I think another hurdle people have is that they compare it to Facebook, and think they need to follow people who are actually their friends. It’s a totally different beast, and that is really the beauty of Twitter – it’s completely open, you don’t need to know someone to follow them…I’ve started following people and become friends with them, I’ve even gotten a job interview via Twitter. As one tweep (@D_H_) recently put it so eloquently: #facebook is for suckers.

Here’s a tip, don’t bother with the celebrities who have 1,000,000 followers. Those are a one way street – instead follow people who offer some insight into what you do and might follow you back and engage in a dialogue. As a graphic designer, I’ve enjoyed following some of the industry heavyweights and other design community notables. Here’s a partial list of some of my favorite tweeps to get you started:

@nopattern Chuck Andersen is a Minneapolis based designer who’s effectively taking back the rainbow. His multi-colored photo manipulations have appeared on apparel for Burton, browser themes for Google and interface and packaging designs for Microsoft Windows 7. Despite his sunny appearance he has a taste for the dark side as well and often posts about metal bands you haven’t heard of (I’m half kidding).

@icreature Invisible Creature is a Seattle based design studio with a punk rock edge and an amazing portfolio of illustrative work. Some of their notable clients include U.S. retail giant Target and the Sasquatch music festival. Follow their tweets for a sneak peek at their new work and glimpses inside a really cool design studio. That and their invisible man icon is really creepy cool.

@fchimero Frank Chimero is a fantastic illustrator/designer who’s done his amazing work for some amazing clients including Nike, Wired Magazine, and the New York Times to name a few. Probably the most personal of the tweeps listed here, he runs the gamut. Today he tweeted about some guy who makes illegal pizza made in a hacked Weber grill (really a fantastic read on it’s own). How can you not get behind that?

@kitsunenoir Bobby Solomon operates under the online banner of Kitsune Noir, including his fantastic blog and the awesome Desktop Wallpaper Project. Follow him for his industry insights, some choice picks from all over the design world, and a few indie rock choice cuts.

@grainedit Grain Edit is a cool little blog out of Oakland with an eye for retro chic design (good design in Oakland? Ya, I know). They post links to designs that are generally in the retro vein that they feature on the blog, and by following them you’ll be first to know when they post something new or have a sweet new giveaway.

And a few locals:

@ctoverdrive Connor Turner is the man behind Armadillo Studios, a local web collective. He recently did a little case study on how local watering hole, The District, effectively used Twitter to promote their now famous buckets of bacon and other offerings. He’s definitely worth a follow as he is a pretty bright guy (despite being a smoker) and he’s got some pretty good stuff to contribute in the local marketing and design vein.

@jaydorn Jason Dorn is one of the more active Twitter users on the local scene, and one of the few people I follow who I actually knew beforehand. He’s a Calgary-based freelance interactive designer who’s engaged to a rollergirl and an all-around solid guy. Follow him to hear him whine about the Flames.

So there you have it, a Coles Notes list of the people you should follow on Twitter. Now get on it! But if you’re going to get started, don’t forget to keep me in the loop: @camhoff

‘Tis the season, I’d love to do some more team logos for your baseball, softball, or soccer team. I really enjoy doing this type of work and I’m currently available to crank them out quickly and relatively inexpensive. Please contact me if I can help your team or organization!

Also see my Howlers bike team logo from last year for another example…

Play ball!

Visit: www.lisaschindel.com

Just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. A good Canadian agency would do this kind of work pro-bono, with patriotism and pride as sole payment. Harper probably outsourced this to a U.S. agency…anyone know who did it? and how much it cost?

The band members had said they wanted a mischievous kid type character, akin to Dennis the Menace, a red headed problem child, slingshot in hand. Possessing a strong background in drawing cartoon type characters but having done little professional work in that area, needless to say I was pretty excited about this direction and felt it was right in my wheelhouse.

First step (as in any illustrative logo project) was to hit the sketchbook and start banging out some early concepts (in red pen no less). Once those were roughly complete I scanned them in, and the creative process moved into Illustrator.

Since the primary usage for the logo was on a bass drum head, I quickly determined that a full illustration of a kid pulling back on a slingshot wouldn’t work well in that space. I instead focused on just the head of the character, maximizing my space usage on the drum head. By doing so in a classic skull and crossbones arrangement I could create something that would work well in a circular format while projecting the fun (yet bad ass) image the band was looking for.

I ultimately coupled the character with some bold cartoon-style typography and soon it was soon ready for a first draft review with the client. That first draft was circulated amongst the band members who soon returned with feedback that they liked it, but would prefer it to be a bit darker, dirtier, less juvenile.

I went back to the drawing board and brought out a darker palette. Gone was the red hair and freckles in favor of a raven black head of hair, the gnarled tooth was replaced with a lit cigarette. The blue disappeared in favour of a goth crimson (scary red eyes), and the background got a hit of grungy texture. Revisions complete I presented the second option to the band, which also happened to be the final which is in use today:

In the end both the band and I were thrilled with the outcome. We worked well together in creating an identity and mascot fitting to a party/cover band with just the right combination of party fun and rock ‘n’ roll attitude. I was extremely happy with the way it turned out and simply loved the opportunity to work in this style.

I’m certain by now there’s probably more than a few groupies rocking Trouble Maker mascot tramp stamps. If you do see one in the club, make sure you snap a pic for my portfolio – and if you ever are in Calgary and have a chance to see Trouble Maker, check them out – always good times with some good tunes.

Yes, shockingly I don’t like this new campaign by the Calgary Public Library. The message is good, “Everything you’re into.”, whatever you like you can find a book or movie or whatever about that topic at the library. That works. It’s just the execution and look of this campaign that’s absolutely terrible.

This ad should be targeting people who currently are not using the library, young people…it should be hip and cool, bold…maybe even clever or funny. It should attempt to draw a new audience to this aging institution, and draw more attention to the modern offerings of todays library (public internet access, free programs). It could maybe even leverage some popular young adult library content like Twilight. It should not appeal to your 75 year old great aunt with it’s soft watercolor tones and bad script typefaces. Those are the people who already use libraries (in between attending craft bazaars at their local community centres)!

There were some aspects of this campaign that were good, they did buy some ad space in supermarkets and shopping carts that ran with messaging that juxtaposed food items with literary offerings (Everything you’re into. From cream pie recipes to Curious George. From ham to Hamlet). That’s probably a pretty good way to grab a captive audience in the produce section. But still, something with a better look would be far more effective.

Misguided attempt at an ad campaign aside, I’m still a huge advocate of the library. $12 for a year of borrowing privileges is the best entertainment dollar you can spend in this town. So I won’t be shamefully turning in my library card just yet. But next time around I hope they better spend their $35,000 on a decent rebranding…hopefully something I could get into.