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History proves one person can make a huge difference -- in other words, if the world isn't going like I want it to, it's my fault as much as anyone else's.
To me, that truth applies to graphic design as well as it does to any other aspect of human endeavor. In many cases we influence the tenor and quality of the messages our clients communicate. I think of it as both a significant opportunity and a daunting responsibility.
Be well, Chuck
Check out my Adobe InDesign Ideabook: 315 template files in 19 different categories Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...
The future of interaction design by someone worth listening toThere are plenty of theories about where interaction design is headed - the trick is to separate hyperbole from true vision. Why should you care? Because, as designer and engineer Bret Victor puts it, we shouldn't, "...just extrapolate yesterday's technology and then cram people into it.""Technology doesn't just happen." Victor says, "It doesn't emerge spontaneously, like mold on cheese. Revolutionary technology comes out of long research, and research is performed and funded by inspired people."He knows what he's talking about. Among his many accomplishments Victor, "...designed the initial user interface concepts for iPad, iPod Nano, and half a dozen experimental hardware platforms. Initiated, designed, and prototyped over seventy concept projects, including radically reinvented interfaces for video editing, animation, drawing, learning, collaboration, mail, photos, and much more. Invented features for Mac OS X Lion. Worked with designers and engineers from all parts of Apple. (And) Routinely presented to top-level management."If you're anything like me you'll find his insights and predictions fascinating. Thanks to my friend Monique Larsen for pointing us to it.A brief rant on the future of interaction design...Here > http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/Victor's information graphics bio...Here > http://worrydream.com/#!/BioThinking about user interfaces in very different ways...Here > http://vimeo.com/23839605/Magic Ink: a revolutionary approach to UI...Here > http://worrydream.com/MagicInk/Victor's website: WorryDream.com...Here > http://worrydream.com/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/graphics_tech/future_of_interaction_design.html
Be a design sponge
Typography in other languages from other culturesI typically get a raised eyebrow when I tell people I took Russian in high school. Truth be told, if I am ever in Russia and I meet a girl name Marsha, and I need a pencil, I'm set. Other than that, I couldn't tell you a thing about it. (The sole thing I remember is, "Marsha, do you have a pencil?" or "Марша, у вас есть карандаш?")So I'll share this site with you with the proviso that I'm not quite sure what we're looking at. By that I mean, I could show you snippets of type I've seen around the United States, but what I show you would be colored by what I like, or that I think is most interesting. So, I don't know if we're seeing a good representation of Russian type, or just one person's opinion.In any case, it's fascinating stuff. I particularly like to look at type in a language I don't understand. It allows us to see the styles without being distracted by the content.Do you know of another design or typography site that represents another non-english culture particularly well?Example 1...Here > http://greentype.tumblr.com/post/8945265144/railway-museumExample 2...Here > http://greentype.tumblr.com/post/7837830995/svetochmExample 3...Here > http://greentype.tumblr.com/post/2336924103/old-school-neon-advertising-sochiThe Green Type Blog...Here > http://greentype.tumblr.com/Green Type type foundry based in St. Petersburg, Russia...Here > http://green-type.com/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/typography/typography_in_other_languages.html
From Chuck's Twitter and Facebook pages...Here > http://twitter.com/ideabookHere > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfb Flash versus HTML 5: HTML 5 wins... literally... Adobe shifts its focus...Here > http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/10/oukin-uk-adobe-apple-idUKTRE7A84OA20111110?type=companyNewsGoogle is moving its new look and feel to Gmail. You can wait for the automatic update or opt-in now...Here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vfW5e6jVsMsInteresting logo... we're seeing lots more multi-version logos these days... Here > http://www.behance.net/gallery/FLEX-creative/764505Sometimes lack of leadership is just an excuse minions use to shirk responsibility.Nice spots by the United States Postal Service... connect and protect with mail... About time they point out that there's still lots of value there...Here > https://www.usps.com/learn-more-video.htmThanks to my friend Diane Cook-Tench for pointing us to this great new VW spot... ( More from Diane here... http://cooktench.posterous.com/ )Here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPPTXnt_io8Top-of-the-stack: Design By Nature by Maggie MacnabHere > http://www.facebook.com/notes/ideabookfb/top-of-the-stack-design-by-nature-by-maggie-macnab/283416495026129
Join in a project to create a visual history of the worldOn July 11, 2011 a website called Historypin was launched by a non-profit organization known as We Are What We Do.As they describe it, "Historypin is a way for millions of people to come together, from across different generations, cultures and places, to share small glimpses of the past and to build up the huge story of human history.""Everyone has history to share:," they say, "whether its sitting in yellowed albums in the attic, collected in piles of crackly tapes, conserved in the 1000s of archives all over the world or passed down in memories and old stories. Each of these pieces of history finds a home on Historypin, where everyone has the chance to see it, add to it, learn from it, debate it and use it to build up a more complete understanding of the world."Thanks to Jim Green for pointing us to Historypin.An overview of the project...Here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT3eKdto4w&feature=player_embedded#!The map...Here > http://www.historypin.com/photos/#/geo:51.40192,-0.0146/zoom:7/date_from:1840-01-01/date_to:2001-12-31/"Tour" content...Here > http://www.historypin.com/tours/The Historypin blog and one of the first posts...Here > http://blog.historypin.com/2011/07/12/global-launch-of-historypin/The Historypin home page...Here > http://www.historypin.com/The We Are What We Do website...Here > http://wearewhatwedo.org/about/the-incidental-effect/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/photography/historypin.html
Should graphic designers and other creatives do spec work?In the recent past I was approached by a web startup to help with the design of a product user interface. To make a long story short, they wanted me to compete with several other designers to produce a design and, if they liked mine best, I'd get the job. All they needed to see, they explained, was one page.Just one design of the grid size and column widths...One definition of the primary functions - what needs to be said and show...One definition of the terminology - how to say it and show it...One set of innovations - elements that distinguish their UI from others...One treatment for the logo and tag line...One design of the menu and button styles...One design of the illustration and photography styles...One wet of choices for the aesthetics such as typefaces and colors...One page that I figured, properly researched and designed, would take a minimum of 30 hours to produce.My point is this approach is bad business for everyone involved. Among the risks of spec work, the AIGA writes, "Clients risk compromised quality. Little time, energy and thought can go into speculative work, which precludes the most important element of most design projects - the research, thoughtful consideration of alternatives, and development and testing of prototype designs."Needless to say I declined the offer (too bad, it looked like an interesting project). But all is not lost, it leads me to today's post - the debate about whether or not you and I should do spec work. Yes, I understand many of us pitch accounts but this is different. This is comparable to producing a finished TV spot to get a job doing a TV spot.Here's the anti-spec argument...Here > http://www.no-spec.com/faq/And the AIGA's position on it...Here > http://www.aiga.org/position-spec-work/And a rather agnostic, but useful view from a talented photographer and designer, Nick Campbell (warning: the video contains some strong language)...Here > http://vimeo.com/12537300Nick's website...Here > http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2010/06/why-the-no-spec-movement-isnt-working-and-way-thats-so-awesome/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/learning/should_graphic_designers_and_o.html
About this newsletter
I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at [email protected] -- Chuck
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