At the end of last year I was talking with a good friend about the intention of this blog and my year of words. The core idea I landed on was that I wanted to paint an honest picture of my experiences with independent design. Both the great and the not-so-great, the really exhilarating and the pains in the asses. All about the duality of this creative thing people get paid to do for a living. Amidst the failed ideas, budget battles, incoming 1099s, and workflow frustrations are the unexpected solutions, clients who brighten your day, apps that make life easier, and the rush of sitting down to make something beautiful. Not too rosy, not too bleak, right in the middle. In no way do I want people to think all is gold and in no way do I want to come off as complaining about stuff. I just want to tell you what I know from first hand experience. Straight up. All in the hopes of learning from successes and failures.
Fins Up
Oddly enough, I watched the Super Bowl this year. And while I’m far more likely to watch Frontline’s League of Denial than a football game of any kind, I did enjoy it. Mostly for one simple reason: Twitter. Twitter makes everything a lot of people tune in to way more fun. Be it a Presidential debate, elections of any kind, or the World-Series. While watching the game, the things I was most compelled to Tweet about were those human-sized Katy Perry sharks. They were awesome and I want one. I think a lot of people do. So if you want to do something nice for someone else, I’d suggest anonymously sending them one human-sized shark suit. Just plop one in a cardboard box and ship away. Imagine the joy the person on the receiving end will have when they open up that bland box and find pure awesomeness inside waiting for them.
Introducing ROTATOR
This is an idea that has been worked on here and there for about a year and half. In practice, there have been two volumes and the core of what ROTATOR could be aligns well with our new coworking space. So now seems a fairly appropriate time to send it out into the world as a real life thing in some sort of official capacity. The matter-of-fact, slightly punk rock version has been published on Medium with a dedicated website coming your way in the next couple months. Being a designer in these modern times, I see it as a natural evolution of a career that ultimately just wants to make interesting things with interesting people.
New Coworking Hours
For The Foreseeable Future We Will Be Closed Every Friday From 3:30 to 5:00 PM CST To Collaborate On A New Project Before We Head Into The Weekend. Thank You For Your Understanding.
Meet the Artist, See the Dog
How does a great design communicate effectively to people? Great design moves people. In some way it touches a chord, compels them to action or causes a shift. It’s illuminating, thought-provoking and meaningful. The best examples of this inspire people and bring their own individual understanding to a new place that allows for an altering or solidifying of current perspectives.
From a recent interview by the Creative Action Network on design, art, posters, and process. Read the full article »
In Person
In the day-to-day, the foundational method of communication is email. From there, Slack for easy workflow messaging back and forth, Hangouts (or Skype) for video calls, and a host of design tools for iterating and feedback. And there’s the almighty phone to talk it all through. These are all so key. But when appropriately timed, the in-person meeting does reign supreme. (When poorly timed, the only thing being in person is good for is a high five.) Being present, in human form, free from screens, echoes, or freeze ups, is where everyone realizes we’re all just people trying to create something together. We feel the energy, understand the stakes, and can get into each other’s rhythm. When this happens, the emails, hangouts, and phone calls hum along at a steadier clip. It can be easy to keep it all digital because it seems more efficient. But we must never forget, when the need arises, when harmony is the goal, the in-person approach is the best way to go.
Coworking
To this point, the office for JKDC has been in my home. This week, however, that is no longer the case. I’m now in a flashy new coworking space with the fabulous Jake Welchert of Obama for America and Coolhouse Labs fame. It’s in Dundee, right next to the Dell. Amsterdam’s is just around the corner. (BOOM!) Jake has put together a truly inspirational space that I am lucky, and so excited, to be part of. We’ll be making it a home for design, development, and collaboration in midtown Omaha. Good things are coming, because you know we’ll be branding the shit outta this thing. They’ll be shared here. If you want to stop by, hit me up. In the meantime, there’ll be plenty of Twitter banter if you’re interested. Godspeed.
