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Rants, raves, shoutouts & more!
05/10/2010
While I would hate to admit that I follow trends, (no I don’t have an iPhone…yet…) I most certainly read about them. To my surprise I have found myself ahead of the curve! Let’s take a journey back a few years…(you might be asking yourself how something in the past has to do with current trends, but stick with me here!)
 When I first launched www.robibare.com I pined over the best way to show/represent my portfolio. Designing for myself is something that I hate more than anything (yes, even more than doing dishes!) so I needn’t go into painful detail how I agonized and redesigned this layout numerous times. I finally decided on a horizontal scroll. Now to get to the point…Smashing Magazine has name ‘Horizontalism’ (aka – Horizontal Scrolling) a 2010 web trend. Unfortunately this layout didn’t make it to robibare.com 2.0, but that is besides the point. What matters here is that I was ahead of the trends, a full 2 years ahead, at that!
Now, I realize there are many reasons, most noteded Apple’s coverflow, that it has taken so long for the horizontal scroll to become so popular. But let it be known that I was always a fan of the h-scroll and this is a trend that I will jump on the bandwagon for!
05/07/2010
We’ve all been there. Sitting in front of a computer staring at a seemingly endless list of fonts. Peering over the list, scrolling up and down and oh, wait! – nope that’s not the one. For many, picking a font can be the hardest part of a design and rightfully so, as a font conveys more than the words written.
But never fear! All of these woes have come to an end thanks to Julian Hansen. His humorous approach to choosing a font will take away all of the guesswork. Take a look:
 Click to see full image All I can say is are you afraid to be asked if you lived in the 90s?
04/12/2010
Check out some of my latest identity work in the experiments section of my website. While not all of these designs were chosen, they represent the broad range of clients/subjects I design for as well as some of the design risks that I have taken.
Here is a sneak peak:
Be on the lookout for upcoming design releases!
Enjoy!
04/08/2010
Diesel has always been known as a progressive and often controversial brand. Over the years they have continued to push sexuality, vulgarity and ultimately, fashion design. On a recent trip to Venice, Italy I was able to get a firsthand look at one of their most controversial ad campaigns. The campaign ‘Be Stupid’ focuses on some tongue and cheek phrases mixed with classic Diesel half naked, starving models in awkward ’sexy’ poses.
 Diesel storefront - Venice, Italy Yet, I must admit, this caught my attention. I even giggled at the phrase and felt more than compelled to try to awkwardly position myself to capture the whole storefront window image in the narrow street ways of Venice. I was even compelled to learn more about the campaign. Who produced it? (By the way its, Anomaly from London, if you’re wondering.) Where is it published? Why haven’t I seen it in Chicago?
 
So what did I find? Well for one, check out the very nice microsite for the campaign. Not only is it informative to the Diesel shopper, but I love the interactive ‘fridge magnets’ that you can move around to create your own ’stupid’ phrase that you can then share with friends. (Gotta love that web 2.0 interaction!) But I must warn you…not all of the phrases are work friendly. The automatic message I got I couldn’t even share here!
 Diesel Sample 'Fridge Mag' Saying But not everyone is excited or even happy with this campaign. From the blog We are the Real Deal:
The pathetic part about this is the ‘Be Stupid’ concept is a good one, a series of well thought out taglines meant to encourage teens and twenty somethings to take changes, make mistakes, and not be afraid of failure. But why, for the love of God, did they have to attach this inspirational campaign to a picture of a chick flashing her boobs to a security cam? Do they have no daughters, nieces, or young girls in their life? Would Diesel Execs be proud to show their kids this ad?
Well there it is…what’s your take on this campaign?
03/05/2010
 One of my latest projects is going full force! You may have seen the logo I developed for OrigAudio’s Spring Forward Tour, but if you haven’t…here it is on the right. OrigAudio is sponsoring the band StillTime on a west coast tour that ends at SXSW in Austin, TX. The tour now has a site that is up and running so that you can follow StillTime while they are on the road. Below is a screenshot of the design, but be sure to stop by springforwardtour.com to keep up on the latest info from the road, listen to some tunes and see pics too.
03/03/2010
OrigAudio has been getting air time all over the country from being featured in TIME magazine’s top 100 inventions of 2009, to Fox&Friends News, to a spot on NBC’s Today Show. Now OrigAudio has popped up on the set of Good Day Sacramento. Never before have they actually shown a screenshot of origaudio.com, the e-commerce website that I designed. Check out a screenshot from the video feed on their site or if you want to see the the site in action, go to www.origaudio.com. If you would like to watch the whole video segment from Good Day, check it out on the video player on the right.
 Also, if you are interested in purchasing some hip, affordable speakers, I have designed the DayDream for OrigAudio. These speakers are awesome for travel as they are light, take up no space and work anywhere I have my iPod. Use the promo code: ‘Friends’ to get $6 off your speakers and make sure to tell them that Robi sent you!
02/25/2010
I have been super busy designing all sorts of great things (websites, logos, stationary, brochures and more!) for all of my great clients and its that time again to share it with the world. I am going to find some time in between 8-10 emails to update the site and post some new work. For now, here’s a taste of what’s to come:
 OrigAudio's 'Spring Forward Tour' Logo  A redesign of the St. Clair Drake Center's logo  New logo/branding/website for eDataVault
01/27/2010
I’m headed out of the country today! First stop London Heathrow Airport. 4.5 Hour layover to check out the digs and see how many words I can find with an extra ‘u’. I hope the Brits can deliver on all of the design genius I am expecting. Next stop, Vienna. Since I can’t speak German, the true beauty of typography and layout is all I can rely on.
01/23/2010
 I am constantly looking at the world with an objective eye, searching out the latest and greatest from the design world. I recently stumbled upon a great site where you can create your own eBusinessCards. This is brilliant! What a great way to get noticed if you are just coming back from an interview. Meet someone at a marketing event? Make sure you keep in touch. Check out Hoocard…maybe the next big saying is ‘Hoot Me’…hmm…maybe not?
01/20/2010
Ok, I must admit that I haven’t gone to see Avatar. (shock & awe..its what this blog is known for) BUT I have seen many movie trailers and posters for the movie and even my jaw dropped when I noticed that Papyrus is used for the title. Really? Papyrus! It’s nearly up there with Comic Sans as one of the all-time, most played out, wouldn’t use it even if the client told me to, crappy to begin with, fonts! If that didn’t express my true feelings enough, here is a more eloquent, comedic rendition, curtsy of Pr*ttySh*ttyDesign.
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Robi’s approach to design is skillfully refreshing. Her intuitive sense is exceptional – from choosing the correct color palette to her fine eye for typography. She is the complete package. A wonderful person and a great designer all rolled into one person.
: Juliette Schultz
President of Spark! Marketing, Traverse City, MI
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When I first launched www.robibare.com I pined over the best way to show/represent my portfolio. Designing for myself is something that I hate more than anything (yes, even more than doing dishes!) so I needn’t go into painful detail how I agonized and redesigned this layout numerous times. I finally decided on a horizontal scroll. Now to get to the point…Smashing Magazine has name ‘Horizontalism’ (aka – Horizontal Scrolling) a 2010 web trend. Unfortunately this layout didn’t make it to robibare.com 2.0, but that is besides the point. What matters here is that I was ahead of the trends, a full 2 years ahead, at that!
