Not too long ago a designer stumbled upon BLANK and commented that he wanted “to see what we Christians were up to.” That comment has intrigued me ever since. What did he think we were up to? What should we be up to that is different than a designer who is not a Christian? Interestingly, the Apostle Paul ran into a similar situation almost 2000 years ago.

In the biblical book of Galatians, Paul, whom God sent to the non-Jews with the message of Jesus, met with the “old timers” (Peter, James and John) to explain to them the message he was preaching. While they were meeting together some folks who were not Christians “slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are.” Weird. Stunning. You mean there was something about these Christians that made them so free that others would come check them out undercover? How free are we as Christians in design?

Am I free enough to pursue projects that don’t pay well (or maybe at all), but feel are important to pursue? Am I free enough to spend time encouraging other designers when I’m short on time? Am I free enough to risk looking foolish with my client or my peers? Is there anything that someone would take the time to sneak in and look at to determine how free I really am as a designer? I fear not.

This is my hope for Christians in design fields: we would live in the freedom for which we are designed. And then that we’d design with the...... Keep reading

For this addition of Well Said, we’ve dug up some particularly good articles about the heart and soul of design. First up are two very important and related articles exploring the relationship between content and design. Start with Andrew Boardman’s article, “Content Stripped Bare: The Death of Design and the Reign of Content,” where he asserts that “design—whether commercial, industrial, fine art, typographic, or otherwise—is a secondary enterprise with digital content stripped bare.” Then hop over to Mezzoblue where David Shea ponders the role of design in a content-as-commodity driven world.

For some hearty reading, try Dyske Suematsu’s essay, “Does Graphic Design Really Make a Difference?” As Dyske states, “Graphic design is a noble occupation with a real purpose, but for that purpose to be realized, we need to see graphic design for what it actually is, and have certain humility about it. Graphic design is a supporting role, not a leading role.”

Lastly, don’t miss Andy Rutledge’s romp on “Keep reading

Last week my friend, who works in the corporate world, looked gloomy. He was dreading his periodic evaluation from his boss. I saw him again today, and he looked like a new man. His boss had given him a better than expected review. After my own exodus from the corporate world three years ago, I’m struck by how strange this whole feedback game is. It seems so foreign to me now, and so unnatural. I suspect that not only are our identities somehow entangled in this artificial web of perceptions, but our ability to design from the heart as well.

Here’s another example. This summer I was talking to a designer about contributing her thoughts and ideas to BLANK. Her work is very, very good, and I highly respect her perspective and experience in the field. She has ideas about design that can help us discover how design touches the heart. Yet, she was hesitant to share her thoughts under her own name in a public forum lest her former professors at a prestigious design school and her current professional peers read them. Why, I wonder? Has our identity become so entrenched in what others/clients think about us that we are unable to pursue what’s in our hearts to do? Does our pedigree (e.g. graduating from a prestigious school; how many design awards we’ve won, how many big name firms we’ve worked for or million dollar ad campaigns directed) hinder us from venturing into new creative areas for fear of tarnishing our reputation?...... Keep reading