This 1968 Oscar-winning film on the creative process comes from legendary graphic designer Saul Bass. I saw this as a kid and it inspired me deeply. This is the kind of work that sticks with you for generations. It doesn’t have the slickness of today’s design, but instead has a core simplicity that transcends style and trends, making it universally good in the same way that modernist architecture stands the test of time.

Unfortunately, this is only a 5-minute preview and you can’t queue it up in Netflix. The only version to buy is apparently available for $125 as a DVD series set.

In the world of innovation, the execution is as important as the exercise. If you can’t “sell” the idea with meaningful visualization and functionality, you lose. As part of the AOL Prototyping Team, I learned just how important the “pitch” or execution strategy was to help get support for an idea. One of the last projects I worked on was a blueprint for the future of online news. This included a comprehensive competitive survey, a robust ideation workout and initial visualization exercises. While I didn’t get to see if any of our work will come to fruition (having moved into a new role elsewhere), we stepped into some areas that still haven’t been thoroughly explored.

During the survey phase, we occasionally stumbled across efforts that warranted merit, but not many that were truly pushing the online news experience into the future. AOL itself made some inroads with its dynamic, blog-like approach. USA Today went two-point-oh with a strong emphasis on community (a la Digg), MSNBC has taken some progressive steps and UK’s Times has enriched their visual and user experiences for the better. All said, the jury is still out. Perhaps it hasn’t even been selected yet. Though not necessarily revolutionizing the news experience, but iteratively improving the user experience, the NY Times still reigns champ overall with its powerhouse user base and award-winning infographics.

So the question is where will this sector be in 4 or 5 years? Will we use news in the same way? Will it be highly portable and device-scalable? Will local coverage foster micro-communities? Will we have more immediate and personal relationships with the way we share news? Most likely.

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Well, not quite mainstream, maybe, but close to. Design Within Reach is now selling the Kithaus K3 modular dwelling. According to the DWR site, it was designed by Tom Sandonato and Martin Wehmann.

The description says that the “9′x13′ structure redefines conventional prefab with its proprietary clamping system that makes installation quick, economic and practically waste-free” and that “installation is fast, taking only a few days, and Kithaus is built with eco-friendly components.”

I’ve been following the prefab movement since around 2002, when Rocio Romero came out with her LV series. Since then, the movement has taken off, but not soared. Prices can still be unpredictable given land issues, zoning and other unforeseen circumstances. We had considered going this route at one time, but backed off due to those very concerns. All in all, the future is still very bright indeed and I hope to own one of these architectural gems someday.

Transparency and the alpha channel are good friends. Transparency and the web development process, on the other hand, are just getting to know each other.

There was a time when the alternate designs never saw the light of day, so it’s interesting to get a peek behind the scenes at MSNBC, and see how they ended up with the final result.

Maxim Zhestkov is a 22 year-old motion designer based in Russia, Ulyanovsk. His work has a detached, cosmic quality to it. The use of black and white gives it an ethereal art appeal that might not be present in a color version. Apparently, he also does toy design and packaging work as well.

Brand strategy and design group MultiAdaptor does great work. It’s that simple. They keep it clean, light and current without resorting to gimmicks. Their print portfolio has a retro sensibility while using modern forms. Their client base appears to be strictly British, but diverse enough to keep it interesting, ranging from BBC to Ether Music. Their interactive work also shines brightly, with a focus on capturing the personality of their clients.

Be sure to check out their brilliant executions on websites from Michael Bodiam (the logo!) and Ether Music. Inspiration abound!

No, having a cool name isn’t enough, Leesa Leva is one fab illustrator. A self-described “illustrator, insomniac, and puppy cuddler,” she can also apparently design a mean web page as well, as evidenced by her “I Love Birdy” page on Virb, which has drawn a lot of attention. Head on over and browse her portfolio now or skip on over to her blog instead.

Top form motion design work making the net design site rounds from National Television.

Growing up the son of a former Disney animator had its drawbacks, including having your cartoons critiqued as you watched them. Does a six year-old care about keyframing and line quality or whether or not his favorite character is about to wallop the other guy with a trash can? Nonetheless, there is a good side to the story. I was well-versed in the classics, growing up. “The classics” meaning the days when animation was created by human hands. From timing sheets to rough storyboards to masterwork keyframing to ink and paint to museum-quality background art, I learned to appreciate the artistry that goes into the process from a young age.

When that era came to an end, works became prized pieces of art selling for thousands of dollars, being transformed from forgotten stills of commerce to framed gems. Ollie Johnston, one of Disney’s legendary “nine old men” (a popular political term of the day that they picked up while still in their twenties), was the last surviving member until a week ago Monday. Sad to say that animation as an art form has died with him, because in today’s commodified, bottom-lined machine, art doesn’t stand a chance.

With the rise of the computing machine in the 80’s and 90’s, the organic process started its death march into the Museum of Eras Past. While murmurs of resuscitating the hand-drawn approach have been tossed around, including Disney’s return to form with the 2009 release of “The Princess and the Frog,” there has been no sincere industry-wide return to form. Johnston was a pioneer in the hand-drawn area, having helped charter a course for Disney’s legendary high quality output and dominating status in the industry. His work lives on in the characters and visuals he helped create for films like Bambi, Pinocchio, Fantasia (my personal favorite), and Snow White. He will be missed, but his work will remain a legacy to a craft that draws a clear line of distinction from its modern predecessors.