-
What I’m Reading
What are you reading these days? Last year I focused on doing more long reading, and this year has been no different. I’m convinced that despite the growing ways to consume information and the sheer volume of “content” out there, book-reading is still an important practice. In his brilliant post Why can’t we read anymore,…
-
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…
-
Riff on This
Where do the best ideas come from, and what are the conditions where the best ideas thrive? In Group Genius, Keith Sawyer breaks down the myth of the lone genius and shows us how environments of collaboration are more conducive to idea-generation. He points to the worlds of jazz and improvisation as examples of how…
-
Noisemakers
Your inbox is already overflowing. You’re drowning in all the videos, feeds, articles demanding your immediate attention, fighting for your limited bandwidth. What the heck do you think you’re doing, adding to the noise? Everyone’s distracted, everyone’s overwhelmed. Why add another sound to the clamour? If you aspire to create some piece of art that…
-
The Tedium of Blossoming
As I approach my 31st birthday, one thing is becoming quite clear: I will never hit Fast Company’s “Top 30 Under 30” list. It’s also too late to become a 20-year-old millionaire. We admire the child prodigy, the early bloomer. Every young musician aspires to be the next Hansen (when they were young, well, maybe…
-
If you must draw lines
If you must draw lines – Between good and bad, Black and white, In and out Or wrong and right – Be sure to draw with pencil.
-
Explore the Edges
We have a great backyard, with a huge lawn, deck, and a playground for the kids. But even with all that space to run around and play, where do you think we consistently find our kids playing? That’s right, on the edges. In amongst the trees at the back of our yard, where the little…
-
Who are you designing for?
Despite our best attempts to be client or user-focused, often the answer is simply, “me”. Sure, we want the client to be happy (though they don’t know much about good design), and the users to have a good time (though most are stuck in Internet Explorer X), but first and foremost, we’re designing for ourselves.…
-
The Choice to Go Social
If you’re engaged in the world of social media, you’d probably be surprised how many brick-and-mortar businesses remain hesitant to join the social media hype. Whether they think it’s just a fad, fear bad reviews online, or don’t have time to invest in a growing list of social channels, many businesses still choose not to…
-
World Without Sidelines
“Another thing we can see in less industrialized parts of the world… is that something like making music, dancing, and singing together, as a participatory community that’s regular and ongoing is something that’s free, available, and part of everyday life. That’s a wealth and joy. It’s really interesting to realize that it’s been with industrialization…
