How to Sell a War
One hundred years ago, Europe was at war. The United States was not. The First World War (or, as it was know at the time, the only World War) started in July of 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. It did not take long for most of the rest of Europe to take sides. […]
Does This Writing Make Me Look Stupid
More and more, I am writing (or editing) as I am designing. Seems that hiring a writer for small design projects is a luxury that clients just don’t want to bother with or pay for. Because I have spent my career around really talented writers and editors, I have limited patience with sloppy writing (especially […]
Appearing Smarter in Meetings
So you have decided that you really should attend that meeting. Darn. Now what? Thanks again to Huffington Post (my favorite source for all sort of news—serious and not, entertainment, gossip, and cat videos) for 10 Tricks to Appear Smarter in Meetings. I assume the article is meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but, really, who […]
Should You Go To That Meeting?
IMHO work meetings involving more than two or three people are generally a waste of time and conference rooms should really be renamed “Nothing-Productive-Happening-Here” rooms. Most of the people present in any given meeting really don’t care about most of what is discussed most of the time. Meetings are a huge time suck. Luckily for […]
Good-bye to an Old Friend
Back when I started using computers for design, you were either a PageMaker person or you ran QuarkXPress. (Don’t even get me started on those fringe FreeHand fanatics—who did everything and anything in that one program.) I was a diehard QuarkXPress girl starting with version 2 all the way (and 20 some odd years later) […]
Even Caveman Can Do It
There was a girl in my sixth-grade class who loved horses. A lot. And she used to draw them. A lot. Horses running. Horses sitting. Horses jumping. Horses being ridden. Horses. Horses. Horses. I really didn’t care too much about horses, but I envied her horse-drawing capabilities. Maybe I shouldn’t have. It turns out that […]
Wearable Tech
Before the iPhone, the Fitbit, the smart watch, and Google Glass, there was the pocket watch—the world’s first wearable, portable tech. And if now we think of the lowly pocket watch and its close relative, the wrist watch, as decidedly low tech, that wasn’t always the case. In the 19th century, portable time pieces were […]
Before Pantone
Every tool that I relied upon when I first started in graphic design has become pretty much obsolete. Except one. Sure, I pull out my trusty X-acto knife and burnishers on the rare occasion that I need to assemble a comp. I have been known to use my old Design markers from time to time, […]
Paper Prison
More often that not, great design is just so simple, so perfect, so obvious. It is a rare combination that is not easily or often achieved. “Paper Prison” created by Interbrand New York celebrates the life and legacy of Nelson Madela with powerful simplicity. The design received a Gold Design Lions award at the 61st […]