March 18, 2008

Post2Post Virtual Book Tour: The Back of the Napkin.

For Design Crush readers let me fill you in a little: Idea Sandbox’s Post2Post Tour is a web-based book tour where authors and their books are connected with websites and readers. For five business days, making five stops, the author moves from one site to the next – discussing with the web hosts and readers – the book, the big idea, and other items of interest. And for those of you visiting Design Crush for the first time: Welcome!

The star of this leg of the tour? The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam. In very, very short summary the book follows this philosophy: Any problem can be made clearer with a picture, and any picture can be made using the same set of tools and rules. Used properly, these tools can work their magic much better than any computer program.

A graphic designer by trade, this philosophy has intrigued to me to say the least. What about my Photoshop? My Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver? Surely I can accomplish more than someone who’s never so much as drawn a line.

According to Roam, solving problems has absolutely nothing to do with drawing pictures or innate artistic ability. In fact, sometimes those who have those talents struggle the most. The process of visual thinking is comprised of four steps, each of which we’re already good at. Looking, seeing, imagining and showing.

Visual thinking means taking advantage of our innate ability to see – both with our eyes and with our mind’s eye – in order to discover ideas that are otherwise invisible, develop those ideas quickly and intuitively, and then share those ideas with other people in a way they simply “get.”

Ideas govern our world. Imagine if Aristotle or Socrates hadn’t been able to get their ideas across – we’d be screwed! We’ve all imagined fantastic ideas, but unless we can successfully convey them to others, the value and possibilitiy of our ideas may never be known. Everyone’s drawn on a bar napkin at some point, whether it be to sketch your Next Big Idea or to give your phone number to that hottie sitting at the other end of the bar. And according to Roam, that’s as complicated as it needs to get.

With this process, as with so many others, there will be times when the steps don’t flow 1-2-3-4. Sometimes we’ll even need to go back and make changes. This happens most frequently with Look and See which constantly feed off one another. But if we’ve successfully shared our idea and done the job right, the people we are showing work to will immediately start their own visual thinking process. And so the cycle begins.

As I said in the beginning, I’m a creative-minded person by nature, so I was really quite interested in how this book could possibly effect me. I can draw, so surely I can get my ideas across. Or so I thought. My main takeaway is that bigger isn’t always better. Just because I have the capabilities some others might lack artistically or in the computer department doesn’t make me a better communicator. Simple is best when it comes to getting your point across. It also leaves more room for the people you are sharing you idea with to expound upon the initial thought.

Check out the other stops in the Post2Post Tour: The Back of the Napkin!

Monday, March 17:
Jeff De Cagna
Principled Innovation Blog

Tuesday, March 18:
Peter Durand
The Center for Graphic Facilitation

Thursday, March 20:
Chris McCrory
Kennen, LLC

Friday, March 21:
Keith Bohanna
Pureplay

And if you’re still thirsty for more stop by The Back of the Napkin blog for the inside scoop.

Posted In read up, shameless plug
4
March 18, 2008

100 Best Last Lines From Novels.

:: image via Veer


I’ve been a bibliophile since birth. I blame it on my grandmother and mother who read to me daily. And on my aunt who is a librarian and always brought me the latest books from her school library to read before any students even had a chance!

The American Book Review has released a list of what they consider the 100 best last lines from novels. Some of my favorites that made the cut:

3. So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)

52. Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.
– J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

65. This is the difference between this and that.
– Gertrude Stein, A Novel of Thank You (1958)

:: via Neatorama

Posted In online, read up
6
March 12, 2008

IDEO Eyes Open City Guides.

I have a weakness for well-designed books, so you can imagine my excitement when Mark of Chronicle Books contacted me about the soon to be published IDEO Eyes Open city guides by Fred Dust. My wait ended yesterday afternoon when I received both the New York City and London guides in the mail.

My initial response? WOW. The type, the photography and the layout are all extremely beautiful and immediately sucked me in. This is definitely my kind of guide book – one that takes you to the cool little places you’d otherwise spend your entire trip trying to discover. These guides aren’t for the sightseeing crowd, but rather those who want to really discover their surroundings like a local looking for inspiration in the every day. To the casual observer the book doesn’t even make you look like a camera-toting tourist, which is a huge bonus in my eyes. There’s also a fantastic complimentary site to the books, check it out here.

What were some of my favorite spots, you ask? Let me share…

NEW YORK
• MetroNaps: mid-day shut-eye in the Empire State Building
• StoryCorps: a national project to instruct and inspire people to record each others’ lives in words
• BAMN!: an automat of food for people on the go (or on the drink)
• Rice to Riches: rice pudding heaven
• GrandOpening: currently a ping pong parlor – but come July that’ll all change!

LONDON
• Dans le Noir?: a dining experience in total darkness
• Harvey Nichols Foodmarket: top quality food with amazing packaging design
• Hayvend: vends specially produced artworks, smaller than the average slice of bread
• Cafe Kick: foosball cafe
• Electric Cinema: nique cinema experience with original interior and luxurious leather seating, footstools and tables for food and drink, and a bar

Posted In read up, travel
3
March 11, 2008

Book Tag.

In a alternative to the usual rules of getting tagged, Josyln of Simple Lovely asked me to open the book I’m currently reading, flip to page 123, read the first five sentences and then post the next three sentences.

I just started The Learners by Chip Kidd a few days ago and am loving it so far. Here goes nothin’!

So what we’re doing with this project is bringing together a number of adults, of different occupations and ages, and are asking some of them to be teachers, and some to be learners. We want to find out just what effect people will have on each other as teachers and learners, and also what effect punishment will have on learning in this situation.

What was all of this about punishment?

I’m going to pass on the love to five more bloggers I’d love to get inside the books of:
A Cup of Jo
d.Sharp Journal
(In)side the Loop
Mackin Ink
MadeByGirl

Posted In read up, shameless plug
5
March 6, 2008

Anthony Burrill.

Book Smarts is a series of three books – The Truth About Nothing, Semi-Survival Guide to the Future and Words of Finite Wisdom – by Anthony Burrill that had me cracking up at my desk this morning. Anyone who can make me laugh that hard makes me instantly like them. I’d love to own a set of these bad boys.



UPDATE: After posting this, Anthony himself contacted me. He saw that I was a fan of the band Reindeer Section and shared a video he made for them and their song You Are My Joy. So, so good it left me a little happy/sad! Check it out here.

Posted In create, graphics, read up
2
February 27, 2008

Nursery Style.

When April of Chronicle Books contacted me about Serena Dugan and Lily Kanter’s Nursery Style book I jumped at the chance to learn more. The book is geared towards creating a personal, stylish and comfortable nursery. Rather than just going to a store and getting an out-of-the-box ensemble, Nursery Style encourages parents to reflect their own style and use unique design elements to create a more personal, meaningful nursery.

I love that someone has finally taken the initiative and put pen to paper on this subject! By bringing your own personal tastes into the nursery, everything becomes more cohesive and gives your home a more familial feel. Don’t get me wrong, having a child is a huge deal, but it doesn’t mean that the style and feel of your home has to change into some kiddie wonderland.

:: images via Chronicle Books

Posted In house and home, kids, read up
0
February 12, 2008

Charley Harper ABCs.

Who doesn’t love Charley Harper? Even if you’ve never heard the name before, chances are once you get a look at his vibrantly illustrated images you’ll have an “Aha!” moment. Everyone should have some Charley in their life and if Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life is a little out of your price range put your hand down. Because come May 1st Charley Harper ABCs will be released. I’m already thinking a few pip-squeaks on my list will be getting these this year.

:: via Black Eiffel

Posted In kids, read up
0
February 7, 2008

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far.

When you’re referred to industry-wide by your last name, it’s safe to say that you’re Someone. And Stefan Sagmeister in this day and age is synonymous with graphic design.

His latest book began as a list Sagmeister made in his diary under the title Things I have learned in my life so far. (On a personal side note, I found this amusing because I have one titled Things I Have Learned So Far in Life in my own.) With the support of his clients, Sagmeister transformed these sentences into typographic works, from billboards in France to sign-toting inflatable monkeys on the streets of Scotland. Accompanied by essays as well as Sagmeister’s own words, the series is a combination of personal revelation, art, and design as well as advice. This book consists of fifteen unbound images in a laser-cut slipcase. Shuffling the sequence of the signatures will produce 15 different covers.

Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far is also an exhibition on show at Deitch Projects‘ Grand Street gallery in New York until Feburary 23.

Sagmeister’s full list of 20 maxims are as follows:

1. Helping other people helps me.
2. Having guts always works out for me.
3. Thinking that life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.
4. Organising a charity group is surprisingly easy.
5. Being not truthful always works against me.
6. Everything I do always comes back to me.
7. Assuming is stifling.
8. Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on.
9. Over time I get used to everything and start taking for granted.
10. Money does not make me happy.
11. My dreams have no meaning.
12. Keeping a diary supports personal development.
13. Trying to look good limits my life.
14. Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses.
15. Worrying solves nothing.
16. Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
17. Everybody thinks they are right.
18. If I want to explore a new direction professionally, it is helpful to try it out for myself first.
19. Low expectations are a good strategy.
20. Everybody who is honest is interesting.

Posted In graphic design, read up
3
January 18, 2008

Adland.

Working in the fields of advertising and graphic design is incredible first and foremost for the knowledge you get to be a part of. Let me clarify, there are few careers that allow you to come into contact with as many different things – be they products, services, etc – as advertising and design. I constantly feel like I’m turning over a new leaf, starting a new chapter, (insert cliche here) and never have the chance to feel stagnant at my job. Sometimes I need to remember those things when a client pisses me off or a project isn’t going exactly as I would like.

That being said, I’m really pumped about Mark Tungate’s new book Adland: A Global History of Advertising. It examines modern advertising from it’s origins in the 19th century to the present while focusing on major industry players like Tom Bernakin, Jean-Marie Dru and John Hegarty. I know, I know, a boring read for anyone not in the industry but a virtual History of Advertising for those of us who live it in everyday life.

Posted In ads, read up
4