December 10, 2010
internet famous
Hugh MacLeod
I'm a cartoonist.
I sell limited-edition prints.
I wrote a book.
I'm CEO of Stormhoek USA, which markets South African wine in the States.
I also draw private commissions.
Prints |
Opening | Current |
|---|---|---|
NY NY |
$275 |
December 8, 2010
#thingsiwishmyphonedid: ideas requested
Over at Things I Wish My Phone Did, I’ve started accepting other people’s idea submissions for new cartoons.
The first one I used was from David Herrold, pictured above. Thanks, David!
Sure, Things I Wish My Phone Did started life out as a small side project on behalf of my client, Line2, bit something tells me that it could be something much bigger, something much more interactive. There are a lot of people out there with strong ideas and opinions about “What a phone could be”.
All new ideas- both for new cartoons and ideas for where take the website- gratefully received. Just ping me on Twitter, preferably using the #ThingsIWishMyPhoneDid hashtag. This could be huge. Thanks!
December 1, 2010
cube grenade: thoughtworks
A “cube grenade” commission I just completed for Thoughtworks, the global IT consulting company.
Thoughtworks has this term, “Watermelon”, to describe a project that goes terribly wrong, that looks all well and good on the outside (green), but as the project comes to an end, turns out to be a huge ol’ expensive mess on the inside (red). I just took the idea and ran with it.
We’re going to turn this design into a 100 large framed prints, as Christmas presents for their clients. A fun little “conversation starter” to hang on their walls… which of course, is what the the whole cube grenade idea is all about. “Art With Purpose” etc.
Fun!
November 27, 2010
the futility of “keeping up with the e-joneses”
["It's Complicated". You can buy the print here etc.]
So somehow or other you found yourself online in a big way.
Somehow or other you decided, like millions of other people, that if the future is online, it would be silly not to join in. So you decide to get with the program.
And so you get yourself hooked up with the usual stuff… a blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and whatever Robert Scoble is using that week. And then wait for that aforementioned future thing to start happening.
While you’re waiting for that future thing to begin, you can’t help noticing that certain people in the same field as you- people far more successful and well-known than you, people who you aspire to be like one day- have fifty times the amount of Twitter followers as you do. Or whatever.
So you spend the next two years of your life trying to get as many Twitter followers as those people. Not only do you fail, meanwhile, your wife leaves you, your car is repossessed, and you have to move back in with your parents.
The futility of “Keeping up with the e-Joneses”. You’re better off spending that time and energy trying to have a “smarter conversation”. Of course you are.
[Bonus link:] Seth has a few thoughts on the subject, as well. Well worth a look.
November 25, 2010
“art with purpose. work with purpose”
[One of the cube grenades I did for Rackspace etc.]
Here’s something to think about this Thanksgiving:
A year and a half ago I coined the term, “Cube Grenade”, and since then, we’ve tried to build a business around it.
Art that you hang in your cubicle, in order to affect change, in order to start a conversation. Art that you “toss” into the work/corporate environment, that hopefully causes a small “explosion”. Hence the term, Cube Grenade.
“Art with purpose. Work with purpose”.
Exactly.
Thanks to the Internet, the nature of work is changing in so many amazing ways, and we’re all so damn lucky to be caught right in the middle of it.
As a cartoonist, my work is totally inspired and informed by this- this is exactly why the work took the direction it did.
And your work, whatever it may be, should also be affected in the same way. I can’t think of a better time to be alive; I really can’t.
So besides friends and family, what better reason is there to celebrate Thanksgiving? Seriously…
November 21, 2010
things i wish my phone did 12
Another cartoon from the ThingsIWishMyPhoneDid.com riff….
November 18, 2010
small is the new big
This cartoon was sent out today in the newsletter. The idea was inspired by the book by my friend, Seth Godin.
Read Seth’s original 2005 blog post on the subject. It’s considered a classic.
We live in HUGELY exciting times. You do know that, right?
November 18, 2010
things i wish my phone did 11
Another cartoon from the ThingsIWishMyPhoneDid.com riff….
November 18, 2010
live or die
[download the printable version here etc.]
This is the latest cube grenade I just did for Rackspace.
It’s one of my favorites I’ve done so far. [More Rackspace work is here.]
I hope you like it, but it’s OK if you don’t. Here’s why I’m partial:
- I like the elegance of the drawing.
- I like the way it’s talking about something specific to the business (i.e. the cloud), not just some vague, “Go Team!” cultural platitude.
- I like the direct honesty of it. “We live or die by the cloud” etc. is basically the God’s honest truth; it doesn’t matter if one agrees with it or not. That IS Rackspace’s business strategy, in black and white.
- It just works. Straight and to the point. It does everything a good cartoon ought to do.
I am enjoying my gig with Rackspace. Even if it’s still early days, they’re letting me play around with a new, HUGE idea. Yes, I am stoked.
![[download the printable version here etc.]](/Code-https-web.archive.org/web/20101214222449/http://gapingvoid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/rackspace-1011-03-2k2.jpg){kind=link}