The winter solstice kicked off a period of little work and lots of downtime. That downtime has been filled with reconnecting with friends in from out of town, family gatherings, and time with my wife where we could just slow down a little. Here in Nebraska, with dark nights of frigid cold, the feelings of home and belonging make for a reflective time that looks forward to a new year. The upcoming schedule for 2015 is already packed with plenty to get done—design, activism, and collaboration all made in the Neb. Nebraska, this place in the middle of everything, with all of its Midwestern qualities, where small is beautiful and roots grow deep, will ring in the new year with much fanfare and high spirits. And come January 5th, we’ll be ready to roll up our sleeves and get back to work.
Good People
In the mad dash to wrap up 2014, all the to-dos can make a fella just a little grumpy. As projects conclude and the beginning of 2015 comes more into focus, the downtime around the corner will definitely be enjoyed. Going offline for a good stretch, one thing about this year I want to emphasize is the people. Wonderful, amazing, and inspirational people. Trusted client partners and collaborators who can really bring it are the network who help make JKDC possible. I am extremely impressed by the people I get to work with every day. So creative, so smart, so thoughtful. They make me want to do my absolute best on whatever thing I happen to be working on with them. They have made this year particularly great. With that, my advice for the new year to anyone reading: surround yourself with great people and be thankful.
Debris
Meet in the midway, trip over the mess. When the efficiency machine in us takes over, the hum at which creation happens can be quite mechanical. Like a thresher, but made in the tech age. It processes out the nonsense, hones in on the acceptable, pushes some limits, and ultimately resolves itself into deliverables in monetary terms. When the efficiency machine takes over, what’s left can sometimes be almost zero. What happens when the efficiency machine is doused with kerosene and set on fire in the front yard? After the burn, there’d be debris. No harvest, but debris.
The Middle, Part 2
Start off with poor direction or frantically crunch a ton of work into the final stages of a crazy deadline, as long as the middle creates something magically, all is well. We know the finest, most well-intentioned talk at the beginning of a project is just that, talk. And all the polishing that happens at the end can only do so much if what you have to work with isn’t that good. If the middle gets shirked, the finished product always falls short. The middle must be the point of emphasis. Put more of the blood, sweat and tears into that stage of discomfort and heartache, and when the end is reached, you’ll be able to confidently proclaim you’ve arrived at something worth telling others about.
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.
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:
The War on Drugs, Lost In The Dream
Future Islands, Singles
Jungle, Jungle
TV on the Radio, Seeds
The Rural Alberta Advantage, Mended with Gold
Death From Above 1979, The Physical World
Conor Oberst, Upside Down Mountain
Lykke Li, I Never Learn
Tycho, Awake
Strand of Oaks, Heal
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.
