Hello all. My name is Leah and I'm yet another of the new Actual Sizers here on Smithfield Street. Having started my second week, I'm finally getting my sea legs and really feeling like I'm making a difference in this creative world. First off I suppose I should let you all in on what I do. Basically, I do all of the little things that help to make this company move and shake like the hip-hoppin', be-boppin' designers we have here in the office (and I'm not just talking about the wide range of jams radiating from Eric's cubicle next to mine). Everyone here at the office has individual talents and equally as individual work styles, which is why my job exists; to make sure everyone gets done what they need to get done.

In my first week here I familiarized myself with the systems already in place and helped to put into action new forms of organization. I am learning daily, different ways to make task management more efficient within the office and especially how to make things work for each member of the team. Aside from organizing the tasks and helping everyone to maximize productivity, I am trying to fit into this quirky and fun environment.

Surprise, surprise, I'm yet another Penn State grad giving me a leg up I hope in the eyes of my new co-workers! I graduated a year ago but couldn't bare to leave Happy Valley until this December...which I guess some would say I left just in time. But now that I'm back in Pittsburgh I couldn't ask for a better place to put my communications degree into action. I love the fact that I can help out in an office setting and learn SO MUCH about a field that I've worked these past four years to be a part of. I get to read, write, organize (the neat freak that I am), learn, and have fun. What more could a girl ask for? 

All I need to do now is ease the team into the full spectrum that is Leah Braun. Although I might not join in when tiny green discs go zooming over my head from the Nerf shooting extravaganza between Joe and Eric, I do have a few fun things up my sleeve I hope to introduce to the rest of the Actual Sizers as my time here continues. I'm especially excited for my time-to-shine on Friday breakfast duty, a tradition I am SUPER excited to be a part of. Shout out to Bob and Joe for the spectacular french toast and wide array of delicious toppings, couldn't have been more excited to be at work on a Friday! I can only imagine what will be in store for me this week.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll be writing again soon, hopefully with more updates on the crazy happenings or exciting new projects. For now, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

This morning April and Joe surprised us with a very seasonal pumpkin oatmeal breakfast, I can't think of a better way to start off a rainy fall Friday!

Hello faithful Actual Size blog readers!! My name is Catherine and I'm a new summer intern here at Actual Size Creative. I'll be awkwardly wandering around, being a sponge and learning as much as I can for the next few months. I'm super excited to get things started!

But enough about me (for now)...there are some other new, more important Actual Sizers who have yet to be embarrassed by have an interview on this blog. We couldn't possibly let Steve G. and Eric slide by without a proper introduction. So, for my first blog post, I have been assigned the task of being the annoying interviewer for the day. 

Let's start with Steve G. Steve is the newest member of the Actual Size team, starting just a few weeks ago. He studied Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and loves biking and snowboarding. Steve is originally from upstate New York, but is currently residing in the West End. Fun fact about Steve: when he isn't in the office, you just might spot him pedaling a Green Gear's Pedicab around the 'burgh (if you're lucky). 

Next on the list is Eric. Eric is yet another Penn State alum on the Actual Size team. He began working here at the beginning of September, utilizing his Graphic Design degree. Sports, outdoors activities, and freelance artwork are just a few of his hobbies. Eric is currently living in New Kensington.

I'm going to wrap this up for now! I don't want to use up anymore of your precious time that could be spent browsing through Actual Size's newly updated Facebook and Twitter pages. Thanks for reading, and don't worry, you'll be hearing from me a lot more this summer (whether you like it or not)!

Actual Size Creative is famous! Well, I should say more famous.

Mashable, a leading website dealing with all things media and technology, recently published a list called "6 New and Innovative Social Media Campaigns to Learn From," and guess whose work was featured!?

The Century Council is recognized as using YouTube ads for a good cause, specifically for the Ask, Listen, Learn PSA created by Actual Size Creative. The article notes that the PSA has done just what the Century Council wanted, bringing their message to kids across the United States. The PSA has more than 2.5 million views on YouTube and has resulted in eleven times the normal level of traffic on the Ask, Listen, Learn website - also designed by Actual Size Creative.

Head over to Mashable to read the article, and watch the aforementioned PSA right here. You know you want to.

ASC is no stranger to getting praise, but we're all very excited about this.

I'm baaaaaack!

It's been a while, so I'll reintroduce myself (and introduce myself for the first time in case we have any first time readers). I'm Katie, an intern here at Actual Size Creative and the resident blogger. Apparently the only blogger, too. At the top of our blog, it says, "If the news is old, blame Actual Size." Hopefully you won't blame us too much - we've been pretty busy. In the time since I last posted, I've completed my sophomore year at Vassar (I'm halfway done with college, what!?) and (finally) obtained my driver's license. Don't worry, I'll still be taking - and getting lost on - the bus. 

As much as I'm sure you've all missed me, you've probably missed hearing news about your favorite ASC team members more! And let me tell you, there's been a lot of news - new projects! new faces in the office! babies! appearances in music videos! so many Friday breakfasts! I'll be updating you on all of that shortly, and hopefully you won't mind, because I'll be sticking with you all summer.

In other exciting news, Actual Size Creative will also have two new interns this summer! Allow me to introduce them...

The first intern joining the ASC team is Catherine, a rising senior at Slippery Rock University majoring in Public Relations. Catherine will be working on ASC social media and blogging - you'll probably be hearing from her with her first post shortly! The second new intern is Tori, who wins for longest commute - she's from St. Clairsville, Ohio! Tori is also a rising senior and attends West Liberty University, where she is a graphic design major.

Get excited, everyone. This is going to be fun.

We got so excited about the Penguins opening their season in their new arena, followed up by their impressive winning streak, and finally the Winter Classic a few weeks ago, that we never got around to getting excited about what we've been doing. Last year, as the hockey season got underway, we branded and launched a new site: TrueHockey.com.

TrueHockey.com is the new online home for Andy Strickland, a St. Louis-based national journalist and radio personality. In addition to covering the Blues, he is a well connected reporter that makes on-air appearances throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The new site will begin with Andy writing everything – from local St. Louis Blues coverage to national rumors and reports – and grow into multiple reporters covering a larger part of the country. To do this, Actual Size designed and built a flexible platform for all of this to grow smoothly as more reporters are added, along with multiple channels for communicating Andy's insight – his Blues stories, his national write-ups, and his radio show.

That's the question we've been asking around the office lately. There is so, so much happening at Actual Size, but it's increasingly difficult to take the time to talk about it. Luckily, I had some downtime while waiting for a bus last night and I could hear my iPhone mocking my lack of recent writing. If only we had an intern that could do some blogging for us...

Thats right! Forgot to tell you, but Katie went back to Vassar this fall (with no "Goodbye" post, mind you), which has cut down on our online socializing a great deal.

We've also been inundated with new business opportunities in the last month – for a large line of consumer packaging, two mobile apps, a number of websites and web apps, a promotional package for a new institute at a major university, and there's probably something that I missed.

Some of that has been fast tracked and will be up for public consumption very soon. Some of it will never see the light of day. And on top of it all, we're in the midst of getting the Steelers ready for their season - we've got a few Gameday programs in the bag already, their yearbook is about to go to press, and their fundrasing fashion show is right around the corner.

Oh, and one more thing: Barkice Pouncey is the newest, cutest, and at 13 pounds, the smallest Actual Sizer. For now, see her photo here, and look for a full post about her (with lots of adorable pictures) coming very soon.

I have to admit - when Apple first announced and previewed the iPad, I was a little skeptical. It basically looked like a giant iPhone, it basically sounded like a giant iPhone, and I'm not a huge fan of reading books in a form other than an actual book.

Then I saw a commercial for the iPad. I could feel myself changing my mind, thinking, Oh, this is actually sort of cool, but then I quickly reminded myself that is still wasn't that awesome, that there was no way that it was actually as cool as the advertisements had made it sound.

Then I saw these - gorgeous iPad generated paintings made with an app called Brushes. Brushes essentially allows users to finger paint on the iPad. 

Okay, enough. You've got me. You've won me over. The iPad is cool.

Do you have a favorite piece of iPad art? I sort of love the one of the iPad, because I thought it was actually real for an embarrassing amount of time.

Now, this is interesting.

These days, I've been working a lot with social networking and new social media, primarily in the forms of this blog, Facebook, and Twitter. It fascinates me that with one touch of a button, I can direct all of my friends - friends on vacation in Connecticut and Colorado, friends just a few miles from this office, and even friends in the Ukraine - to read this blog post that you - wherever you happen to be - are reading right now. I'm also interested in what other people are doing with these technologies - this morning in particular, those people are researchers at Northeastern University and Harvard University.

The project, called "Pulse of the Nation: U.S. Mood Through the Day, as inferred from Twitter", pretty much does exactly what the title describes - it looks at Twitter updates across the United States throughout the day and determines the general mood.

Perhaps, like me, you're a more visual person. You're in luck! There's a video, which I've embedded below.

To learn how it works, visit the Pulse of the Nation website! I would try to explain, but let's face it: it will be easier for both of us (you'll actually understand how it works; I'll avoid making embarrassing mistakes and just generally being confused) if you check out their website.

Most interesting bit to me? The fact that people are supposedly so happy in the morning. I like the morning, but the graphs on the Pulse of the Nation page indicate that people are at their happiest at 6 AM. That seems a little extreme to me.

One last question, purely out of curiosity: are you more likely to update your personal Twitter when you're happy, or are you more likely to update when you're upset? Or, like me, do you forget that it exists for longer than is probably acceptable?