TV producer and illustrator Nathan Pyles has created a set of NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette for New York newcomers. The illustrations give simple and humorous directives for newbies and tourists- from how to avoid the wrong subway to exiting a taxi cab.

Check out the ongoing project here and you may even learn a thing or two.

Gannett, media and marketing solutions company and owner of of USA Today, hosted their first-ever media Upfront in New York City on March 5th, 2013. The event, Gannet_Connects, highlighted their transformation from a traditional, newspaper-based media company to a more diversified digital media network with deep roots into local communities. Red Peak was proud to work with Gannett, defining the strategic positioning, “Building Communities through Connections” and expressing that strategy through various design assets including their new brand launch video, which was featured at the Upfront.

(Source: redpeakgroup.com)

A big congratulations is in order here at Red Peak!  Our very own James Fox has been named a 2012 Agency Innovator by the Internationalist and has been invited to speak at the Innovator’s Summit, taking place November 27th in New York City. 

James will be joining 29 others from around the globe and across the industry, proving forward-thinking and creativity can come from places big and small.  All of us here at Red Peak are celebrating the exciting news, although we have known we had a genius in our midst for quite some time now.  Check out James and the rest of the field here

Think of it as feel-good graffiti.  Grime Writer allows its users to create graffiti by cleaning surfaces rather than covering them up.

  Using a soapy tip, Grime Writers are invited to make dirty walls, tables, cars, floors, and maybe even people into their very own canvas.  Pick up your own here or if you want to get lo-fi just use your finger.

(Source: brandflakesforbreakfast.com)

Some post-Sandy design work from New York.

Donate to help NYC rebuild here!

(Source: brandflakesforbreakfast.com)

Inspired by a Tweet from chef Anthony Bourdain, #EatDownTipUp has created a social media campaign aimed at getting diners to eat Downtown and tip generously at the restaurants affected by the storm. 

The website allows the restaurants to share their trials and tribulations during the storm and helps to spread awareness to eaters looking to give back.  The campaign also encourages eaters to share their bill and tips online, through Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Click on the logo below to explore where you can dine and donate!

(Source: Mashable)

A giant, high-flying tubular tourist attraction over Grand Central Station has been proposed in the bid for the massive rezoning of Midtown East.  Intended to reinvigorate the area which was once the crown jewel of the city, architecture firm SOM has suggested a large circular tube of glass that would track up and down two (new) skyscrapers. 

Visitors would be able to experience NYC views from all different heights, a concept similar to the London Eye.  While the “flying UFO” has not been selected for development it definitely gets the imagination flowing in terms of how the city may be transformed by the project.

(Source: fastcodesign.com)

Red Peak kicked off the CMJ Music Festival in NYC last night with an intimate set by Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard.  It was an amazing show at HiFi bar and a definite New York moment.

Take a peek at what you missed with video shot by our very own Nate Dwyer.  CMJ runs through October 20th in venues all over NYC- check out the schedule here.

NYC’s Highline, meet the Lowline. 

Using “solar harvesting” technology, a group of architects have proposed using an abandoned underground trolley station on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side.  Supporters on Kickstarter have provided the initial $155,000 to create an above ground exhibit nearby the proposed location to help facilitate fundraising.  Meanwhile, Columbia architecture students are completing a study to tabulate the actual costs of the subterranean project.

(Source: fastcoexist.com)

Rather then having ads on the back of MetroCards, what about the idea of a Chuck Close inspired puzzle. Find where you think your MetroCard fits and is it the missing piece of the billboard.  Get into it and it could spur your next conversation on your morning commute (if you’re so inclined).
 
 Via fastcodesign

Some eerily beautiful photographs of this past weekends storm in NYC from gallerist James Danzinger’s blog ‘The Year in Pictures’.

Bob Egan tracked down the original locations of famous album cover photos shot in NYC. It’s hard to tell what exactly has changed since the ’60s and ’70s, but it’s impressive that Egan was able to find the locations in the first place. More on Weburbanist.

A man living in the East Village gets around 30 visitors a day who mistake his apartment for an antique store.

Via SFEgoist.com

Who knew antique wallpaper could be so interesting?

From Nowness:

“Suzanne Lipschutz founder of the original vintage wallpaper store Secondhand Rose, enthralls with her stories of New York showbiz clients including Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen and Madonna in this short from directors Nick Sweeney and Aaron Peasley. For over 50 years the vivacious septuagenarian has been sought out by Manhattan’s finest to ornament their living rooms, boudoirs and bathrooms in her idiosyncratic style.”

So this is why I’m not getting nasty looks for using my debit card anymore. A simple interface design can be credited for catapulting the average taxi tip from 10% to 22%. Ease-of-use and social expectations in action, nice work NYC!

Via TheNextWeb