Tag Design

Entries 2 Total

Decomplexify – Signal to Noise

Mar 7, ’11 1:07 PM

I know it’s not really even a word, but it’s a good descriptor in theory: decomplexify.

If I have a chance to sit back and think about the stuff I really would love to process and enjoy (and remember), and compare that to the insane amount information I attempt to ingest daily things don’t really add up.

With that in mind, I thought I’d write up a tiny list of sites that I’d like to stick to that create original content (no aggregators/scrapers!) and help me cut out a bit of clutter.

This is my attempt (hopefully not in vain) to lower my signal-to-noise ratio and boost a bit of retention in my brain.

1. Co. Design

An incredibly well-laid out resource covering the breadth of great design, from products, to emerging tech and everything in between.

Visit Co Design.

2. Smashing Magazine

I’ll say it here: I flat-out earnestly want to become a better coder & programmer. Smashing Mag always seems to have the perfect blend of design and typography love and the bits of clutch programming news I can digest and understand.  Tons of phenomenal, original content.

Visit Smashing Magazine.

3. The 99 Percent – 99%

I’m not really sure of the proper way to write that name, but that sounds right. If that age-old Thomas Edison line rings true for anyone in even the slightest (“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”) this is a spot to be. Enjoy it as a solid resource for productivity to help creatives.

Visit The 99 Percent.

4. Zen Habits

A minimalistic, powerful blog that hones in on focus and clarity in chaotic daily life. I actually would like to get in this zone more often; making the time is an art form. The sister site, Zen Family Habits, also has really great content for the parents out there.

Visit Zen Habits.

What are your practices for keeping the tech noise down?

Full disclosure: This is a work in progress. I’m truly quite scatter-minded, but trying to be better.

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Just When You Feel Like It’s Not Making a Difference…

Jan 5, ’11 4:31 PM

Working professionally in any creative capacity, especially working alone or with a remote team, can give you a beautifully gross list of hang-ups that at one point you’ll have to come to terms with and hopefully get over.

intern illustration

Got Issues?

Some examples, in no particular order:

  • My work isn’t “good” enough.
  • I’m not making a difference.
  • I’m bored & complacent.
  • There’s something bigger and better every day, all the time.
  • Look what he’s doing. It rules more than what I’m doing.

Without acting on them and just leaving well enough alone, they don’t go away or stay stagnant. They get bigger, fatter, and profoundly more annoying. For me, it’s always like a monkey sitting on my open skull smacking my frontal lobe around. It sucks a whole bunch.

photo by jason scragz

Photo by Jason Scragz - Click Image for Original

The Intern

I had an intern that worked for me last year, from about May through August of 2010. She was a marketing & communications major about to begin her senior year at university.

At that point I was slammed with work and welcomed an open-minded intern but my past experiences with interns for the most part left me a bit sour about the whole ordeal. To my delight, it turns out she had an eye for design so I started pushing some promotional design work for events her way. And she embraced it.

She worked super hard, always on time and getting to the office early (even before me occasionallly), and for being a college student was extremely open minded about design criticism and working for a great end product.

I had no clue the impression the whole process was having on her, again being wrapped up in my own head doing my thing and probably not paying attention to my surroundings like I should be.

So as her internship came to an end, she announced to me that she wanted to continue her education after her senior year, move south to attend the university I graduated from, and get a design education.

This totally blew my mind.

She went on to fly down to Orlando, tour the campus, and got herself set up to start a month after she finishes her marketing degree. She polished up her internship, I wrote her performance synopsis for her professor, and that was that.

Conclusion

My point in telling this little tale is that it made me feel more proud than ever about what I do and how I do it, and when self-doubt creeps in I think back to it and the impression the experience left on a person that was already at the end of one milestone and willing to take it a bit further.

That monkey lays off the frontal lobes a bit more these days. He’s still there, but he’s just not as much of a jerk.

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