Fertile Minds Blog

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Three things I know

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ tells everything he knows:

1. Obsess over customers: when given the choice between obsessing over competitors or customers, always obsess over customers. Start with customers and work backward.

2. Invent: you can invent your way out of any box if you believe you can. Invent on behalf of your customers -it’s not a customer’s job to invent on to themselves. Listen to customers but know they can’t tell you everything.

3. Think long term: any company that wants to focus on customers has to be willing to think long term. Many initiatives may take 5-7 years to pan out for a company. Thinking long term allows you to be misunderstood. Most inventions take a while to be appreciated.

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

John Wooden TED Talk

Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden talks about how to succeed with dignity by learning from others and performing to the best of your abilities.

For those interested, here’s the Pyramid of Success he developed that he mentions in his talk.

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

Programming, design and business tips

Particletree, from the creators of Wufoo, a fantastic online form service. Lots of interesting articles, ranging from Seven Pillars of Pretty Code, to the 4 1/2 Day Workweek.

Friday, October 31st, 2008

More musical inspiration

Senegal Fast Food, from Amadou & Miriam’s incredible Manu Chao produced album Dimanche à Bamako. Their story is incredible, and from the first single, so is their new album.

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Platinum CJ email marketing

Platinum CJ email marketing

Email marketing campaign to introduce Platinum CJ, a new complete equine supplement from Platinum Performance.

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Javascript and screen readers

A good explanation of how screen readers function, along with methods for making pages more accessible when using javascript to update elements.

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Phoenix Catering logo refinement

Phoenix Fine Catering

Logo cleanup and type refinement. Part of a campaign to raise the quality of all marketing materials, including website and advertising. Original logo here.

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Jan Marx campaign graphics

Jan Marx for City Council

Complete identity package for Jan’s city council campaign, including signs, stationery, campaign signs, donation materials and website. We collaborated with the talented folks at Gaia Graphics on this one.

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Electric Miles

From Miles Davis’ wild electric phase… not light listening, but there’s nothing better for breaking through creativity blocks.

Monday, October 6th, 2008

Singapore F1 Photos

Great nighttime shots on one of my favorite new blogs. I know very little about Singapore, but watching this event intrigued me. The mix of colonial and contemporary architecture is striking.

Monday, October 6th, 2008

ADA Compliance Guide

Comprehensive ADA compliance guide and checklist from Cal Poly’s Web Authoring Resource Center.

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

New website launch

Many updates in progress. Have a look around and let us know if you notice any obvious rough edges.