Digging deeper with client engagement

February 9, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Filed under Collaboration, Design Process, Design business, Uncategorized

Designers see themselves as problem solvers, and their first instinct when faced with a client’s challenge is to charge in—armed with available information, their own biases, and previous experience in similar situations—and deliver the Big Idea. But the problems designers are asked to solve are getting bigger and more complex. Often, they run much deeper than just the initial challenge the client presents. And as a result, they demand a much deeper level of engagement between client and designer, suggests Mark VanderKlipp.

Designers “…must elevate ourselves from the product level to the systems level, from designing artifacts to designing entire ecosystems, from being problem solvers to becoming solution finders,” says VanderKlipp, president of Corbin Design and a member of the SEGD Board of Directors. His article for Design Intelligence explores a deeper level of client engagement, and suggests four ways of “Forging Invaluable Partnerships.”  –P.M.K.

MiaSci’s Living Core

January 22, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Filed under Architecture, Collaboration, Design Process, Exhibit Design, museum

The Miami Science Museum slated to begin construction this year will share the city’s Museum Park with the Miami Art Museum. The MiaSci building designed by Grimshaw Architects is “structured around a lushly landscaped indoor and outdoor ‘living core’ of terrestrial and aquatic exhibits, featuring one-of-a-kind aquarium components, a state-of-the-art digital dome, hands-on exhibits and interactive digital technology.” This week, marine experts from around South Florida met with the exhibit design team from Thinc Design for a brainstorming workshop focused on advancing the design of the aquarium components.

According to the MiaSci blog: “The workshop was the kickoff to an intensive period of exhibit development that will begin next month, drawing on the experts to refine the key messages and content areas of the Living Core. In particular, the group identified specific opportunities for connecting the exhibits to current research; how the exhibits could be used to explore the broad environmental and social impacts of such topics as aquaculture and climate change; ways to use technology to enhance the experience, and ways to engage the public in ongoing research and solutions to environmental challenges.”

For a full list of collaborators and updates on the project click here. — S.N.

View from the Living Core

Hot (EGD) Reads you missed in 2009

January 4, 2010 at 9:38 am
Filed under Books, Data Visualization, Design Process, Graphic Design, Signage, Wayfinding

We know you got a little behind on your reading in 2009, but it’s on your list of resolutions for 2010, right?

So the SEGD staff compared notes and devised this list of the Top 5 EGD (or related to EGD) Books published in 2009.

1. The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places, by David Gibson

Gibson’s book has quickly become a top-shelf reference guide for environmental graphic designers and those interested in wayfinding. The co-founder of Two Twelve provides a practical guide to the design of wayfinding systems, from “finding the hidden logic” in complex environments to building an effective project team.

2. Information Design Workbook, by Kim Baer

Well, OK, this was published in May 2008, so we cheated a little. But a new paperback edition will be out next month. It’s a comprehensive approach to information design, including an entire section devoted to EGD, contributed by Wayne Hunt of Hunt Design.

3. Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design

As the world—and the data generated by it—rapidly becomes more complex, data visualization is coming into its own as a design discipline. A cast of designer/editors presents 256 pages of inspiring, innovative designs.

4. MUTCD

The first new version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in six years was released by the Federal Highway Administration on December 16. It includes a new Community Wayfinding section that provides allowances for communities developing urban wayfinding systems.

5. Typographic Conundrums, by Harry Pearce

Just for kicks, and for the love of type, peek into the Pentagram partner’s funhouse of typographic puzzles.

And while you’re getting your reference shelves organized, you might want to consider SEGD’s Essential Reading list for EGD practitioners. Enjoy! — P.M.K.

Reaching the Design Summit

December 1, 2009 at 8:30 am
Filed under Conferences, Design Process, Design education

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative—the movement that advocates for a governmental plan of action to support design’s role in economic competitiveness and democratic governance—is meeting in Washington, D.C., today, and you’re invited.  

You can watch and interact with the Summit live from 9:30am-3:3pm EST viawww.ustream.tv/channel/us-design-policy. The social stream will be connected to the group’s Facebook page, Twitter account @usdesignpolicy, and YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/USDesignPolicy.

During breaks in the Summit, participants will answer your comments and questions on the social stream about what you have seen and heard at the People’s Q&A, moderated by Change Observer’s Brad McKee. 

SEGD is a co-sponsor of the Summit, and has been involved in the initiative since its inception. SEGD CEO Leslie Gallery Dilworth is attending today and SEGD is co-sponsoring the design policy Q&A session.  

The Summit will gather design association leaders,  government agency representatives, and design educators to push the group’s design policy proposals forward. By being a voice for the U.S. design community, the Design Policy Initiative seeks to:

 ”….design promotions to boost the demand for American goods and services

“…create innovative policies to protect American intellectual property and support the People’s entrepreneurial spirit

“…design standards to guarantee inclusion, sustainability, safety, and quality in the experiences of the human remade world

“…facilitate policy designed to address design’s role in making American democratic values tangible to the People.”

Design policy proposals include formalizing an American Design Council to work with the U.S. government; setting federal guidelines for legibility, safety, and accessibility in all government communications; establishing an assistant secretary for design in the federal government; and expanding national grants to support interdisciplinary community design assistance based on human-centered design practices. –P.M.K.

PhotoSketch

November 1, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Filed under Data Visualization, Design Process, Design Tools, Technology

Drop some line drawings and labels into this program (created by University of Singapore students) and out comes a Photoshopped image to match.  Awesome. — A.M.

No-spec zone

August 20, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Filed under Design Process

Participants on SEGDTalk have been seeing a lot of discussion about spec work Babe ipod Heavy Metal dvdrip

Cry for Help download

download The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada dvd . Here’s a perspective on the topic from an international grass-roots organization. — A.M.

• Alvin and the Chipmunks hd

Buck Privates film

DIY office redesign

August 19, 2009 at 9:09 am
Filed under Design Process

“In this economy,” lots of people are experiencing “transitions.” Maybe seeing how a group of designers create a new space Boat Trip dvdrip Impulse full The Order divx

The Tomb dvd

Hello, Dolly! trailer Pig Hunt ipod The Governors Wife aka Deadly Suspicion movie download – “cheap and easy, but well-planned and good-looking” - can inspire someone who’s making a move into new space. — A.M.

• Safehouse

• The Devils Brigade psp

design vs business

September 12, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Filed under Design Process

From Communication Arts january/february 2008 issues; written by Roger Martin, dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

All or Nothing ipod business

- verbal- linear
- bottom-line Ali movie
- problem-focused
- looking for one right answer
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms psp
design
- visual

• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot film

- circular
- common good

- solution-focused
buy Feast 3: The Happy Finish Jesse Stone: Thin Ice divx - believe there isn’t one right answerWaynes World buy

Ten Steps to Becoming a Better Designer

June 3, 2008 at 5:30 am
Filed under Design Process

Click on the images for an enhanced viewing experience:

1. You are doomed to fail. It is inevitable. Don’t be afraid of it – accept it and it will spark an even better conclusion. Let others fail around you and work together to find a solution. Not only will you come up with something better, but you will be a better designer for knowing why you failed. Your failure may eventually lead to your success (if you are still alive to see it).

2. Ignore everything that Patrick, Cybelle, Sujit, Rob, Tamar, Bruce, Jeremy, etc. tell you. Okay, don’t ignore it – do it (now, damnit) – but also do something based on it that is completely out of the box and insane. Purposely misinterpret an idea, whether it be from a colleague or your own imagination. Stop being so fucking practical and challenge your superior and yourself. Some of the best ideas come from collaboration and challenge. Don’t take it personally when the idea is dismissed – just tuck it away and pull it out another time. Just remember that great design needs one person to make the final call, not a democratic process that produces an average (and sometimes less-than average) result.

3. Go to a concert. Listen to how your favorite artist changes (read misinterprets) their own work. It intentionally does not sound like the CD. They do this because they are bored of playing the same damn song in 85 cities over 125 days. Design works the same way. You have design tricks and you know it. Stop using that same font that you love, stop using that same orange pms color that you have grown so fond of. Make yourself try something new and uncomfortable – that discomfort breeds brilliance.

4. Leap off the shoulders of giants. Take a great idea and tweak it. There is no original idea – creativity is taking what you know and have seen elsewhere and combining it into something new. Look at that beautiful new Starke chair, that old Rand logotype…but also look at that gorgeous aphid eating your plants, the pattern of agriculture at 35,000 feet, the decades old bubble gum stains on the sidewalk…now mash them up. Inspiration is everywhere, so open your eyes, fool.

Panic Room divx
5. Be pragmatic and extravagant at the same time. But don’t try to do both simultaneously. Old designers know a lot about how things are built, but that squashes creativity. Young designers know too little, but have moments of brilliance through naiveté. Think to yourself, “What is the most cost-effective way I can do this?” and then think “What is the most over the top way I can do this?” Then discover a happy balance in between through collaboration.

Toy Story rip

6. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Perception is the new reality. Illusion is truth. You are not designing an environment, you are evoking an emotional response. That response is not only visual, so play an experience to all of the senses. Inflict moving reactions – they make for better visitor experiences, win awards, more clients and a nice pat on the back…good doggy.

7. Have a kid. Do art with them. It will change your perception of creativity forever. 13 years of schooling followed by 4+ years of design “school” have educated the creativity right out of your mushy brain, my friend. A pre-K kid sees the world in an entirely different way (not to mention 3 feet below your eye level). Crawl on the ground with them, look under tables (try not to chew the gum you find stuck there), get dirty without worrying about scuffing your brand new Adidas, play with your food and scream as much as possible. Spin in a circle until you spew all over yourself then fall down laughing. It is so liberating you will shit yourself (change your own diaper). Too young or old to have a kid? Do the next best thing…go to Burning Man.

Crocodile Dundee download

8. Stop collecting pretty little pristine items to put in your pretty little box. Your life is not about these beautiful objects that you amass for your home – it is about your friends and the personal experiences you have with them, silly. Tell them how great you think they are, have a drawing night together, go to that concert together, go on that trip together, or just beat the shit out of each other and hug afterward.

Time After Time move 9. Make a list. Your 10 passions in life and 10 goals in life, your 10 favorite albums, artists, buildings, insects, smells. The 10 people you most admire. 10 things you wish you never did. 10 ideas for becoming a better designer. Better yet, think outside the box and make lists of 9 or 11 just for shits and giggles. Get in touch with your emotions in a visual way and read your lists periodically and you will find patterns that make you special as a designer and also what is holding you back from being the rock star we all know you can be.

10. Stop looking at the internet. Pompeii: The Last Day movie download Go buy a book, and preferably not one on design (E
dward Tufte and Karim Rashid are not gods). Go for a hike, take a trip to another country, take some drugs (preferably legal ones) and go on a journey of the mind. Whatever it takes to break free of the misconceptions you have about what design is. And oh, stop reading stupid design blogs written by egotistical designers!

End note: I actually wrote this as a challenge for myself…a kick in my own pants if you will. Push some buttons in you? Good! Write a response, a retort, your own list. Dialogue will save us aaaaaaallllllllllllllll… Much love, FPG

Brick Lane

Different Strokes for Different Folks?

May 20, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Filed under Design Process

As Shane and I walked to a conference table last week for a little Q&A session (PS thanks Shane!), I noticed a ton of notes, tracing paper, sketches, pictures, reference images, etc. pinned up on the wall. It made me happy. I have always been a huge fan of the process of design and to see the evidence of a brainstorm session hanging on the wall was so refreshing. After commenting on it I realized it was actually her collection of research and sketches so we had a littlepre -meeting chat about how helpful it is for her to see all of her ideas together in this mix and match form. So, with process on the mind I happened across an interesting little writing in a book that my friend sent me for my birthday, It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be, by Paul Arden. Here’s the excerpt:

Robots If you get stuck, draw with a different pen. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ipod

“CHANGE your tools, it may free your thinking. For thirty years, I have been exposed to soulless layouts made with felt-tip pens on paper. It’s true, the plainness does help focus on the idea, but it can also lead to dull layouts. Instead, do your layouts in watercolors, charcoal, pencils, fountain pens with real ink. Use decorating paints and brushes. Blow up minuscule layouts, whatever you can think of.

• The King Maker full movie

It is not a solution, but it does open up the mind and it’s fun.

I remember turning a $150,000 budget into a $200,000 budget just because I had done a watercolor storyboard.
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild Simple Things download

• The Devils Tomb video

• Ruthless People movie download

It charmed the client and set a look for the whole project.”
The Black Knight dvd
Changing up your process can lead to some interesting and rewarding ideas. What do you do to get past the (for lack of a better term) designer’s block? How long do you let the blank page taunt you before you put a meaningless mark on it in retaliation? Sometimes I sketch over photographs to find my grid system or use recycled paper so that I can vaguely see through to the other side, this helps make the blankness a little less intimidating for me.

Maybe we should all try shaking things up and doing something a little different in the way we work this week…