Build a better design process

The latest article on Flywheel’s design publication The Layout on honing how what I do gets done.

Ever been in a situation where someone higher up decides that everyone is going to follow some new process because that’s what so and so is doing and it’s supposed to be awesome? No one asks what’s working in the current process or why certain parts may be underperforming. This type of change is usually followed by scrambling, confusion, and overthinking to the point of paralysis. Instead, I started asking myself as well as other designers I work with: “How do you like to work?” That’s the start to building a process that works.

Read on Flywheel »

The Top 10 Albums of 2014

Here they are. The most beautiful, most interesting albums that have truly touched my soul and gotten me through a year of great joy, great sadness and much learning. In no particular order:

Notable mentions for the best songs not on this list include “Kingdom” by Common, “Black Out Days” by Phantogram and “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)” by Run The Jewels. 

The Middle, Part 1

Of all the projects happening at any given time, it’s important to have some in the beginning stages, some in the end stages, and not too many in the middle. And when I say “the middle,” I mean where all the shit goes down. Where the most brainpower is needed. Where momentum meets exhaustion. Where ideas collide with blank screens and where the magic is missed, merely alluded to or firmly grabbed ahold of. It’s the zone between what is and what could be. Between simply talking about something amazing and actually delivering something amazing. If you’re going to be really good at any one of stages of a project, it’s gotta be the middle one. 

Part 2 »

Don’t Get Fooled

The last month of Q4 is always a good time to assess the year. To take note of successes and failures. And if applicable, celebrate important milestones and reflect on formative regrets. One milestone this year would be Willie Nelson rocking Neligh, Nebraska in the T-shirt I designed. Stoked on that for sure. One regret would be the realization that I’d been had. Being fooled is no fun, but this particular time it turned out to be an incredibly motivating experience. It led to refocused energy and new priorities where, in the end, I was loads happier and way more fulfilled with the work I was doing. There’s certainly still regret looking back, as I never like wasted efforts. But now I do have more healthy skepticism when it comes to what people/things say they do. Which helps keep ideas grounded in reality and usually means more successes for everyone involved. 

#GivingTuesday

On this global day dedicated to giving back, several of the wonderful organizations I work with are asking for support. The Union for Contemporary Art unites artists and the community to inspire positive social change. Bold Nebraska has a store stocked full of great stuff with all sales going to stop the Transcanada Pipeline. Nebraska Appleseed continues to advance the fight for justice and opportunity for all. And today Omaha Gives! was announced by the Omaha Community Foundation so mark your calendars for May 20th. These four groups do amazing things. If you’re celebrating generosity on this #GivingTuesday, please consider supporting them.

Is it always right up to it?

Do we have to always come right down to the wire? Must it always be pushed to the bitter end? Yes, of course, and probably. Why does it have to be this way? Just because. You ever have those times when you finished early and you were able to twiddle your thumbs? Sure you did. And what happened? Mediocrity, that’s what. We push on to the bitter end because we want things to go as far as they can in the constraints we have. We don’t want to be workaholics, but when we’re working, we’re really working. It’s on, as they say. And we squeeze every ounce of creativity out of any idea until we arrive at the wire and we can call it good just in time. Then we’re on to the next.

Gratitude

I got the best email the other day. It was from a client, partner, friend. She was absolutely ecstatic about a print piece we did together that had just returned from the printer. She was so grateful for all the work that went into it, and in turn, I was so grateful to be able to do the project. With some clients, mostly the smaller ones, who painstakingly work within small budgets and are extra mindful of time, cost and outcomes, there’s a level of mutual gratitude that is really something to marvel at. When working with someone where what he or she does is a life passion and has all of themselves poured into it, it’s not something I take lightly. Sleep can be lost, project obsession can take over and schedules can get a little chaotic, especially as we get down to the wire. But the outcomes can be magical and is why being a designer can be a wonderful thing.