In a regular listener type of way. I have my group of Podcasts I’ve now come to rely on for news, thinking, and joy. Late to the game, but whatever. Here’s my current list of favorites:
Haven’t got into Lovett or Leave It yet. Maybe sometime soon. And full disclosure. I did listen to and was way into Serial Series 1.
I didn’t think Barack Obama would be elected president because I thought America, at that time, was too racist. I didn’t think Donald Trump would be elected president because I thought America, at that time, wasn’t down with a bigot, misogynist, and liar for the highest office in the land. I also didn’t think I’d ever stop buying Compact Discs.
I’m getting way into Chuck Klosterman. Currently reading But What If We’re Wrong? And subsequently thinking about all the stuff I’ve been wrong about in my life. From political predictions to musical delivery mechanisms. Maybe I’ll post more about such things. Or not. Hard to say, as I’m not really into make predictions at this time.
These and other topics are things I’m thinking I should write about. But I’m just not very much in a writing mood. So instead, they exist as pithy little 1-liners. At least for now.
We are living fully immersed in “Look Away” politics. Outrageous lies, deception, and alternative false views of reality. All done to distract us. To keep us confused. To make sure we do not see what is really happening. Power to the People? Na, to them it’s power for the wealthy only. We the people must fight back, must not be distracted, must not look away.
Fear of sharing power leads to a halting of progress. If I allow someone else to gain, then I don’t lose. Not at all. There is enough to go around, trust me. Working to improve your community comes with sharing your power where it can actually be utilized. It starts with you, and then it connects with others. Systemic problems have all been designed, and they can be redesigned to be more equitable. And we can design what the redesign is, together.
What makes a good workshop experience? I’ve participated in some solid workshops. I’ve helped facilitate ones as well. Thinking about how to appropriately structure a workshop is an interesting design problem. As of now, I feel like I can get behind the following items as positive aspects of a workshop:
I haven’t formally been trained in facilitation. I’ve dabbled. But it is something I’m becoming more interested in and see as part of a secondary set of skills I would like to continue to hone. To me, it fits nicely into the tools needed to be a graphic designer today. I would say more so than learning to code. To make ideas happen, from concept through to execution, knowing you’ll most likely need collaborators along the way, anything you can do to enhance your skills as a communicator of ideas is a good thing.
Because you don’t. A topic in a couple places of Michael Bierut’s presentation last week was a challenge to the notion that designers always know best. They know the best type, the best visual, and the best overall solution to the problem. This can be the case, but not always. Michael Bierut has experienced this. I’ve experienced this. Many times. The client or another collaborator brings the solution. It’s not uncommon. And you, the designer, need to be listening enough to recognize and grab hold as needed.
