California + The Galactic Empire

Sket-One-Galactic-Empire-Flag

What do you get when you combine California with the Galactic Empire?

Sket One has one idea…

"This piece continues my style of mash ups taking everyday visuals and adding a slight twist of humor or thought to them, to think about how the items connect and intertwine trough pop culture. I wanted to pay homage to 2 things i love in my life Star Wars and California." – Sket One

HT INSIDE THE ROCK POSTER FRAME BLOG: Sket One Galactic Empire Print & Flag Release Details.

While the flag print is now sold out, you can still order a print poster of the image for a limited time.

Found…

Found: Cards Against Humanity – A free card game for horrible people

Unlike most of the party games you’ve played before, Cards Against Humanity is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends.

The game is simple. Each round, one player asks a question from a Black Card, and everyone else answers with their funniest White Card.

Aaron Wood says its a lot like Apples to Apples.

Love that it’s available as a free download via Creative Commons or you can purchase the game pre-packaged for $25.

Using design to inform and shift opinion

Money wins Elections

It’s amazing how geared we are to visual cues these days and how powerful visualization can be in helping us understand and comprehend information.

A good infographic can go a long way in informing an audience and/or swaying them to your side – depending on how the data and information is presented.

I’ve been collecting infographics on Pinterest for a year or so now and it’s been fascinating to see how the graphics can be used to tell a story and how infographics are evolving.

Just check out what letsfreecongress.org is doing with their interactive infographic/website. Not only is it responsive (looks great on mobile) but each section evolves and changes as you scroll down the page. And a number of areas display hidden information while you hover over them.

Co.Design also writes about how infographics are changing Congress:

Back in June, something amazing happened in Congress. During the annual long-term budget outlook hearing, Maryland Congressman Chris van Hollen raised a single piece of paper confidently in the air. He pointed at it, cited it, and used it as an anchor for discussion on the future of our economy.

This paper wasn’t a bill or even a full budget report. It was an infographic.

Today, it seems like much of that hearing was for naught; gridlock prevailed, and the sequester came to fruition. But that moment still represented a turning point in the way Congress understands the costs of public policy–all thanks to one go-getter in the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) who’s trying to visualize a more sensible future.

Pretty fascinating stuff.

Trying some new theming

I’m playing with a few different site designs behind the scenes.

(Love me some WAMP server BTW).

I think I’ll keep things fairly basic and flat like the last few design iterations but I’m not sold on a color scheme yet.

What do you think?