In December of 2011, I did a soft-launch of PolyPlane.com. I had no idea if it would work or if it would even help anyone. Little did I know that it would be so well received by people all over the world.

I’ve been very happy with making and maintaining the site so far and look forward to seeing where it goes into the future. To celebrate, I’ve packaged up all of the best lessons and offered them up as a downloadable package titled, “Foundations”.

And it’s snowing out. Neato!

New Year’s Eve I spent the evening with some friends in Lodi, CA. I officiated the wedding at 7:10 PM and the rest of the night was spent dancing, eating and smiling.

I have a tradition when I wed couples to take their photo right before I pronounce the marriage. There is something neat about being the last person to take a photo of the couple before they are spouses. I’m not sure what it is, but that is how it jives. The family was really nice and the food was dynamite.  I don’t drink, but there is something really serene about wine country. Maybe it is the stillness. I’m not sure.

Special thanks to the Tiptons for having me and my lady out for such a nice little getaway. It made for a perfect start to the new year!

In other news, I finally got on board and bought an iPhone. Leaps and bounds better than my crappy little LG Cosmos. Holy smokes that thing is great.

This is written in one of my notebooks as an incomplete sentence. Maybe I broke my thought, maybe I was in the middle of listening to something and forgot to write the rest down, but for whatever reason, it struck me as a funny statement. “It’s time to take” Unpunctuated, small, written at the beginning of a page with nothing else on it. Vacuous.

In Lila, Robert Pirsig makes an interesting connection between the sudden gaps in time we find and the way that we fill them. “They were having the time of their lives.”

When things are planned out and scheduled and things are running smooth, and all of a sudden, you find a gap of time. The reaction at first is frustration as it disrupts your flow.

“All that time we were waiting for the locks to open, crying about how terrible it was we couldn’t get going, we were having the time of our lives…Suddenly a space was created in everyone’s lives. An unexpected gap of time had opened up. The reaction of everyone at first was frustration. To sit around and do nothing, that was just terrible…Soon everyone was visiting somebody on somebody else’s boat. Parties broke out everywhere, simultaneously. “

We take our time, because it is time to take. It is a currency we can all have the same amount of in a given day.

Iam Est.

-G

The tricky part is the sustained effort. I ultimately (usually) reach a plateau before burning out and going back to a regular level of drawing like this maybe once a month. I’m working on a slower burn to see if I can force myself to keep it going. That’s the thing about creativity though — you can’t force it because if you do, the results will look forced. To get the juicy, meaty kind of creativity it has to flow through you. You become conduit for your creative pulses. Maybe by switching the channels through which you broadcast your creativity, this flow can continue. The great part about these sorts of spurts is that it translates over to my work life. I come up with much better concepts this time of year. In the spring and summer I’m a much better engineer and fall and winter seem to be much more favorable for conceptual output. If I could be the lane controller of comes across my desk, I would orchestrate it so I get more conceptual jobs this time of year and more technical work during the other months. That would be pretty profitable. Self exploitation.

However, the larger scope encompasses something greater than just pen on paper. It is about stepping back and analyzing when you are creative versus when you are not. I think this ratio is more than likely different from person to person. Step back and asses your personal flow. Is there a month or set of months during the year where this creative peak is high? Does it happen multiple times a year? How do you deal with it? Do you try and sustain it? What is your favorite part about it?

Here are some images I’ve generated over the last few weeks in After Effects:

Fun stuff. All the images are generated with the help of copious amounts of AE Plug-ins. Doing stuff like this keeps me sane at times.

Alright taters, I’ve gotta jam out.

-G

The Specialist:

The pros:

You can think of a specialist as an extremely sharp spear. Precise, fluid, and knowledgeable within a given niche.

You want this person on your team to fulfill a particular task because, well, they specialize in what they are doing. And given that there is an implied level of professionalism to the title of “specialist”, you can be sure the work will be (usually) good.

This is Ghost Dog, this is Dali, this is Amelia Earhart.

The cons:

Like all overly sharp spears, they are prone to breakage. They have blinders. They have the curse of knowledge in the sense that it was knowledge that you had that others didn’t so you accidentally leave out information assuming that other’s would know what you were talking about.

An addendum of the phrase indicates that once you find a solution to a problem, you tend to always steer back to that solution for future mutations of that same problem. This creates a plateau of creativity, because after all, the specialist isn’t worrying about creating new solutions, but rather getting the job done as expeditiously as possible.

A great quote from the movie Ghost In The Shell (1995) :”Overspecialize and you breed in weakness.”

The Generalist:

The Pros:

Like it sounds, the Generalist casts a larger net and broadens chances of gaining opportunities.

In biology, ecosystems love diversity. A great video on the topic can be found here. Same goes for skill sets. If for some reason you stop getting calls for jobs that ask for graphic design help you can fall back on your ability to render or illustrate.

Being the Generalist is like hedging your bets. John Maeda of RISD and Tim Brown of IDEO have some great thoughts on the matter. I HIGHLY recommend the book Glimmer by Warren Berger. He highlights the ideas of “T-Shaped” people that start with a particular interest/specialty and wind up broadening out as their careers bloom. Picking a topic, exploring it deeply (the lower leg of the T) and then moving on to the next “T”. This creates an amazingly stable platform of sorts to ensure plenty of work in different areas all the while creating a sense of rhythm throughout the life cycle of the career.

It is much more difficult to tell people “what you do” when the question comes up in social or professional settings. In the workplace this can be a benefit because all of a sudden, no one knows what you do, but they understand that you shouldn’t be eliminated from the equation because you provide some sort of intangible value to the equation.

The Cons:

It is much more difficult to tell people “what you do” when the question comes up in social or professional settings. This can also be a drawback when attempting to market yourself as a professional. Professional what? People tend to like to know what they are getting when they open their wallet. This is where leaning back on your original specialty can come in useful. People can cling onto titles.

Clinging onto titles, especially ones that paint you into this corner or that are extremely hard to shake. I had a client that was approaching me for spatial design work and we got talking about his company. I started asking all of these infrastructure designs and within a matter of minutes was able to deduce that the company was feeling some bizarre growing pains and needed help with identity. My client was surprised to hear that was a service offering I provided only based on the fact that all he knew that what I did was what was attached to my title in his head.

Trying to create multi-syllabic made up job titles is a very dangerous route to try and solve this problem. A great article about ridiculous job titles can be found here. This one revolves around UX designers, but the idea crosses all industry.

When you pick your career, being a specialist is almost unavoidable. It is only once you decide to stick with it that the fork in the road comes down to decide whether to stick with it, or become more versed in other areas.

Summary

It really is a personal preference of what you should decide. Personally, I would consider myself much more of a generalist. I get really bored really quick, so it is in my nature to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Speaking of, be sure to pre order Tim Ferris’ new book The 4-Hour Chef. It’s going to be awesome.

Look, it is a simple as learn lots and you’ll have lots to offer. Eventually you’ll come across an industry or topic that you fall in love with and you’ll want (and need) to explore every niche within that niche that it has to offer.

2002 was a funny year for me. It was filled with a lot of different emotions. It was also a year that changed me forever.

I was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and going to school for industrial design. My nights were spent living out the typical student life of studies, laughter and a healthy dose of irresponsibility. I remember it vividly. The time was good. As most memories of good times are, it was probably not as good as I make it sound. However, it was. Furthermore, it was as vivid as it is in my memories. All of my phases of life are. Vivid, that is.

The trick to living in a vivid “now” is finding the parts of your day or week that sing to you. For me it was the short walk to this little antique store/coffee shop that sold bags of wasabi peas right on Butler St. next to the pizzaria I wound up working at as a barista for a few months. It was a good time. This is a good time. Right now.  Right now, as I type this, there is a stain of flavor in my mouth from my morning coffee, the overcast day makes the green of the foliage pop off of the gray sky. My arms and shoulders and even fingers are sore from last night’s session at the climbing gym. My desk is scattered with doodles, drawings, and playing cards — like little trails that show where my brain was a day or so ago.

Find those little details. They are like miniature amplifiers that suggest what is really going on in your life. Sometimes the physical can describe the metaphysical. You just need to know where to look. Here is my desk at the moment:

Look at all those little bits of information that suggest where things are/were/are going.

Look around for these sort of clues. They will help you appreciate where you are right now and give you a good sense of where you are going.

In other news:

Currently, I’m working on securing a project with a recreation center in Sea Side, Oregon. If it goes through, I’ll be redesigning the lobby space of the building to improving the visual aesthetics of the space, improving traffic flow, helping merchandise sales via new welcome counter and a few other variables. It was kind of nice to get a potential project off of the Con Cor Design site. Usually I get my jobs via word of mouth or repeat clients.

PolyPlane is going to be going through some extensive changes in the next few months as I give the site a face lift and implement some additional functionality. There will be a new format to the lineage of the videos that will release me from being on the hook to record a video every week. It is really eating at my time to do, so if I can create a more autonomous model, I think it will help me out some in the future. I’ll be also holding monthly modeling contests to increase traffic and create a larger focus on the community around the site. That has been a big challenge that I struggle with. People are afraid to post their images. It is hard to bring something out into the world that you’ve created if you’ve never done it before. Subjecting yourself to critique can be a scary thing for some. The contest will award the winner with a 3D print of their model thanks my partner, Peak Solutions. If all goes well, it should promote some awesome community input.

On the homestead, this weekend, my lady is out in Montana for another wedding. I’m filling these days with work and climbing. Tonight I might take myself out for a little me-date. Maybe a movie or something. I really am excited to see Seven Psychopaths. The interview with Christopher Walken made it sound like a good time.  Too bad it won’t be out for a few weeks still.

Alright taters, I’ve gotta get back to some work here before going for a run. Have a fantastic and dynamic weekend. Remember to stay in the now.

Iam Est.

-G

There is an inherent truth to the idea that shit will always roll downhill. Usually towards vendors, service providers, subordinates etc. What they don’t tell you is that before shit rolls down that hill it is preceded by grace, thanks, trust, reliance and all of those other things that you give to someone who is giving you or your brand support. The bad stuff only starts to roll once the person at the top of the hill has run out of the others.

The trick then, is to not let the other stuff run out first.  There are three main things that your client cares about as far as you, the service provider, facilitates: time, money and results.

Time

The old adage of “Time is Money” is a sticky, funky, truth. Your clients are expecting to deliver to someone; usually higher up the hill. The quicker you can serve, the better. There is a ratcheting effect to this idea though; the bar is set every time you deliver. If you can do it this fast this time, what is to stop you from delivering just as fast if not faster the nest time? I keep my work pace evenly paced to deliver the best results I can within a reasonable time frame. If the client then has a “rush job” I can deliver in a hurry, but always put out an vibe that what I’m doing is special for that situation and isn’t the normal pace. Usually if you stick to your guns, clients will respect you. If they don’t, they aren’t worth your time. Keep company and clients that respect your time and respect theirs. Time is the only currency that everyone has the same amount of in a single day. 

Money

Staying on budget is one of the trickiest things in the universe for some people. Before I take on a job, I always ask what the budget it for my services. Sometimes I simply state how long it is going to take for me to complete a specific goal and then ask, “Does that work for you?” More often than not, I get a clear answer of whether or not they need me to pull back on the amount of concepts I deliver, level of finish, or even where I’m going to engage the process. One big helpful tip I got working at my old job was to always ask for a quantity and a budget before moving forward.

Here is the tricky part. A lot of clients are asking you to bid on a project before telling you what it is and so they don’t want to tell you what the budget is so they can get the most service for their buck as possible. At that point, it is just about writing out a clear proposal with a bit of padding for multiple revisions, scope creep etc. and putting a realistic figure to match the work at hand. Usually after you have the job, your client will have extra money for emergencies that might come up and an extended P.O. can be implemented to cover the cost difference.

Results

This part is pretty straight forward. This is your product or service in its best light possible. It is so clear whether or not you’ve hit the nail on the head with results. It is as clear as day and will have a nice hum to it if the quality is there. If you finish something and the quality isn’t there, destroy it and start over. This is a direct reflection of your personal brand and demands your love. This is the thing that is encompassing your life and will not settle for second best. You only get one life. Put your amazing laser focus brain to the task and get it done. When it is all done, deliver it and smile. Your client will always have tweaks and “real quicks” that need to be ironed out. Part of this is the truth that nothing is designed by a single person and another part of this is that people like to put their stamp on something that is coming across their desk. It is human nature. You can’t get too attached to any result you deliver. It is always going to change.

When the project is finished I like to have a follow up. Either with myself or, if needed, with my client. What were the take aways? What was learned? What worked and what didn’t? How can the process be further stream-lined?

Another great way to show results is with infographics. I like to build them occasionally for myself, partners and clients. Here are two I’ve done recently. The first is to show my client at Pinnacle Exhibits how much they saved by using Con Cor Design’s services versus another agency.

The second is a partnership call for potential partners for PolyPlane. It shows how results lead to results. This is critical for selling the idea of growth potential partnerships. Think of this as results marketing.

Both of these are after-the-fact type results and clearly decant numbers and stats in a digestible way that people can grab onto and understand. Results sing to clients and prove your value for future collaborations.

Whether you can expose one, two or all three, these three windows are wonderful tools to show your clients what you have to offer before, during and after a project.

Later taters,

G

With the new system in place it is opening up my schedule a ton. I’ve effectively set my business prices in such a way that I can be profitable yet have plenty of “me” time. It is a pretty simple system as illustrated below:

So the way this works is that FI is your former income per day. Multiply it by eight and divide by two. This will make sense in a minute why you don’t just multiply it by four.  Next you take your FH (Former Hours) and divide that by eight. This gives you your NWH (New Weekly Hours). Multiply them together. Let’s use 100 as a starting point at 40 hours per week. 100*8/2=400 and 40/8=5. 400*5=2000. If the NHV(New Hourly Value) wasn’t divided by 2, the total would bump to 4,000. All we are trying to do here is create as large of a buffer as possible by getting beyond the former income (hourly) and yet be working less than the FH. The second part is to figure out all of your monthly expenses. Add them up and divide by 30. This gives you your daily minimum income. This is the number you need to survive and break even. I usually put $20-$40 extra here as padding.  At the end of the day, we just want to get the weekly income greater than the former weekly income and work about an eighth of the time. This way, if I work 5.5 hours a week, I’ve already made what I made before So I know I’ll be fine. If I were to work a full 40 hours a week, I wind up making about 8 times what I did before!

It is absolutely awesome to have the extra time for learning and making myself more valuable to clients. I recommend, if you are in a situation that allows it, to implement this system (which, by the way, you absolutely can.) This is what I’ve been doing for the past two years and I love it.

I read a great article from a few years ago about freelancers and contractors being on the rise. Guess what? That’s still on the rise. Nomadic jobs are going to be the new normal. Why is it happening? All sorts of reasons including the economy, culture shifts, discontentment and more. If you can carve yourself out a “generalized niche”, you can make yourself more valued as an external service provider versus a component of a larger system. I think more people are seeing the value in the nimbleness of freelancers and S-Corp types. I know I do.

Wait, this was supposed to be a non-business-centric entry, I apologize. I guess because it is the only thing I’ve been steeped in these last few months, it is all I can talk about at the moment. That’s not true. I could talk to you about my time at the Buddhist Priory that I went to a few weeks ago, I could show you photos of the lights I put up in the back yard for our dinner sessions, I could talk to you about my thoughts about the weird dreams I’ve been having lately. It just seems irrelevant to me at the moment–so this is what you get.

I hosted a small backyard BBQ the other day and a few friends showed up. If you ever came over my place when I was growing up or when I was in college, you may remember I wasn’t that great as a host. Some things never seem to change. I get all shakey when it’s my turn to please others. It was fun though. Good smiles where had and the BBQ set I received for listening to a vacuum cleaner sales guy talk to me for 35 minutes in my living room was used for the first time.

I also discovered the joy of Chat Roulette about 3 years late. That site is hilarious.

Alright taters, I’ve gotta go walk around my neighborhood.

-G

I recently got myself a hardware upgrade of a MacBook Pro to further increase my nimbleness. I gotta say it is a breath of fresh air as far as the performance bump and desk-free way of working. I’ve been sitting on my couch in the living room for the past couple weeks of work. Any time I need to do production stuff, I go in the back room, start up renders and then come back out. I think when I’m in the new place, it will work pretty much the same. Especially now, being able to remote into the production computers. Easy peasy.

While the space is unfinished, here are a couple shots of the space as it is now:

I had a great talk with a colleague the other day about perceived value of designers based upon where they work. Moving into a new space is definitely going to give me a little more “street cred” rather than pointing clients to my spare bedroom for conference calls. At least for now.  Take the example that I discussed with my advisor: Look at a company like Ziba. They charge upwards of $1,000,000/project sometimes and all the client is getting is a designer and a 3D modeller. There is an illusion of comfort that the client is feeling like dropping that kind of money at that kind of firm is giving them some sort of edge. In reality, (while some great work comes out of Ziba, no question), they are getting on par service offerings with the rest of the local industry. It is brand loyalty. Now it is true I wear Gap shirts religiously. But it brings me a comfort to feel that soft cotton wrapping my torso, but I know full well, there are cheaper and “as good” shirts out there. But I’ve made a conscious decision to wear them. Same goes for a client approaching a design “leader” within the community. There is a sense of comfort. Is it their new building? Is it legacy? Is it the comfort that the more money you throw at something the more value you place on it and justify it’s cost as a “truth” as “best”? Honestly, I don’t know.

However, I do know that you have to spend nickels to make quarters. This makes me feel like if I’m spending the money to be in a more centralized and “legitimate” space, I’ll produce better work.  Maybe it is reversed? Maybe because I’m attaching value to it, others will too. Either way, it is the right thing for me to do at this given moment. I recommend it for anyone that is starting a business to separate out a space away from “home” that reads mentally as “business”. If nothing more than mental separation, it does a body good. It creates more routine. I’ll be looking forward to walking to work in the morning again.