Welcome to the birth of Peeps I Dig, a monthly series of people who inspire me past, present, and future. Who knows, maybe they’ll inspire you too. This months theme is go, go girls! Just a little sampling of the large pool of strong, intellectual women who have taught me how to be one.
MOM1 and MOM2
The adorable, Japanese lady on the right is Mom 1 (the one who birthed me) and the red head on the left is Mom 2, my mother-in-law. Now I know it’s a bit cliche to state that my moms are an awesome inspiration, but seriously, they’re totally awesome and inspire me daily.
Inspirations from Mom1:
1. Whatever you do, just make sure you’re happy.
2. Your home is where you make it.
3. You create the definition of success.
4. Organization is a lifestyle not just a skill.
5. You’re never too old to learn something new.
Inspirations from Mom2:
1. The wisdom of Sesame Street is all you need, “if you want to play the saxophone, then you have to put your rubber ducky down” aka “life’s about choices”.
2. There’s good in every situation, even having cancer. It’s all about perspective. Her daily saying, “Thank you God for giving me cancer and the strength to survive it”.
3. The Universe will give back what you put out.
4. Worrying is a waste of time and energy.
5. Your child will teach you how to parent him. You just have to pay attention to the cues.
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MARIKO
Mariko Mori is a Japanese, multi-media artist who through the mediums of photography and technology melds Eastern and Western mythology and culture.
Inspirations from Mariko Mori:
1. Art and technology are not exclusive of each other.
2. Be bold.
3. Challenge cultural norms.
4. If you can dream it up, it can be done.
5. Explore.
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XENA
Xena, The Princess Warrior is a fantasy series from the late ’90′s in which Xena, aka Lucy Lawless, kicked some serious butt for the greater good for redemption of her former sins.
Inspirations from Xena:
1. Kick ass when necessary.
2. It’s never too late to be a better person.
3. Go into battle in style.
4. Do good.
5. Be a loyal friend.
Inspirations from Paula:
1. Be prolific.
2. Don’t be bound by one medium.
3. Be inspired and never limit the sources of your inspiration.
4. Break boundaries and then break them again and again.
5. Be a rock star in whatever you do.
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Be sure to check back monthly for more Peeps I Dig. Next month’s theme: Animated characters that inspire me. Who inspires you?
I attended a really interesting lecture and exhibition this past week: Beneath the Surface: Poster Exhibition from Iran at Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts. It’s a collection of Iranian posters curated by Nahid Tootoonchi, Townson University. AIGA has an excellent article about it.
Tootoonchi, Iranian herself, felt that her purpose in doing this exhibit was to open up an opportunity for Westerners to be exposed to Iranian design. In fact, each piece in the show is from her personal collection. She visited each of the artists in their studios and discussed their design with them. I found this to be really cool and very much appreciate her efforts.
During the talk, she gave a quick and dirty run-down on Farsi because typography is a major element within Iranian poster design. As a monolingual designer, this aspect of the presentation was especially interesting. The Farsi was beautiful. Hard edges are non-existent and each element flowed seamlessly into the next.
Many of the designers used English and Farsi simultaneously within the designs since the posters were often internationally displayed. Seeing the two juxtaposed side by side created an appealing tension between the hard, straight edges of English and rounded, graceful strokes of Farsi.
Another element that caught my eye was the lack of imagery. I’m not that familiar with Muslim but learned that the use of human imagery is frowned upon because it could be considered worship of a deity. If imagery was used, it was obscured in some way which gave way to an air of mystical mystery.
There were movie posters in the mix and it was odd but refreshing to see them done without pictures of people. It seemed that the boundaries of creativity were pushed due to this restriction and the intelligence of the viewer stimulated.
The styles spanned the spectrum from graffiti looking to folky. Whatever the style each piece was a learning experience in itself. It was like getting a little sneak peak into Iranian culture. Makes you wonder what tidbits people around the world get from our posters.
The exhibit is fantastic and I highly recommend you attend. Here are the designers that are highlighted:
Whatever your passion, talent, dreams—everyone needs that special someone to look up to. Well gals and guys, my pizza pie in the sky is Chip Kidd. I fell in love with his design when I worked at Borders Books. Being a creative, I of course definitely judged a book by it’s cover. Rows and rows of lovely books surrounded me everyday and I would walk up and down the aisles running my fingers over the spines taking-in that oh-so-exhilarating dusty aroma. Time and time again, I’d pull a book of the shelf and fall in love with the cover. Almost every time I flipped it over to see who designed that cool jacket, it was the Kidd.
Naturally I became obsessed with him and tried to find out everything that I could. I mean look at the guy. He’s talented, he’s stylish, he’s really sexy in that cool geeky kind of way—what’s not to adore?
For a long time I wanted to follow in his footsteps and design book jackets. Well, I still do but it’s not my only goal in life now. I’ve been able to expand my horizons a bit but nothing is sweeter than that first electric spark that makes the hair on your arms stand-up and send shivers down your spine. That’s what Kidd’s covers did for me. It got me excited. It got me motivated. It made me want to be a designer. It was about the same jolt that I got from Cyndi Lauper’sShe’s So Unusual album sheath. It was my first vinyl, my first glimpse of van Gogh and my gateway into the world of fine arts. Thanks Cyndi, time after time girls do just wanna have fun.
Kidd is prolific. Not only does he do covers, he’s also a writer, speaker, comic book connoisseur and all around modest guy. I’ve met him a couple of times. Once for a signing for his first novel, Cheese Monkeys which I did read and enjoy. It’s a coming of age story about what else but a budding Graphic Designer. I read it while I was still in school so it was one of those special reads that hits home. It did leave me questioning though—what the hell is a cheese monkey?!
The second time was just to go drool at him. He was moderating a discussion with a graphic novelist that I can’t for the life of me remember. I was too busy imagining Chip as my husband to pay attention. I know it’s pathetic, shut-up.
His newer novel, The Learners the sequel to Cheese Monkeys, came out in 2008. I unfortunately haven’t picked it up yet. Since I don’t work in the bookstore anymore it seems to be a major feat to actually go buy books. Your guess is as good as mine on why that is. I just might go pick it up today though after seeing this awesome video. Yes, I admit it. I’m turned on by the typography and layout of this book. What can I say?
Some chips off the Kidd block for your pleasure (and mine):
This cover really makes me thirsty which is appropriate since it’s about Burroughs journey to alcoholic recovery. You would think that it’d be a given that the cover reflect what’s inside it’s pages. Well, that doesn’t always happen so it adds to the experience when it does. I asked Kidd at one of his signings if he was able to read all of the books before designing the covers. Turns out that reading the book before designing the cover isn’t done often. Makes you wonder what kind of voodoo magic these designers are practicing when they hit the nail on the head with a cover without reading the book.
This cover gives off a deeply mysterious feeling. It’s mystical, allusive, engaging and intriguing. It really makes you just want to crack it open to see what magical world is between the pages. Tartt’s story is just as enigmatic.
Who could forget the iconic cover for The Lost World? I don’t know how well Crichton wrote it but the movies were bangin’. Kidd’s cover design was admired enough that they carried over the visual language that he created for all of the movie paraphernalia. So simple. So cool.
I could go on and on about all of the cover designs that float my boat and I could especially gush a lot more about Chip (yeah, we’re on a first name basis—he might not know it but we are). I want to hear from you. Book cover design is often under rated and taken for granted so throw out some props for your favorites. I’m looking forward to seeing them but I can’t promise that I won’t judge it by its cover!
I’ve recently came to the realization that the process of building one’s brand is freakishly similar to going through puberty. At least that’s how I feel about the ups, downs and crazy rounds that I’ve experienced in my almost 4 years as theLULAdesigns. When I first took the plunge to live my dream of running my own business, I knew that I wanted to design but that’s pretty much all that I knew. I didn’t have a brand dream team backing me up so I took what I knew and launched my brand.
Over these few short years, theLULAdesigns has gone through brand puberty. With every project my experience expanded and with every client my pitch became increasingly honed. My confidence built and I grew more and more into who I needed to be. So now almost 4 years and a few redesigns later, I feel like theLULAdesigns is leaving its prepubsent form and heading full force into puberty.
With a new year came new positioning for me. In actuality, it isn’t new positioning per say. Really, it’s the realization and clarification of what my positioning has been and should be.
Taking a look back at my clients, projects, and what got and gets me jazzed, it turns out that I’m a bleeding heart, tree hugging humanitarian activist. I swing left—way left, which brings me to my positioning: people, planet, profit. I’m borrowing buzz words from the triple bottom line phenomenon but when I dig deep that’s truly what I’m all about. It’s always what I’ve been about and will be about.
It just makes sense. I’m doing what I love while simultaneously giving back and standing up for the causes that I believe in. I’m theLULAdesigns and I’m justified left. Which way do you justify?
The art of guerrilla marketing is a tricky one. If done well it can catch like wild fire and bring more exposure to a brand than any big money campaign could. It’s hard to do well but definitely memorable when success is achieved. Here are some of my faves:
Guerrilla marketing isn’t only effective with making a buck. It can give exposure to a cause. It can also elevate the “good” factor of a brand like these tactics by The Fun Theory, an initiative of Volkswagen, to raise social and environmental awareness.
When you really think about it, the best and most memorable marketing initiatives go out on a limb and are full of creative energy. Another awesome guerrilla marketing montage for your viewing pleasure:
For a freelance designer without a Fortune 500 marketing budget, self promotion can be taxing at the least. These campaigns inspire me to think outside of the box with my marketing and flex my creative muscles. Get guerrilla and have fun.
Feel free to let me in on your guerrilla faves. Inspire me!
As a creative freelancer, your website is your key marketing platform. It needs to be clear, intuitive and really speak to what you do.
Here are 10 easy tips to creating a full-fledged online identity (that works!) in a digitally minded world:
1. URL. Make sure your URL is relevant to what you do, and make it simple and easy to remember. Your name alone is great—like alxblock.com or a mix of your name and trade like theluladesigns.com. Short and sweet is the key here.
2. TITLE. Remember that we are trying to make your site work for you, so we want people to be able to find you with a simple search. Make sure your name, trade, and location appear in the title of your site:
This is an easy thing to do with by implementing the <title>REPLACE THIS WITH YOUR NAME, TRADE, AND LOCATION</title> tags in your header.
3. KEYWORDS. This is about selling YOU. You need to make sure that not only is your online portfolio a good representation of your work, but that it is fully visible. Your portfolio should include keywords that will allow the almighty Google bots to find you. Use keywords in the header by implementing the <meta name=”keywords” content=”INSERT COMMA SEPERATED KEYWORDS HERE”/> tag on each portfolio page.
4. CONTENT. Google likes dynamic over static. Make sure your site is built in a way that allows you to update it often with new content quickly and easily. Having a blog on your site is ideal because you can post something new every day, making your site much more interesting and allowing you to come up in the search results more often.
5. BACKEND. I’m a huge fan of WordPress and use it on almost every site that I build (even this site is built completely on WordPress—portfolio and all.) With all of the plug-ins being created by developers worldwide, it gives you the largest selection of cool things to add to your site. The best part is that you need little-to-no technical knowledge to use it. It’s simple and effective. Make sure that the CMS that your site is built on is something that you can manage. Make sure it achieves your goals.
6. USABILITY. What good is an online portfolio if you can’t navigate it? Make sure your links are set-up in a way that is clear and intuitive. You always want to give your visitors somewhere to go next. As soon as they reach a dead-end page on your site, they are out of there and onto the next. Be as clear and bold as possible with your navigation.
7. AESTHETICS. Dude. Make it pretty. You’re a creative and this is the impression you are going to make on people. Make sure your images are clear, your type is clean, and your grammar is correct. People will judge your work based on how your site looks, so be sure that it’s as awesome as your work is.
8. NICHE. It’s impossible to appeal to everyone. Think long and hard about the people that you really want to target. If it’s non-profits, then be sure to include examples of your work done for non-profits. If you’re after agencies, then be sure to include a well rounded array of collateral materials. Make your portfolio relevant to your audience.
9. CONTACT. So now that someone has landed on your site, make sure that it is super easy for them to get in touch with you. Try having your email in the footer of each page. I would also recommend a full page dedicated to the ways people can get a hold of you. This could include badges to your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN, or just a simple contact form for people to fill out:
10. BRAND. As a freelance creative, you are the visual expert. Your site must be clear, effective, have a streamlined look and feel all the way down to the language that is used in speaking to your audience. Make sure that your fonts appear the same way on each page, the colors all work together, your logo is clear and present everywhere that they look, the language is consistent and that it all represents what you do.
I’m not trying to imply that these are the only things that make a successful site. Good traffic and a profitable return on your hard work can take some time. Be patient. Build that strong community by following these tips and the business will follow.
Technically, she’s my mother-in-law but we’ve never been big on the in-law title. Miki doesn’t come with all of the cliche baggage. The truth is that she’s all sorts of awesome. I often wonder how I lucked out with such a great guy AND great mother-in-law. She’s not only my husband’s mom—she’s my mentor, my friend, my mom.
You could cut the tension in the air. Today is her first day of chemo. The first of many, many treatments over the next five months. What does one do while your mom’s getting chemo? Well, being a designer, it made me think about logos—cancer logos.
I’ll start with the big gun. The American Cancer Society researches, reports, and provides support for just about every cancer out there. A patriotic logo set in red, white and blue with a caduceus sitting solidly to the left creating a sense of confident guidance. It’s a logo that’s clean and straight forward. One might even venture to say that it’s a little cold for the subject matter. Although, they are an organization that’s rooted in hardcore research.
Another big one is Susan G. Komen for the Cure. An organization that raises extensive funds for breast cancer research. The sans serif typography is modern yet soft enough to remain humanistic. The all too ribbon icon has a slight modification of the dot on top mimicking a human silhouette which adds a unique factor to a well used symbol.
The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation’s mission is to “support research, education and public awareness of gynecologic cancer prevention, early detection and optimal treatment.” The logo is about as generic as the mission statement. Don’t get me wrong, they do vital and amazing work that I have the utmost respect for. Unfortunately, from a graphic standpoint the logo leaves much to be desired.
Ovations is dedicated to the pursuit for a cure for ovarian cancer through funding of new and ongoing research and treatment initiatives, increasing awareness of the subtle signs and symptoms of the disease and give hope, education and comfort to those currently battling ovarian cancer. The subtle scaling of the O and S create the illusion of them hugging the tagline giving it a very humanistic feel. The butterfly icon nicely balances the typography and is an image of hope and metamorphosis.
The High Heals Foundation’s mission is to “raise funds to develop methods for early diagnosis of Ovarian cancer and aid in the discovery of a cure through research, advocacy and education.” Although I don’t wear heals, I do think this lockup is fantastic. What’s more go-go-girl power than a patent leather spike heal paired with lipstick red? It’s fun, accessible and dares you to be courageous.
There’s countless logos out there that range the spectrum from all medical business to bleeding heart humanitarians.
All-in-all I’d have to say that Team Miki takes the cake when it comes to cancer taglines. The official logo is still in the works (that is, as soon as I design one) but you gotta LOVE this tagline:
We put the balls into fighting ovarian cancer.
That’s what happens when your mother-in-law’s circle of friends are all knee deep into Marketing. She definitely puts the balls into fighting cancer though. Miki is a tough woman and logo or not she’s fighting cancer with style.
So this evening I experienced the Wii Fit Plus. When I say experienced, I mean that I was stupified by this beautifully designed machine.
My lust for the Wii has been lingering since they first hit the market like everybody else but as with everything in my life, if it’s not vital then it’ll have to wait. It sucks but that’s the way of life with baby.
At any rate my sister-in-law, Katie, just purchased a Wii Fit Plus. I was there when she got it and the envy was boiling over. I had to resolve that I would just go play it at her house.
Well, ladies and gents, tonight I did for the first time. When Katie pulled it out from it’s little nook under the TV and handed me the remote I was dumb struck. It was gorgeous. The Balance Board was sleek, white, and compact. It wasn’t really much bigger than an average weight scale but oh my it was so, so much more. Even the ergonomic remote was beautiful AND it came with a trendy wrist strap. It was so pretty you’d think that Apple had made it.
The fresh white and green branding elements that are present in the packaging, on the website, and in the game added to the allure as well.
Not only was the system aesthetically pleasing, it was really fun to play. Let’s just say that I broke a sweat taking down Katie’s hula-hooping high score. I even got to design my own Mii. Your Mii is basically your Wii avatar. There’s so many choices in features that I was actually able to make it look very similar to me. The graphics are great. It sort of reminded me of Super Mario Brothers but much cuter and cooler. I guess that makes sense since Nintendo puts it out.
I’m so glad that I finally got to play a Wii and am even happier that it’s my sister-in-law’s so I can drop by and play all of the time. So thank you fabulously designed Wii, I bow down to thee with respect and admiration.
“There’s no sticky tape!”, my mom exclaimed completely impressed with my son’s diaper. You see, I’m the baby…and I’m thirty-three. Mom hasn’t seen a diaper in over thirty years. She was in complete awe. Kinda like I was a few weeks ago when I went to check out potty training diaper options.
Now, I’m sure plenty of people would take an experience like this in-stride; however, being a designer I have no choice but to see the craftsmanship in everything. And yes, that includes things made to catch poo.
I was standing in the store aisle completely amazed at the insane amount of options in not only brand names but types of diapers. Talk about decisions! There were boy graphics, girl graphics, pull-up types, temperature regulated ones to cue the kid when pee happens as well as disappearing picture graphics if your kid is a more visual type of learner. Since becoming a mom, I’ve been initiated into the world of child and parenting products. What a world full of wonder it is! Apparently, diapers are no exception.
This experience led me on a quest of curiosity about the history and design of diapers. Beginning with milkweeds back in the ancient day to environmentally friendly gDiapers of today, diaper design is one of extreme function, convenience, and now a push towards ethically conscious.
Without a laundry facility on-site, I guiltily use the disposable kind. I’m sure this guilt plays into the pressure that I feel to get him potty trained. But that’s another story…Cloth diapers were out of the question. Like I said, no on-site laundry, I’m not interested in being the source of some sort of mass e coli outbreak.
We tried the gDiaper. They are stylish and way more environmentally friendly than disposables; however, the design is a bit stressful for me, an OCD designer neat freak. The re-usable cloth outer piece is fantastic and even velcros in the back for the exhibitionist phase that all babies seem to go through. The inner disposable part gets flushed down the toilet. Presto! Just about as much waste as a regular trip to the bathroom. The issue for me is the process of dismantling the disposable part for the actual disposal. Great design for a non-poo phobic person but way too much anxiety for myself.
gDiaper as shown on gDiaper.com
But enough about my little guilt ridden explanation, there’s also Seventh Generation diapers and Nature Boy & Girl that work just like the regular disposable kind except they are more organic and claim to biodegrade quicker.
No matter what diaper decision one makes, there is a design for everyone. Whether it be cloth, disposable, or some sort of hybrid of the two; diaper design has mastered the art of function and convenience. They are all quite aesthetically pleasing from the organic look for the more one-with-earth appeal to bold, funky graphics for the hip urban parent. They all focus on ease of wear for baby and ease of mechanics for mom and dad. Not like the old tape kind that Mom used. They range from the do-it-yourself cloth kind to the throw-it-away totally disposable kind.
It’s a heavy decision as a parent and a citizen of Earth as to which diaper one should subscribe to. Like with anything else, it all boils down to lifestyle, finances, and where your ethical viewpoint stands. But no matter what diaper decision one makes, it’ll be a far cry from milkweeds. Hmmm, makes you wonder if someone rocked out on the design of some milkweed diapers back in the day.
My friends and family consistently make fun of my anal retentive ways. I often pow-pow with my designer friends about our frustration with the lack of order in the day-to-day of, well frankly, most people we know. My world professionally and personally must have order. For instance, my husband’s desk is piled high with papers, random articles of clothing and who knows what else. My desk is pristine. It has to be. I can’t work unless everything is in its place.
He sometimes amuses himself by moving objects on my desk ever so slightly, snickering to himself as he watches me subconsciously shift everything back into place when I sit down at my desk again. This same madness carries over into my work. There have been many a night with my husband staring at me with a worried eye as I mumble incoherently to myself; glazed eyes fixed on my screen all the while you can hear my belly growling from down the block because I’ve forgotten to eat, again. I’ve often wondered if this is some sort of anomaly but one only has to delve lightly into the design world to discover the depths of OCD of design. It runs deep people.
It’s a gift and a curse. This is the thought that crossed my mind when I ran across this post on amusingplanet.com about pencil sculptures.
Seriously, think about the obsessive intensity it would take to sharpen each and every one of these pencils just-so to create this piece. It’s beautiful. What we don’t see is the crazy eyed designer who hasn’t showered in days sustaining life on pencil shavings thanks to…drum roll please…the OCD of design. Well, it’s official, I’m not the only one and glad to know it.
MOM1 and MOM2
XENA
