I was watching a show on PBS and a gentleman on there was talking about the creative process and how in America, creativity is not fully embraced. He mentioned something to the extent that people think either you’re born creative or you’re not, but he argued that its more like playing the piano, you have to practice to get better.

I began thinking about this and I totally agree. Yes, sometimes you are struck with a stroke of creative genius, but most times you have to put in blood, sweat and tears to generate a creative solution to a design problem. I know for myself looking back on past projects you always find ways you would have improved and refined those projects. I think this has to do with the fact that you are looking back on the project not only with a “clean pallet,” but also with a more refined and robust creative style.

As for the future of creativity in the American culture, I think we have tons of room for improvement. Until we as a society start to embrace the fact that being creative and unique is a great thing, we will still lag behind the rest of the world in producing creative citizens. The good news is that we can continue to increase our creative process by simply practicing at being creative. So I for one will try even harder to open my mind more and seek out inspiration from the world and people around me.

I hope you’ll join me on the road to creative enlightenment. Keep on trucking.

Over at ilovetypography.com they have complied a list of 15 websites with remarkable use of type. Its a great list to see some fantastically designed websites and get a little inspiration for your own.

15 excellent examples of web typography

Our friends over at the US Bureau of Engraving have given ol’ Honest Abe a maker over. They have added some new and improved security features as well, to ward of those currency entrepreneurs, or as the government likes to call them, counterfeiters.

Some highlights of the redesign are a moved security thread and watermark and a “beautiful” purple tint to the center of the bill. The purple theme continues on the back with the freaking huge 5 on the back. When I first saw it I was confused by a gigantic purple 5 on the back of the bill, but when I found out it was to help the visually impaired recognize the different currencies (we all know the blind can see purple….), the purple 5 made sense. There are a few more features to the new 5 but if you want to know more check out the interactive $5 dollar bill.

Whether you like the new design or not, the design and engineering that goes into our currency is amazing. So keep your eyes out for the new $5’s, I’m sure they will hit the street soon.

Im not sure who is in charge of quality control over there at Apple H.Q., but I think need to take a closer look at their battery supplier. Don’t get me wrong, I love almost everything Apple, but I pretty sure my battery for my macbook pro will be replaced tomorrow because of another defect. The first time the battery had to be replaced was an issue with some macbooks catching on fire or warping, you know cool stuff like that.

This time I have no clue what is wrong with my battery other than it wont hold a charge for longer than an hour or so. I did a little research on the Apple website and found that there is another recall on macbook pro batteries. Call me crazy, but I think having my battery recalled twice in two years is just a little excessive. Lucky my laptop hasn’t caught on fire or been warped by crazy battery malfunctions…..yet.

So tomorrow I go to the mac store and hopefully come home with a fresh, functional battery. Who knows, maybe the third time will really be the charm. Heres to catchy phrases and being optimistic!

Update: So went to the mac store yesterday and my suspicions were correct, my battery was FUBAR. Thankfully the helpful staff at the mac store replaced my battery for free and made me a satisfied customer.