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April 2012 Ken Carbone featured on Design Matters with Debbie Millman Design Matters Ken Carbone was a guest on Design Matters with Debbie Millman to discuss his work, his career, his newest endeavors and his music. Millman's weekly audio/podcast features designers, artists, writers, thought leaders and educators and has resulted in an archive of "the most magnificent view of some of the greatest design thinkers and practitioners of our time." observermedia.designobserver.com

March 2012 "Branding the Unthinkable Drinkable" by Ken Carbone Fastcoexist.com A segment on NPR entitled "Why Cleaned Wastewater Stays Dirty in Our Minds" caught my attention. The broadcast revealed the simple fact that we are already drinking wastewater. "We are all downstream from someone else’s poo but the idea of this is unthinkable," says psychologist Carol Nemeroff. "It is quite difficult to get the cognitive sewage out of the water even when the real sewage is gone." I wondered what would I do if some mega bottler asked me to brand a new "wastewater" product. www.fastcoexist.com PDF

March 2012 Ken Carbone named Keynote Speaker at the 2012 Clarvit Design Week at University of Maryland Clarvit Design Week Ken Carbone gave the Keynote speech at the 2012 Clarvit Design Week at University of Maryland. His speech, "Dialog: The whole truth and nothing but the truth about a life in design", reveals the realities of growing and sustaining a successful design business. Ken also hosted a workshop session called "The Future History of Graphic Design" and asked the students to consider: Who are the graphic designers of today doing the work that will stand the test of time? clarvitdesignweek.blogspot.com

March 2012 "Talking photography with...Leslie Smolan" by Kristina Feliciano Stockland Martel Corporate photography is a lot more than portraits of executives, pictures of people in business attire and shots of work environments. Corporate photography is actually broader: lifestyle, still life, travel and food photography are all essential to business-related marketing and advertising campaigns. Leslie Smolan explains how CSA uses photography to meet the needs of its clients. www.stocklandmartelblog.com PDF

February 2012 The Portfolio Center Presents: Leslie Smolan, "From Hi-Tech to Hi-Touch" Museum of Design Atlanta Portfolio Center invited Leslie Smolan to speak to the Atlanta design community at the Museum of Design Atlanta. In her presentation, "From Hi-Tech to Hi-Touch," Leslie explored CSA's creative process and showed two of our most recent cutting-edge projects to encourage the audience to think broadly about the opportunities available to designers of all types.

February 2012 "Pre-Super Bowl Feature: The Complete Spot Paintings of the NFL" by Ken Carbone Print magazine's Imprint blog While 2012 Pre-Super Bowl madness was in full swing, Ken Carbone had been following both the Hirst phenomenon and the NFL drama and recognized a rare opportunity to combine these two worlds in a visual mash-up. He “appropriated” Damien Hirst’s rigid painting motif and the primary brand colors of the thirty-two NFL teams as an infographic to create: “The Complete Spot Paintings” of the 2011-2012 NFL Season. imprint.printmag.com PDF

January 2012 "Best Apps and Tools for Serious Photographers" by Kristy Korcz Geek Sugar Serious photography requires a serious camera, but that doesn't mean you have to be chained to a laptop or desktop to process them. Paul Pierson, app designer and photo nerd, tossed his laptop aside for six months in order to find out if the iPad and iOS apps could handle a professional photo work flow. He found that the iPad is actually quicker and more efficient in processing photos than the traditional setup of a computer and Photoshop software, not to mention a lot less expensive. www.geeksugar.com PDF

January 2012 Appalooza: The Best Apps for Serious Photographers Macworld | iWorld Paul Pierson is speaking at the Macworld | iWorld Expo in San Francisco, taking attendees through a survey of how to get the most out of the iPhone and iPad as a serious photographer, from finding inspiration to showing work to being productive on a shoot. www.macworldiworld.com Apps for Photographers PDF App Comparison Charts PDF Branding Photography Apps PDF

January 2012 Leslie Smolan on 2011's Marketing Mistakes in "Bank of America and Netflix Named Brand Disasters of 2011" by Christine Birkner American Marketing Association Experts agree that Bank of America’s and Netflix’s missteps that landed them on Inc.com’s list of the Top 10 Brand Disasters of 2011 offer classic lessons on the dangers of ignoring your core brand promise and forgetting consumer needs. “Brands have to understand that they might be selling a product, but that’s not what the brand promise is. They’re not thinking from a customer perspective about how these changes are going to affect people’s perception of them,” Smolan says. www.marketingpower.com PDF

December 2011 Paul Pierson on the Tiger Woods brand in "Aging Tiger Woods Unlikely to Reach Earnings Peak Again" by David Lariviere Forbes SportsMoney Now that Tiger Woods has broken his two-year win drought earlier this month, the question is how much earning potential will that translate into in 2012? One branding strategist does not think Woods can ever reach his peak of approximately $125 million per year before the sex scandal of 2009. “People love a personal comeback story,” said Paul Pierson, a partner at Carbone Smolan Agency in New York, “so I think he can get close to the [earnings] levels prior to his troubles but I’d be surprised if he surpassed them.” www.forbes.com PDF

December 2011 Paul Pierson on naming BlackBerry's OS in "RIM Backs Away from BBX Brouhaha" by Erika Morphy E-Commerce Times It seems RIM has no stomach for a court fight over the "BBX" name it intended to slap on its new mobile OS. Instead, it's calling it "BlackBerry 10," and drawing some criticism for that choice. "This new operating system is a bet the company made, and losing the name furthers the impression that RIM is wandering adrift without a clear and focused road to the future," said Paul Pierson of the Carbone Smolan Agency. www.ecommercetimes.com PDF

December 2011 A DesignCast with Ken Carbone & Leslie Smolan, "Dialog: How they Created an Award-winning Agency" Print magazine Dialog is a conversation between Ken Carbone and Leslie Smolan, the duo behind the distinguished Cabone Smolan Agency. In this DesignCast, the trusted design partners will discuss the creative dynamic that has shaped this award-winning agency for over three decades, from building a thriving business to revealing the collaborative process behind the iconic portfolio. WATCH www.mydesignshop.com PDF

November 2011 Preview: Canon's Idea App Wired Insider As a photography enthusiast, I marvel at what it takes to get a great picture. But more important than equipment or lighting (or even a good-looking, leggy subject) is plain old inspiration. So to help photographers who are stuck in that dreaded creative block, Canon is developing the free Idea Mine app. wiredinsider.tumblr.com PDF

November 2011 "iPad Apps for Photojournalists" by Alex Garcia Chicago Tribune Search the iTunes store with the term “photojournalism” and you’ll find a whopping total of 10 apps for the iPad.  Search with the term “photography” and you'll easily get lost among more than a thousand apps.  When I was at Photo Plus in New York and heard there was a seminar entitled, “The Best Apps for Professional Photographers”, my curiosity was piqued. An app designer with the Carbone Smolan Agency spent the money in order to sift through photo apps to find the best ones out there - including comparison charts. www.chicagotribune.com PDF

November 2011 "Canon Idea Mine App Preview Video: Ideas for your next photo project" by Damien Franco Pixiq A cool new app from Canon promises to help photographers with inspiration. Pixiq visited with Paul Pierson at PDN's 2011 PhotoPlus Expo to get the low down on this new app for photographers and create a how-to video of the app in action. VIDEO www.pixiq.com PDF

November 2011 "Canon 'Idea Mine' iPhone App" by Eric Reagan Photography Bay Canon has a new (and free) iPhone App that serves as an inspirational tool and helps spark your creativity for photo projects. Photography Bay met with Paul Pierson, the creator of ‘Idea Mine’, at PhotoPlus 2011, and went behind the scenes with Paul about the creation of the app. VIDEO www.photographybay.com PDF

November 2011 11.11.11: An Epic Marketing Event Fastcodesign.com November 11, 2011, has been identified as a date rife with mystical meaning. Referencing string theory, the illusionist Uri Geller has even suggested that one will be able to access the 11th dimension on this fateful day. The yoga website Spirit Voyage says "The date of 11-11-11 is one of the most powerful shifts in human awareness that we will experience in our lifetime. It is a rare opportunity to release lifetimes of karmic scripting and ancestral entrapment." Wow, sign me up! PDF

November 2011 The CSA-designed Canon Idea Mine app featured in "10 Morsels of Goodness at Photo Plus Expo 2011" by Alex Garcia Chicago Tribune Some of the 10 cool things that I saw at Photo Plus Expo in New York last week – a highly subjective but interesting indulgence in the current state of the photo industry. PDF

October 2011 The Best Apps for Professional Photographers PDN PhotoPlus Expo Paul Pierson is speaking at PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo about the best apps and practices for photographers who want to integrate mobile technology into their work. The three hour session is loaded with tips, tricks, the most useful mobile apps, and a sneak peak at a new CSA-designed iPhone app. VIDEO www.hitboard.com PDF

October 2011 Paul Pierson on branding the iPhone's new feature in "Siri, Are You Selling More iPhones?" by Kunur Patel AdAge That Apple has a hit phone isn't a surprise. That the new iPhone has broken sales records without radical changes to hardware, however, is. But Siri has proven to be the iPhone-loving masses most-talked about feature, with "a little bit of Apple marketing magic at work here." "A feature like [Siri] simply has to be branded," said Paul Pierson, partner and creative director at Carbone Smolan Agency. www.adage.com PDF

September 2011 Unify, Simplify, Amplify: How TASCHEN Continues to Provoke Fastcodesign.com Benedikt Taschen has way too much fun. He lives in L.A.’s Chemosphere, an iconic flying saucer–shaped house designed by John Lautner. He collaborates and socializes with artists and celebrities. He is the force behind Taschen, an international publishing house that produces books on “art, anthropology and aphrodisiac.” He has stores in 12 international cities, 250 employees, and releases 100 new titles a year. www.fastcodesign.com PDF

June 2011 UUnify, Simplify, Amplify: How the Mrs. Meyer's Brand Conquers A Tough Market by Ken Carbone Fastcodesign.com Now available everywhere from your corner bodega to your neighborhood big-box, green cleaners have hit the mainstream. But in a category now crowded with contenders, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day stands out as the friendly foe bearing a bouquet of flowers. The company's casual and lovable personality paired with quality products deliver an effective branding punch. www.fastcodesign.com PDF

May 2011 CSA's Wayfinding and Signage for NHMLA is featured in "Ready for Prime Time" by Pat Matson Knapp SEGD Design Magazine When the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County chose to renovate its existing facilities instead of spending $300 million on a new building, it knew that more than just the physical environment needed to change. To stay relevant, the museum needed to rethink its very mission and the way it engages with visitors and patrons. PDF

April 2011 Unify, Simplify, Amplify: How Leica Maintains Its Brilliant Photography Brand Fastcodesign.com What comes to mind when you hear the name Leica? I posed this question to about two dozen professional photographers and they enthusiastically responded: "prestige," "precision," "craftsmanship," "envy," "excellence," "perfection," “tool of the masters,” and even "lust." To this glorious praise I would add: quintessential. www.fastcodesign.com PDF

April 2011 Putting Lines Around Ideas by Sam Harrison HOW Magazine Have you lost touch with your artistic roots? Or perhaps you never learned to draw in the first place? Six dedicated sketchers explain why all designers should draw and offer 7 ways to make it work for you. www.howdesign.com PDF PDF

March 2011 Unify, Simplify, Amplify: How Moleskine Gets Branding Right Fastcodesign.com Last month I offered some branding advice based on the belief that, in order to win, companies need to Unify, Simplify and Amplify their brand message. This month I will showcase my first example of a brand that puts this formula into practice -- the Italian brand Moleskine, or as they pronounce it in Italy, "mol-a-skeen-a." www.fastcodesign.com PDF

March 2011 Rachel Crawford and Paul Pierson named GDUSA People to Watch in 2011 GDUSA GDUSA starts each year by choosing a group of People To Watch who embody the spirit of the creative community. The criteria: individuals who we have come to know and respect for a combination of talent, leadership, success, business savvy, service and newsworthiness. www.gdusa.com PDF

February 2011 $100K of Free Branding Advice, In Just Three Words FastCompany.com There is a moment during every branding presentation I give when I offer something enormously valuable--for free. I tell clients to write down what is essentially the formula for successful branding employed by the best brands in the world. With their undivided attention and pens in hand, I summarize this formula for them in three words: Unify. Simplify. Amplify. www.fastcompany.com PDF