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Your Very First Idea
Your first idea often isn’t the best idea, but it’s easy to get attached. Even if the constraints change, it’s often difficult to scrap that first beloved idea in favour of a new or better one. Michael Bierut, a legendary New York-based graphic designer, shares an experience that’s familiar to many of us. End Tables…
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Everyday Art
“As photographers we always want to travel and go to exotic places. I want to do that, too, but sometimes there is so much magic right in front of you.” – Andre Wagner It’s common to think that creativity happens somewhere else, doing something else. Particularly on those days we stuck in our routine, when…
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DND for Deep Work
A common problem for creatives (and most of us, really), is making time for focused, creative work. We all crave that couple hours to dive into a project without being distracted, but this kind of focus is hard to come by. Cal Newport calls this “deep work” and “a superpower in our current economy”. Because…
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Looking for Trouble
Most of us have enough trouble (thank you very much), we don’t go out looking for it. What we’re looking for is a trouble-free existence, free from responsibility and things breaking down, where the drinks are cold and the water’s just right. But is that really what would make you happy? I had this realization…
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Your Life’s Work
David wrote a great post about what’s important in life. But what affected me is the PS at the end of the post: “My life’s work is Basecamp.” Such a profound statement. In recent years Basecamp (formerly 37 Signals) has focused their efforts on their collaboration software, so much so that they changed their company’s…
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Small Things
Behind every graphic you see, there’s a graphic designer. It’s easy for designers to point to their work when it gets projected in Time Square, but this isn’t the reality for the daily work of most designers. Most designers sweat over dots and pixels that are seen by only a handful of people for a…
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Work Hard, Be Grateful: The DDC Road Show
On Friday night I got to go to the Draplin Design Co Road Show, as Aaron Draplin graced the city of Winnipeg with his presence. Best known for Field Notes and a boat-load of killer logo designs (particularly of the thick-lined variety), the Portland local shared a ton of great stories and insights about making…
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Your Rhythm and Rhyme
Here’s a story that resonates with me, can you relate as well? The Frogs by Kahlil Gibran Upon a summer day a frog said to his mate, “I fear those people living in that house on the shore are disturbed by our night-songs.” And his mate answered and said, “Well, do they not annoy our…
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Shedding Skin
The snake is the ancient sacred symbol for transformation. In order to grow, it must shed its skin. This process is painful, dangerous, and necessary for growth. The snake’s insides are literally outgrowing its outsides, and it must remove its restrictive, outermost layer. The snake rubs and scratches, feeling that something’s not quite right. During…
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The Silence in its Wake
“The efficacious artwork leaves silence in its wake.” – Sonya Sontag Several years ago I was walking through New Orleans’ crowded Jackson Square. It was just days before Mardi Gras and the French Quarter was filled with overwhelming activity. The square itself was claimed by an array fortune tellers, buskers, and several loud evangelists with…