Our escape from Microsoft Office

Posted by on Feb 2, 2012 in creativity, design, open source, technology, Uncategorized
Our escape from Microsoft Office

Shew Design is by no means an anti-Microsoft company. We have used (and enjoyed) Microsoft products for years. I think Windows continues to get better and better and my Windows based design computers are, despite the occasional hiccup, wonderful, remarkable contraptions. No creative person in the history in the world prior to this point has ...

Powering past coal

Posted by on Dec 16, 2011 in design, marketing, messaging, technology
Powering past coal

The Power Past Coal website was conceived to be a media hub around the coal train issue impacting the Pacific Northwest. For the unfamiliar: the issue is about a coal terminal proposed to be built at Cherry Point in Whatcom County. If built, this would create an enormous influx of trains carrying coal – and with ...

the virtues of experimentation

Posted by on Mar 29, 2011 in creativity, design, marketing, our space, technology, Uncategorized

Thinking about where I invest my time and energy, I look at other artists and see what I can learn from the decisions they’ve made. Without a doubt, the best creative people I know are people who have made a life choice of doggedly exploring new ways of working and thinking about their craft – whatever ...

first steps: cloud computing

Posted by on Mar 2, 2011 in creativity, design, marketing, technology

For the past year or so, our company has been gradually using more web-based applications as part of our daily work. So far, the process has been an unqualified success. Cloud computing not only allows us to work more efficiently but it has given us new resources that open the door to a whole new ...

what on earth are people looking for?

Posted by on Jan 26, 2010 in language, marketing, technology

For the past few months, I’ve been exploring a powerful tool that has exerted a subtle but profound influence on my professional life. Google Insights has become a backdrop for our strategic work, and truth be told, a bit of a fascinating toy as well. On a technical level, Insights is a free search engine ...

three great learning tools – free!

Posted by on Jan 19, 2010 in free, technology, TED

Doing research is a huge part of my professional life, and for the most part I love doing it – thanks in no small part to the amazing tools available today.  Below are some of my favorites, all of which are free. Google Reader This application lets you efficiently monitor any number of blogs, which ...

Google’s low tech video

Posted by on Dec 22, 2009 in marketing, technology

I thought this little ad was brilliant in terms of ideas and execution – a nice combination of high and low tech. I especially liked the thoughtfulness of conveying technical, abstract ideas as metaphors with string, balloons, and dye.