<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:19:06 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Creative Matters</title><subtitle>blog</subtitle><id>http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/atom.xml"/><updated>2011-09-28T16:00:07Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>Democratization of Content: Craft or Commodity?</title><category term="Graphic Design"/><category term="book design"/><category term="branding"/><category term="content creation"/><category term="design"/><category term="editorial"/><category term="graphics"/><category term="marketing"/><category term="photography"/><category term="publishing"/><id>http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/2011/9/28/democratization-of-content-craft-or-commodity.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/2011/9/28/democratization-of-content-craft-or-commodity.html"/><author><name>Thinkpen Design</name></author><published>2011-09-28T15:16:28Z</published><updated>2011-09-28T15:16:28Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[It seems as if anyone with a computer and a few cool fonts can be a designer today. Well, I suppose they can. That either indicates a sea change of exciting opportunity, or it's the fast commoditization of what used to be a specialized industry. The same seems to be true of photography. It's not just that digital SLR cameras with quality sufficient enough to be considered entry-level professional equipment can be had affordably. But, digital darkroom software also seems to dramatically reduce the technical gap between amateur and artist since the technical side of the craft—like setting the white point—can be readily corrected to large degree after the shoot. In other words, the entrance ramps onto these highways are quick and easy enough that anyone can seemingly enter without the same level of training and due diligence on which their predecessors have founded to their careers.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Creative Integrity</title><id>http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/2011/9/19/creative-integrity.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.thinkpendesign.com/blog/2011/9/19/creative-integrity.html"/><author><name>Thinkpen Design</name></author><published>2011-09-19T22:41:23Z</published><updated>2011-09-19T22:41:23Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Let's face it. In our marketplace of ideas—of products, services, and communications—there is a fine line between crafting a fresh, creative expression and brazenly copying the preexisting. On the one hand, it is informing to research trends and stylistic conventions currently in fashion. But, on the other, it is cautioning to recognize that ours is a marketplace that values innovation and that goes to great lengths to protect the content creators through patents and intellectual property legislation among other means. So, what is best arbiter between well-researched market intelligence and a fresh creative expression?]]></summary></entry></feed>
