Steven Heller, Co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at The School of Visual Arts, speaks with AIGA Philly on the outpouring of posters for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Heller also compares today’s political graphics to the campaign posters of a previous generation, and the relationship between democracy and design. Produced by Peter Camburn & Craig Schlanser for AIGA Philadelphia

I recently came across this rare 3 part interview with Graphic Designer Pioneer Paul Rand. I have written on the “Godfather of Graphic Design” here on this site and like any designer consider him one of my many heroes. What I was not expecting to learn was that the gentleman interviewing Rand, Miggs Burroughs, was by definition a graphic design icon himself.

Sites are striking in all different ways, but they are united by this: do the biggest thing you possibly can, and drive contacts to Congress. Don’t be silent that day. Tweet all day from your official company account (#SOPASTRIKE) and share news on sites like reddit. Tweet all day from your official company account (#SOPASTRIKE) and share news on sites like reddit.

My Android reader just arrived from Square, I have yet to dig into it but this new technology looks very promising. Square has been around for a while, but I just recently was told about it by a client. Square has to have some of the bigger online payment gateways scrambling to catch up. The concept is far from new, but for some reason it has not been disseminated on a large scale…

Many well businesses become frustrated when their social media marketing efforts fall short or do not benefit their bottom line. The biggest issue is that most companies assume social media marketing is the holy grail. I Hate to break it to you, but that’s not how it works. It takes time, effort, and resources before this new media will have an impact on your brand and ROI.

We’re running out of time for stopping internet censorship. Congress is about to pass internet censorship, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill – PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House – to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. Go To a Town Hall – The Senate is scheduled to vote on the internet censorship bill on Tuesday, January 24th…

I recently switched my personal Facebook profile over to the new Timeline interface and am not entirely sure I have a opinion as of yet. As a designer, the interactive bells and whistles are appealing, but I am not entirely confident how accessible the new approach is to the masses. I am particularly concerned with older demographics who struggle with how to use the social media site to begin with.

Some say “Homeless.” and others say “Please help.” All are printed on white paper in Helvetica, a blocky font so distinct that a feature-length documentary was made in its honor. If you spend much time downtown, you’ve probably noticed the signs. They’re difficult to miss — arresting in their simplicity, crisp enough to be counterintuitive in the hands of panhandlers. Which, of course, is the point.”

A couple months ago, naturally being a graphic designer, a child of the 80′s and of course a semi-passive Star Wars fan, I started looking into the the Star Wars logo and the designer behind the work. To my surprise, I soon learned of some of the controversy not only behind this logo, but behind it’s use of Helvetica (which comes with the territory if you choose to use it to this day).