What IS happening on a smarter planet? Smart phones. Smart keys. Smart cards. Smart meters. "Smart" means clever, quick and knowing instinctively what you, the user, wants. Or what you, the user, has used.
As a kid I was a "smart aleck" and occasionally "Smarty Marty". Sometimes I am even ahead of it, like our 2009 tagline "Smart Design". 

On a recent trip to Georgia via National Airport, I spotted 2 SMART signs, one from my Alma Mater, American University (below) and a very clever campaign featuring 2-in-1 illustrations from IBM, above.

Even paper can be smart, who knew?

SMART pops up in all sorts of places, such as on this seed package, my packing tape and in a bus shelter.

There's nothing like a trip to New York City to recharge the creative muse. Walking the streets, riding the subway, visiting the museums—all are pulsing with energy, humanity and creativity. I am always amazed at the street art: pasted, plastered, stenciled, for free, and vulnerable to the elements of time and other graffiti artists.

A delightful enigma, bold street art and an urban collage.

The skull phone.

Why can't we have surprises like this in our Metro system?

In front of Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Museum on the upper east side.

By Andy Warhol, when he was a darn good graphic designer, or "commercial artist".