Ingenuity - A Wheelchair Motorcycle Mashup

Driving to lunch today I spotted a slightly unusual motorcycle ahead of me. At first I thought it was one of those WW2 era motorcycles with a sidecar- but upon closer inspection (and 20 MPH+ breaking of speed limits) I was able to see just why this motorcycle was different...







A big high five to this guy for letting nothing interfere with his love of riding!

Vornado Flippi Cameo On "The Office"

Perhaps you've asked yourself, "How does Regional Manager Michael Scott maintain his steely executive composure, offering his employees the rock-solid leadership they need to operate in a focused, productive working environment?"

Or perhaps you haven't asked that. Regardless- it is safe to say that the midnight blue Vornado Flippi on his desk is keeping his office nicely circulated - perhaps even allowing his ficus tree to grow despite its sun-deprived location.

Despite Mr. Scott's often poor judgement - we are pleased to see he selected our desk fan to accompany his treasured "World's Best Boss" mug. So - for all you "Office" fans who are searching for an office fan - I'd offer this fan.

Want to be displayed in Vornado's Lobby? Crowdsourced Art!

So, the prez has asked that I coordinate the handling of artwork in our newly remodeled lobby at our Andover, KS headquarters. I've engaged all our Vornado marketing and design folks and the options have unfolded in many directions...

After much deliberation- here is a mockup of the direction we want to go.



Crowdsourced Art

It's just a mockup- but what we really want to do is to use actual photos from our consumers.

These I just grabbed off Twitter and Flickr (and yes, iStockPhoto for filler, thanks for noticing.)

It's wide open- it could be a Vornado product- or it could be a picture that communicates how a Vornado product makes you feel. Or what it reminds you of. Could be kids... pets... people... or clear blue sky - it doesn't matter - as long as it comes from you and you can let us know the story behind it. Doesn't matter if you're a professional or not- we want it all!

So- if you want your photo displayed proudly at Vornado HQ - send it my way! You can tweet it to me at my Twitter account, post it on our Flickr Group, or email it to me (bcartwright(at)vornado(dot)com).

If we use your pic- I'll send something to show you our appreciation. Just try to shoot it at a decently high resolution if possible.

Read on to see a few of the "other" ideas that were generated...

What about "Abstract Corporate"

Could play with our company history - plus open it up for some modern layering of type and image. Lots of opportunity for texture and color. Not too stuffy. Maybe a little much though considering the rest of the decor.













Could go "moody" and product based...

Ooh- Shiny product, slick deep images. Branding is there.But it takes itself so seriously. And, as a company- we're committed to making beautifully functional products- but there's more to us than that... plus it's reminiscent of the much hated "Inspiration - (Insert man with extended arms looking out over canyon at sunset photo) Corporate Art"

Then, of course there are just product shots.
Or Textural tightly cropped close ups of products.
Or do we focus on the people?
The consumer?
The employees?

I could blog for days on the many directions. I want to see what you all have in mind!

Thanks to all for your interest!

Birds On Wires - Transposed to Music

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

The Most Baddest Record Player Ever - Clairtone

I just found a buyer for my Sylvania console record player (not the one above) today via Craigslist. *Sigh* I hate to let her go but I just don't have enough room in my house to dedicate a whole wall to a record player. At least I'll still be able to enjoy the tone of vinyl via a component turntable... And at least I now have a pie-in-the-sky dream for another console system that I can love even more than my trusty Sylvania. The Clairtone G2. Endorsed by Sinatra and coveted for over 40 years by lovers of mid-century modern design- this is hands down the coolest record player out there.

A little reading last night uncovered some very interesting sites dedicated to this icon of design. Namely:
A full G2 Restoration project
Great shots of a Clairtone Manual
The Art of Clairtone Book
And perhaps my favorite - a site built by designexchange.ca dedicated to the subject.

Working in a business like Vornado - where both product design and performance must exceed the status quo - Clairtone is an inspiration.