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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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Invisible
Jared Spool once told us, “Good design, when it’s done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly that we notice it.” Just like the sound guy goes unnoticed till a mic doesn’t work or feedback screams out of the speakers, a good designer’s work goes unnoticed (except by other designers), precisely because she’s…
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Start Small
The internet is all about connection, and if your website is successful it will do just that. Your site’s main objective is to connect with your customers, and for them to connect with you. If you’re just getting started in creating a web presence, think of your website as a business card. Unless you’re selling…
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Nine Design Lessons From Quartz’ New App
Quartz released their iPhone news app this week! Because of recent design projects, I’ve tried to become a student of other app designs, particularly news apps. This one struck for its unique take on news. Here are some of the takeaways from Quartz’ take on news on the mini screen. Start a conversation. The app…
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“Mobile first” is more than screen size
Mobile devices change everything about how your users interact with your website. When I was first introduced to “mobile first” as a web design principle, I thought it meant sketching designs for a small, narrow screen. I was proud when I had internalized the philosophy enough to create my first mockup file in “iPhone 6”…
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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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Wait, Back Up
One common mistake we make as communicators is forgetting our audience’s context. As we dive full steam into our idea, our audience is still back at the station, trying to figure out which way our train’s going. While you might have been fully immersed in your idea for days (or years), your audience might be…
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The Noise Inside
“Nowadays most men lead lives of noisy desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau Many of us would admit to living noisy lives. Often we’d say that our environment, or our culture are to blame. We look at always-on technology, our crazy schedules, our boisterous kids, but these are often red herrings, distracting us from where the…
