Philly's Center City District (CCD) hangs about 3,000 banners per year. But, what happens to the fabric after the banners come down? To address the end-of-cycle use, CCD recently partnered with a local nonprofit, Baker Industries, to create tote bags. These eco-friendly bags are unique to Philly and are now being sold at some Center City stores. Other districts are soon to follow this green sewn solution.

Read the full article on Philly.com.

Japanese engineers at Honda have unveiled a working prototype of their new personal mobility device called the UX-3. The device moves like a Segway, except instead of having two giant wheels, there's one omnidirectional wheel. Rather than standing up, you get sit and relax. Another advantage: it is foldable and very lightweight, weighing about 22 pounds. Honda has applied the stabilization technology from their Asimo robot to this new device.

The rider assumes the posture of a unicycle rider with feet resting on pedals. Movement is controlled by shifting the weight of your upper body and turning is achieved by dragging one...

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have two great passions: Tech and Cars.  Last Saturday I was fortunate enough to take the latest iteration of one of my favorite cars out for a test drive:  The 6th generation (Mark 6 or MKVI) Volkswagen GTI.  Needless to say, it was an astonishing machine.  Precise around the corners, furious in the straight aways, yet civilized when your ready to settle in and cruise home.  Volkswagen’s hot hatch is one of the best cars (if not the best) in it’s class, and is a perfect everyday driver: Fast, good with...

We all know the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." In today's world, we're progressing past pictures and entering the video era. One company, Say It Visually!, uses video production to create stories that explain complex subjects. Their latest video breaks down the meaning of social media, a subject that I am constantly finding myself trying to explain with words. Their detailed images and voice over do a great job of spreading education on a very current topic.

Next week is Milan Design Week. While (sadly) we will not be attending, we wanted to highlight a collaborative project between Apartamento Magazine and DesignMarketo: FoodMarketo. This half pop up shop and half cooking workshop combines the contemporary designs of over 30 international designers with daily workshops to share recipes and ingredients. FoodMarketo marries two of our passions: food and design. Perhaps something similar should pop up in Philly...

Read more details here.

image from pshutterbug on flickr

In the shadows of opening day for the Phillies, the Philadelphia Eagles announced their interdivision trade of QB Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins. I smell some competition brewing between these south Philly neighbors. However, this futile effort to claim the spotlight has slight potential to last until 1:05pm today when our Fightin' Phils take the plate in Washington, DC (ironic?).

This is a good move for the Eagles. But, as I posted on Friday, Philly is now a baseball town. Sorry Reid.

It's Spring! That means two things: allergies and baseball. Because of the former, I just sat in my doctor's waiting room for almost an hour. Lucky for me; however, they had the current issue of Sports Illustrated with our very own superstar Roy Halladay on the Phillies' red cover. I read their take on Halladay's history, which they described with more dramatic detail than all of the articles in People Magazine. The disclosure of his depression and intense commitment to the sport gave me more of an appreciation for our new pitcher. There is more to him than just being...

Let me preface this blog by saying that it is very rare that I patron Dunkin Donuts. However, I have always been a fan of their clever branding and marketing strategy. The simplicity of the colors and design along with the choice of font makes their brand strong.

Recently, they reintroduced their mascot, Dunkie, in celebration of their 60th anniversary. This vintage character got a modern makeover. They also updated their chunky typography to a more italicized script. I'm not a fan of this move, but the application on their packages does look good.

More images can be found on the read more