“The Rise and Fall of Design Within Reach”
(article via Fast Company)

Transparency: The Best and Worst Cities to Look for Work
(via GOOD, collaboration with Gavin Potenza)

Pentagram Papers 39: SIGNS 

“We have all seen the homeless on street corners holding hand-scrawled signs. Their messages are desperate, heartbreaking, and at times, even humorous. These naked forms of self-expression have unintentionally become some of the most basic, raw and compelling examples of graphic communication in our society today. The 39th edition of our privately published Pentagram Papers series was designed by DJ Stout…”

The AIGA / Aquent Salary Survey 2009 for design professionals is now available as a downloadable pdf. I think printed copies will be sent to AIGA members (atleast that was the case in previous years). In the survey AIGA gathered advice from top design professionals in the industry, including Michael Bierut (page seen above). In addition, there is an online salary calculator. Like most salary surveys, the figures should be taken with a grain of salt (data collected from approx. 9,000 design professionals). Nonetheless, it serves as a good overview and an essential resource for designers and the creative industry.

Transparency: The Largest Bankruptcies in History | GOOD, collaboration with Always with Honor

What if credit cards were designed more like food nutrition labels?

Op-Chart: Healthy Credit designed by David Gibson, Carla Hall and Sylvia Harris
(via NYTimes.com)

shaneblog:

thedailywhat:

Crisis Art of the Day: After being fired from his job as an art designer, Brian Rushton Phillips withdrew what little money he had left in his bank account and did what any good artist would do: He used it to make a statement.

His “Financial Security (Blanket)” was constructed using 208 single dollar bills sewn together with thread.

Click here to read an interview with Phillips in which he discusses using the last of his money on Blanket, and how being forced to live on credit has caused him to re-evaluate his lifestyle.

[thanks Michael!]

Eduardo Recife’s photo illustration accompanying the “Generation OMG” article in The New York Times (an unusual but thought provoking article)

“In 1951, Time magazine set out to paint a portrait of the nation’s youth, those born into the Great Depression. It doomed them as the Silent Generation, and a generally drab lot: cautious and resigned, uninterested in striking out in new directions or shaping the great issues of the day — the outwardly efficient types whose inner agonies the novel “Revolutionary Road” would dissect a decade later…Today’s youngest children — the recession babies — are being raised in the same kind of protective bubble as the Depression babies…” —Kate Zernike writes for the NY Times

President Obama’s budget proposal is surprisingly a downloadable pdf that is easy to read, complete with chart graphics. 

The Big Picture: At work around the world in photographs (via Boston.com, image credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

An incredibly beautiful and expansive collection of pre-inflationary German currency (Notgeld) are being added to flickr. Each note is unique from the other, and it was impossible to decide on a favorite.

Above currency note is Alte Hansestadt Lemgo - 25 Pf
(via Iliazd)

Thanks to design observer for sharing a link on their site for this welcomed new archive.

How Starbucks Saved My Life

A story about an advertising executive earning a 6-figure salary at J. Walter Thompson who loses his job and finds happiness while working at Starbucks.

A feature film based on Michael Gill’s memoir will be directed by Gus Van Sant and supposedly will star Tom Hanks (due out in 2012?).

Embedded video from CNN Video

(via CNN)

Starbucks Will Stop Brewing Decaf After Noon
(via newser)

As someone who drinks coffee almost entirely because of the caffeine not taste, I never really understood why someone would want decaf coffee. But this news is odd. $400 million dollars is a lot of money. So maybe if you have to wait too long for Starbucks to freshly brew your decaf coffee, then consider one of the local joints that probably has a better tasting brew anyway.