On Communication

I heard this last week. During a presentation by Martinrex Kedziora, superintendent of Moreno Valley Unified School District, at the BARR Center annual conference. I can’t stop thinking about it:

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

I mean, I went through a journalism college. At a university. I took advertising classes about frequency and all that. But still. It really shook me. I can see it changing how I go through my day-to-day. Better lose my illusion. For real.

Moxie Poster #1

Centrally focused and explosive (literally). Feels urgent. It’s gritty and textured and very direct. I like the emphasis on a single act that can change so much. It asks us all to Hear, Share, Listen, Believe. WE ARE VOLCANOES! Designed pro bono for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

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A conference full of educators

I’ve been to my fair share of conferences. Design, tech, sustainability, activism. Last week I made it to my first conference focused on education. Hosted by the BARR Center, over 300 teachers, administrators, and advocates came together in Moreno Valley, California to learn from each other and immerse themselves in the challenges facing public education in America.

When it comes to the education of our kids, I feel that nothing should stand in the way. But as we all know, so much stands in the way. Funding, resources, bureaucracy, poverty, racism, apathy, and on and on. The question of how can we provide high-quality education for all is often replaced with how can we just get through the day. Which is absolutely heartbreaking. 

However, at this conference, the educators in attendance brought their passion for teaching and optimism for change in education that is very much possible.

The story of BARR is one of success, from 1998 to now. Started by Angela Jerabek in one school just outside of Minneapolis, the program is currently in 88 schools in 13 states. In all cases, no matter the school size or makeup, there are proven results. Better attendance rates, decreases in suspension days, and higher GPAs.Whatever metric is looked at, the results are there. 

How is this possible? I think it’s because it’s a program by teachers, for teachers, with the goal of doing their very best by every single one of their students. The other thing I kept hearing at the conference from everyone who was using the program is that it’s both firm and flexible, which means it can be applied anywhere.

I also heard plenty of success stories. From principal Karen Johnson at Valley View High and from the superintendent of Moreno Valley Unified School District Martinrex Kedziora. From veteran teachers 20+ years in the profession to those just starting out.

Speakers who are leaders in the movement for education reform included Dr. Pedro Noguera who spoke about leading with equity, Nadya Chinoy Dabby who spoke about how we can model the best of our cultural values through education, and LaShawn Routé Chatmon spoke about turning toward one another with constructivist listening.

All in all, I left feeling inspired and energized. With the division the country is dealing with currently, working to make education available for all our kids no matter what is the type of work where we can all come together to make lasting change happen. And if we do that, we’ll all be better off for it.

On Criticism

Few things that matter in this world move forward without criticism and feedback. Especially when it comes to making an idea happen that’s seen as being somewhat new/original.

Designer’s Quest

— Originally published Nov 7, 2009 by Design Feast —

2. Challenges you encounter as a designer and how do you deal with them?

Coming up with something new, something moving, something relevant. And in the mix of it all, there is the big question: is this authentic? In a world of faked, contrived, staged, hyperbolic, and outright lies, it’s something designers have to continually be asking. It’s not the most glamorous, and it’s hard to do completely, but without that check on yourself, there’s a good chance you’re just creating garbage for the media (and physical) wasteland of the trite and the useless.

4. From skills to values, what makes a designer successful?

Adaptable, daring, imaginative, dedicated, determined and good with your hands. From there, a designer has to connect the dots, see the larger picture, and put it all together in a simplified, compelling way that is honest and true.

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Wanna dance (freelance)?

I’ve met up with a few designers over the last couple weeks to discuss design and its challenges. One topic that came up repeatedly was on the business of going independent. The how and the why, the pros and cons. Questions around such things always seem timely, especially as the workforce in general continues to be filled with more independent contractors. 99u has a good article on the subject, including a lot of stuff I’ve discussed before and certainly agree with.

So to supplement, if I were to distill down the main points I want young (and old) designers to consider before going freelance, I’d want you to focus in on these points:

1. You get the clients, you retain the clients. And you should have a few before you even think about going out on your own.
2. If you’re worried about where your next projects will come from or if you’re worried about delivering on the projects you currently have, that’s good. That worry will never go away. Get used to it.
3. When you work for yourself, you work more, not less. And not just on the “cool” stuff. But on administration, project management, proposals for work you don’t get, paying taxes, selling the work, making changes, getting feedback, doing QA, instructing the printer, responding to emails, and juggling and juggling and juggling. That last one is a metaphor.
4. What if you say yes to this one project, a project you’re pretty into, you get all booked up and busy, and then another project comes along that’s even better, in fact you’re way more excited about this new one, but the timeline is way too fast, you can’t do both, and because you’re already committed, you have to say no, and it sucks, and you feel terrible about what was lost that could’ve been. Yep, that’s a thing. Deal with it.
5. Come up with incentives to get clients to do what you want. Whether that’s related to timelines, budgets, or both.
6. And finally, this list has gone on long enough, you need to get back to work. My final thing is this: Before you go out on your own, you need to know how much design work costs a client for them to utilize your design skills on any number of projects in varying degrees of need and complexity. If you don’t, it’s going to be a rocky, uncertain road. It already will be, but more so. 

Ed Ruscha at the Joslyn

In regards to the artwork BARNS AND FARMS, what about this piece sparks my interest? My answer is as follows:

You’re telling me about something that you’re not showing me. With two layers presented in a square, a square that would feel very-much-at-home on an Instagram feed, I’m moved by the vibrant colors of a big sky as well as the purity of machined, white type.

The horizon line of blackened land at the base of the work anchors and helps to let me know just how small I am. The golden sunset (or is it a sunrise?) gives me a cue to close up shop for the evening (or to get ready for the day). 

As an advertisement, there’s a cadence I like. Chop-chop, barns and farms. Let’s kick the tires and light the fires. I didn’t live on a farm growing up, but I visited the one where my grandparents lived often. I’ve seen this scene thousands of times driving on the gravel county roads of Nebraska. I didn’t need a message to entice me there, I was there already. 

As a moment in time, with the clouds frozen in place, it causes me to pause and to recall the smell of those massive, wooden structures called barns. The dirt floors, the hay bales, the musty interior of the vehicles parked there. Things stored inside were protected, sort of.  Things stored inside had value, monetarily speaking. The barn was a key part of the working farm operation.

People lived on farms, but they were there to work. Sunrise to sunset, constantly doing some form of labor. Gotta do the chores, grow the crops, and tend to the animals. You eat, sleep, and procreate so you can do those work things better, more efficiently. 

As nostalgia, there’s love in that square. Memories of family. As history, there’s mixed emotions in that square. A country feeding itself and also causing a great big dust bowl. Prosperity and livelihood for the working man and then the corporations squeezing them out with monoculture. The freedom and good nature of rural America now with declining populations, economic insecurity, immigrant tension, drug crisis, and an often referenced part of one side in the country’s deepening divide.

I’m in a car when I’ve seen this scene. I’m moving and feeling the freedom of the open road. But I’m also a little scared. Because I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to break down and have to venture onto a farm for help. There might be a big dog. There might be a suspicious farmer with a gun. It might be where I’m knocked unconscious and wake up in a dark basement. It’s there I’m plumped up over a few weeks and then turned into soup for a very traditionalist family of cannibals. Seen that movie? 

And I feel anxious. Like I get with most advertisements these days. I like the beautiful presentation of type over image but am also unsettled with the unspoken outcomes that could lie beneath. That’s not Ed’s fault. Na, that’s just advertising.

Framing the Flame: Art that Ignites »

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