You have Stihl to thank for some of those leaf blowers waking you up every Sunday morning, but if the company would just send us this beautiful corporate gift (otherwise known as "schwag") it created, all would be forgiven. The Stihl Autumn Calendar 2010 has a mechanism that detaches each day as it passes, each sheet floating to the floor like a falling leaf. Might we suggest putting a trash can underneath?

This is brilliant. Too bad it's a giveaway item created by the company's agency, Euro RSCG of Duesseldorf, Germany. We'll look for it on eBay. The company should sell this calendar to the general public, offering it each Fall to cover the leaf-peeping period starting around September 23. Until then, this might be a contender for best schwag ever.


[gizmodo]

Creative consumers can already craft their own fonts using FontShop's do-it-yourself font-building tool, but for those seeking an extra degree of personalisation—the ultimate degree, one might say—there's now Typeface.

Billed as a "typographic photobooth", Typeface's software translates facial dimensions into generative type design. Users of the software, which was created by Mary Huang of Rhyme and Reason Creative, sit in front of a webcam-enabled computer. Typeface then builds and adjusts a font based on the user's face, movements and facial expressions. When the user smiles, for instance, the font alters to reflect that; when they turn their head slightly, it changes again. The resulting individual typefaces can be saved and exported in PDF form. Huang intends to make a downloadable version of the software soon.

Similar in many ways to jewelry that replicates the wearer's scar, Typeface promises to take personalisation to a whole new level. One to help bring to the customisation-happy masses...? (Related: Green-minded font uses less ink.)

[springwise]