Lost in the turbulent sea that is this crazy life, I'm counting myself insanely lucky to be surrounded by the bonds of such strong friendships. Cosmic level friendships. Some decades old, others just beginning. From just down the street to the edges of beautiful America. Bonds formed by the roots of place and the desire to make something new and exciting. By comedy, tragedy, and a forever swirling contemplation to try to make sense of all of this everything. How do we live, who do we love, what do we make, and why do we do any of it. Whatever it is, I think we've settled into a rhythm of quiet little voices followed by loud thunderous shouts from rooftops. Trial and error, trial and create. Then we get together for the raising of a glass. To our lives, to our hopes, to the what next, to who we live for. Cheers!
Off to Schuyler
How do we inform the public about our community happenings and promote Schulyer as a great place to live, work, and raise families?
This afternoon I’m heading up to Schuyler, Nebraska with my wife Katie for a situation assessment to begin to answer that question. We’re kicking off a multi-session visioning facilitation for a group of community leaders brought together by a very rambunctious economic development coordinator who also happens to be my wife’s father. I’m really excited because A) I’m teaming up with Katie and B) as a former smalltown lad, I really want to find the answer.
The goal is to create a strategic plan for a media network for the community. I’m not sure how we’ll get there, but I’m looking forward to listening, learning, and seeing what we can all come up with together. I’ll post updates here over the next few weeks. Successes, failures, and the funniest post-its.
Design + Social Justice: Exhibition
The graphic design program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Art and Art History is hosting a Design + Social Justice Symposium to be held September 15–16, 2015. It will examine the role of graphic design as a tool for organizing and communicating for social change. The featured guest speaker and visiting artist will be Emory Douglas, former Minster of Culture and graphic artist of the Black Panther Party. His powerful work will be exhibited at the Sheldon Museum of Art from September through early January.
Exhibitions will also take place in Love Library from August 16th through October 30th. Black Panther Party historian and archivist Billy X Jennings will present an exhibition of radical underground newspapers from the 1960s and 70s. Suzun Lucia Lamaina will exhibit a collection of contemporary portraits and stories of former members of the Black Panther Party. My work will also be on display. Entitled Cause Poster, it’s a collection of graphic design activism for a variety of exhibitions, organizations, and causes. It’s the first time all of this work from 2005 to now has been together in one place. I’m very honored to be part of such an important event at the University. More information can be found on UNL’s site and Facebook page. Further details will also be posted here.
How I spent my summer vacation
Wearing flip-flops on a regular basis. Getting way into tri-blend T-shirts. Being so bummed on True Detective but pretty stoked on Ballers. Listening to a lot of Modest Mouse, Atmosphere, and Purity Ring. Loving a wide selection of IPAs and sipping on some fine Tequila. Biking in most days to do some awesome coworking. Following Presidential ambitions from a safe distance. Prepping for a social justice poster exhibition. Prepping for an unconference presentation. Organizing a social justice poster show. Saying goodbye to Jon Stewart. Celebrating all sorts of stuff with my wife. Working on lots of brands. Lots of websites. Lots of campaigns. Kicking it with lots of fine folks over drinks. A little bit of swimming in a lake in Minnesota. Quite a few dog walks around the neighborhood. And just enjoying these long, humid days of summa-summa-summa- time.
2015 Silicon Prairie Awards
This person made a mark on a startup’s product by providing an amazing user experience or beautiful design:
- Amy Colgan, Lemonly
- Dan Rohr
- Levi Nelson, Travefy
- Stephanie Jarrett, Bulu Box
- Justin Kemerling, JKDC
BarCamp 2015
BarCamp. The un-conference without a speaker list. Without a fixed schedule. Without remorse. With plenty of blue. The branding this year was designed by Round and Round led by the mighty Jake Welchert. So stoked for a T. Opening party August 28th. Event August 29th. Get registered now. Almost finished assembling my talk. Mostly I think it’s about a song, maybe. See you there!
From the Gut Matters
It drives me nuts when I do things against my better judgement. When I follow a direction I’m not really feeling down the rabbit hole. It can be a tough call on when to push back and when to roll with an unsure direction. I’ll be the first to say I do NOT have all the answers, can be wrong on the best way to something unexpected, and love when something I wasn’t sure of becomes magical. Love that. But the fine line between following the unsure path and just nipping it in the bud, well it’s very fine. And when it comes back to bite me, I give a friendly slap in my own face because I know I should’ve known better. When in doubt, trust yourself. Now on to the next.
