Karen's Blog | Much ado about something.
8 simple things you should not do every day.
April 26, 2013 | Karen Laukkonen
Found this Inc. magazine article '8 things you should not do every day' that is a good reminder for all of us. I know lots of people who really should turn off their email/text notifications. I'm convinced that constant "LOOKATMELOOKATMELOOKATME" phone beeping is bad for everyone's blood pressure.
- Check my phone while I'm talking to someone. People notice. They really do.
- Multitask during a meeting. Don't do it, you might find that you are the only one.
- Think about people who don't make any difference in my life. Just think about the ones that do.
- Use multiple notifications. You don't need to know the instant you get an email. Or a text. Or a tweet. Change your settings.
- Let the past dictate the future. Learn from your mistakes, then move on.
- Wait until I'm sure I will succeed. Stop waiting, just jump in.
- Talk behind someone's back. Spend your time on productive discussions.
- Say "yes" when I really mean "no." We've all done it - said "yes" when we really wanted to say "no". Pull off the bandaid in one swoop, and get the pain over with by just saying "no" in th first place. It will be easier in the long run.
Sometimes focusing on the little things brings us the big results we really want — Much adieu, K.
Embracing the mobile web world.
February 11, 2013 | Karen Laukkonen
We don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk—if we recommend a Responsive Web Design (RWD) site for your business, you can bet we've already done one for ourselves.
According to my favorite mobile-first guy Luke Wroblewski, there are 1.27M Apple and Android mobile devices sold or activated per day—compared to 371,124 children born every day. We're making client sites mobile-friendly—so their sites are accessible by everyone, without that annoying pinching and scrolling.
We're ready—our new RWD site launched in December 2012 and we've got a bunch more in the works now. — Much adieu, K.
The story behind my logo, and my two degrees of separation from Michael Jackson.
September 4, 2012 | Karen Laukkonen
I once studied for three weeks in London through NY's School of Visual Arts study abroad program. Not to name drop, but Neville Brody was one of the instructors. (!) Before going, I took a typography night class at MCAD while working days at an ad agency, just to get warmed up.
Taught by P. Scott Makela, we were told to get our names set in a bunch of different fonts for a type exercise. One of the fonts I chose was Avant Garde, and Scott came over to me and said "Oh, we don't use Avant Garde." When I asked him who had decided that, he said it wasn't a 'real' typeface.
I got a little snotty and said maybe someone should tell that to famous designer Herb Lubalin, who created the font. So just to spite Makela, I designed my name with Avant Garde—cutting it all apart and putting it back together. He even admitted he liked it. 23 years later, I am still using that logo.
So now I am 2 degrees of separation from Michael Jackson—Makela went on to design typography for MJ's famous Scream video with sister Janet. He also designed for Apple, Nike and Sony and did the film titles for Fight Club.
Sadly, both P. Scott Makela and MJ are gone now. Scott died in 1999 from a rare infection, at the peak of his career. He was only 39.
RIP Scott, and thanks for the logo — Much adieu, K.
