Archive for January, 2009

One of the great things about being a blogger is the ability to bitch to a far greater audience than the typical person. All kidding aside, after reading the book Do You Matter? (See my impression of the book in my article “The Design Experience of the XBOX 360 and Nintendo Wii”) I have been acutely aware of what is going on around me. I have been closely following how each business I enter approaches the design of their experience, and how that affects customer behavior. Which is what leads me to the experience I personally received while visiting a local Staples store. I felt like sharing ths recent experience because of what a great case study it serves as. It just so happens that in this case we will learn from seeing what it is you absolutely should not do.

Today’s article is a subject I feel strongly about and part of the reason I started writing this blog. That’s why when Sarah Cowley approached me about sharing her first hand experience with teaching others about design, I was so excited to allow her to share it with all of you. For more great articles by Sara be sure to check out her new blog: Hello deer!

I Got Schooled by Teaching

Being the Principal and sole designer for Sara Cowley Design has been a wonderful experience, albeit challenging at times. I can say whole-heartedly that I love running my teeny-tiny, home-based agency, but it can get lonely. See, when I say teeny-tiny, I mean just little old me. Don’t get me wrong, the perks of my home office are many—such as working when I want, in very comfortable clothes, with my dog, Lucy, by my side. More professional benefits are saving overhead costs of rented space, tax deductions and the reduction in transportation expenses. Even with all of that, it’s no secret that working solo can be socially isolating; with no one sitting next to me to bounce ideas off of, it is a little creatively challenging at times. So, when the Creative Circus approached me to teach a typography class, I was beyond thrilled. Not only did I feel I had industry knowledge to share with upcoming designers, I’ve always had a big interest in teaching. I felt I could get something from my students, as well. And boy… did I ever.

Both articles in this month’s A List Apart (issue 276) asks us to help improve the state of web education, something I have been advocating for a long time now. Even as a student I quickly came to the conclusion that the education I was receiving was far from what I needed. This is ultimately what made me pursue more traditional design education and further my study of web design outside of the classroom. But what is the future of our industry if students are leaving school without a solid understanding of what is undoubtedly an ever-increasing segment of graphic design?

The last time I posted a collection of insanely creative design portfolios seems like forever, however the entire time I was silently collecting links from the designers/ firms that work has been inspiring me lately. On a side note, I am happy to announce that my own personal portfolio is a large chuck of the way done, and I will be sharing it with all of you hopefully in the next week. I have finally devised what I think is a system that will allow me to both easily update and art direct each entry, but I will cover more on that when I launch. Until then, please peruse these awesomely creative portfolios, and thank you to all the featured designers!

Over the holiday vacation I happened to see the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” While I thought that the movie was mediocre, it did raise an interesting point; does change only really happen when there is no hope for return? One of my core beliefs as a designer is to challenge clients and help them evolve as an organization, however if the message of this movie is true it may be pointless. If you have been following this blog for any amount of time now you know that I feel strongly about encouraging change, however even I acknowledge there is only so much you can do to help a client.

I have been toying around with the idea of this blog article for some time now, however it was not until I began reading the book Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company. Let me just start out by saying what an amazing book this is, Mr. Brunner, Emery & Hall have absolutely nailed it with this book and I am half tempted to mail a copy to every new client I get as a sort of orientation guide. But what the book really does a fantastic job of explaining, and the reason for this article, is how design must be adopted at every level of an organization in order for it to work for a product.

If you are like me, there is no doubt December was a busy month with the holiday season, and end of year business to attend to. My end of year vacation officially came to an end today, and what better way is there to get back into the swing of things than doing a roundup of my favorite website designs of December.