So, I've had this fascination with Pantone ever since I saw my first swatch book. I was completely blown away by this very concise set of colors that could universally be identically reproduced by any printer, anywhere in the world, and how infinite the selection felt. This was during my first job out of college, and oh! I wanted to take the samples with me when… Continue reading

It's Fashion Week! So, inspired by galadarling, I wanted to highlight some of my own fictional style icons. Number 3: Jane Lane. Continue reading

It's Fashion Week! So, inspired by galadarling.com, I wanted to highlight some of my own fictional style icons. Number 2: Laura Hunt. Continue reading

It's Fashion Week! So, inspired by galadarling.com, I wanted to highlight some of my own fictional style icons. Number one: Rory Gilmore. Continue reading

1. gray and yellow—as neutrals, and especially in combination. Gray nail polish.
2. web typography, escaping from the "safe."
3. the realization that my books are clutter, and with getting rid of several thousand of them.
4. acquiring only things I truly love; getting rid of everything I don't love. Declaring a War on Clutter.
5. the color orange. It makes me smile.
6. cleaning, filing, dusting, organizing.
7. exercise; specifically crunches, and doing many of them.
8. lady gaga; her wardrobe and feminism and

I've been, well—I hate to used the word "blessed" because I don't necessarily believe in a big sky-deity doling out blessings, and I don't want to say "lucky enough to," because I hope there's something in me attracting wonderful people, but—I know and love and respect and am known, loved, and respected by some pretty phenomenal people. And I feel blessed every day that they are in my life. I'd… Continue reading

The last time I made a New Year's resolution was at least a decade ago, and I think I resolved myself against New Year's resolutions. Kind of like giving up Catholicism for Lent. Anyway, this year, inspired by unclutterer.com, nubbytwiglet.com, and my paid-off credit cards, and abetted by the Harvard semester leaving me class-free for a whole month, I'm embarking on a huge project to purge my… Continue reading

I'm slightly obsessed with seeing work-in-progress. I was lucky enough this morning to stumble across a draft of a lasting brilliant piece of design work that transcends into art. Every designer need reminding that nothing comes from wholecloth, and that every iconic image is the work of actual human hands. Process, process, process. Note that hundreds of sketches preceded this one. Amazing. I love this… Continue reading

For me, baking is incredibly experimental, with room for great flexibility. When people ask me where I learned this, I simply tell them that "I grew up in my mother's kitchen." Continue reading

Are there any words that remind you so strongly of a particular context that you just simply can't bring yourself to use them seriously? Continue reading

If Angela Chase taught me that not being cool in high school is okay, Daria taught me that the kids who are cool deserve, not my envy and admiration, but only scorn and derision. Both lessons were ones that I needed. jezebel.com | finally: daria to be released on dvd

Today is my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. Every day of my life, they've taught me everything I know about love. They were high school sweethearts. Every year, my dad gets my mom two anniversary cards—one on June 30, and one on March 12, the day they went on their first date, in 1971. Continue reading

Imagine you're a teenage girl, and you want to be a rock god: who are your role models? Who's there to look up to? Who can you respect? Continue reading

When I was in high school, the American Taliban took over my town's school board. One of their first moves was to create a policy banning the school from "encouraging, or supporting homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative." Continue reading

I'm in New Hampshire right now, assisting with preparations for my sister's wedding shower. And I present to you reason number 87 why I will never, ever consent to get married in a long white gown. Continue reading

In ninth-grade science class, we watched a documentary about the discovery of the double helix, and it left me blazing indignant with anger. James Watson and Francis Crick, the two men who won the Nobel Prize for this discovery, had stolen essential research from the offices of an x-ray crystallographer named Rosalind Franklin, without which they never would have deduced the helical nature of DNA. Watching how she was treated… Continue reading

A HuffoPo blogger affiliated with nameberry.com just released her list of the craziest celebrity baby names. All of the usual offenders are on there, but I'd have given Robert Rodriguez's brood a special mention. But what about awesome celebrity baby names? Maybe they're a little off, but pretty. Continue reading

If you have a low tolerance for sappy, you probably really don't want to read this.I'm 30 years old, and I'm about to spend my very first Christmas away from my family. In fact, I'm about to board a plane in five hours, and will be almost as far from my family as it's possible to be without leaving the country; they are in New Hampshire, and I'll be in… Continue reading

Some readers have no doubt noticed that the layout of this blog changed dramatically a few weeks ago, from the old pink-and-green. That's not the only change. My portfolio website, positdesign.com, is about 70% flipped to a beautiful brand-new template that I built for it. Continue reading

Male protagonists, when alienated or alienating, are righteous. Are pure, and noble, and the world is unworthy of them. Flight is their only hope and salvation. Female protagonists who challenge societal norms must be destroyed by society. Continue reading