SO THERE'S SUCH A THING AS A TRANSIT GEEK.

And now I know some! I'm so pleased to be able to share the pitch deck (that's Silicon Valley geekspeak for a presentation that explains your brilliant start-up idea to potential investors) that I created for a start-up called Transit Hero.

Transit Hero is a most excellent technology/app dreamed up by a crew of admitted transit geeks. What it does: takes all kinds of data, both personal and public, and uses it to predict when your commute is about to get jacked. For example, say 200 naked PETA members are protesting the wearing of fur in front of Nordstrom on Market Street and messing up your ride home on the 6-Parnassus. Transit Hero would send you a message, break the bad news, and suggest an alternative (like renting a scooter) to get you there on time. You feel like an in-control badass. Genius!

Anyhow, Transit Hero has a great idea, but needed help communicating it in a memorable, clean presentation. I took their basic deck structure and between cheeky copy and a little superhero action, we were on our way!

Their big investor presentation at Hub Ventures went smashingly, and I look forward to working with them in the future and watching their business take wing.

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED IT AND NOW I HAVE IT. I RULE.

I've always regretted that I never took the letterpress class that my program at ASU offered back when it was, y'know, FREE. Well, I'm paying for it this time (business expense!), but I'm finally getting to do it at the San Francisco Center for the Book. For four Sundays in August, I'm going to get all inky and dirty and looooove it. Mad props to my husband for taking on the twin toddlers of destruction while I'm pressing away. I'll be sure to make him a love note.

The coolest part is that the class qualifies me to rent time at the SFCB, so I can then offer that service to my clients. How excellent is that?

Because learning is WHAT? Learning is FUN.

BROADSHEET GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

What do I love most about my job? That in order to do it well, I need to learn all about my client's business, which is often something I know 0.0 about going into the project. That was certainly the case when Risa Bramon Garcia approached me about branding for The BGB Studio, the actor's studio in LA that she runs with her business partner Steve Braun. 

What do I know about acting? Not much. Only that I can't do it, even on the level of fibbing to my husband about how many cups of coffee I've had in a day. And that taking this job would get me one degree of Kevin Bacon closer to Alcide from True Blood. But Risa was a rarified client in that she came to me with armloads of amazing and inspiring visual references that I just wanted to paper my office with, they were so cool. She also had the words to describe what it was she and Steve were creating with their actors in the studio, as well as what they wanted in a mark, words like "strong, grittty, emotional, graphic, pop, energetic, community."

That, combined with chats with actor friends who've run the LA gamut, had me all set to start. I had a million ideas running through my head before I'd even officially signed on. I love it when the book writes itself. So much easier that way.

From among the slew of ideas that I lobbed their way, we refined and narrowed it to these two logos. They're undertaking a site redesign shortly, and I for one can't wait to see what they come up with!