Transparency has two sides. It’s one part communication and one part selflessness. The communication side of things is pretty simple. You tell me what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, how, why, etc and then you do it. Selflessness is knowing when to make a decision that may not be so good for you, but it’s the best choice for the client or project.

Scenario 1: A business that we’ll call Professional Services Inc., contracts a copywriter. Let’s call her Lisa. The two parties agree on scope and timeline. Everything is clear about what is expected and Lisa begins to work. Now lets say Lisa has a creative block, a weird emergency, or she had a brain fart and forgot about a deadline. Lisa can do a few things, but what & how should Lisa do?

1. Always apologize. If there is no sense of regret in the email/call it can easily come off as arrogance. Even if it wasn’t your fault and there was no way around it, be humble and just say you’re sorry.

2. Explain the situation. If something is super personal, you don’t have to go into details, but just make sure you get the point across that it was unavoidable, extremely personal and there was no way to get the work done. If it was something dumb, be honest. Your client may get mad regardless, but at the very least they’ll respect your honesty.

3. Tell everyone. Often times there may be multiple people involved in the project. Make sure your excuses get heard by everyone. The last thing you need is for the decision maker to be out of the loop.

4. Set new, realistic deadlines. This is the most important part of the process. You need to make sure that your new deadlines will be attainable and still work with the project’s timeline. This is where the selflessness comes into play. You might be working on an awesome project, a dream project even, but if you know your new goals are impossible and you still go for it… Terrible things could happen. Best case scenario your work is rushed, more revisions are required which further delays things and your client isn’t happy. Worst case? You miss another deadline. Now your clients are really pissed. Now your clients are frantically searching for a replacement. Now your client is seriously delayed. Now your client wants to punch you. If you can’t do it, let your client know early on. They might still be disappointed but they won’t be near as upset if you drag things out and then bail.

Avoiding emails or calls is never the way to handle a tough situation. Always be upfront with your client. Even if the news is bad or not what the client wants to hear, you’re always better off with prompt, honest responses.

2. Touch everything, unless it’s poisonous. Or it has thorns. Or you think you’re allergic. Or it could bite. Or it’s illegal. Or your mother tells you not to.

3. Nature has the best color palettes, use ‘em.

4. Look for lines, patterns and movement. It’s okay to rip off a grassy field for your next project.

5. Dead plants look cool too, don’t discriminate.

6. Ponder. Meditate. Pray. Dream. Whatever you’d like to call it. It’s good to get away and just breathe.

I took these photos about 20 feet from my tent this past weekend at Enchanted Rock state park in Texas. Sadly the camping season is pretty much over in Texas, but we were lucky and the weather was perfect. We spent most of the day on the side of a granite wall climbing my first legit multi-pitch route. Then it rained that evening and didn’t stop until morning, which also happened to be a first. Camping in the rain is not that bad if you have the gear for it and you’re with good company. Anyways, all this to say, go camping. Your brain needs it. When I returned home I felt refreshed and my mind seemed a little less cluttered.

We were super lucky to be a part of this video and we’re grateful to Hovercraft for bringing us on board to work on the project. We did all the design work and Hovercraft handled everything else (filming, animation, etc.) Check out the post the Norman Brothers did about the project.

Below are the business card designs we did for the Norman Brothers. You can see in the 2nd image the blue strip, that’s not chromatic aberration, that’s the actual color of the card. If you missed our post on the website we designed for them, check it out here. Or if you missed the post on the logo design, check that out here.

Here’s our presentation if you want to check it out. PRESO

For me it’s all about the adventure, not just the final image. The entire experience is fun. Finding new and unusual locations—off the beaten path. Connecting with creative and beautiful models. Styling and experimenting with light and shadow. Stumbling onto cool processes, methods or effects in post-production. It’s nice because it’s just something I do for myself, there’s no pressure and I can do exactly what I want. Experimenting outside of what I do on a daily basis is really important for my brain. Anytime you do the same thing over and over, you’re bound to get stale (no matter how much you love your job, and I really love my job), but when I mix in outside inspiration, or try new things, it really amps up my design work.

I stumbled onto this duotone process below, loved it and I’m now using it in a client project. Real world application!

Here’s the Christmas card we sent out. And be sure to watch our Christmas Gif(t) below!

Click the image if it isn’t doing anything awesome.

Currently working on the branding, website and all kinds of fun marketing materials for That Conference. Just wanted to share a little bit! Much more to come.

The first phase of the website is moving along quite nicely. You can check it out here: thatconference.com

That Conference will be in August of 2012 at the Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells, WI and will be a developer’s dream summer camp. It’s going to be pretty epic, so if you plan to attend one conference next year, make it one where you can learn about the geekiest stuff from top developers and then ride a giant water slide immediately after. Be sure to sign up on the site to stay up to date. Or follow them on twitter: @thatconference

It’s finally cold in Texas and my garden is now officially dead. I had about 50 tomatoes start growing just as it was starting to get cold. As you can see (above) none of them had a chance to ripen.

The type below was made from my basil plants. All the leaves had fallen and left these wonderful little branches. Hope everyone is having a delightful December!