Today’s product-of-the-day was an accident. I was thinking originally that I would make a sticker with the explore – learn – build – share mantra on it, which got me thinking about how such stickers might be used. I joked to my friend Ben that maybe I should make a Shepard Fairy-style T-shirt with my FACE on it, which seemed outlandish to me. But then I got to wondering whether the Illustrator “Live Trace” tool had improved in recent years, which is used to convert photographic sources to vector graphics. The discomfort I had with using my own image in a parodying manner was intriguing, too; I’ve started to use discomfort as an indicator that fruitful exploration is just behind it, if I am bold enough to look. However, I thought it I was going to shamelessly rip anyone off, I should start with Andy Warhol, the ur-Fairey!

The Illustrator Live Trace tool is much improved from last I used it (or my current computer is finally fast enough to use it). I had to go back and smooth out some contours, which I did roughly to retain some of the cruftiness. I got to thinking about the idea of copying and repeating itself; it’s not a bad way to get un-stuck creatively, actually. And since there were four images of me, that was an automatic cue to stamp the explore – learn – build – share onto each image.

The images come in two sizes, and are available as 16×20 and 24×36 posters on Zazzle. You can order them on cheap OR nice paper; I haven’t seen the posters myself, as they cost $60 for the archival prints; the cheaper options are around US$20.

Here’s a detailed view of the poster. There’s a pointillized texture on top of everything to help unify color tone…a dirty little trick that makes everything look a little better :)

Here’s where you can see the posters on Zazzle:

• Browse 16×20 Print on Zazzle
• Browse 24×36 Print on Zazzle

You can download two JPEG versions for free if you’d like to print them out at home:

• Download Small JPEGs (ZIP)

Incidentally, the large poster has a “challenge area” at the bottom; I’m thinking of making some creativity merit badges at some point for sticking down there someday, once I find a nice source for textured paper stickers that feel more like old stamps than glossy plastic. Do they even make stickers like that?

Enjoy!

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I got pricing information for a first round of notebook prototypes from Papergraphics, my trusty local full-service printing company; they print and bind the various pre-printed planners on Amazon (here’s the European link). Frank, the owner, made me a couple of these spiral-bounded A5-sized notebooks with thin textured cardboard covers and the same high-quality 80# paper from the current pads. Check it out! I thought I would pass out from excitement.

While these are pretty cool, I’d like something thicker and more durable, something that will stand up to daily abuse in someone’s backpack or purse. The tricky part is sourcing and pricing all the various options; Frank has been great tracking down suppliers and giving me pricing options. I could use some help, though, in understanding what people would like to see.

If you’re interested in a half-size ETP notebook, please take this short survey on Survey Monkey and let me know what you’re interested in. I will really appreciate it! It’s a significant dollar investment to produce a run of notebooks, so I’d like to make sure that what I put out there will sell through. You’ll get to see how everyone voted after you fill out the survey.

Thanks for your help! I’ll find some way to make it up to you :)

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Today’s product of the day is a book-shaped prototype of a Groundhog Day Resolutions “blog to book”. I’ve been doing the GHD Resolutions for 5 years and have quite a lot of writing. How much? Year One weighs in at 62 pages in its raw form.

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