow Talk is nearing the end of its £25,000 development phase and is being developed for the commercial market. This time last year I don't think I'd even come up with the idea, it blows my mind how quickly it's all happened.

Sadly, one of the downsides of being constantly stressed out and having to think about 100 different things at once, is lack of sleep. I also hurt my back a few weeks ago which added to the problem - it's even harder to relax when all the muscles you're lying on are really tense/tight. I was doing some research online about sleep, and came across this rather interesting graphic, which I thought I'd share with you all.


Via: Psychology Degree

Not that it's of any interest, but for the record I went to a chiropractor and got my back fixed. It was SERIOUSLY AMAZING. Best £40 I've ever spent - felt a million times better afterwards and had such a great sleep that night. Wish I hadn't waited so long! Never again will I put up with back pain for over a week when some magical man can crack it all out of me.

My 2010

A year coming to an end always makes me slightly nostalgic and reflective. I like to look back at my year and summarised the main events of each month and what they've meant to me. So, this is my 2010.


JANUARY
Saw in the New Year at a pretty good house party/fire/BBQ in Dundee.
John took me to Egypt for my Christmas present, it was amazing.
Started the home run towards my final degree project.

FEBRUARY

Lots of nights out!

Was hating my degree project

Spent a lot of time discussing my life with the cat

John spoiled me rotten on Valentines Day

MARCH

Tache Bash, the fundraising event for our degree show

Changed my project idea 6 weeks before the end of the year - BEST THING I EVER DID.

Pretty much just slaved away for all of March doing project work.

APRIL

Didn't eat or sleep for weeks as I frantically worked on my project

Pillow Talk went viral

Got featured on Gizmodo which, it's safe to say, has changed my life

Apparently didn't take many photos as I was so busy

My horse kept me sane

MAY

Where do I start? Gave my final ever presentation at uni.

Was awarded a First Class Honours degree.

Degree Show opened.

Saw the true colours of some of my "friends".

Was interviewed on BBC Radio and made the front cover of a National newspaper

Photographed my first wedding

JUNE

Graduated from uni!

Went to grad ball

Drank my own bodyweight in champagne

Did a lot of Freelance work.

Spent a lovely weekend in Loch Lomond with John and his family

Was offered a PhD place at Newcastle uni.

(These are my two best friends in the whole world)

JULY

Went to T in the Park

Chilled the hell out since uni was finished.

Grew a giant courgette.

Drove a lot.

Celebrated one year with John. Well, I did, he was at sea!

AUGUST

Pretty much just went on holiday a lot.

Went to Greece with John.

Went to France with John to visit my folks at their house there.

Had my PhD offer pulled out from under my feet and was suddenly left questioning what to do with the rest of my life again

SEPTEMBER

Moved to Newcastle

Started my own company

Started a Masters of Research at Newcastle University

Did a LOT of paperwork in my newfound Director role

OCTOBER

Turned 23! Worst birthday ever, alone in Newcastle hardly knowing anyone. Spent it at the aquarium with my 3yr old pseudo-nephew, who also shares my birthday. 

Won £25,000 the week after which kind of made up for it.

Went to London.

Presented Pillow Talk at the Innovate 10 Conference

Met some old friends :)

NOVEMBER

November was bad for a variety of reasons.

But it still had its good parts... like going to Spain

DECEMBER

Finally started to feel settled in Newcastle

Drank more jagerbombs in one night than I will ever again, across the rest of my life!

Home to Scotland for Christmas.

All in all, it's been a funny year. It saw my last year of university, the last time I would enjoy the company of all the people I spent the best four years of my life with. It saw the end of four years of studying, of blood sweat and tears, becoming one single certificate which will define my career prospects for decades to come. Two thousand and ten was a year which, for me, held a huge life transition. 

And let's not forget the people. I found out in 2010 that a lot of people weren't who I really thought they were (or perhaps I wasn't who they thought I was?) But either way, as the year draws to a close, I call far less people my friends. This doesn't bother me - those I have lost were not worth my time, and those who remain will stay with me forever. Jen will forever be my best friend, and I'll never forget the loyalty of Keiran and - until nearer the end - Neil. I suppose, in a way, 2010 has shown me what I expect from people and who I can expect it from. It has also carried through some old friendships which, through thick and thin, only become stronger for each New Year they see (Ross, I'm looking at you).

Two thousand and ten started okay, slid into a Springtime Slump and then gave me everything I could have asked for in the summer. Autumn was hard, harder still, but I'm approaching 2011 with a strange sense of optimism. I hope you all have a good one too. 

Russell Brand on Love

Russell Brand writing about Katy Perry. I don't like Russell Brand in the slightest, but this is lovely. 

Trust

–noun

1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

2. confident expectation of something; hope.

–verb 

3. to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.

4. to believe.

5. to expect confidently; hope (usually fol. by a clause or infinitive as object): trusting the job would soon be finished; trusting to find oil on the land.

Trust. What is trust? We use the word so boldly but do we ever stop to question what it really means? We talk about it with family, with friends and with colleagues. We talk about it online and offline, it is responsible for our deepest secrets and for the successful completion of many daily tasks. We are defining it, outlining it and promoting it to each other, but the definition of trust seems less concrete. As I battle the ups and downs of various situations life throws at me, I am finding myself becoming more aware of what moves me to “trust” - and what undermines that. 

There are so many different kinds of trust. I trust my parents to love me unconditionally no matter what decisions I make in life. I trust my boyfriend not to cheat on me. I trust online shops to send me the items I have paid for. Is any kind of trust more important than another? 

The birth and creation of trust is a grey area. Trusting someone should be hard but we seem to accept that it is a necessary starting point in any relationship or friendship. Where do we find it in ourselves? Trust opens us up and presents our vulnerability to anyone we bestow it upon. It exposes us in a way few other emotional commitments do. In doing this, we expect our openness to be treated with respect and our disadvantages and weaknesses not to be taken advantage of. As individuals, we have to do this in good faith. But how do you prove this trust? Can it be proved? People have many flaws but we are all so beautifully raw and vulnerable when we initially interact with people. We can be guarded and attempt to shield our cores but ultimately, we have to trust based upon nothing. 

The reality is, our ability to trust is probably one of our purest traits as human beings. Truth can be so easily lost. Once the damage is done, the notion that you might ever trust that person again can feel impossible. When we are hurt or betrayed by someone and the trust is no longer complete, we find it difficult to expose ourselves again. It takes this “proof” that we cannot trust them before we experience the doubt, yet we trust so openly and completely in the beginning with no solid foundations. 

I’ve been thinking about this for days but I still don’t know what trust is. All is know is that trust is both brave and vulnerable. Trust is not sparing my feelings. Trust is the hard truth spoken gently. We can lose it before we have it or find where we least expect it. Trust can be given, but not invented, stolen, or demanded.

The painful truth about trust is that, once it is shattered, we cannot glue it back together. Like good health, generosity, or love, we are most reminded of its value when it is gone. 

A Week in October

photo: dbrightwell

About four weeks ago I moved to Newcastle or, more specifically, to a little coastal town to the South East (I think, don't quote me on it) of the city. I'm not sure if I'm officially in Whitley Bay or not, but I do know that I'm close enough to the beach to enjoy it whenever I want. I've had a couple of long walks along it this week but, in a sea of dog walkers, I felt a bit out of place.

I moved here to live with my boyfriend but he works at sea and is away at the moment so I've had a lot of time to explore the local area. Whitley Bay seems to be quite cheap and cheerful in areas, the street with all the bars/pubs is quite the meat market on a Saturday night! However the town centre does have lots of teashops, and I am a sucker for a good teashop. I also live across the road from a bakery which sells pretty epic cupcakes, so all in all I hope this is going to be a good place for me.

Other things I've enjoyed this week:

• Coffee with Katy Trouble - a very talented little lady, well worth reading
• Goodbye, New York, and Thanks for Breaking my Heart -  the NY Times is one of my favourite online reads and this article struck a chord with me for some reason
• 15 Signs You'll Be Rich - some interesting statistics on wage statistics. Sadly being small and rotund, things aren't looking good for me. But hey, being blonde counts for something apparently
• Unicorn After Wisdom Teeth - so funny, not sure how I haven't seen this before now!

xo