In 1867 something very important happened, the results of which are probably sitting right in front of you. Since the invention of paper, people have been trying to find ways to keep them together…ribbons, straight pins (ouch!), spit, vines, gum and anything else they could scrounge up. Then an American inventor named Samuel B. Fay invented the paperclip. Not only was his design simple and ingenious, the humble paperclip is one of the few technological designs that have remained virtually unchanged over the last 100 plus years. The most common variation on the Fay design that we still see today is the Gem clip (hence the name). Quite a design accomplishment in this day and age when a company logo barely lasts more than 20 years before some marketing executive decides to “rebrand”.

Yet, what’s most intriguing to me is how the ubiquitous paperclip became a symbol of something far more important than its original design. During World War II, Norwegians wore paperclips to protest the Nazi invasion and demonstrate their sympathy for the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and others persecuted by the Nazis. After World War II the Office of Strategic Services (a forerunner to the CIA) even ran a covert operation code named “Paperclip” to bring German Nazi rocket scient...... Keep reading

It’s been almost a year since we scooped the designer behind the poop. Ever since, I’ve been hunting for ways to nurture creativity in my children, but hadn’t really found much. Then I stumbled upon Dave Werner’s now famous portfolio which I’ve reviewed here. What intrigued me the most were the things that fueled his creative growth growing up. So rather than guess what those things might be, I asked him. Here’s a list of things Dave did or was free to do in his childhood that exercised his creative muscles (Thanks for sharing Dave):

- Exploring and drawing maps of the woods near our neighborhood, including secret bases and paths
- Drawing huge murals on butcher paper of imaginary worlds and characters
- Making fictional television guides with shows like “Lego” and “Dinnertime”…if we were ever bored, we would just look at what time it was and check out what the different imaginary channels were playing.
- Writing journals and stories in spiral notebooks
- Creat...... Keep reading

My old advertising boss used to tell our customers, “You don’t want to watch us make the sausage.” He grew up in Mississippi, and knew what went into those tasty treats you find on your breakfast plate. If you actually saw the pieces and parts that make sausage, there’s a good chance you’d never eat it. He applied this sausage thinking to the creative process and clients. He reasoned most clients don’t want to see all the wadded up ideas and missteps in the design process. And he’s mostly right.

Yet, I’m coming to the conclusion that no one wins when clients can’t see into the design process. Client’s are generally ignorant about the time, energy and discipline necessary to produce effective creative on schedule and within budget. Showing the end concept without involving them along the way further contributes to their ignorance. Why? They have no sense of appreciation for your creative process. Having “grown up” on the client side of things, I’ll never forget the first time the contracted design team ...... 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

When a neighbor fawns over their corner punches for a “Creative Memories” album or your buddy shows you his DIY designed menu, do you cringe? Or maybe give a silent groan? What about the uncle who’s just launched a new family website built completely in Frontpage? If you’re honest with yourself as a professional designer, you’ve probably experienced tremors of revulsion toward everyday displays of creativity. I’m guilty too. Often overlooked and frequently disdained by professionals, ordinary people practice extraordinary creativity everyday. Here are three insights I’ve gained recently by observing people whose creativity is not part of their professional identity (a.k.a. “non-designers”):

[1] You don’t have to be perfect all the time. I have two very different sons of 8 and 10 years old. The 10 year old, Javan, is definitely the artist/designer/inventor type who has to have everything perfect before it can be seen in public. My 8 year old, Noah, is good with people, tries his best with creativity but is willing to live with good enough. When you look at Javan’s work table, it’s strewn with projects that are not complete and probably never will be. When you look at Noah’s table, it’s filled with completed projects that are good enough but not perfect. While there is a time for perfection, I think many worthy creative ideas never become reality because of t...... Keep reading

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