Take GOOD's 30-day challenge: Art Every Day

Alright, obviously we're about halfway through March, but we love this idea and think you should do it, so we feel implored to point you in its direction:

In January GOOD Magazine helped you start the year off right with daily tips for sound (and actually doable) financial practice. In February they tried to get you to support a worthy cause with another month-long dose of practical tips. Are you seeing a pattern here? In keeping with their year of inspired, sustainable and very attainable advice for personal betterment, they've made a creative declaration with their March "Art Every Day" challenge.

Chances are you're a creative person to begin with, but do you actually do something art-related every single day? We know, sometimes we work all day long and we're tired or grouchy, but that's no excuse, especially since their daily checklist includes some simple activities like "Take a photo" or "Doodle for 10 minutes straight." Other tasks are a little more involved, like "Create a floral or stone arrangement" or "Make an inspiration board," but it's not like any of the these suggestions are painful. If you don't have stones just lying around, begging to be arranged, take a trip to the park or walk on over to the East River and start collecting (though you're gonna want to thoroughly wash the river slime and dead body residue off those before you start).

Sign up for the 30-Day Challenge email to stay motivated, and chime in on GOOD's Twitter page with #30DaysofGood to let them know how you're doing and to see what others are up to.

3rd Ward can help you fulfill task #6, "Sign up for an art class." With over 275 classes to choose from, it's bound to be a very GOOD month. 

Brooklyn's Hyperakt: Making Infographics Look Easy

It's no secret we at 3rd Ward are self-proclaimed infographics geeks. Though last week, I was lucky enough to visit Deroy Peraza and Julia Vakser Zeltser at Hyperakt, their lovely studio in Carroll Gardens. They've created some pretty exciting projects, one being Teach, which you might have heard them live pitch to Kurt Anderson on Studio 360. In just one week they developed a comprehensive strategy to rebrand the teaching profession, replacing the traditional "apple crapple" with a sophisticated brand ID that educators can be proud of. 

As students of illustration in college, Peraza and Zeltser's current work comes packaged with a strong visual sense. Nowhere is this clearer than in the information graphics they've created for GOOD Magazine and The New York Times--not to mention Thomson Reuters Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Acumen Fund, Ford Foundation and Google. Hyperakt makes presenting statistics in an engaging way look simple, though the amount of work that goes into each one is painfully evident. Hit the jump now to see what we mean.

And after perusing the infographics down below, check out the rest of their work--and learn infographics 101 with 3rd Ward's classes in InDesign, Illustrator and Processing: an Introduction to Interactive Media. Oh right, we even offer a course in Branding. We know the next Peraza and Zeltser are reading this...

-- Perrin Drumm

Calling All Geeks to GOOD's Design Hackathon

Geeks unite! For one whole weekend in March, designers, developers and makers of all kinds are being summoned to participate in the Design Hackathon sponsored by GOOD and hosted by Parsons in NYC. The challenge is to combine technology and social innovation to "design the ideal tool that empowers the average New Yorker every hour of the day. From the moment we wake to the minute we fall asleep, how can people practice and maximize good citizenship in 24 hours?" 

Sound puzzling? GOOD gives you some ideas to get the wheels turning. They're looking for ideas that promote meaningful connections, efficient transportation, clever consumption, educational reform, cleaner environments and smart economies. Groups will check in Friday and "chill with GOOD" at City Tavern that night, work all day Saturday and then present their ideas to a panel of judges on the third day. Winners will be selected in three categories, Most innovative, Best use of social and Best use of location. 

Meanwhile: Looking to take an idea from paper to production? Check out 3rd Ward's latest class on learning Rhino 2, a cutting edge software program provides all the commands and power to accurately model and document your designs, ready to integrate into CAD drawings, renderings, laser cutting, 3D printing, prototyping, CNC milling and other manufacturing processes.

Design Hackathon takes place from Friday, March 2 - Sunday, March 4.

-- Perrin Drumm