Note: This is my first blog post (below) for the company that I work for: International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The post is about four trends that are changing pensions and benefits in Canada, but in general, these topics are also something the U.S. and other countries are seeing and dealing with. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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Cannabis, pharmacogenetics, blockchain, artificial intelligence . . . here’s a look at trends that might impact employee benefits in Canada.
Brad Bauter at the HRPA conference in Toronto, Ontario
In 2006 I started my blog so I could share with the world things I thought were fun, unique and interesting . . . to me. Then came a child, and my job, and then another child and then, well you get where I am going with this right? Well, I am letting you know that I am back! I hope, I think. I have been traveling a lot lately and with that comes some time for just myself and 140+ passengers in an aluminum tube hurling across the sky to reflect, discover and share things I see, learn and do.
With that said, I am also starting to blog at work, until they flat out tell me that I should just stop. It has made me think of blogging personally again. Is blogging still a term kids use these days? What you will see in coming posts are my personal thoughts, triumphs, challenges along the road of life, oh, and work reposts which I assure you have some interesting content.
I promise I haven’t changed much since 2006 other than hair color (colour if from Canada and the UK) and 20+ pounds—more about that later. So, I invite you to join me on this renewed intention to share with you things that interest me, after all, this is my blog err, posts, um, thingy. Doh!
—Brad
Helvetica is one of the core fonts in typography; and a sure bet that you have seen it used in countless forms such as signage and in advertising. Now Helvetica has its day in the spotlight in the form of a documentary film that looks at the history and life of a font everyone has seen.
It is now nearing the finish lines of its world-wide screening tour, but you can buy this piece of typographic history at www.helveticafilm.com for $20 ($US) in DVD format or $26 ($US) for Blu-ray disc.
A colleague of mine (you know who you are) reminded me about an extremely useful site out there for finding the right word to use when advertising a concept. As a designer, we are commonly asking out clients for words that describe a product or an emotion they are trying to convey. many times these words are for the best… generic and somewhat useful. There is a tool out there that makes my life easier in finding visuals and coming-up with solid concepts.
This tool is a thesaurus, but not just any old raggedy paper version, but one called Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. Brilliantly designed, this thesaurus visually displays a word you look-up and allows you to visually explore synonyms and antonyms of this original word quickly and creatively. Not only that, but it will give you noun, verb, adjective and adverb uses of a particular word. You can add commonly used words to your Word List, as well as make and change setting of the display to your liking!
Thinkmap allows you to use the on-line trial version for free for up to about 5 words or linked words and then asks you to purchase the full blown version at $2.95/month (19.95/yr) for the on-line version, or $39.95 for a “Boxed” version. The “On-line” version personally is wonderful, because it is continually updated and accessible anywhere you have Internet access.
Not only is the thesaurus great for me, but even a great tool for teachers at schools, copywriters, proof readers and all around knowledge junkies.
Check this great tool out and really see how useful the Visual Thesaurus is to use.
Check out Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus here:
www.visualthesaurus.com
The Triple B 