New Work Added to Portfolio →
I’ve added some Fusion ads to the portfolio today.
Intensity in Ten Cities →
Just launched the Intensity in Ten Cities 2010 Sampler page. Built using a combination of Campaign Monitor and the generosity of Shaun Inman, the site asks for the user’s email address, and in return the user is given a link to download 8 songs from bands featured on the Intensity in Ten Cities tour.
Logos become iconic over time, through their use and in combination with an overall perception of a brand. They shouldn’t be judged purely as form and out of context, as they are on design blogs, because it takes a period of time for a logo to establish itself in the marketplace, just as it takes a magazine a year or so to establish its personality.
(via Andy Rutledge)
New Hello Kelly Myspace →
Here’s to the web design community. May we slug it out every day, leaving those so set in their ways absolutely positioned in the past.
An Interview with Pat Dryburgh →
A few weeks ago, Ian Hines asked if I would like to do an interview with him. I wasn’t sure I would have anything interesting to say, but his questions are dang good, and for that reason alone you should definitely check this interview out!
New Monday by Noon Redesign →
I am honoured to be the first to link to the newly redesigned Monday by Noon by the great Jonathan Christopher. I had the unique privilege of seeing the design come to fruition through part of the process, and I have to say that Jonathan’s attention to detail is incredible.
Congrats on an amazing redesign, Jonathan!
This might be thin-slicing things, or getting quabbly about definitions of words, but I don’t think we’re problem-solvers. I think problem solving typically deals with repairs. A surgeon is a problem-solver. Sometimes, we’re repairing, but other times we’re making something completely new. So we’re not always problem-solvers. I think, more often than not, we’re value-adders as opposed to problem-solvers.
Frank Chimero is a very smart man; smarter than myself, for sure. However, I don’t think he quite gets this answer to a reader right. Frank’s opinion is basically that, while designers can be problem solvers, their primarily value-adders. He does not believe that every design should be a solution to a problem.
While I agree that not every design is a repair job, I have to disagree that design isn’t about problem solving first and foremost. The problem may not be “make a better design” or “fix our website.” The problem may be “our customers think our company is about this, when actually we’re about that.” Or, “we need to increase sales by 20%. Can a website do that for us?”
In my personal opinion, if your design isn’t solving a problem, then it’s just making the problem look prettier.
Would you say to someone, “Wow, you must hate dogs. You only have one. You enjoy his company and playing with him, but seriously, only one? What do you have against dogs?”.
No, you wouldn’t say that. Because it’s a stupid thing to say.
The shallow assumption of Apple’s buttons is they hate buttons, the deeper conclusion is they love the shit out of a few important buttons. I bet they obsess over the placement, color, label, push-back and feel of every single button on every Apple device.
I never, ever talk about educating the client. I hate that phrase; I just hate it. I’ve never met a client that I thought needed educating, or that I thought I was capable of educating.I always thought that every time there was a flawed client relationship it was because I was insufficiently educated about what it was that client was about.
Michael Bierut (via Cameron Moll)
