This is a good post on the basics of trademarks by Linda Joy Kattwinkel (via AIGA CPM). There is a marked difference between copyrights and trademarks, and all designers should be well aware of the implications of each.

From the article:

“Unlike copyright, ownership of a trademark is not about who created the mark. Trademark rights are created by using the trademark for goods and services in commerce. So when you create a logo for a client, your client will own trademark rights in that logo as soon as she starts using the logo on products or promotions for her company.”

Also, if you’re researching available trademarks, be sure to check out the Trademark Electronic Search System (lovingly referred to as TESS).

The folks at Walmart are getting ready to bust out their new logo in the Fall – which unsurprisingly is just as bad as the service in their stores. Seriously? This is all they could come up with?

A very fun little quiz for you font aficionados out there. I got a 32/34 — bummer.

A little bit ago I posted about SoDA but I did not know exactly what the program was and I have yet to receive any updates on it.

Today, I decided to follow-up and see if I could gain any more knowledge on this new organization - and trusty ol’ Google didn’t disappoint - granted I’m a little late. SoDA is an Adobe-sponsored organization with a goal “to Drive Best Practices and Industry Guidelines” in the interactive design community. It is composed of 18 world renowned digital agencies which will

“meet regularly to address issues such as technical complexity, rapid changes in content distribution, scaling issues, timelines and technology’s impact on budgets — all of which effect the quality, innovation and accessibility of digital media.”

As SoDA’s role in the community becomes clearer, I am sure we will be hearing more about it. As a matter-of-fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Adobe makes a big hoopla over this at FlashForward in August, where all of these agencies are usually gathered for Adobe’s big keynote.

Of particular interest to me is the opportunity SoDA has to fill the gap left by AIGA in interactive media and my hopes are that it does not become just another marketing organization, or worse yet, another developer conference (we have plenty of those), but instead, focuses more heavily on art and design using interactive media as its canvas. One can only hope.

Read the full press-release | Visit SoDA Website

As I’m sure is the case with many people in my field (interactive media), I constantly get the feeling that my skill set is quickly becoming obsolete. With every passing day it seems like new technologies emerge and there are people all over the world pushing the boundaries of interactivity to a new level. So how do you compete or even keep up with all of these new technologies? You don’t. You learn to evolve and adapt your skills to relevant situations and problems. And above all, you need to let go and realize that technology will change faster than you can handle.

Of course there are things that you should be keeping up with. These are the things that keep you relevant in the field, regardless of what your field may be.

1. Read up!
I am guilty of this myself, but I have found (for the most part) that designers don’t usually like to read. Our brains like the big pretty pictures and skip over the “fuzzy grey stuff” otherwise known as copy. Well, there’s no better way to keep current and relevant than to know what’s going on in your surroundings, and most of that information is acquired by reading. Whether it’s Wired’s latest issue or yesterday’s paper, having your focus shifted to something other than design might bring fresh new insight to your thinking process.

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