Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
“The art of remembering is the art of thinking.”
-William James, 1892
Musings: Remembering As Thinking
Musings: Hard Things Aren’t Always Bad
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
“Tools that make hard things easy can make us less likely to tolerate things that are hard.”
-Clive Thompson, in his Wired article on automotive automation
Personally, I long for a future with self-driving cars, but Thompson makes some great points in his article. More important is the above sentence, which sums up a paradoxical challenge of modern life. In a society where we’re much less worried about subsistence and survival, concerns of comfort rise to the top. Unfortunately, in the quest for ease and luxury, trying to find ways to do less can have an overall negative effect on our ability to do things that are still difficult.
Striving, working hard, taking the road less traveled — whichever turn of phrase you prefer, it seems there is still a lot of value in embracing the hard things of life. “The hard” is often more satisfying, growth-inducing, and life-changing.
Jason Moderates AIGA LA Blueprint Event
Last week I had the privilege of moderating the panel discussion at the premiere event in our AIGA Los Angeles Blueprint series. We brought four of LA’s finest independent designers to NextSpace in Culver City, CA for a two-hour discussion on the business of freelancing.
While freelance designers love to talk about their creative work, they’re often less fond of talking about their businesses. Such “boring” topics as accounting, taxes, legal issues, business strategy and client relations are often considered necessary evils, reflected by their time spent in the conversational spotlight.
And that’s no good.
Fire Your Celebrity “Creative Director”
The glowing age of celebrity endorsements is fading. Sure, large corporations still hand out millions to basketball players and pop stars to attach themselves to some level of current “cool,” but no savvy audience truly believes this is anything less than a financial transaction — a paid endorsement, dollars for smiles. Insert cash, and a celebrity will say whatever you like. But is this good or bad for your brand?
Interview at Freelance Unleashed
Hexanine partner Tim spent a little time talking to Chris Green of Freelance Unleashed, about the joys and challenges of building a design firm.
Here’s a snippet:
Be a designer because you love it. This profession is a little crowded with people who thought design was just cool, or who believed that this was a more practical path to an artist’s life. But Design with a capital D needs people who get jazzed about strategy and beauty combined.
Musings: Our Polar World
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
Why it is that we can’t seem to allow gray concepts, nuances, or middle grounds these days — whether it’s in politics, headlines, or cultural battles? Is it because choosing an extreme is easier and faster? Or owing to the fact that our mostly-electronic communication doesn’t handle shades of meaning, subtlety, or nuance well?
I’d like to call for a return to degrees of agreement, which is much easier to find when we don’t think of our positions as islands, but instead, as steps along a wider road where everyone is also walking.
Talking Design Strategy With HOW
Hexanine partner Jason Adam is featured in the latest print issue of HOW magazine, one of our favorite design publications. In the March International Design Awards Annual, he talked to our friend Terry Lee Stone about what makes design strategy compelling and crucial for all successful projects. Pick up a copy of the latest issue in print, or download it in the App Store.
Musings: The Impressive Difference
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
What’s the difference between trying hard to impress someone, and just being plain impressive?
The first allows a lack of confidence to push you into action, even if it’s unwise or hastily-planned. The second is just a state of being, allowing some internal strength, competence, or other compelling quality to shine. The harder you’re trying, the less impressive it will probably seem.
Designing the End of the World
Well, the world didn’t come to an end in 2012. But our clients and friends were well-prepared, just in case. We made sure if it, sending out Apocalypse Survival Kits with all the necessary elements to ride out any random cataclysm. Check out more of the details and design, armageddon be damned.
New Work: Kia & Gruppo Cordenons
We love the work we do (and our great clients) so it’s always a happy moment when we share projects with the world. Two new projects come with their own blood, sweat, and tears of accomplishment. They include our first issue of Open Road magazine for Kia Motors, as well as the Stardream digital printing swatchbook for Gruppo Cordenons. Check out our portfolio links above for more details on each. Voilà!