The BIG One is Alaska’s Annual Design Competition. I was on a panel of established designers from the Lower 48 who judged the submissions this year. It was super tough! Lots of stellar work up there, as you can see from the 2016 winners. But I did it, scoring is a wrap, completed by the deadline. Stellar poster design, solid logos, wonderful environments, and compelling books. And this website, which is probably my favorite piece from the competition. AIGA Alaska put everything together. Give a shout here.
If Facebook went away tomorrow...
... that wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s become a place I look upon with mild annoyance and snark. I don’t take it seriously and while I like the people I’m connected to on the platform, it’s something akin to a shot of Jägermeister these days. Sure, it used to be amazing but now it just tastes too soupy. Maybe it always did.
Twitter however, even though Twitter pisses me off in big ways, if Twitter went away tomorrow, that would be a bad thing. Despite the strange feature updates, its odd policies around cyber bullying, and the way it can be like a cesspool of hate, Twitter is still super valuable. So much so, that it would be better if it was just a public utility. A part of the government that had real rules and guidelines for engagement. These rules would be enforced and people would adhere to them, even far right nut jobs (yes, even @realDonaldTrump), because the fact of everyone being in one place talking about the big things that are being talked about is something that cannot be passed up.
In this universe of Twitter as public utility, it would have to go through a redesign. Too many people don’t “get” it. And it’s currently just too, I don’t know, round. It’d be a massive project that would need to involve more perspectives than the makers of Twitter have now. If done right, it would be the new CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite where everybody tunes in and everybody is talking about the same things, at least more than we do now. Young and old, black and white, liberal and conservative. All in one place together. All being heard, all having a voice, all sharing the same reality.
Poster: Love v. Fear
How you choose to see the world takes effort. It takes hard work. It takes commitment. There’s a battle going on between two epic forces constantly at odds. Who wins ultimately comes down to a choice. Do you choose to see the world with fear? Or do you choose to see the world with love?
Included in a collection of posters released at the 2017 Good Apple Awards hosted by Nebraska Appleseed. This year’s theme for the 7th annual poster show, Root Down, Rise Up acknowledges the confusion, frustration, and hopelessness many Nebraskans face while alluding to the strength within local grassroots organizations. In the long fight for justice and opportunity, we must all rise up, again and again. Curated by Colleen Syron.
Oh milestone: 7 years, 3 months, 23 days
In March of 2003 I got my first real job as a graphic designer at an ad agency. In July of 2010 I left that job. I was there for 7 years, 3 months, and 22 days. This month in 2017, I can say I’ve topped that number. As of October 23rd, if my math holds, I will have been an independent designer for 7 years, 3 months, and 23 days. Now I can officially say I’ve been independent for the majority of my (almost) 15-year career. This has been on my mind seriously for the last couple years. And now that it’s here, it feels good. A big goal accomplished. A milestone reached. Another marker along this journey of fame and fortune.
With one important milestone down, time to throw out the next markers to strive for. But that’s a post for another time. Until then, cheers!
Poster: Climate Change Is Here
I don’t know about you, but I’m just not in a hopeful mood these days. I’m not in for sending thoughts and prayers. I know there are better equipped individuals out there who are more than willing to send such things. Instead, I’m more concerned with truth-telling. And given America these days, I’m more than comfortable being in such a place.
Let’s start with the world’s most powerful Twitter weatherman. Simply astonished at how crazy all this weather is! I do NOT give Trump any credit in any of this madness. Nope. None. And his actions regarding Puerto Rico were disgusting.
Climate change is a hoax started by the Chinese? Climate change gets scrubbed from government websites? Government scientists no longer can speak of such things? Really? Well, then we have a big problem, don’t we? Just look at what the EPA is doing under a bunch of anti-science crony capitalists. It’s absolutely appalling.
This poster is about how climate change is here. Picturesque ocean settings be damned. We are living in a period of climate change and upheaval. Hurricane after hurricane after hurricane. All made worse by our human excesses.
I believe science. I believe truth. I believe climate change is upon us. Plenty of others are speaking on how America has really come together in this time of national crisis. And I think that is absolutely amazing. To the people out there, my thoughts and prayers go out to a higher power to instill in us the ability to not just move on in a month or two.
But for the purposes of this poster, this is to the governments out there. Or perhaps, just ours. Wake the fuck up you smug, know-nothing assholes. The future is now, and if we’re going to survive in it, then we better start acting accordingly.
Vertical Dundee
Renovated Dundee Theater goes back to its roots with new sign
It’s all starting to come together. Now, as you drive along Dodge Street, just before you get to 50th Street, you’ll be greeted with a big, beautiful sign that vertically reads “DUNDEE.” A marker for the community on the facade of the newly renovated theater slotted to open later this year. Check out the article from the Omaha World-Herald. I have a couple quotes in there.
Make design accessible and relatable
This was my response to the question: how will you make Omaha a better place? Asked on the spot and then needing to sharpie it on a piece of paper, I thought frantically about the work I’ve done in this city and where this design career might be heading next. Accessible and relatedly. There you have it.
