We used to work together, Hope and I. I’d be lamenting some failed proposal, while she’d be dreaming of the next one. When I hit a creative wall, she’d float by my desk and with the quietest suggestion unlock the gate to wide open spaces beyond. I’m ashamed to say that most of the time I didn’t notice her. She was never overbearing, preferring to lift my thoughts of sadness with the lightness of her own. I’d gaze at the latest lauded work of others and sigh with inadequacy. Then I’d catch her out of the corner of my eye smiling as she thumbed through my portfolio. Now there are but traces of her left scattered around the office. Projects we started but have not finished. Friends we knew and laughed with. Places we’d seen together. She was what set me apart from the others without her.

I wonder what happened to Hope? Why did she leave me?

I turned on the radio tonight while going to Wal-Mart and heard her voice again. She was with someone else…sharing the life she had once given me. I pulled into the nearest spot and listened. Yes, it was her. Coming through the voices, the stories and the music. First, she whispered to the doubter on the evening call in show, then she comforted the old country singer who had lost a child. As I turned down the dial, there she was again helping an elderly lady with her heavy groceries nearby.

Now I remember why she left. I had filled her place wi...... Keep reading

This question has been haunting me lately: Is there a time when design doesn’t work for a company, service or product? I don’t mean a design that doesn’t sit right with you (like the new at&t logo). I’m talking about Design with a capital “D”, which when applied correctly is actually unnecessary or even counterproductive. In a design saturated American culture, I wonder if design is building an Emerald City around some business or product wizard that will later prove to be a façade.

As a freelance graphic designer that most often helps individuals and small companies with brand strategy, interactive and print development, I’ve run into several situations where I questioned the value of design for a particular project. Will design work for them? To what extent will design help their business? So, I’ve been trying to derive some general principles that might clarify for both clients and myself when design is premature or even unnecessary for their company. I know there are exceptions to everything and that many of you will disagree with me, but here’s what I’ve observed:

Design might be unnecessary when the business:
1. Competes locally (not regionally or nationally) and has a single location. The classic example would be your local hole-in-the-wall pizza joint. You can probably name several of these in your area and wince when you think of their men...... Keep reading

Creativity. It’s so often relegated to the young. In almost every profession from music to art to design to business, our society idolizes youth as the fountain of creativity. Just pick up any issue of HOW, Print or ID, and you’ll quickly see what I mean. Rarely will the work of anyone over 40 be featured, and if they are, you can bet they’ve been featured before when they were in their 30′s or 20′s. Take a look across your agency or firm at the creatives there. Most of the hands-on design is done by those in their twenties or early thirties, while those 40 plus are confined to management positions. Why?

Our American design culture is enthralled by the shiny new thing. I guess I can’t really blame us, everything in America is new, relatively speaking. From architecture to music to theatre, our nation has only been around for 200 plus years. Hardly mature compared to the creative cultures of Italy, France or Germany—not to mention China or Egypt. And to be fair, design as a profession is a babe when in the company of art or music.

So, it’s somewhat understandable that American designers tend to gravitate toward the next Stefan Sagmeister or Joshua Davis or whomever. We identify these young guns, promote them, show them over and over in...... Keep reading

Well, it’s official. A federal judge declared Intelligent Design (ID) “religious” last month. The ID theory proposes that some forms of life are so complex that they must have an intelligent designer behind them. The judge stated that ID is not science, but a vaguely disguised form of religion, specifically Creationism. The judge concluded that “no serious alternative to God as the designer” has been provided by ID theorists, therefore it cannot be considered a scientific theory.

I don’t want to get into a discussion about religion or a debate evolution vs. Intelligent Design theory. What I really want to know is when is design not intelligent? Try to remove the question from religion or science and just answer it from the perspective of a designer. Isn’t all design inherently intelligent? Let’s look at a couple of definitions for the word design:

From Merriam-Webster:
Verb: To create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan. To conceive and plan out in the mind. To have as a purpose. To devise for a specific function or end. To indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name.

From Wikipedia:
Verb: The process of originating and developing a plan for a new object (machine, building, product, etc.) Designing normally requi...... Keep reading