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Famed literary critic Lionel Trilling once described Henry James as a “social twitterer.” Sure, he meant it as an insult, but it makes us feel better about having signed up to twitter ourselves. Look to the official UnBeige Twitter feed, for up-to-the-minute newsbites, event snippets, links of interest, design trivia, and free candy (OK, we’re still working on the physics of that last one). The mediabistro.com tech wizards have added to the sidebar at right a handful of our most recent word bursts (limited to 140 characters), but you can sign up to follow all of our twittering, and start twittering yourself at twitter.com.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Admit it. Your seven-year-old nephew could out-HTML tag you any day and you think that a Cascading Style Sheet is something with a thread count. That’s where the mediabistro.com mothership comes in. They’ve asked us to tell you about the upcoming online course in HTML fundamentals. Over four fun-filled weeks, web design design guru Laura Galbraith will guide you through a variety of web page production techniques, from column-based layouts and search engine optimization to semantic markup and advanced CSS styles. The online learning fun begins Thursday, May 31, and by Independence Day you’ll have brought a pre-designed webpage to life through the magic of HTML. Preview the course syllabus and register here.

Famed literary critic Lionel Trilling once described Henry James as a “social twitterer.” Sure, he meant it as an insult, but it makes us feel better about having signed up to twitter ourselves. Look to the UnBeige Twitter feed for up-to-the-minute newsbites, event snippets, links of interest, design trivia, and our exclusive photo of Rem Koolhaas‘s in mid-ponder (it makes for smashing smartphone wallpaper). The mediabistro.com tech wizards have added to the sidebar at right a handful of our most recent word bursts, but you can sign up to follow all of our twittering, and start twittering yourself at twitter.com.

Will Avenir live happily after in the strong yet graceful arms of Adobe Garamond Pro? Can Martha Stewart-y Archer ever make it work with Eurostile? See for yourself by playing Type Connection, a fontastic online dating game created by Aura Seltzer, an MFA student in graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art. “Type Connection stems from an idea I had that typefaces’ personalities on paper are really very similar to those of people,” Seltzer told Mohawk Fine Papers’ Felt & Wire blog recently. “Typefaces also have certain physiques, voices, and virtues, and in certain designs, they would benefit from companionship.” Choose a single and get ready to mingle by selecting one of four strategies for finding a good match for your bachelor or bachelorette typeface. In addition to honing typeface-pairing skills, players explore typographic terminology and brush up on type history. Meanwhile, you’ll never look at Gil Sans the same way again—the British octogenarian is revealed to be an emotional eater who wears quirky spectacles.

Virtual decoupage? It’s an oxymoron come true thanks to John Derian. The New York-based purveyor of whimsical plates and paperweights, who has proven his range (and boundless appeal) in previous collaborations with the likes of Astier de Villatte and Target, has taken to the web with a collection of ephemeral yet fine stationery for Paperless Post. “My artistic vision of textures and colors has been translated into this collection of digital stationery in an amazing way,” said Derian in a statement announcing the collaboration. “I’m excited that people who enjoy my work will now be able to experience it so beautifully online.” His signature eclectic imagery—jaunty letters, sea creatures, ferns, a possibly enchanted frog—appears on 65 digital notecards, save-the-date cards, and invitations that Paperless Post users can customize and send (for a small fee). Derian joins a growing stable of guest designers that includes Thornwillow, Boatman Geller, and calligraphy god Bernard Maisner.

There are benefit auctions and then there are benefit auctions. The one organized by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is of the latter variety, italicized for seriousness of purpose (all dollars earned go to support BAM programs) and seriously covetable art on offer. You have ’til the clock strikes 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday to bid on the more than 100 works in the eighth edition of the BAMart Silent Auction, for which the organization has partnered with burgeoning online art marketplace Paddle8.com.

With BAM Trustee and megacollector Beth Rudin DeWoody on board as “honorary auction curator,” the 150-year-old performing arts center (America’s oldest) has lined up an eye-popping selection of works, some of which—stunning Pat Steir canvas, we’re looking at you—will move to Phillips as live auction lots. Brooklyn’s own art scene is represented by the likes of Tauba Auerbach, Dustin Yellin, Erik Benson, and Mickalene Thomas, whose “High Priestess in Black Dress” (2011) is a sassy mix of photos, drawings, and vintage wallpaper. Meanwhile, there are plenty of blue-chip works, including those by William Kentridge, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Serra. Stumped for a Mother’s Day gift? Nothing says “I love you” like a “Deadly Fucking Rainbow,” by Michael Scoggins. More traditional types can opt for the Ellsworth Kelly, whose bold lithograph can double as a Romanian flag. And speaking of flags, Maira Kalman offers a charming sea of American versions, in her “2 Million People” (2009-2011).

Pictured: “Baby Jane,” a 2008 watercolor by Mark Chamberlain

Big news from IDEO.org: the fledgling nonprofit has used a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop HCD Connect, a new platform for people who are taking a human-centered approach to poverty-related challenges around the world. Initially focused on agricultural development, the foundation’s support of HCD (human-centered design) Connect now includes a number of issues that affect low-income communities. The still-in-beta hub for discussion about problems being tackled is designed to connect people and projects, from reimagining a Philadelphia charter school to creating business models for selling water and hygiene products in Kenya. In a few months, community members will be able to apply for microgrants to initiate or implement projects. Intrigued? Arm yourself with IDEO’s handy-dandy HCD Toolkit, geared for organizations and individuals who want to use design methodology to innovate and solve problems in the social sector.

Famed literary critic Lionel Trilling once described Henry James as a “social twitterer.” Sure, he meant it as an insult, but it makes us feel better about having signed up to twitter ourselves. Look to the official UnBeige Twitter feed, for up-to-the-minute newsbites, event snippets, links of interest, design trivia, and free candy (OK, we’re still working on the physics of that last one). The mediabistro.com tech wizards have added to the sidebar at right a handful of our most recent word bursts (limited to 140 characters), but you can sign up to follow all of our twittering, and start twittering yourself at twitter.com.

Admit it. Your seven-year-old nephew could out-HTML tag you any day and you think that a Cascading Style Sheet is something with a thread count. That’s where the mediabistro.com mothership comes in. They’ve asked us to tell you about an upcoming weekend course in HTML and CSS. In one hyperlinked weekend (April 14-15), artist, designer, and interactive developer David Tristman will guide you in breathing digital life into a pre-designed web page. Along the way, you’ll learn how to turn a PSD layout into HTML, the fundamentals of CSS3 styling of color and transitions, and why “@font-face” describes more than the contorted visages of typographers on deadline. By Sunday, you’ll be creating fully functional web pages, debating the finer points of inline and block display, and have gained all the tools necessary to launch your site. Register here.

Eager to show your visiting relatives that Matt Mullican mural but can’t remember at which New York City subway station you saw it? Seeking clues to the imminent apocalypse in the Mayan motif-laden ceramic tiles that greet 6 train passengers at 103rd Street? In need of cheering up by the roly-poly crew of Tom Otterness bronzes that frolic beneath 14th Street near 8th Avenue? There’s an app for that. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has teamed with the ace navigators at Meridian to put the 237 works of contemporary art found throughout the New York City Subway, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels in your pocket, provided that said pocket contains a smartphone loaded with this app. The entire collection of MTA-commissioned artwork is organized by subway (or railroad line) and by artist, from Alice Adams to Joe Zucker. In addition to information on the background, inspiration, and significance of each work—and sometimes video and audio clips featuring the artists—Meridian is touting “turn-by-turn” directions, although they won’t be of much use until reliable cell phone service comes to the subway.
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