Charpie

Rest in peace, Justin. We know everyone’s got great memories and will hold on to them forever.

Just had to post one of the best photos taken during the sandbagging efforts in North Dakota and Minnesota as the Red River began to flood a couple weeks ago. It really sums up the attitude and overall morale of the sandbaggers. Despite being tired, overworked and a little bit stressed out, everyone seemed positive, confident and generally lighthearted about the situations they were in.

The photo was taken at “Sandbag Central” in Fargo, ND. Pictured holding the hat is @emjayess.

Caption (via Flickr):
On the lower left, see 3 of the 3.5 MILLION (ya… 3,500,000) sandbags volunteers produced in a 1-week flood fight! Photo by Craig Dirkes, Writer/Photographer for The Salvation Army

Also, check out this interesting interweb tidbit that puts the amount of sandbags produced into perspective.

We’ve recently attended the latest AdFed luncheon and were pleased abou the guest speaker, Jesse James Garrett. From the invite:

“Garrett — one of the world’s most widely recognized technology product designers — is the president and founder of Adaptive Path, a user experience strategy and design firm. He coined the term “Ajax,” which refers to a group of interrelated web development techniques used for creating interactive web applications. Garrett was the recipient of WIRED Magazine’s 2006 Rave Award for Technology and was named one of the “50 Most Important People on the Web” by PC World magazine.”

It was a terrific, enlightening experience. We’ve been developing UI for clients for the past couple years and it’s been a rewarding challenge that can be addicting. Many of Jesse’s topics really hit home, but there’s one we find so true and something that pops up on a weekly basis when in meetings about projects. That topic is regarding features.

For some reason, many feel that the more features a system or device has, the better. The more buttons, doodads, sounds, widgets, bells, and even whistles something can have, the better your life will be. Whatever got us down that rabbithole, damn it to hell.

The truth is, features versus a positive experience is based on a curve. Yes, more features are a good thing. But, once you hit a certain point, each additional feature takes essentially takes you further away from a better experience.

Here’s a prime example from Jesse’s presentation:

Microsoft, the kings of bad usability, are finally starting to get it. It only took 20 years of getting slapped in the face by Apple about how it should be done, and someone over there finally woke up. Take a look at the previous version of Microsuck Word with all its toolbars of glory:

http://charpiellc.com/misc/word-all-toolbars-small.png

What did Microsoft do here? They gave you their problem. Instead of solving the puzzle of creating an elegant word processor, they just gave the bits and pieces and told the customers to figure it out. And to be honest, most people bought in to it and Microsoft became successful at being bad at their job. But… times are changing and people are getting smarter. They are pushing back to get a better experience. Now, look at the current version of Microsoft Word:

http://charpiellc.com/misc/word2007main.png

The user is getting back in the picture and their experience is no longer taken for granted. This is the way it should be. Let’s keep it in mind.

Well, I haven’t been able to update my blog in a long while, but what I caught on Anderson Cooper 360 last night couldn’t be a more fitting post for my reasoning behind such untimely posts.

I’m busy as hell.

And the rest of Fargo seems to be doing ok, too. CNN’s Gary Tuchman paid us a visit recently to report on the recession, or lack thereof, and how it’s affecting Fargo businesses. It’s definitely an interesting story to check out and could possibly lead to some folks trying to seek out a conservative tip or two.

I definitely wouldn’t go as far as Mayor Walaker would in saying that Fargo is not at all in a recession. I’ve seen more than a few of my friends get laid off and businesses tighten up their pockets and brace themselves for what may come. However, maybe what he meant was some business may slow, but he definitely wouldn’t refer to this as a recession.

Either way, life is still pretty good up here.

Props to my client, Appareo Systems and David Batcheller, for the excellent work on camera!

Check out the video here.

Rest in Peace, Donald A. Charpentier (1923-2008), loving son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and hero.

He was known to most simply as “Carp,” but to me he was Grandpa. He was a master of stories of “buffalo as far as the eye can see!” while rocking one of the most impressive comb-overs with a Schmidt beer in hand.

Carp served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II as part of the 1st Battalion; 5th Regiment; 1st Division. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his extraordinary heroism.

He is survived by his wife Marcia Charpentier, daughter Carma (John) Forward, sons, Ron, Marti (Bert) and Perry (Amy) and many loving grandchildren.

He will be missed.

Feel free to post any comments or stories. I know there’s a bunch out there!

I recently dug up this little gem. It’s a video I made with my mother for her submission to last year’s “So You Think You Can Cook?” contest put on by Rachel Ray. We thought it would be fun to make it a mash-up of food, football, and reality TV. Although we never did get accepted to the contest, it was a good time with food and friends and that’s what counts. See more on the finale here.

Thought it be fun to post the video for everyone to enjoy. Yay internet!

Currently under development! We’ve got a new site coming for local hair stylist Steph Fischer! The site will be her stomping grounds for the latest opinions in fashion, style news, and checking out pictures of her latest masterpieces.

Steph’s site will even allow the unique ability to book an appointment online! We’re excited to get this out and see what customers think. What a world we live in!

We’ll also be offering the ability to purchase products recommended by Steph herself via Amazon’s affiliate program.

Check out the preview here.

Yesterday I attended an AdFed luncheon with speaker Robert Campbell of 808inc. He didn’t have too much to say that I hadn’t heard before. However, it still was thoroughly delightful to listen to because sometimes you just need to hear something over and over again to keep you on your toes. It was a great slap in the face if you’d found yourself is some mundane groove that you didn’t know how to get out of or even cared to get out of until now. Here’s a few of his tips that I liked best:

“Don’t give the client what they want. Don’t give the client what they think they want. Don’t give the client what you think they think they want.”

In other words, give the client what you think they need. Because, after all, that’s what they’re paying you for.

“Don’t tell the client anything they don’t need to know.”

Check. And lastly,

“Don’t be afraid of losing money or clients.”

I think I might take this one too far. Anyway, use your on discretion.

Please vote, people. Don’t let this cuckoo bird in the White House. Honestly, my left slipper is more knowledgeable.

NYC artist and local native Richard Borge came back home last week to speak at an AdFed luncheon about moving into an animated world. His work is fantastic and inspirational; mixing his illustration skills with found artifacts that melt together in a Photoshop pot. I guarantee as an artist, you may never look at a muffin wrapper the same. Now he’s putting his technique into motion directing and animating music videos for Ozomatli and Jesca Hoop and more. Great work, Richard!

Microsoft has aired their followup to ‘Shoe Circus.’ The four and a half minute ‘New Family’ segment is no doubt thoroughly entertaining and stays true Seinfeld’s ubiquitous ‘a show about nothing’ genre. So what is it, a campaign about nothing? I think most viewers would think so. I say, “who cares?” It’s entertaining and fun, something Microsoft is not very well known for unless you count Xbox which they were afraid to put their name on for years.

The story, however, is taking a bit of a turn. Apparently, Microsoft is dropping good ol’ Jerry. Sources across the interweb say the move was planned by Microsoft from the beginning, but it seems a bit fishy that it comes after a buttload of not so positive feedback toward the campaign’s first two spots.

So, I really tried to give Microsoft credit this time. I thought the spots were fun, even though they didn’t really bring any hard substance to the table. Turns out they may be as lame and out of touch as I initially wanted them to be.

It will be interesting to see where the $300 million plan heads now.

You can find awesome Obama artwork here.

Microsoft’s new $300 million ad campaign to counter Apple’s PC vs. Mac ads has debuted with a somewhat unusual approach. It kicked off with a 90 second tv spot featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates last Thursday. It’s definitely entertaining, which is not something hard to fetch when featuring Seinfeld. I could sit and watch him eat a churro and probably laugh my ass off for hours. Maybe that’s just me. However, what did the ad accomplish besides seemingly mindless banter about shoe size? Many don’t seem to know, and I don’t think we’re supposed to know.

Yet, anyway.

As much as I dislike Microsoft, they’ve got superstar agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky heading up the campaign and with their track record I know they’ve got something interesting up their sleave. But what is it? So far, the ad is seeing some harsh reviews and they’re probably from people who just aren’t seeing the whole picture.

Either that, or Microsoft just sucks. We’ll see.

If you know me, you know I like to grill. So, over a few beers and some minor planning, some friends and I developed “Grill-A-Thon.” About once a month we get together and grill over some hot hot coals from 9am until roughly 2am. There’s no rules, except that the food prepared must be made on the grill. There’s a lot of meat, a lot of booze, and a lot of good times!

Each Grill-A-Thon seems to get twice as big as the previous, so it was time to start branding the event. I whipped up this logo, and am in the process of getting a website up and running so everyone can follow along or even join in on the fun. We’re in preparation of the next event, July 19th. It will be held at Rose lake in Minnesota and feature the live music of The 404.

All are invited! I’ll get directions posted soon!

New Dandy Dwarves project!

In this short video introduction to the 2007 SCAD Fashion Show with Marc Jacobs, the perfectly awful little town of Plasticville finds itself facing a storm of prodigious proportions.