Friend of TDOD Mr Craig Oldham has been in touch regarding the second edition of his “Hand Written Letter Project”.

“Due to demand the Hand.Written.Letter.Project has been re-published and updated to represent the ongoing project in its rightful analogue form.

This new edition features an expanded collection of new correspondence from the HWLP, including more additions from the Design worlds leading figures alongside heart- felt correspondence from people who just had something they wished to say.”

Get your copy here for £19.99 +PP – it is also now available from Selfridges & Co. stores in the UK.

There is a collectable casing limited to a 50 pressing available on a first come first served basis for £39.99 +PP (book included).

A percentage of proceeds from this book will be donated to the National Literacy Trust.

In 2003 he wrote his first book ‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’, followed in 2006 by ‘Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite’ describing the creative processes of good design as a metaphor for business practice.

‘It’s Not How Good You Are…’ is a concise guide to making the most of yourself – a pocket ‘bible’ for the talented and timid to make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible. After decades at the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries, Paul Arden offers insights into such diverse subjects as the value of being fired and why it’s often better to be wrong than to be right.

He gives original and logical answers to everyday questions. Much of it appears obvious when you read it, but aren’t all questions easy when you know the answers? Whether you are a school-leaver, self-employed or a managing director, this book is invaluable for everyone who aspires to succeed.

I’ve included a few excerpts below;

A vital book for any designer and at 120 odd pages can be read in a few short journeys over and over again. Available from most good book stores and some rubbish ones too.

It’s that time of year again. There’s something about the festive season that says self promotion here at ico.

Last year we designed a website that automatically turned all of the tweets with the hashtag ‘xmas’ into typographic snowflakes, and displayed them as falling digital snow. From this we could also extract individual tweets which enabled us to send unique Christmas cards to friends and clients.

The next logical step was to create a physical document of these global digital communications. With this in mind, we recorded all the Twitter messages sent on 25th December 2010. We then took the unusual route of using Processing to layout all 6651 tweets and tweetflake illustrations across the cloth bound tome’s pages. Arranged in chronological order, the book becomes a work of reference. Look closer and each tweet holds its own personal sentiment. Whether serious, touching, funny, ridiculous, or just plain rude, together the messages paint an honest picture of modern-day views and values associated with the festive season.

Are you one of the 6651? find out here.

The brand is designed to create a national movement, not just another campaign. It features a flexible logo that changes and evolves to communicate different messaging – like an ongoing conversation. The identity is very bold, simple and clear, and deliberately cost effective to implement. Using two colours and often, just four words.

It’s a very verbal, typographic brand. This negates the problem of having to buy lots of images (it’s a charity after all). The tone of voice is direct. But whenever we have something negative to say, we always back it up with a positive, a strong call to action…

It works with longer copy too.

We developed a series of icons for use when talking about a particular theme. The fist with a hidden heart was adopted as the protest icon for instance. With the supporting logo reading FIGHT ALZHEIMER’s, SAVE AUSTRALIA (again, the negative and the positive).   

In the last 24 hours the launch has generated lots of positive publicity. With increased funding being debated in parliament yesterday as a direct result of our campaign pressure. The story also ran on the ABC showpiece current affairs program – the 7:30 report (here). We also made Sky News (although they spelt dementia wrong).

It’s a project we’re very passionate about for obvious reasons. And for me, projects like this, just go to show, that being a designer isn’t about shifting more product. It’s not about decoration either. It’s about giving people a voice. People who may lack funding, or expertise, but have something important to say…

The Alzheimer’s team: Joao, Jefton, David, Chris, Mike, Rashna, plus Dean and Chris Doyle who couldn’t be there.

See more over on brainpickings.

David Bowie

This was Bowie at the peak of his powers, changing rock n roll forever in 72′.

Hunter S Thompson

Anti authoritarian, Inventor of Gonzo Journalism and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There are a few Hunter posts on the blog, this one is a collection of his more famous quotes.

Johnny Cash

Andre the Giant. 

If you only read one article, make it this one. Describing some of the – quite frankly - INCREDIBLE drinking exploits of Andre the Giant. Here’s a snippet…

“You won’t find it in the Guinness Book of World Records, but Andre the Giant holds the world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a single sitting. These were standard 12-ounce bottles of beer, nothing fancy, but during a six-hour period Andre drank 119 of them. It was one of the few times Andre got drunk enough to pass out, which he did in a hallway at his hotel. His companions, quite drunk themselves, couldn’t move the big man. Fearing trouble with cops, they stole a piano cover from the lounge and draped it over Andre’s inert form. He slept peacefully until morning, unmolested by anyone. Perhaps the hotel people thought he was a piece of furniture.

Think about it: 119 beers in six hours. That’s a beer every three minutes, non stop. That’s beyond epic. It’s beyond the ken of mortal men. It’s god-like.”

French wrestler Andre Rene Roussimoff, best known as “Andre theGiant” during a Paris fashion exhibition. At 19, Andre reportedly stands 7 feet and 4 inches tall – 1966.

Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Andre the Giant, on the set of Conan.

On a sandy island in Abu Dhabi Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan has inscribed what is in effect the biggest graffiti tag the world has ever seen. Hamad, 63, a part of the billionaire Abu Dhabi royal family, has channeled his name into the sand in capital letters two miles across and half a mile wide. His handy work is so big it can be seen from space.  The top of the “H” reaches into the strait that leads to the Arabian Gulf, allowing Hamad to gradually fill the letters of his name with water.

Friend of TDOD Craig Oldham has published his HAND.WRITTEN.LETTER.PROJECT in this lovely case-bound, hard-back book.

“The HAND.WRITTEN.LETTER.PROJECT was created after a conversation about how personal a letter can be: a fact that is currently drowning in a tide of depersonalisation, with junk mail and automated correspondence.”

“The project extended an invitation to designers and creative thinkers alike to simply write and make known their thoughts posed by this situation: in handwritten form and on their stationery (both of which were seemingly expendable to some, their idea taking preference).”

Get your copy (175 printed, 85 copies ONLY available online) and full details of the project here.