We’ve set up a Kickstarter campaign to help raise the funds and we’re giving away some cool stuff in exchange for your wonderful donations.

So help make this the “Summer of Exploration” and lets go to space!

Kickstarter Campaign: http://svns.in/ng

This month we want to highlight the inspiring work of Girlfriend; a design, branding and technology studio out of New York City. Girlfriend has a fantastic portfolio full of strategic, well-thought-out, beautiful work. Their restrained, minimalist approach to the many different capabilities they offer is refreshing.

Girlfriend’s own site is a well-designed, simple experience that really lets the work take center stage. It makes good use of subtle CSS transitions that enhance the user experience, rather than distracting. Be sure to look for the secret link hidden in the copyright footer.

Check out more here: http://girlfriendnyc.com

So this past week’s huge craze was Color. Literally everyone was talking about, whether they were hating or praising, you couldn’t avoid it. So what is Color? Why do I care about Color, you ask? Well, lets break it down a bit, as its a pretty exciting concept.

Color is essentially another camera app for your iPhone, but where it differs is in what it DOES when you take that photo. We all know the disposable wedding camera game… well this takes that idea to a whole new level. Say you’re at a sporting event or a music festival, pull out Color, take a shot and it gets added into a giant collective group album of shots taken at that location. You can view photos taken recently, by location, by groups you’re a part of, etc, etc. You can even view the user profile of the folks who’ve taken the photos you’re viewing. Its like one giant Twitter/Foursquare/Flickr mashup all in one.

So far the reviews have been mixed, mostly due to little technicalities, but the overall consensus is that this is very much the future of mobile photography and group sharing. Its collectively compiling the moments and memories of everyone from a single location throughout time. Just think of how amazing it will be to hit up Lollapalooza in a couple years and look back through all the fun photos people have taken over the years… and maybe make some new friends in the process.

You can get the Color app right now for either iPhone or Android at: http://color.com

UPDATE – Agreed, Color is a bit confusing at first and won’t really show its true colors until it starts getting some wider adoption, but this review is simply hilarious. The sheer effort and creativity that went into it, alone, is enough to make you smile – http://mike3k.posterous.com/best-app-store-review-ever

UPDATE UPDATE – Lots of speculation as to the over-hyping of Color going on over at TechCrunch. Pretty interesting read. – http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/24/color/

I’ve been working here for about two-and-a-half months now, and I’m loving every second of it (and I’m not just saying that because they told me to, I swear)! As the front-end design/development intern, my main responsibility is to convert the print issues of METRO magazine into HTML pages for their new iPad app that we just launched last week. We’ve been working really hard to get it up and running, so we’re very proud to finally be able to show it off.

The cool thing about the METRO app is that it really brings the print publication into the digital realm. Not only does it present the magazine content in a digital environment but it does so in an interactive and engaging way. Adapting the actual magazine—which was designed as fixed-sized printed pages—to a digital format—which not only can but is expected to be reoriented—presents many challenges, both creative and technical. Not only do the pages in the app need to be aesthetically pleasing and have the same spirit as originally designed in the printed magazine, but they also need to be coded so that they work in the digital environment.

One of the things I like most about my job is that I have the opportunity to utilize and develop both my design and development skills in my position. As a designer, not only am I a creative person but I’m also an analytical person. I like being able to exercise both sides of my brain—which is what initially drew me to web and interactive design—and at a small agency, like Sevnthsin, I’m able to do that and be multidisciplinary.

So if you’ve got an iPad, please take some time to check out the METRO Magazine iPad App. I’m excited to see how this project progresses in the coming months, and I hope you are too!

For this month’s installment of “Inspire” I’ve chosen to single-out a crew I know basically nothing about. Meet We Are From L.A, creators of some of the baddest projects I’ve seen in a while.

Their GIF-inspired celebrity-obsessed stop-motion music video for Yelle’s “La Musique” has been playing on repeat for the last 24 hours. Hit play below and I think you’ll see why. I’m already a Yelle superfan, but this video has put me over the edge,

Click here to view the embedded video.

In October, WAFLA took a simple, and totally addicting, idea and implemented it for a promotional iPhone app for Cassius’s new single on Ed Banger Records.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s looking like we might take a dip in productivity over here at Sevnthsin while the I <3 U So app is installed on my iPhone.

So today was the big day, and Apple did not disappoint. First with the unveiling of Steve Jobs (aka – he was there to present the iPad), then with all the wonderful upgrades they made, making them clearly still the frontrunner in tablet/mobile technology.

What did WE think of the announcement? Well, we were pretty impressed. We all knew Apple wasn’t going to come out and completely reinvent the iPad. Why would they? They already had a winner on their hands, they just needed to add some more shine, and that’s definitely what they did. There was a general sense of “impressed” today, particularly with the fact that not only were they able to make the thing a dual core and approximately 9 times faster than the already fast original iPad, BUT they decreased the thickness by a third. That’s pretty impressing.

Of course they added the options we all knew they’d add. There are front and rear cameras, there’s the ability to run HDMI out (via a 30 pin adapter), they’re available for both AT&T and Verizon and of course, there’s a white one (for real this time). They managed to keep the price point exactly the same, which again is pretty amazing considering the upgrades they made… but this also seems like a “not so fast” to all their competitors who were just finally catching up to the original iPad, yet still more expensive, and claiming that because they supported Flash that they were clearly the better option.

The last little piece that really got the Ooo’s and Aahhh’s from us here was the new “Flap.” Apple simultaneously designed a cover for the iPad that both minimized the additionally weight/size increase of adding a case, but connects via MAGNETS (which automatically align the flap so there’s never that “Oh, its on crooked” moment) and wakes/sleeps the iPad when you open/close it. It folds back into a little stand, it serves as a microfiber screen cleaner, it even comes in a myriad of colors. What doesn’t this little guy do (aside from protect the back side of the iPad… which would be nice, but isn’t necessary).

Also, not to be forgotten, the addition of iMovie for iPad video editing (with multi-track audio) as well as Garage Band, allowing for the hookup of real instruments as well as a whole slew of virtual instruments, was a real nice touch to really bump the edge on this thing.

So all in all, pretty great update to one of Apple’s greatest surprise concoctions. We’re all excited to get our very own coming up here next Friday. We’ve never felt a week and a half to be this long before… ever!

Link: http://apple.com/ipad

Welcome to month four of our “Inspire” series. Today we’d like to shine the light on our friends over at Zeus Jones, a small branding/marketing/digital/design/packaging/advertising/mysterious agency over in Uptown, Minneapolis. Focusing on no single aspect of the industry, they themselves even like to tout the fact that what they do is a bit of a mystery. But whatever they’re doing, its working, as they produce some of the best work across every platform of any place we’ve seen in a long long time.

Additionally, they’re fantastic bowlers. They once routed us handily, sending us back to the upper NE side with our tail between out legs. One day we will have our revenge!

See more over at: http://zeusjones.com

Aside from this commercial being truly amazing and adorable…. well, that’s really all I have to say.

This is amazing and adorable both at the same time.

Month three of this little series we call “Inspire” brings us to a fantastic little South Minneapolis shop called Spunk. We’ve had the very distinct pleasure of working directly with Spunk in the past and continue to cross paths with them to this day. Their whimsical blend of humor, intelligence and just plain beautiful respect for every piece they create, whether it be packaging for a children’s toy, a screen printed poster encouraging democracy, or even a 3D menu for a local pizza parlor, is what gives Spunk a truly unique creative place in the world.

So check out some of their brilliant, and fall in love with Spunk!

See more over at: SPKDM.com

MacRumors has a pretty amazing little sneak peek at the new iOS 4.3 updates that are about to come to the iPad. The Beta Developer SDK was released today, so that means the full update will come sometime in the next few months, but this is some pretty amazing stuff.

New gestures appear to include mostly 4-5 finger actions, like swiping between open apps, pinching to close apps and sliding upward to bring up background apps. All pretty amazing, intuitive gestures to add to an already pretty great device. Makes us wonder what that has in store for the inevitable iPad 2 that should be announced here in the next month or two.

In the meantime, feel free to salivate over this tasty little video from MacRumors:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Direct video link here.

Month two of our Inspire installment showcases our old friends over at Eighthourday. This rouge husband/wife duo of Nathan Strandberg & Katie Kirk are currently traveling the US, living in a different city approximately every month, bringing their brilliant creative all across the country.

Creating a brilliant mix of elegant design and beautiful Illustration, each of the pair brings their own unique talents to the mix. Whether they’re producing hand screened art prints or engaging boutique sites for other creative entities, their work is always top shelf.

Check out more over at: Eighthourday.com

This Holiday season, we felt it only appropriate to FINALLY answer the burning question, “Where did the name come from?” So with that in mind, we felt the only true way to capture the essence of the company’s birth, was by rock opera. That’s right, I said ROCK OPERA. Written and recorded primarily by our own Aaron Shekey (with a little help on vocals by Jamey), a 6 part rock opera was produced and a limited quantity made available as a physical disc. A promotional video for the epic is available and five of the six movements can be found over on iTunes, where all proceeds of the sale of the album will be donated to our good friends over at Project Healthy Smile.

So enjoy a few shots of the mailer, complete with Disc, Promo Poster (autographed, of course), Band Bio/One Sheet as well as a few fancy Picks to ice the cake.

You can find the online experience over at: http://sevnthsinorigins.com

Our inaugural post shines the spotlight on our buddies over at The Good in Portland, OR.

Founded in 2008 by Chris Teso and Jon MacDonald, The Good specializes in the creation of high end, engaging Flash experiences as well as robust little social tools that make lives wonderfully easy (ie: theGood Uploadr & Sell Simply. For a fairly “new” company, their client roster is pretty impressive as well, cranking out work for the likes of Nike, Microsoft, Adobe, Verizon, Intel and more.

We’ve had the very distinct pleasure of knowing these guys for a few years now, as well as competing against them in a push up contest (don’t ask). So check them out, definitely worth the time!

See more over at: TheGood.com

So our good friends over at Doomtree have released yet another amazing album. This one comes from epic DJ Paper Tiger and has been his labor of love for quite some time now.

If you’re into good music (and we all just assume you are), you’ll most definitely want to pick this one up. Plus, you get to literally help support a local music crew doing amazing things!

Get the Album: Paper Tiger : Made Like Us

Watch the video for “2nd Day Back”

Brilliant work from “soon to be” graduate Joseph Kuefler over at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN. A definitely MUST SEE from this year’s class. Our own senior designer Aaron Shekey built the portfolio using WordPress.

Also, hire him immediately, you will not be disappointed.

http://civilsocial.com

Now these are just plain cool. Rumored to be available on Feb 10th over at Dyzplastic, these little buggers are sure to sell like hotcakes. We first shot these out on Twitter yesterday and were met with a couple of folks that’ll be selling them at their stores (thanks @hello_robotlove), and we’ll most likely be making a handful of purchases.

Now the question… can you order by the CASE?!?

More over here: http://svns.in/6y

That’s right everyone. Another year has gone by, that means its time to battle for a new champion. Get your agency/firm’s team signed up before September 1st and prepare to battle. Read the rules, practice your game and don’t bring anything but your A team, as it’s gonna be epic.

See you here on the 11tt/12th of September. Brackets will be posted prior to the event.

http://mplsdesignpingpongchampionships.com

iMated, our first non-client iPhone app, went live in the iTunes Store today. A hilariously creepy blend of facial feature melding in one fun little app. Take a sec and check it out over at iMated.com. There’s even a little demo!

Big shout out to PopLife and &Yustin for all their support on this epic quest for iPhone hilarity.

iMated.com

We just recently finished our very first internal iPhone App project with our good friends at PopLife/&Yustin. A fun little piece sure to cause ‘seam bursting’ laughter. The above image is a little sneak peek of what is to come. Expect it on the app store in the coming weeks.

Enjoy.