Are we really this desperate for designers in the US? I'm not against the designers from India, but this is taking the "everyone thinks there a designer" to a new level. Putting some copy into a template doesn't constitute a designer. I have more to say on this but feel I must hold back.
Take a look for yourself at www.hire-a-designer.com
Thank you to every one involved with the LDS Tech Talk.
I had the great opportunity to go to the 1st Tech Talk put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Tech department. Now when you think about a tech department for a church it is easy to assume something on a small scale. But what they are doing in the church is anything but small. I am very familiar with the church and it still blows my mind to think of the infrastructure that is set up.
I mainly went to get a glimpse of the Interaction Design Department but was also impressed by other sessions they had. Tadd Giles was the presenter and did a wonderful job. Tadd is the Director of User Experience. He discussed how the church has combined business analysis, interface design, visual design, and HTML/CSS coding skills into one role and how it has produced great results. He also showed some of the current design work they are doing and what challenges face them in the future.
There are some great designers that work for the LDS Interaction Design Dept. including names like Jason Lynes, Gilbert Lee, John Dilworth, and Cameron Moll.
Thanks for giving us a look into your world and I hope to get the skills to work along side of you on day.
Labels: designer, Interaction Design, LDS, Tech Talk
Last night I had the opportunity to go to our AIGA event in Salt Lake City. Speaking at the event was Joel Templin and Gaby Brink of Templin Brink Design (T.B. D.) They opened their doors in 1998, and since then, Templin Brink Design has created highly original and effective branding, packaging, corporate identity and advertising campaigns for top global marketers like American Eagle Outfitters, Apple Computer, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Dockers / Levi's, Janus Capital Group, Lucent Technologies, Oracle, Target Stores, and Williams-Sonoma.
I took some notes on some of the things they talk about, so here is a quick overview.
For a lot of there design they encourage their designers to look at old packaging to get inspiration. Mostly packages with old labels because of the great typography they use.
One company the designed a brand for was Song Airlines, unfortunately, the campaign never was used. At first Song Airlines wanted them to create a campaign to draw the right kind of employees to the company, so T.B. D. designed a poster campaign to do that. They used the emergency guides that airlines had to create a unique, hip look. After showing them to Song, they loved the look and feel and wanted them to create a logo. That is where T.B. D. took it to the extreme and created a whole brand. There approach was to create it from a passengers perspective. It was interesting to see there process of design and they filled there whole office with nothing but airline stuff. This whole brand campaign was the part that never was used.
They also talked about letting loose and doing something that doesn't matter. Joel had the desire to create something using paper and scissors. It had nothing to do with any projects, he just wanted to do it. He created a few items that ended up on some posters, but it was more to feel a creative desire.
Well, as there next client Target came along, the paper and scissor idea came out once again. They ended up doing some concepts with cut outs, which turned into 3d models that were used on the Target campaign.
On the same lines, they used a screen printer to create their moving announcement and agreed to promote the screen printer as well. What the came up with was some interesting decorative elements that they printed on the cards. Those same elements came into play when creating the Archer Farms brand for Target.
They stressed the point that you need to leave room to play around because that can increase your creativity on your next project.
When ask the question "What makes a good client?", Joel and Gaby responded will someone who trusts you and who collaborates with you and listens. But then stated, clients know there product the best so designers need to do an equal amount of listening.
Also, when ask "What do you do to get unstuck?", they responded quickly, "We don't get stuck". They elaborated a little more by stating they look at all visual items, they collect materials that relate to get inspiration. Don't start by sitting in front of a computer, get out in the environment and get inspiration there. Do stuff you know is wrong to get it out of your system. It's okay to be wrong sometimes.
As the questions went on one thing they said that stood out to me was, "Don't show anything you don't want to sell, because the client will always pick that one." When they pitch there ideas, it could be 2 ideas or 10, it all depends on what they are willing to sell.
Overall, it was a very good evening. I was excited to listen to them speak because I have followed their work for years (it's hard not to see it if you look at any design magazine). The evening was a big success, so thank you to Joel and Gaby and the AIGA Salt Lake Chapter.
Labels: AIGA, designer, T.B. D., Templin Brink Design
For some reason, as a designer, we are drawn to the letterpress. You always see letterpress pieces that have won awards and they are always in CA and other design annuals. Why is that? Is it because we are always in front of a computer designing so it's nice to look at something else? What ever the reason is, letterpress pieces are amazing. I am one who loves the look and feel of letterpress. From simple stationery pieces to more elaborate works of art, you can't go wrong. I have always joked that to get a design award you need design a piece and have it letterpress.
There is a local letterpress shop, Athenaeumn Press and I receive there newsletter. I love getting it to see the new work they have done. It is owned by Peder Singleton, who is an amazing designer but he can also work his magic on the letterpress. I've had the opportunity to meet him through my education at Weber State University, although he doesn't know me from a hole in the ground. He was very helpful as he came into our class and shared some of his inspiration and knowledge with us. He has been working on series, the Urban Typography Project, for some time now and continues to create works of art. He sells his pieces as well, and I hope to be able to afford to buy one some day.
So go take a look and be inspired by the great letterpress work.
Labels: Athenaeum Press, designer, Letterpress, Peder Singleton
The one man that I give credit too as starting me on the path of webdesign and css is John Dilworth. Back in the college days John was my teacher for a few of my interactive classes. I learned more and was inspired more as a designer than a lot of my other classes. It even seemed like one of those situations that the department didn't want us to learn css and the things he taught but he did it anyway because he knew the importance of it.
Anyway, John has recently updated/redesigned his website and it is worth the time to check out. johndilworth.com
He also contributes to another blog that is worth checking out as well. northtemple.com
Labels: designer, John Dilworth
I know this is a little late as far as news goes, but when I was reading the Sept/Oct 2006 issue of adnews I was really impressed by the article talking about Dennis Powers retirement. He is a partner and creative director for PPBH, a design/marketing agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dennis lived by the mantra that says, "If it does't sell product, it isn't creative".
Having been a designer in a Marketing Dept., This little phrase goes a long way. You can create the most amazing product and might even win awards but if it doesn't sell, did you do you job as a problem solver? This being my first "full time" design job right out of college I thought this isn't how design should be. The marketing people have it all wrong. Well, I soon learned that all those self-discovery design problems we were given don't really represent the world of design. Sure, we had a problem we had to solve an a objective, but in the end, we were not looking at numbers and how much we sold to see if it was an affective solution or not. There is a lot to learn as a designer and it is good to see that there are great designers out there that really understand what design is about and could do it affectively.
Labels: Agency, Design Powers, designer, marketing
I had the great opportunity to go see and listen to Milton Glaser at BYU last night. He has had a powerful impact on graphic design since 1954 and is probably best known for his 
logo. He has designed everything from album covers to packaging, from posters to newspaper designs, from books to logos, from web sites to restaurant interiors, and from theme parks to calendars.
At the lecture, Glaser did not stand up and speak but he sat down with Steven Heller and they had more of a conversation and question / answer dialogue. Some of the key points that I got out of it were;
1. Just enough is more. It's not the idea of "less is more". That was more of a movement that was an attempt to counter Victorian fussiness and so on. It's more of the idea of, "Just enough is more".
2. Don't get labeled doing something that you don't want to do. "If you don't want to do Cocker Spaniels, don't do them"
3. When asked about his thoughts on the difference of images and typography, he stated, "Words are as powerful as images because they are images".
4. Speaking to the students, but to all, he stated, "You have to be realistic and ambitious". Meaning, when starting out you became a designer to make a living, so you can't forget that.
5. You have to activate the mind because most people are asleep. When they look at something they don't see it. But when ambiguity is present, they try to figure it out.
Overall the event was very successful and any designer should have walked away with a desire to do more as a graphic designer.
Labels: AIGA, designer, Milton Glaser
