Design Feaster: Blog of Design Feast

Chicago CreativeMornings #7: Knoed Creative, married and fearless

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Photos by Nate Burgos

The seventh CreativeMornings event in Chicago was charged with the meme of marriage. Organizer Mig Reyes kicked off the first Chicago CreativeMornings of 2012 with names that were destined to be paired, such as Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit of UnderConsideration, Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller.

This was a natural segue to Kim Knoll and Kyle Eertmoed (above), who together compose Knoed Creative. They shared their experience in starting a creative studio, getting it real and sticking with it:

Knoed Creative’s first piece of advice was to decouple spaces in order to keep the couple sane and sweet.

They emphasized the importance of finding a comfortable ratio between number of projects and number of clients. A bloated client list can spread efforts too thin; a lean list means being picky—on purpose—and keeping the designer-and-client relationship consistently healthy.

This echoes Author Seth Godin’s belief: “The enemy of creativity is fear...In the long run, the enemy of fear is creativity. I’m sure of it.” Knoed Creative’s closing advice was fitting to a presentation rooted in demonstration. The subtext of “No fear” is just as pithy and provocative: Do it!

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Furthermore, to complement their studio work, Knoed Creative strongly encouraged keeping side projects. Their own include Chicago-L Shirts, inspired by Chicago’s transit train system “The L.” Kim Knoll makes handmade vintage-inspired jewelry at RFRM™ (pronounced Reform).

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Big thanks: to Chicago Portfolio School, for hosting, and 24 Seven for sponsoring Chicago CreativeMornings #7; to organizer Mig Reyes, videographer Craig Shimala, photographer Chris Gallevo for their great work on making CreativeMornings happen in Chicago.

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Typeface of quotes is called Massive designed by Shawn Hazen, who also makes awesome typographic illustrations for series Creative Roles.

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Read CreativeMornings-related posts:

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Designer’s Quest(ionnaire): Graphic Designer and Typographer Elizabeth Carey Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:29:00 +0000

Image from series Imaginary Alphabets courtesy of Elizabeth Carey Smith

I discovered Elizabeth Carey Smith via New York City’s Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne, who tweeted about Smith’s design of a report called “Road Map for the Digital City: Achieving New York City’s Digital Future.” This led me to her portfolio of typography and lettering beautifully applied to both client and studio projects, such as Imaginary Alphabets.

Read her insightful take on design and designing.

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The Designer’s Quest(ionnaire) is a Design Feast series that captures a designer’s perspective in a succinct format. Read the previous Designer’s Quest(ionnaire) answered by User Experience Designer Anthony Levin-Decanini.

Create things: Business-maker Ryan Evans of Rand Media Group and Bitesize PR

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Source: Ryan Evans.

Thanks to ace graphic designer and art director Stephanie Di Biase, I was introduced to Ryan Evans, who has a bona fide best practice: he reaches out to see people he’s interested to meet, in-person. Soon after receiving Ryan’s invite to get together, I met with him. We kickstarted our connection with a lot of shared interests, like collaborative workspaces, bootstrapping, CreativeMornings, and simple software (Ryan uses Never Forget! for the iPhone). His business (one of them) of Bitesize PR was a particular topic of our conversation. Here Ryan shares his nifty idea in Bitesize PR plus his experience and perspective about making a business:

Can you please tell a little bit about yourself?
What do you do for a living?

I am a former finance guy that stumbled around and wound starting a couple of marketing service businesses called Rand Media Group and Bitesize PR.

Your companies Rand Media Group and its PR entity
in Bitesize PR are businesses of a few. What is your statement
about being a Small Business Founder and Owner?

The biggest thing that I can say is that I absolutely love what I do. Every day I have the ability to come up with new ideas and build them. That is incredibly satisfying.

Bitesize PR piques a lot of small businesses’ interest.
What is it and what makes it different than the large PR firms?

Everyone understands that media has changed dramatically. Now anyone can be a blogger, journalist radio show host, etc. The issue with most PR firms is that they are still doing business as if it was 1999. Not too long ago, the media landscape was much different. You had a fraction of the media outlets, each with a large audience. Because media outlets were scarce, businesses had to pay a lot of money to gain access to their audience. People generally associate paying for media as advertising, but paying a PR firm is just another way of paying for media. In order to get attention from the media, you had to break through to a few influential gatekeepers and the primary way that has been done is through PR professionals. Because these relationships were so valuable, PR firms were able to charge huge monthly retainers.

Now, though, the value is shifting from paying for access to large media outlets to figuring out how to get access to more niche sources. For example, Design Feast is a much more valuable outlet for the design community than the Chicago Tribune is. Our mission at Bitesize PR is to connect interesting entrepreneurs with people who actually want to hear their story. I think that media-savvy entrepreneurs understand that our model gives them a much better shot at getting relevant media attention. Oh, and our starting price point is $89 a month. I think that gets businesses attention too :)

What is your daily work regiment in making
and keeping a business?

I’m not a person who does a daily routine forever. I’m not sure if I’m constantly trying to innovate or if I simply can’t focus for an extended period of time. (I tell myself it’s the former.) But one thing that is incredibly important is defining and accomplishing one important thing a day. While I honestly haven’t been able to pull it off yet, I’d really like to extend this to one important thing a week, a quarter and a year. It doesn’t have to be big, but it should be important. One of the biggest challenges of a being an entrepreneur is that you have to keep a lot of people happy at once: employees, customers, contractors, investors, etc. In doing that, it’s easy to lose sight of what makes you happy or what you want to accomplish. So I think it’s important to just get one little thing in a day that helps you move in the direction you want to go.

How do you get the word out about your respective companies?

The great irony is that while Rand Media Group is a marketing company, most of our clients have come from customer referrals. This is sort of like seeing a “coming soon” homepage on a designer’s site. We’ve been so focused on executing our client’s marketing campaigns that we haven’t put together a comprehensive effort ourselves. This irony bothers me a bit though and we’re going to start doing a lot more this year.

Source: Ryan Evans.

With Bitesize PR, we get traffic from our blog, a pay per click campaign, Facebook, Twitter and media mentions, of course :) So far, things have been pretty simple. We took a pretty “lean” approach to promoting Bitesize PR. Call me crazy, but I prefer to prove out a business model (to the extent possible) before sinking a bunch of time and money into it. In order to prove out the concept we wanted to see if we could get paying clients from a variety of sources and make sure that they are happy with the service. We’ve done that now. So now that we are confident in the model and we have some revenue, we’re in the process of improving the application and service, rolling out a new marketing site and beefing up our marketing efforts. This is the exciting part.

What are your recommendations for software/web-based tools
to use for collaboration and getting things done?

We have seven people on our team and I only see one or two team members IRL about twice a month so web-based collaboration is mad important. Most of the stuff we use is what most people are familiar with: Basecamp, Email (Gmail), Google Docs, Dropbox, Skype, etc.

What tools do you use to work on your ideas
and make them grow?

To-dos in 37signals’ Basecamp. Source: Ryan Evans.

This is definitely my favorite part of owning a business. I spend a lot of time working through ideas on a whiteboard or a piece of paper. Sometimes I’ll use mind mapping software like MindMeister, but generally I find working through ideas on a computer too limiting and/or too slow. If the idea is ready to be implemented, I usually break it down into to-dos and add them to Basecamp (above). A vast majority of my ideas are half-baked or I don’t have the time or resources to implement them immediately. For ideas that aren’t ready for launch I usually throw them all on an “ideas” Backpack page and let them sit there for a bit. Then from time to time, I’ll go through that list and drag the better ones to the top. This process keeps me from pursuing a million different ideas at once or putting time into a bad idea. More often than not, I’ll look through the list and think “wow, that was stupid”. But when an idea withstands a few weeks, or a recurring theme emerges, that’s a clue that I might be on to something.

View from 8on7. Source: Ryan Evans.

The other thing I do when I feel like an idea has some promise is to float it out to some fellow entrepreneurs. I work in an incredible coworking space in Bucktown called 8on7 with eight other companies. The folks in my space are super sharp and painfully honest. I like to float ideas to them a lot and they give me great feedback and sometimes make fun of me. Getting honest feedback from people who know what they are doing is invaluable.

Workspace of 8on7. Source: Ryan Evans.

How does time factor into your making of your work?

I have never felt the constraints of time like I do now. Not only am I busy building companies, I have three kids under 19 months. (Twins, not multiple mothers for those of you doing the math). So I can’t spend the time working like I used to. While this certainly creates a lot of pressure, scarcity of work time is really a blessing in disguise. I used to throw sheer hours at a problem or a challenge. Now I can’t do that. This forces me to either be a little bit smarter on how I approach my workload or simply discard things that I don’t have time for. I should have been doing that from day one. Hard work is important, but when you build a business your hours won’t scale to meet your ambitions.

What is the most rewarding part of making your work?

I like seeing my ideas become real.

Is there a part of your work that is particularly trying
and how do you deal with it?

I think one of my biggest challenges is my desire to keep everyone happy. That’s hard to do in business and it get’s harder as you grow. I’m not sure if I will ever be OK with this, but I’ve gotten better. One thing that helps is to keep in mind the bigger vision. For example, you may not be able to spend as much time visiting clients as they would like, so that you can go to a class that teaches you how to service them better. If you have the vision of providing the most innovative service you can, making the decision to go to that class becomes a little easier. It’s hard to say no to people’s demands if you don’t know what you are trying to achieve.

How do you stay creative? Do you draw? Or keep a journal?

Fostering creativity isn’t something I have honestly given a lot of thought to. I really should. I have a journal, but I use it more for solving problems or thinking through ideas. Great question.

Source: Ryan Evans.

Source: Ryan Evans.

What are some of your sources of inspiration?

I’m fascinated by business and it doesn’t matter what it is. I often daydream about what it would be like to own the local sandwich shop or start a space tourism company. I’m inspired by people who run great businesses, regardless of the scale or industry.

You mentioned that you’re originally from Michigan.
Where exactly and what makes it special?

I grew up on a farm close to a small town call Dowagiac, it’s about 2-1/2 hours from Chicago. Like most rural areas, the pace of life is a lot slower. Growing up, I was ready to leave for the big city as soon as I could. When I go home now, I’ve come to appreciate some of the things that make the area special. The area has a lot of natural beauty with rolling hills wooded areas and lakes. The falls and winters are picturesque. There are also some charming attractions like a driven movie theater and Caruso’s Candy & Soda Shoppe. It’s nice to go home, but after a few days I’m ready for the energy and ambition of the big city.

What are ways for people to learn about Rand Media Group
and Bitesize PR?

The best way to learn about us is to go to RandMediaGroup.com and BitesizePR.com. I’m also a big fan of Twitter so please say howdy @ryanevans.

What is your advice to people who aspire to make something,
a business, product—anything?

One of my biggest fears is looking stupid. I think that’s one of the most common things that hold people back from creating things. No amount of knowledge or preparation will make that feeling go away. The only way to get over that is to actually do stuff. It doesn’t matter if you are successful the first time around. Just the process of creating things makes you more confident and able to take on more and more.

All photographs and images courtesy of Ryan Evans.

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Give Illustrators More Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:50:00 +0000

To discover illustrators, I browse both printed and online publications. Newspapers are great for this: numerous illustrators make compositions for written stories, particularly op-ed pieces. It was through the illustration (below) for “How to Rescue Education Reform”, an article by Frederick M. Hess And Linda Darling-Hammond for the New York Times, that I made the delightful discovery of Gracia Lam and her work.

The online version of this article displays like this:

The illustrator’s name, in this instance, is located in the bottom corner.

Communicating the artist’s name is obviously important. Placing it adjacent to the illustration is a typical location. Or in the case of the illustration by Shout (Alessandro Gottardo) for the printed piece “When Secrets Go Viral” by TIME magazine’s senior writer John Cloud, credit to the illustrator is placed at the end of the article.

Though these are only two examples, this general approach to accrediting illustrators is a common one. In all cases, I wind up doing a search of the illustrator to learn more—more work examples, more details. Most of the time, the illustrator has a web-based portfolio. Ultimately, what the web reinforces is that a link acts as a powerful bridge to discovery.

It would be great if the illustrator’s name doubled as a link to her/his online portfolio. Additionally, giving credit to the illustrator at the bottom of the article would be great, too. If a written work is paired with an illustration, then the writer’s micro-bio could be happily paired with that of the illustrator. For accrediting illustrators in printed form, supplying the URL, or a shortened version of it, would be ideal.

Like a writer’s contributions, an illustrator’s are just as crafted and invested. The same goes for contributing works by photographers (1). As the forms of expression—which broadcast the unique intersection of the visible word, illustrations and photographs—develop progressively, so the line of creative accreditation should also progress.

(1) As beautifully diagrammed by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Design Feaster’s Highlights of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:50:00 +0000

2011 was another year charged with creativity. Here are the people, places and things that I enjoyed discovering and kept in mind, year-long:

Everyone
To echo my first highlight of 2010, I commend everyone who commits to making ideas happen and crushing it!

Source: Nate Burgos

CreativeMornings
Founded by swissmiss, a.k.a. Tina Roth Eisenberg, CreativeMornings is my kind of design conference. Previously, I had felt triple-dissed with my experiences of design conferences: disillusioned, disenchanted and dissatisfied. CreativeMornings brought me back to the social fold of creatively engaged people. It provides a spirited and succinct experience, grounded in the celebration of local practitioners. I’m thankful that it arrived in Chicago (along with other cities), where I’ve been easily inspired to blog about each meet-up.

Source: Alonzo Felix

Sweat the Small Stuff
A pithy phrase respected by graphic designer, letterer, illustrator, and Studiomate, Alonzo Felix, and brought to life in his poster. Custom typeface, smooth-and-connected in character. Bold color combination. The result fully embodies the phrase.

Source: Dwell

Villa Welpeloo
In Enschede, Netherlands, 2012 Architects made a house mostly composed of locally found materials. Old billboards were used for the kitchen’s cabinetry, and a retired textile mill provided metal, which was harvested for the house’s infrastructure. It is an exercise of sheer resourcefulness: taking things once rendered useless and making them useful again—prompting the impression of seeing something that’s beautifully restored.

Source: Noah Beil

Photo Books by Noah Beil
Handmade photo books that blend photography, letterpress and inkjet printing. Photographer Noah Beil has taken creative matters into his own hands to make things—things he cherishes. It’s a noble act worth repeating.

Wilco’s Tiny Desk Concert
With curated editorial sites like Designers.MX and Lost in Concert, creativity’s twin is music. NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts are kindred to CreativeMornings in their compact serving size. It’s a live format that rock band Wilco turned into a blissful set.

Of course, my list is never a complete one. What are your Design Highlights of 2011?

As you recall your highlights: Thank you for visiting and reading, and here’s to an excellent new year of thinking and making!

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Lady Designer: Muriel Cooper (1925–1994)

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Source: History of Graphic Design, The Digital Revolution

Source: MIT Museum

Source: Biography by Janet Abrams, Director, University of Minnesota Design Institute

Source: Financial Viewpoints by Lisa Strausfeld, VLW, MIT Media Lab

Chicago CreativeMornings #6 with Scott Thomas, who seeks simple solutions to complex problems

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:47:00 +0000

The sixth CreativeMornings event in Chicago began with a civic call to duty by speaker Scott Thomas (or SimpleScott): Remain responsible. Not only a call, it was also a reminder, a philosophical one, but philosophy applied, as evident in these statements:

To Thomas, design is civic responsibility, a selfless act to make any part of the world a little better. Demonstrating this was his highlighting of The Noun Project, which “collects, organizes and adds to the highly recognizable symbols that form the world's visual language.”

At the start of his presentation, Thomas quoted from theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking’s book Grand Design which posits simplicity as “a matter of taste.” Thomas stressed that it’s also a matter of responsibility: to truly love something and work on it really hard—only then will the reward become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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View the Design Feast Flickr set about Chicago CreativeMornings #6 with Scott Thomas.

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“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. If you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.”
— Stephen Hawking

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Big thanks: to Chicago Portfolio School,for hosting and 24 Seven for sponsoring Chicago CreativeMornings #6; to organizer Mig Reyes, videographers Craig Shimala and Charlie Curran, photographers Adan Altamira and Chris Gallevo for their great work on making CreativeMornings happen in Chicago.

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Typeface of quotes is called Massive designed by Shawn Hazen, who also makes awesome typographic illustrations for series Creative Roles.

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Read CreativeMornings-related posts:

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Creative Role: The Restorer

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Restoration drives renewal. At Steve Jobs’ annual back-to-school announcement (2010) of Apple’s new products and services, the news that kept my attention, more than the latest iPod Nanos and iPod Touches, concerned the retail stores in Paris and London. Both were restored buildings. As Jobs put it, “The old and the new together work beautifully.” The old buildings were restored to accommodate a new purpose.

The same can be said of the Mast Brothers, the Brooklyn chocolatier duo. In keeping to the storied practice of making handmade chocolate, this cherished quality flows throughout everything they do, particularly in their packaging:

“Everything roots back to our love affair with spirit of craft, of things that are crafted, whether it’s an old book, an old wooden sailboat, or a building. We do use blueprints on some of our [packaging] papers … We’re even restoring an old printing press and doing all in-house printing, so that our community can craft new designs for us.”

An unused thing gets stale over time. But making something newly can bring comfort and satisfaction, while simultaneously fulfilling a purpose. In Apple’s case, the restored buildings teem with technological play and purchases. With the Mast Brothers, their restored printer fortifies grassroots in addition to elevating packaging design. Restoration is a refreshing part of their renewal strategy.

Tap into your inner restorer.

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This is the sixth piece of a series focused on the lively cast of characters whose roles make the play of Creativity. In case you missed the first, meet the Frameworker.

Typographic illustration, tailormade for this series, was done by Shawn Hazen. Read his Designer’s Quest(ionnaire).

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Worth Reading: Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod’s “Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination”

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Like some of the previously reviewed books, looks good without the jacket.

Following the review of Behance Founder and CEO Scott Belsky’s “Making Ideas Happen”, my collaborator Joe Giovenco and I review “Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination” by Hugh MacLeod, who is known for his “social objects in cartoon form” and writing about creativity. His daily newsletter speaks to the pulse of passion and purpose—ultimately, as MacLeod emphasizes: “To unify work and love.”

Total time: 20:52

Big thanks to Tiffany Liao of Portfolio for the speedy delivery of review copies. And big thanks again to Joe for collaborating on the review and for lending his recording tools and space, plus a feast which helped the appetite while recording.

Sausages, dill cheese curds, truffle cheddar and apple, hand-picked from an orchard

Episode notes:

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Lady Designer: Ray Eames (1912–1988)

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Source: SnOOp

Sketches of chairs, circa 1943-1946. Source: studio international

Plywood sculpture, Untitled, 1943. Source: studio international

Biography by Fembio; Oral history interview (1980)

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Interface Details: DUMBO’s Love, Cortney Bishop’s Desk, Periodicity’s Mobile App Screens

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:16:00 +0000

Discovered via swissmiss, smartassdesign and Artforge “lovingly crafted” The DUMBO Improvement District (1) website. Some writers are adverse to adverbs, judging them as extraneous. But the use of an adverb is fine here, totally. They bring to life how much effort is put into a project, and express the effort’s quality. Adverbs serve this purpose wherever it’s appropriate—even in a footer, which, as this example demonstrates, is an area not to be taken for granted (2).

Typical presentations of “About”-related details are in the form of words. Interior designer Cortney Bishop’s site mostly shows, rather than just tell, what she is about. She displays tools, sketches, colors and objects that compose her work world. It’s reminiscent of Ray Eame’s desk.

In showing the array of screens for their iPhone app, Periodicity, Germany-based Gryphos GmbH presented each user interface alongside the hardware. It’s a literal approach that gives the software direct context in a refreshingly straightforward way.

(1) Means: Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
(2) Inspired to do the same for Design Feast’s footer.

Blogger’s Quest(ionnaire): Stephen M. Hackett of 512 Pixels

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Based in his beloved city of Memphis, Tennessee, Stephen M. Hackett runs 512 Pixels, a weblog about technology, journalism and design. From Hackett, “The original Macintosh’s screen was 512 pixels across, helping set the standard screen resolution of 72 DPI. The Mac’s GUI paved the way for computers and design as we know them today. Nothing has been untouched since 1984. I want to pay homage to that with my work.” His thoughts about web-based publishing may help your entrance into the blogosphere or further inform your current work in it:

Why did you create a web site of regular entries?
At first, I just wanted to rant about my time working at an Apple Retail store as the Lead Mac Genius. Quickly, I discovered that wasn’t a sustainable (or healthy) way to go, so now I just want to share things that are interesting to me.

What web-based solution did you select and why?
I’m running a self-hosted (well, Media-Temple hosted) WordPress install. I like how flexible the platform is, and since just about *everyone* uses it, there's always someone out there who has solved just about any problem you could encounter.

What is your definition of a good blog and
what are three good blogs that you frequently visit?
A blog should have a voice, and original content. Linked items are fine (I post a ton of them), but the writer’s voice is what makes a site memorable.

How do you create content for your blog?
I read a lot of websites. Too many. I also spend a lot of time reading books about nerdy things like Apple, NASA and more.

How do you stay organized and motivated
to contribute to your blog?
I keep a running OmniFocus project full of article ideas. I use Instapaper to capture links I want to post to. Knowing that I have thousands of people who seem to like what I do is great motivation to not suck. I don’t want to waste my readers’ time.

For those aspiring to make a website composed
of regular thoughts and/or images, what is your advice?
If you’re not interested in a subject, it will come through in your writing. Write about what makes you tick.

What is your quest in blogging?
I’d love to write full-time in the future, but for now, I want to continue to see 512 Pixels grow in size and in reputation. My awesome readers have everything to do that, so I want to keep them happy. However, ultimately, I want to keep learning about what I love—technology, and how it changes us.

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512 Pixels’ logo and portrait courtesy of Stephen M. Hackett.

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Read previous Blogger’s Quest(ionnaire) with Small Notebook’s Rachel Meeks, a Champion of Simplicity at Home.

Chicago CreativeMornings #5 with Jay Ryan of Screenprint Shop, The Bird Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Photograph of Jay Ryan in his studio by Eric Nakamura

The fifth CreativeMornings event in Chicago was a celebration of print. At the Chicago Portfolio School, who sponsored the event, The Bird Machine’s Jay Ryan showed his screen-printed work. Results were not only viewed—Ryan also shared his poster-making process, from drawing to final composition. It’s a messy sequence involving rubylith, X-Acto blades, lamps, inks, tape—a host of timeless tools. Each step takes time and is worth the wait, because the results are hard-earned demonstrations of artistic intent. The effect is relationship-building. Each poster that Ryan showed is a piece of a universe, where one can relate to a walrus peering from the sky, a school of wombats or a herd depicted as a cave painting. Ryan’s portfolio and narrative served up a hearty dish of magical realism, with tactical-magical advice:

I left the fifth CreativeMornings presentation motivated in a tangible way, wanting to make something tactile. And as I walked back to the office, squirrels were climbing skyscrapers and windows were blinking.

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Big thanks to organizer Mig Reyes, videographers Craig Shimala and Charlie Curran, photographers Chris Gallevo and Rosario Edwards for their great work on making CreativeMornings happen in Chicago.

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Typeface of quotes is called Massive designed by Shawn Hazen, who also makes awesome typographic illustrations for series Creative Roles.

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Read CreativeMornings-related posts:

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Carrying Quality All The Way Through: Designer, Front-end Developer and Illustrator Jan Cavan

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:34:00 +0000

It was at Web Heroines where I discovered Jan Cavan, who runs Dawghouse Design Studio, a web-based portfolio “which also doubles as a design blog offering tutorials, freebies and inspiration to the design community.” Her Dribbble “shots” also showcase her creativity. Cavan keeps cultivating her visual playground. Here she shares her experience and perspective, from practicing multiple creative disciplines to owning a studio:

Can you please tell a little bit about yourself?
Where are you from? What do you do for a living?
I’m Jan Cavan, I’m a designer, front-end developer and illustrator based in Southern California.

What is your statement about being a designer, illustrator
and web developer?
I always give it my best every time. I want to be my worst critic, and if the work I produce is not good enough for me, then it’s not good enough for everyone else. I give a lot of attention to the big picture as with the tiny details. One of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs which pretty much sums up my outlook on work is, “When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

How did you get interested in the worlds of web design
and development and become a part of it?
It actually sort of just fell on my lap. I’ve always been drawing since I was little and wanted to take up classes in animation, but accidentally enrolled in Web design and fell in love with it. I’m in a position wherein I can enjoy a nice balance between my love for art and technology.

Writer Alissa Walker wrote an article called
“Women in Industrial Design: Where My Ladies At?”
Where are the Ladies in Design and Development At?
There’s actually more female designers out there now than there was before. I still think it’s a male-dominated industry, but more female designers are out there, speaking at conferences, writing books about design and development and getting recognized which is really great.

What tools and materials do you use to work on your ideas
and make them grow?
I always sketch my ideas out on paper and sometimes put together mood boards.

Do you have recommendations for software/web-based tools
to use for collaboration and getting things done?
I use 2Do app for my to-do list. To quickly jot down notes, I use Simplenote app.

How does time factor into your work?
I always used to work late afternoons, up until wee hours of the morning. I always thought I was more productive that way, but ever since I started working full-time for a company, I switched to normal work hours and realized it’s actually better for me. I feel like I can do more work during day time and have some time to do personal stuff after work. I’m also always very organized by keeping a list of things I need to do.

What is the most rewarding part of being a designer, illustrator
and web developer?
Walking into Barnes & Noble in LA and seeing a magazine with my name on it felt pretty awesome, but I don’t think anything compares to receiving emails of appreciation from people. I’ve also gotten emails from younger designers, particularly students from different parts of the world, saying I inspire them and that they’d like to be like me in the near future. To me, that’s the most rewarding. Random people taking a minute out of their days just to shoot me an email of appreciation inspires me and gives me the drive to do an even better job.

How do you start making and running your own studio?
It was sort of actually unexpected for my site to grow like this. I was just focused on creating good work, and doing something I enjoyed, and my site just grew, and more and more clients came knocking on my door to the point that I could no longer manage all of it. It’s sad that you have to turn down work sometimes, but it matters that what you’re working on is something that makes you happy and a project that you truly believe in.

Was there a part of your work that was particularly trying
and how did you deal with it?
I guess as with any designer, it used to always disappoint me if a design is moving toward a direction you’re not happy with. But I try not to take it to heart anymore. What matters is I’d given my best.

How do you stay creative? Do you draw? Or keep a journal?
I’m always doodling and I always like to observe the things around me.

What are some of your influences and sources of inspiration?
The works of Michael Heald always blow me away. He’s a designer and an amazing illustrator, too, which to me is really inspiring. There’s a lot of designers out there, but usually, one leans toward either design or illustration but this guy actually is really good at both. That’s not very common. Other designers I look up to are Jonathan Ive, Trent Walton and Frank Chimero.

What is your advice to Ladies who aspire to enter
and engage design and the web?
Just be passionate about what you’re doing and practice a lot. You’re always going to run into difficult situations, more so, difficult people, but as long as you put your heart into what you do and work hard, nothing and nobody can bring you down.

All photographs courtesy of Jan Cavan

Read more Interviews which include:

Download “Don’t settle”

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Since seeing Apple’s “Think different” commercial when it aired during the late 1990s, I was hooked. At about a minute’s length, it’s one of the very few ads I enjoy, or even remember. I make it a point to view it from time to time for a spike of motivation (to exceed more than a minute). Nowadays, I watch the version narrated by Steve Jobs. I like quotations a lot, and thought about gathering and presenting a select few from the iconic thinkers-and-doers appearing in the commercial. Here are some sample pages (title above), with personal drawings:

Called “Don’t settle”—from Job’s Stanford Commencement Speech, this is a handy and lean collection of inspirational quotes from 20th-century makers who starred in Apple’s “Think Different” advertising campaign.

Download the free 20-page print-optimized PDF
(Compressed 3.8MB) of “Don’t settle”

Read related posts:

Side to Full-Time Business: Eleanor Mayrhofer, Founder and Owner of e.m. papers

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:07:00 +0000

Eleanor Mayrhofer made the big transition from her corporate day job at an American internet firm, launching its operations in Germany, to her passion which is e.m. papers, a designer and producer of “DIY printable goods.” Making a transition from side to full-time business takes guts and raw persistence. Mayrhofer’s decisive move demonstrates this call-to-action from a post called Starting a Business on the Side by Venture for America:

“If you quit your job or school and put your heart and soul full-time into starting a company, it may succeed or it may not. But if you never fully commit, the business is almost certain to fall short of its goals (or not exist). Starting a company is a lot like trying to lead a charge to take a hill. If you run up the hill with everything you’ve got, it’s the best chance you’ve got to get others to follow you and reach the top.”

Mayrhofer has taken the charge. Here she shares her experience and perspective on starting a business (when she was Eleanor Reagh at the time) and committing to keep it up:

Can you please tell a little bit about yourself?
Where are you from? What do you do for a living?
I was born and raised in California. I grew up in L.A., then studied and worked in San Francisco bay area. I moved to Munich, Germany, in my late twenties and have lived here for over 12 (or 13?) years now.

You’re a business of one. What is your statement
about being a Business Founder and Owner?
For me it’s about two things: meaning and freedom. A lot of the work I do on my own is just as tedious (sometimes more so!) than anything I did at a day job (processing emails, dealing with technical issues, etc.) but I know that everything I do contributes directly to my livelihood.

Printable wedding invitations, as fantastic as they are, are not going to change the world, but I am pretty convinced that I am part of a larger cultural movement of people that are trying to define a new way of living via entrepreneurship and living more ‘human-scale’ lives. Taking part in the Hello Etsy conference last September in Berlin really brought that home for me.

Wedding invitation “Bike”

You and your friend Molly started e.m. papers. Then took
a break and you went solo with it. What did being away
and coming back to your business feel like? And what drove
you to revisit e.m. papers and evolve it?
We never really got e.m. papers off the ground mostly, I think, because we were too young. I was fresh out of art school and hadn’t yet worked in the ’real world’ and wanted that experience. We had the idea in the mid-nineties, so the internet was just happening, and when it really got started, I got seduced into the .com world and that just seemed way more exciting than starting a traditional business, which was much more daunting then. But whenever Molly and I would see each other, we always looked back at our idea and wondered what would have happened if we had given it a go. It remained a stone unturned.

Years later, when I was trying to find an exit out of my day job, I did a lot of soul searching about what I actually liked doing, wanted to do, and how I could either find or create work that felt right. There was no ‘one big thing’ I liked doing; I liked to design (but I wanted to design what I liked not what clients wanted), I loved working with the internet, I liked writing, I was methodical, structured and organized and interested in business, I liked keeping my own schedule.

The idea to re-animate e.m. papers as an internet business selling download and print stationery and paper products ‘just hit me’ while on a flight in 2007. The Internet had grown into an entirely different animal. You could open an online store and set up a payment system in a couple of hours. Home printers were cheap and excellent (when I was in art school, a home color printer that you can get for 80 bucks now, cost a thousand dollars then). I enjoyed the design part, but not production, so just selling designs appealed to me and seemed like a good business model.

Of course, it took several years for all of this to percolate in my unconscious before I got the ‘flash’ for the idea. Molly had since moved on to other projects, but fully supported me bringing it back to life. It felt good and right to return to the idea that ‘might have been.’

What’s your daily work regiment in making
and keeping a business?
I keep a normal 5-day a week schedule. I work best alone and at home (above). I keep toying with the idea of getting a workspace or finding some sort of co-working arrangement, but with the extra overhead and commute time, it just doesn’t make sense. When you’ve got your own business, work bleeds into every hour of your life. I generally try to keep a 9:00a–6:00p schedule and not work on weekends, but that doesn’t always work out so well!

Holiday card “Ornaments”

How do you get the word out about e.m. papers?
I started out with a slow and steady campaign of writing to bloggers, which worked nicely. I created a free wedding set, mostly as a proof of concept, which went viral and really helped get the word out. I got a feel for which blogs my ideal customer hangs out at and started advertising and guest posting on them. I’ve also built a pretty robust customer mailing list and list my products on multiple online venues (Etsy, Dawanda, Wedzu, etc.).

I recently had a product featured in BRIDES Magazine, so I am starting to leverage that in PR efforts, as well as build a referral engine by reaching out to wedding planners directly with sample books, etc.

Collaboration and partnering have also been helpful. I’ve started collaborating with a fellow Munich expat Stephanie Levy, and we promote each other’s work which doubles the power of our individual networks. I’ve also partnered with Glö, an online wedding invite service, providing matching e.m. papers templates for websites and flash-based invitations and that has widened both e.m. papers’ and the Glö’s customer bases.

Finally, word-of-mouth and great customer service. I really bend over backwards to make my customers happy. Most people getting married know other people getting married. When someone sends out a wedding invitation, it’s like 50 little advertisements for e.m. papers. If the customer had a great experience, she will tell everyone about it. A good chunk of my business this year has come from people who came in contact with my work while attending a friend’s wedding.

What are your recommendations for software/web-based tools
to use for collaboration and getting things done?
For eCommerce: I have been very happy with Joomla using the Virtuemart eCommerce plug-in. Our main requirements for e.m. papers were a really robust CMS and eCommerce platform that handles a large product catalog, internationalization and downloadable products, which Joomla does quite well.

For collaboration: I am a big 37signals fan, so Basecamp was the obvious choice. So far, so good. I’m also really trying to be disciplined about process documentation, so finding a project management collaboration tool with an exportable wiki was a must.

Finding Freelance help: We have used oDesk to find freelancers which has been helpful, but of course, like everything, you get what you pay for. DropBox has been invaluable and great for file sharing and collaboration.

What tools do you use to work on your ideas
and make them grow?
I keep a Moleskine journal which usually contains a jumble of business ideas, concept sketches and to-do lists (above). When I need to flesh out an entire design suite, I’ll use a sketch pad (below). Most of the time, though, I go straight to the computer and print designs out to see how they look and then iterate.

How does time factor into your making of your work?
There is nothing like running your own business to make you ruminate and think deeply on the nature of time, mostly that there isn’t enough of it! I have a pretty robust project and time management system, which I developed through learning about project management at my old job and my own experience. My system has also been heavily influenced by a book called Take Back Your Life by Sally McGhee which I understand is based on GTD. Having a really good grip on planning, project and time management has been critical in getting e.m. papers off the ground. For that I am thankful for all my years working at my last company where I got a solid education in those skills, which I don’t believe I could have gotten anywhere else. In fact, that’s what my workshop at Hello Etsy was about and it’s taken on a life of it’s own with a new project called Steal This Process which helps indie business owners understand project and time management.

What is the most rewarding part of making your work?
Being the captain of my own ship and seeing my venture grow. There is something really gratifying about starting from nothing and building something. It’s a bad analogy but I feel like Dr. Frankenstein, pulling on levers and watching my creature come alive... Like I said, bad analogy, but you get the idea!

Every time I get a nice piece of feedback from a customer, it still surprises me by how good it feels, and how grateful people are. And of course the freedom. I love being able to do whatever I want, and answering to no one.

Is there a part of your work that is particularly trying
and how do you deal with it?
Yes, production. I am a big-picture person and really, really hate dealing with the details. I realized halfway into this that creating a massive product catalog and several eCommerce platforms means all of it also has to be maintained. I really enjoy designing, but converting that design into 24 templates for two different ISO paper sizes and then uploading them across 5 online stores with search-engine optimized product copy in two different languages is NOT my idea of fun.

The way I’m dealing with this is by starting an E-Myth Revisited-style documentation of every single business process so I can outsource the things that I don’t enjoy, are time intensive and that I’m not particularly good at. In fact, I’ve just hired some production help this week.

How do you stay creative? Do you draw? Or keep a journal?
Leisure and idle time. Sometimes I have to force myself to take it, but having a well-rounded life: cooking, visiting with friends, traveling, gardening, enjoying all the cultural delights that my city (Munich) has to offer, keeps my creative tank full. Living in Europe has really helped me learn that.

I had the great pleasure of getting to meet Tom Hodgkinson, who publishes The Idler magazine, and was a fellow speaker at the Hello Etsy conference. He gave a fantastic and hilarious talk on the necessity and power of idle time in both running a small business and the creative process.

I have also found that giving myself 30-day challenges has been helpful. When I get too bogged down in business and marketing stuff and forget about creating, I’ll give myself a design challenge for 30 days, like coming up with one invitation design or Christmas card a day. A good 70% of these designs don’t make it into the store, but there are always a few that work out nicely and also test well.

What are some of your sources of inspiration?
I have a love-hate relationship with the Internet. On the one hand, there is so much good stuff to see, but I worry that it’s just too hard to not let things that I’ve seen creep into my own work. Again, I think getting out into the city, walking, getting away from the computer goes a long way towards reigniting the creative flame.

I also enjoy snooping around in My Dad’s shop located in Sebastopol, California. He’s a letterpress printer and I grew up in his print shop (above). There are always interesting bits of paper, projects or broadsides that he’s working on to get inspired by. Last summer he showed me his collection of printed dingbat and ornament samples which I immediately lifted to scan and use for my ‘internet thing’, as he put it.

Wedding invitation “Silhouette”

What makes Munich special?
I didn’t fall in love with Munich right away, but once I did, I fell hard. Munich is a very replenishing place to live. You have all of the amenities of a city, but it is very green and very liveable. The access to nature is outstanding. Our apartment building is literally on the Isar rivar, which people can swim in, and the Alps are under an hour away. Munich does not have the frenetic energy of Berlin, New York or London but it is calming. It is a place that has a strong design scene and encourages hard work and accomplishment (Bavaria, where Munich is located is the the economic engine of Germany, which is the economic engine of Europe), but it is also referred to as the most northern city in Italy. Living the good life; good food, good wine, leisure is also fully encouraged. Lots of street cafés, beer gardens and long, lingering meals with friends typify life here. A great very short film from Monocle magazine sums it up nicely.

What are ways for people to learn about e.m. papers?
Probably the best way is through my blog or my newsletter, which you can sign up for on the blog.

What’s your advice to people who aspire to make something,
a business, product—anything?
Just get started. Don’t get hung up on trying to find the perfect thing, find something you like enough and run with it. I can’t emphasize that enough. You may start with one idea and find you don’t like it, but that will lead you to something else. It pains me every time I hear people talk about their ideas but never take any real steps to get something—anything!—produced or built. I want to grab them by the shoulders and give them a good shaking. Life is so short and there are opportunities now like never before to make your thing happen.

I would temper that by saying that if you are looking to quit your job, start your thing on the side. It took me two years of experimenting with my business in my spare time before I started making any money.

It’s a lot of work (there is no such thing as a 4-hour work week!) and certainly not a path to guaranteed riches, but it is a way to create an invigorating, meaningful life, and so totally worth it.

All photographs courtesy of Eleanor Mayrhofer

• • •

To learn more about the organizational method Getting Things Done (GTD), read this Interview with Digital Media Project Manager Steve Dale.

• • •

Design and Metals: Archework’s Mobile Food Collective, Typewriters, Car Type, Rimowa Suitcases and More

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Since December 2008, I’ve been writing about the intersection of design and metals. Here’s an array of clickable images from recent stories concerning metal as a design medium:

Designer’s Quest(ionnaire): Freelance Graphic Designer Gabrielle Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Gabrielle Guy lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. Her design of a report for the “World Vision for their Child Health Now” campaign led me to her portfolio of book design, including artistic catalogues, which possess an elegant typographic sensibility. Read her insightful take on design and designing.

• • •

The Designer’s Quest(ionnaire) is a Design Feast initiative that describes and captures a designer’s perspective in a succinct format. Read the previous Designer’s Quest(ionnaire): Product Designer and Teacher Tim Parsons.

Handling Content with Care: Content Strategist Hilary Marsh

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0000

With experience in web content and print publishing, as well as writing and editing, Hilary Marsh focuses on many factors in the creation, communication and management of information. Content strategy, including content management, are rising disciplines in a digital society—particularly in the workplace. Marsh is both a practitioner and speaker of these disciplines. Here she shares her perspective on handling organizational content, which constitutes more than the written word:

Can you please tell a little bit about yourself?
Where are you from? What do you do for a living?
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland and Chicago. Went to college for magazine journalism and worked in that field in NYC for several years. I became a copywriter for Avon Products, and discovered the Internet in 1996. Since then, I have focused on online communications.

Currently, I’m the director of the member website for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). REALTOR.org is the online hub for all the resources, programs, information, and tools that NAR produces for its members, as well as other audiences. I’ve worked at NAR since 2005, joining as the site’s manager of editorial development and becoming managing director in 2007. My role encompasses more than only content strategy, although that is obviously a big part of it. I focus on Web strategy—our goal is to engage members more fully in what NAR produces. To accomplish this, I need to ensure that we know what members want, understand how to best communicate it to them, make sure that they can find what they want online, and make sure the site’s technology supports us well. So, that entails working with pretty much every department in the association. It keeps me pretty busy!

What is your statement about being a Content Strategist?
A content strategist is a teacher, cajoler, hand-holder, role model, and curious question-asker. She/he is a journalist, an editor, a speaker, and a mentor/educator. And she/he is also both patient and creative.

What is Content Strategy?
Online, content strategy is presenting information with an understanding of the needs of both the reader and the “generator.” Unless the information meets the reader’s needs, the content generator can’t meet their goals. It’s also an understanding of the context for the information—the reader’s context, as well as the way the information fits into a timeline, again, both for the generator and the reader. By the way, “reader” isn’t an ideal term (although it’s better than “user,” in my opinion): The goal of a piece of content is usually the reader taking some kind of action—participating in a program, taking advantage of an offer, etc.—as a result of the content. In the last few years, online content strategy has grown to encompass social media too. I helped create NAR’s social media strategy in 2007—we now have a director of digital engagement on our team, who oversees our network of social media channels and ensures that we share our information with members wherever they are, among other things. Another really important component to content strategy is Web and content governance. In a nutshell, that’s identifying who has the power to make decisions about what goes on the website and how, and what doesn’t–and the Web team needs to play that role.

My whiteboard

How did you arrive at becoming involved
with content strategy for the web?
In the late ’90s, I was trying to figure out how I could take my background in publishing and promotional writing and apply it to the Web. In 1999, at a conference in San Francisco, I first heard the term from, I think, Molly Wright Steenson, and I instantly knew that it was the perfect term for the role I was trying to invent. I haven’t looked back since!

Why did you choose the web as your medium?

The web brings together editorial and promotional information beautifully. It allows people to get to what they want on their terms. It’s available 24/7. And it’s interactive and portable. I’ve really enjoyed creating online dialogues with people. My name is my profile name everywhere, so I’m pretty easy to find online. Since NAR’s members, REALTORS®, are so socially savvy as part of their profession, many of them have connected with me personally.

In addition to your work in Content Strategy, you also practice
Content Management—what is this?

Content management really means two different things. It means the exercise of having plans for content. For example, every piece of content needs to have a life cycle—birth, growth, maintenance/evolution, and finally archiving or deletion. Content management also refers to the tools that enable content to do what it’s supposed to—get created; reviewed; be promoted where, when, and how it makes sense; housed; and then archived.

What are your recommendations for software/web-based tools
to use for collaboration and getting things done?
My team is based in both Chicago and DC, because we work with NAR’s departments in both cities. We’re all on AIM all day, so we’re accessible to one another. We rely on Basecamp to stay up to date on our various projects. I’m personally a huge fan of Dropbox for sharing and co-creating documents, but others on my team favor Google Docs more. We’re fluid.

My messy desk, including water bottle and lunch fork still in place mid-afternoon

What tools do you use to work on your ideas
and make them grow?
I spend pretty much my entire day talking, listening, and writing. I make sure to connect with a variety of people inside my organization, and I also try and find time to connect directly with our members, as well as with the people at our state and local associations who interact with members most closely. The vast majority of ideas come from what I learn through all of those interactions. I ask for feedback and listen to it very closely.

How does time factor into your making of your work?
My preference is to do all the thinking and planning, and then create something. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the luxury to follow that process, and instead we have to start with something and then iterate. Right now, for example, we’re planning to launch a redesigned site in two months, and we haven’t even finished all the designs yet. So obviously what we launch with will be a start but far from perfect. I’m working on accepting that.

What is the most rewarding part of making your work?
Presenting information so that it is engaging and so that it works. As a counterpart to that, it’s helping people understand the value of communications, which is more about the recipient than the creator.

Is there a part of your work that is particularly trying
and how do you deal with it?

We have internal politics, often resulting from conflicting goals. I do what I can to understand the other person’s goals and make sure they understand mine, and see them as complementary rather than conflicting. At my organization, positive relationships are the ticket to that success.

How do you stay creative? Do you draw? Or keep a journal?
In my spare time, I spend as much time knitting as I can find time for—it really brings me so much peace and sanity. The concrete, tactile experience of knitting is a great balance for my work. My favorite part about knitting is that at the end of the effort, I have something to show for the time—hopefully something beautiful as well as comforting. I also do other homebody things—I’m an avid cook and gardener and make my own yogurt and cleaning supplies.

What are some of your sources of inspiration?
I try and surround myself with creative, artistic folks. Some of those work at my organization and others are in the Chicago creative, digital, arts, or craft communities.

Who and what do you recommend to learn more
about Content Strategy and Management?
Kristina Halvorson, who I met many years ago when we spoke at the same conference, is the most famous content strategist nowadays. Gerry McGovern also has really interesting, often controversial things to say about Web strategy, content, and information architecture. My friend, Lisa Welchman, is the guru of Web governance—she pretty much invented the field. If you ever have the chance to see her speak or read her materials, please do! Lou Rosenfeld and Steve Krug are my favorite go—to sources for usability and information architecture, which is finally waking up to the value of content and content strategy.

What’s your advice to people who aspire to get involved
with making things on the web?
Oh gosh, I’m not sure where to start in answering that question. I guess it would be to define what that means for you, and then study websites to see how they do it differently. The good thing about working on the web is that the internet itself is the best source for information about everything!

All photos courtesy of Hilary Marsh

Read more Interviews which include:

“Make or else”: Chicago CreativeMornings with Jake Nickell of Threadless

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0000

In his presentation at the fourth CreativeMornings event in Chicago, Jake Nickell emphasized from start to finish: make, make, make. As co-founder of the “monstrous” (per Jim Coudal’s description at Chicago CreativeMornings’ debut) community-driven t-shirt designer and maker Threadless, Nickell lives up to his call to create. His demonstration of making not only involved the satisfaction it can bring, but also the fun which shined through in his company’s in-house Airstream trailer and other business-casual reminders to not take your job too seriously. Here are some of Nickell’s thoughts to motivate you to be a proactive maker, and not just a messenger:

Ideas are meant to be seen. If they don’t reach paper, screen, whiteboard or another surface, they can’t be visualized. Jason Fried of 37signals, and who spoke at the second Chicago CreativeMornings, recommends sketching with a Sharpie.

This may sound counterintuitive, but it has a start-local rationale. Friends can be the foundation for collaboration.

Nothing made means nothing to share and, in turn, nothing to promote. The only result is the unknown.

The implicit refrain running throughout the presentation by Jake Nickell (above) about making was: Persist.

• • •

See Jake Nickell’s presentation “Never Stop Making” at TEDxBoulder.

• • •

Photos by Nate Burgos. See more of Chicago CreativeMornings’ event at Threadless.

• • •

Big thanks to organizer Mig Reyes, videographer Craig Shimala, photographers Chris Gallevo and Rosario Edwards, and Admin of Awesome Victoria Pater for their great work on making CreativeMornings happen in Chicago.

• • •

Typeface of quotes is called Massive designed by Shawn Hazen, who also makes awesome typographic illustrations for series Creative Roles.

• • •

Read CreativeMornings-related posts:

Interface Details: Roy Denim’s Philosophy, Mason Jar Music’s Icons, Apple’s Info-Graphics

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:30:00 +0000

A piece in the New Gentleman’s Journal, Grain & Gram, led me to discover Roy Slaper, a skateboarder turned jean maker. His studio (described mostly through beautiful photographs, no text) showcases the tools of his craft for making denim, and denim alone. This singularity of purpose is evident in his philosophy, which can be construed in one of two ways: ‘there can only be one approach (namely, high-quality brand of jeans made to fit well)’, or ‘there is one approach and it’s for me to know and you to find out (that is, to be determined)’. Either way, Slaper knows that his product is one of a kind. While other online examples about philosophy or related topics consist of paragraphs, Slaper’s Philosophy is summed up in a single sentence:

Discovered via National Public Radio’s article “Turning Abandoned Buildings Into Recording Studios” were icons, identifying the varied services of audio/visual production company and creative collective Mason Jar Music. Each icon visualizes their respective service in an effective way and possesses a welcomed vintage finish:

Apple is known for their pristine presentation of information online. Their section about their “environmental impact” shares the attention to layout with a handsome array of info-graphics, such as one showing “Reduction in Packaging”:

Read more related posts:

Tools to Make, Manage and Publish Your Creative Portfolio Online

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Presenting your work online—be it art, design, photography—can be tough. Equally tough is building and updating your online portfolio. Here’s a starter list of tools that help creative practitioners share their work with ease:

Know of another great tool or community that helps display creative work? Please do recommend.

Design Feast Redesigned

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:14:00 +0000

I’m super-excited about Design Feast redesigned and relaunched. It’s taken time, over a few months, all on the side to get this real. Satisfying to see it live, with a new typographic layout and presentation:

Since 1999, the interface design of Design Feast has changed but has mostly been confined to this layout and presentation which was the working foundation for its redesign:

And it remained a read-only site until now: comments can be submitted to each of the Designer’s Quest(ionnaire) which there’ll be more to hopefully arrive.

Big thanks to my Designer-Developer-Diva Megan Coleman for transforming the wireframes (sample below) into a live site, using Expression Engine. This satisfied another need reinforced over the years: a content management system. Looking forward to using it more to refresh the site with new information about creative voices and projects as much as possible.

Big thanks too for all the visitors and subscribers of Design Feast, and thanks in advance to the new people discovering Design Feast. Here’s to providing you with a regular serving of creative culture.

Read related posts:

Interview about Design Feast with Adam Kallish of Trope Collaborative
Interview about Design Feast with Joanne Molina of The Curated Object
Design Feast at design:related’s “sites we like”

Two Things about Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Mother’s sketch based on image from the news

Word of Steve Jobs stepping down as Apple CEO came to me in the best way—from my mother (who drew above), an Apple fan and Mac user. My reaction was “No” with a double meaning: no, I didn’t hear about that; and no (pronounced with a long “o”), that’s sad news. My reaction eventually turned into reflection. I recalled my Mac IIsi, looping the “Think Different” commercial with its inspirational script, and watching Apple Keynote presentations for art therapy. I also reflected on these two recurring observations about Steve Jobs.

Source: Apple

For the children and the child in us
Several Apple TV commercials close with an image of children. Designer Paul Rand (who designed the NeXT logo) wrote an essay called “Design and the Play Instinct” (1965) which, in essence, is about practicing and preserving the ability “to see the myriad possibilities and discover the ideal form.” This speaks to childlike curiosity and playfulness. These are qualities that Apple’s culture and products embody and demonstrate.

Source: Lynn Marie 2, Flickr

Great products first and foremost
In his appearances at AllThingsD conferences, including his Keynotes, Jobs emphasized making great products—not great experiences. Of course, great products are no small feat. If this requisite is reached, however, the great experience is earned. Creating a great product is a huge accomplishment. And the culmination of many tiny decisions that go into a product are what ensure that it’s the best it can be for the people using it.

Mother’s sketch based on image from the news

Here’s to Jobs’ health, his active role as Chairman, and to the march of his greatest product—Apple.

Read related posts:

Designing and Teaching: User Experience Architect and Educator Charles Field

noreply@blogger.com (Nate Burgos) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:17:00 +0000

Charles Field (with his son above) enjoys being in the position of practicing design and teaching it. He also has a particular interest in the history of design. I had the privilege of speaking at Charles Fields’ Design History class at School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Here he shares his takes on the profession of design and its relationship to design education:

Can you please tell a little bit about yourself?
I am a User Experience Architect who teaches a course in design history/critical thinking for designers at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

Where are you from?

Originally western Canada, but I have lived in a few U.S. cities.

What is your statement about being a both a practitioner
and teacher within the field of design?
I aspire to altruism, but I suspect my current occupations have more to do with self-interest.

I am addicted to the problem-solving and pace of being a practitioner. For the sake of argument, design history, aside from the development of book typography, starts around 1820. And even that is a stretch, but let’s imagine the rate of change in the last 190 years—it’s fairly brisk.

It has clearly accelerated in the last twenty years; a field once defined by paper and the idiosyncrasies of print technology has divided into many forms.

So I don’t really feel that I can keep my teaching relevant without staying abreast of the field. And I understand things better when I make them.

As a teacher, I enjoy many aspects of it: course and curricula design, my faculty colleagues, watching the world change through the students in my classes, and the breadth of academia as a tonic to the narrow focus of business concerns. Teaching a single course per term keeps it fresh.

What influenced your interest in teaching?
Honestly, I just assumed I always would. At one stage there were 5 teachers in my immediate family, so it was kind of part of the atmosphere.

Earlier in my teaching career, I was motivated by a desire to know Design History in greater depth; now discussing how we all perceive and communicate through design in a more current sense is the interesting part.

Interpretation of “Novelty” by student Jennifer Aeduk

Where have you taught and where are you currently teaching?
Well, everywhere I have lived since graduate school, but not contiguously. Otis Parsons [aka Otis] and CalArts in Southern California, San Jose State, San Francisco State and California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Chicago.

What tools and materials do you use to teach?
The current course is based in discussion and a couple of course books, but I still use a Design History database that John Calvelli and I constructed in 2001/2002.

How does time factor into your teaching?

Well, there is never enough if that’s what you mean! You always have too much material, too many projects, too many topics to cover.

The challenge with any “History” is to attempt presentation and examination of the culture from multiple points of view. There are narrative arcs in Design History that are taken as common sense can seem a very limited—even intentionally limiting—construct. Modernism stands out as one of those. A recurring time conflict is always depth versus breadth.

And frankly, it just isn’t that fun if I am the only one talking, so another time issue is constructing each class to facilitate discussion.

What is the most rewarding part of teaching?

Interacting with students. If it were anything else, I would have stopped long ago. It is a consistently engaging human activity. I also like redesigning the course as I learn more, find new things, think new things.

Was there a part of teaching that was particularly trying

and how did you deal with it?

I think the worst aspect of teaching is how marginalized it is in this culture. Pardon the soapbox, but I know a lot of dedicated and persistent faculty who are pathetically compensated for their talents. Korea is a good example of how this might work better.

On a personal note, one of the first courses I taught was a full year of History of Design and Illustration. It took quite a bit of preparation, and then I was such a green teacher that I didn’t really know how to teach it. Many of the students survived it nonetheless, and a couple, like Khoi Vinh and Jamie Myrold have done very well.

How do you stay creative? Draw? Or keep a journal?

I am lucky to be able to be creative through work I find very engaging. Other than that I write, play music, fix bicycles...

What are some of your sources of inspiration?

I am basically a pop culture historian—I think the fancy term would be Visual Studies—so pretty much everything. And the vernacular parts, too.

What is your advice to people who are starting to teach?

Learn how to speak in front of people so you don’t sound of moron all the time. Practice.
Steal project ideas from the best, then invent your own. I see a lot of younger teachers who just teach the projects they did in school—that’s not good enough. The world changes.
Make time, or find a work situation where you can contribute visible things to the discussion of design in the culture.
Teaching may not be the only thing you want to do. Try a bunch of things.

All images courtesy of Charles Field.

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