Ever wondered how you can bind your own book without outsourcing the job to a bindery? Here’s a wonderfully excellent guide from No Media Kings on how to do just that. The guide breaks everything down from supplies to step-by-step instructions and everything in between. Happy binding!

After three all-nighters (Thursday, Sunday, and Monday), it is time to send the next issue of Marinalife magazine to the printer. The files are ready; the disc sits anxiously on the desk. All that is needed is the final OK from the client tomorrow morning. Once the files have gone to print, I might have to spend some time reintroducing myself to my mattress.

A bubblegum ad created by Leo Burnett in Sao Paulo for Arcor bubble gum. A great find by The Cool Hunter.

I worked at a movie theatre during college. I was a manager there, and managed to score a few movie posters. The posters were printed on translucent paper since they were posted on lightboxes and hung on the wall. They are rather large, and I’ve been keeping them rolled up in the corner of my closet.

I’m working on a story spread for a magazine layout right now. Searching for a nice pull quote to help fill the page, I ran smack dab into this monstrosity:

Late fall and winter brings windy conditions to the region and offshore action slows considerably though you can expect to find glass-calm conditions offshore during the prime months of May to early November when you’ll have the best chance at catching blue marlin, striped marlin, black marlin, sailfish, dorado, wahoo and yellowfin tuna.

Would anyone like to apply the methods used in Sin and Syntax to decipher what the writer of this sentence is trying to say?

By now, everyone has seen the spoof on YouTube teasing Microsoft’s packaging habits, and mocking the company using a fictional redesign of the Apple iPod box. If you haven’t seen it, here it is:

The spoof above is over two years old. And in that time, I think Microsoft has done a better job at packaging their product. Just take a look at their case for Vista. Microsoft has slowly, over time, gotten to this point.

I don’t think the casing is bad, and I rather like it. It is much cleaner than their earlier brands, and that’s a good thing. I’m not sure if I’m liking the big ol’ Windows Vista icon though. It looks like it was an afterthought.

Another issue of Marinalife magazine is underway. This will be my second issue designing the magazine, after tackling a complete redesign the first time around three months ago. San Diego is a featured destination in the upcoming issue, scheduled for delivery in early January.

I’m headed out to San Diego shortly after the magazine arrives, so this story greatly interests me. Below is the opening spread of the current design.

I’ve also included a two-page spread for a featured marina in the magazine. Hawk’s Cay, somewhere in the Florida Keys.

I’m not sure what my thoughts are on either of these designs right now. Pretty straight-forward. The type is very difficult to read in the San Diego image, but it shows up fine in print. I like the Hawk’s Cay layout, but it isn’t anything exciting or original. The client likes it, and that is the most important thing.

Back to the X-Entertainment, here’s a print ad from the 80′s that let’s you make a flip book. Interestingly enough, there are no directions for creating the flip book itself. But the illustration shows the Chips Ahoy getting “striped” and then bitten.

I came across this ad on the Web today. At first glance, it is a little interesting and a little disturbing. When you realize that the ad is for a soap company, the reaction turns to disgust. I’m pretty sure that’s the point. I’ve got to go wash my hands now.

The Sims 2: Makin’ Magic is an expansion pack for the computer game The Sims. The manual for this pack is very detailed. So is the installation manual that comes long with it.

According to EA, makers of The Sims, you can’t just pop the disc into your CD-ROM. (Yes, you can.) You have to follow the ten page instructions before you can enjoy the game.

What kind of instructions? First, you must defrag your hard drive. Really? For anyone that has ever done this, this process can take hours. Just pop in the disc and install.