Swissmissing in Action

Photo by Esther Michel

SXSW 2013 INTERACTIVE

• Get Your Game Face On

  SXSW Gaming Expo opens Palmer to the public this year

  BY JAMES RENOVITCH

• Invaluable Information

  Technology, privacy, hacking, and legislating in the new Digital Age

  BY JON LEBKOWSKY

• You Got Your Interwebs in My Idiot Tube

  Studying WWE's playbook for social TV domination

  BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

• Take Two Aspirin and Ping Me in the Morning

  Heath care: an oral future

  BY SHAWN BADGLEY

• Beyond the Final Frontier

  Entering the new age of spaceflight with some unconventional leaders

  BY JOEY KEETON

• What's New on the Social Web

  Keeping up in the world of Tumblr and Reddit and Facebook and more

  BY DAN SOLOMON

• Ouya: The People's Gaming Console

  Could Julie Uhrman's Kickstarted project be the innovation the gaming industry was waiting for?

  BY SEAN CAREY

• Getting in the Game

  Oculus Rift prototypes are coming to the SXSW Gaming Expo

  BY JAMES RENOVITCH

• Unicorn Booty's New Dish

  Popular LGBTQ blog expands to brick-and-mortar restaurant

  BY KATE X MESSER

• Swissmissing in Action

  Heart Tina Roth Eisenberg? Wear it on your sleeve.

  BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER

• The 2-D Stand-Up

  Matthew Inman is The Oatmeal

  BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER

• Star Reporter

  Rachel Maddow blazes her first trail to SXSW

  BY AMY SMITH

• The Revolution Will Be Printed in 3-D

  Great hope or so much hype?

  BY JEFF WINKLER

• Smarty Pants

  What's next in tech-enhanced fashion

  BY AMY GENTRY

• Drawing Fire

  Political cartoonist Ted Rall on war reporting in Afghanistan and the new media battleground

  BY AUDRA SCHROEDER

• Know Thyself ... and Then Log On?

  Online dating as existential crisis

  BY ASHLEY MORENO

In March 2005, she started a "personal visual archive" online. Today, that archive is the popular swissmiss blog, a frequently updated design journal of all fabricated things beautiful and/or practical, a refreshing visual treat that boasts around a million unique visitors each month.

Tina Roth Eisenberg, aka swissmiss, the graphic designer who grew up in Switzerland and moved to New York in 1999, no longer runs a design studio – because she's too busy with her blog? Well, only in part. Because Eisenberg also organizes NYC's monthly breakfast-time lecture series called CreativeMornings, co-runs the browser-based to-do app called TeuxDeux, and is the founder of temporary-tattoo store Tattly that's moved those fleeting skin illustrations beyond the Cracker Jack box and into a realm of hip sophistication. We recently contacted this Swiss force of web-savvy nature, who's slated to be one of the keynote speakers at SXSW Interactive, and here's what she told us.

Austin Chronicle: What's the best thing about being asked to do a keynote speech for SXSW Interactive?

Tina Roth Eisenberg: I get to tell a lot of people about the things I feel really passionate about. And I get to sleep in a room by myself. Total win!

AC: Have you been to SXSW before?

TRE: Yes, I attended the conference two years ago. My favorite part was that I recognized people I've been following for years online, based on their avatar photos. I remember walking into one big space and Veerle [Pieters, the Belgian graphic designer] walked towards me, and even though her Twitter avatar is an illustration, I knew who she was. There's nothing better than hugging folks you've had many virtual conversations with, whose work you've admired for years. A hug makes it real. Face-to-face human interactions always win.

AC: What are you most looking forward to at the convention this year?

TRE: Launching our new CreativeMornings website, figuring out how to master my inbox, and bacon. Lots of bacon.

AC: Will you be designing a Tattly tattoo to mark the occasion?

TRE: I won't. But I will bring lots of tattoos with me. If you see me on the street, don't be shy, ask me for one. I might even apply it on you. I travel with a Tattly sponge, you know!?

Related Event

Tina Roth Eisenberg Keynote

Sunday, March 10, 2pm

ACC, Exhibit Hall 5