Because social media is such a gas, we’d like to pass this special segment onto you for your viewing pleasure. We’d like to thank Saturday Night Live for giving us a great laugh. Enjoy!

Fun Stuff - some new and some old that I wanted to share:)
I love finding unique little toys, and these are just a few of my favorites…

1. Artist Series IPhone Skins - Choose from 4 designs at http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/
2. YoGen - This attaches to any IPhone or Blackberry and literally “pumps” a few minutes of battery life into most mobile devices. A real lifesaver in case of an emergency.
http://www.yogenstore.com/products.html
3. Fuji Instax Camera - The coolest instant camera ever! Great quality instant pics
http://www.fujifilm.com/products/film_camera/instant/
4. Portable Charging Mat - Charges up to 3 of your electronics simultaneously…read more at http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/01/08/charge-electronics-gadget-wirelessly-via-powermat/
5. Google Phone - We all know what Google can do, so you can imagine what their phone can do. It also runs on the new Android technology platform…read more at http://www.google.com/phone/static/en_US-nexusone_tech_specs.html

6. Stylophone Portable Synthesizer - Make music while you wait!

7. Yamaha TENORI - ON: Instrument of the Future!

Amazing!

Stewdio.org is the website of Stewart Smith, a designer from NYC that has done some great work. I was particularly amused by his Browser Pong app….basically the classic computer game Pong done with browser windows. Super fun!

Ever since I read Edward Tufte’s book Envisioning Information, I have been a semi-informed fan of information design. As a computer nerd programmer, I <3 data, and as a (hack) designer, I <3 design. As such, I believe there is no better way to view data than through the filter of design. Though after getting stoked about infographics prior to my first HCI course in college, I rarely came across good examples.

Lately there seems to have been a turn in the tide. I have seen more examples of current infographics than ever before in blogs and traditional media. Maybe it’s because there are more people in the business or maybe the media is just starting to celebrate it more. Either way, it’s exciting. I recently got a copy of The Visual Miscellaneum by David Mccandless. The book features more than 200 pages of beautiful diagrams representing countless topics of collected data. Even though it has a few errors & it would be nice if it was hardbound, it’s addicting to look at. I would recommend it to anyone.

Need an infographics fix right now?
try: datavisualization.ch

Get excited about design.
Get pumped about data.
Get your learn on!

Partner, Adam Rosenkoetter, welcomed his first child, Eleanor Powell Rosenkoetter in June of this year. She is a spitting image of Adam; we’d like for them to start wearing matching outfits.

Kirsten Nantz was promoted to design director in 2008. After completing the MFA program at SCAD, she joined Sol full-time. We are so excited to have her on board in this capacity.

Our sneaker freaker, Flash guru and web designer, Tuee Chanthavong, moved to Portland, OR to pursue his dream of becoming a hipster shoe designer. He is still working with Sol Design from Portland but we miss his smiling face at the office.

Amy Williams, den mother and scarf knitter extraordinaire, joined the programming team early this year. She has 23 years of programming experience. Amy’s scarves and treats are keeping us warm and satisfied this season.

Kurt Pachinger, our latest addition from SCAD, is a designer and HTML production expert. Kurt brings an awesome sense of illustration and perfect HTML to our team.

Claire Barth, copywriter, finally caved and moved back to Atlanta so that she would stop missing out on “board meetings” at Rathbun’s.

Mary, Renae, Erich and Alex are all doing really well. Nothing too exciting to report, aside from the fact that Erich has a beard.

This guy is the man! I consider myself pretty handy with the Ajax but this guy…

the coolest AJAX UI that I have ever seen

You have to read about how he did it, then check it out for yourself! so good.

What can I say, this is pretty dope.

We at the office have stopped the yelling (or much of it) and have resorting to tapping keys to communicate with others down the hall and even across the desk if need be. Using an IM client such as GTalk or AIM cuts down the e-mail for simple messaging or to ask a simple 1-2 line question. It’s a great way to communicate without leaving your seat or picking up the phone. For those of us on a mac, we already have a built in client, iChat, which can easily be harnessed to use GTalk. GTalk is a jabber based application which allows it to be used within other apps such as iChat and mobile devices. To learn how to do this, keep reading. (more…)

I set out to make our new portfolio box this past weekend. Here are some photos:

I had to design it first. Adam thought I had already finished it after seeing this photoshop mock-up. Go go hax0r photoshop skillz!

First cut, safety first!

I settled on using aspen as the material for the light color and availability.

A bunch of pictures are missing between here. The finger joints were one of the most in-depth parts of the process! But they are oh-so-classy

Cutting the hinge!
This was the test piece so I could photograph it. Cutting the actual piece felt like swimming in stars.

Installing the hinge.
A channel was routed in the back of the box so that the hinge would hide inside.

Burninating the screen (There was extra room so I snuck a poster in).
We wanted to put our logo on it and battled between the idea of laser etching or screen printing it. We settled on screen printing for the clean white on white look instead of burnt wood from the laser etching.

Putting the latches on and the outer panels. Almost a box. Exciting!

Screening printing the logo on.
Luckily it went on without a problem on the second try. Wood has a natural tendency to bow which made it hard to keep the screen flat on top of it. Crown up did the trick.

All together and clamped tight. Ready to be used the next morning.

It was fun pretending to be a woodworker. Now back to being a super nerd at the computer..