99% in Print: A Book for the Urban Curious

So it appears that every 19 months, I write a blog post. I'm doing so now, because I have to. Because something monumental has happened, and not doing so would be inexcusable. 

If you've ever read my blog, or you know me at all, you know that I love the podcast 99% Invisible. (And that I love Roman Mars.) You're probably tired of me telling you to listen to 99PI. Well, Roman and Kurt have released a book, The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. So now I'm telling you to read 99PI.

The book is beautifully designed and perfect for anyone who is curious about the world around them. Full of tidbits and stories about intriguing design elements that you see and don't see in cities all over the world. 

So maybe you're not a podcast person, maybe you're a book person. I highly encourage you to check out 99PI in print. I stand by my claim that everything that Roman (and Kurt) say is fascinating. I've never been disappointed in an episode and I very often find myself talking about the stories later in the week. 

If you're looking for recommendations on episodes to start with, here's a blog post (from 5 years ago) that lists some of my (really old!) favorites. 

But Do They Notice?

As a graphic designer, I spend most of my day rearranging elements around a page like a puzzle; hoping to convey the message in a hierarchical, readable, non-offensive way. What I do doesn't save or change lives... I just try to make things look pretty. So... do people notice?

Well thanks to a recent 99% Invisible episode*, I can take comfort in the fact, that at least Roman Mars does....

---

"I firmly believe that people do care, even if we don't know why, even if we don't know how to articulate it, we feel the effects of bad design, whether we consciously notice it or not....  Once you get people to notice bad design, your annoyance spreads like a virus." 

               – Roman Mars

---

In the episode, Roman talks with Kate Wagner of the website McMansion Hell; an architectural critic, focusing on ostentatious homes that are built to present an ideal image of wealth but give no consideration to the grammar of design. 

Wagner wants to empower people to have opinions based on design, rather than marketing. But mostly I think she enjoys that others now have to suffer with through her shared annoyance of bad architectural design. I mean, no one wants to suffer alone. 

I can relate to this, since over the years, I have introduced many a friend to Papyrus. And I am pleased that they now cringe every time the encounter it. 

So I will go forth and design on, in the happy knowledge that Roman Mars approves. 

*99% Invisible is my favorite. The fact that there are people out there who are constantly curious about random topics makes me love human beings a little bit more.

Trying On Some New Shoes

Today I am starting yet another phase of my tenure at Wolverine World Wide.

My new role will be part of the graphic design team for the Heritage Brand group, including Cat Footwear, Sebago, Bates and Harley-Davidson. My focus will be primarily on the Sebago brand, which has produced upscale boat shoes since 1946. The brand has a history of fine craftsmanship and quality and I look forward to being a part of this hand-crafted, artisan lifestyle. 

*

This change follows Wolverine's decision to close the Cushe footwear brand earlier this summer. I was part of the Cushe team for 3.5 years, and for me it has been a time of immense growth. I was given incredible freedom in my role at Cushe, and I thank each brand leader who trusted me enough with that professional responsibility. 

Wolverine acquired the UK brand in 2009. The smallest brand in the Wolverine portfolio, Cushe celebrated moments. It valued life's journey, kicking back and the pursuit of happiness

**

When you work as part of a small team you develop a great respect for time, money, resources and the skills of those around you. The Cushe team was a dedicated staff, and I will look back very fondly on my time with them.

If you are a fan of the Cushe brand, you still have time to stock up on your favorites at cushe.com — most likely at a great deal. 

My schedule will remain the same following my transition to Sebago.***

*Photo by Dan Socie Photography

**Photo by Alicia Magnuson Photography

***3 days a week – except for the 6 weeks leading up to Fall and Spring Conferences (in May and November) when I am full-time at WWW. 

Walking in Beer

If you're like some of us, the coordination of your wardrobe with the evening's cocktails is crucial to a successful night out*. 

Luckily, major beer brands have been teaming up with shoe companies for years to outfit you for all your drinking endeavors. Here's a few collaborations for Sneakerheads to get drunk over. 

2008 Newcastle/Nike Collab  – Shop on Ebay

2003 Nike/Heineken Collab – Shop on Ebay

I have a hard time, however, visualizing skaterboarders drinking Heineken or Newcastle, so here's a few designs that seem to know their audience a bit more.

2011 Keds/PBR Collab, 2003 Nike/PBR Collab – Shop on Ebay

As it's the golden age of collaborations—and we're celebrating the merging of unrelated industries— I can't help but say "Cheers!" to these.

*sarcasm

In a Big Company... It's the Little Things

“Nothing at Facebook is someone else’s problem.” 

What a beautiful idea.

Caitlin Winner, design manager at Facebook, undertook the task of updating Facebook's profile icons. It was a self-initiated project, that started when Winner noticed a divet in the shoulder of the original women icon.

Struck by inspiration, (and possibly a little bit of obsession), Winner set about fixing the shoulder, which spiraled into creating a new set of icons. She sent the new drawings out to the team, unsure if she was stepping on any toes, before long, the icons began updating and appearing within the Facebook platform.

These are subtle changes, that probably seem frivolous to most Facebook users, but when interpreted, they actually modernize Facebook.

Having worked in corporate, I'm familiar with a world that involves meetings, deliberations and committees, and takes months to accomplish inconsequential change. I'm impressed with Facebook for how seamlessly this was implemented.

It shows what can happen when people are empowered to make decisions and process change. I applaud Winner for being self-motivated and having the foresight to take on a project without being asked. And those around her, for not holding up the process, for taking it, and not sitting on it, but pushing it forward.

It is rare that people are invigorated with the spirit to not respond "not my problem" when an error is brought to their attention. This is a bad habit that human beings have adopted, not only at work but in life, and the world. 

If a company can inspire a work culture where people are inspired to initiate their own projects, it is possible for simple ideas to become reality and often with relatively little effort and time lost.

For more on the concept of meeting less and working more, check out Jason Fried's TED Talk on Why Work Doesn't Happen at Work.

Finding Jazz: The Internet Seeks Out a Lost Designer

This design is rather generic, and yet, it might feel oddly familiar to you.

Are you able to place it? If you're a child of the '90s (or even an adult), this pattern might look familiar to you, but you might not know why...

This is Jazz, a pattern designed for the Sweetheart Cup Company (later Solo cup and now Dart) by "Gina" in 1990. The design is the highest grossing design in company history and has become iconic for an entire generation.

The teal scribble strikes nostalgic for many, and a few weeks ago, in an effort to find out more about the cup's designer, an anonymous user turned to Reddit, asking the internet to help. "Perhaps the crowd-sourced brain of Reddit can help," he wrote.

The collective brain power of the internet turned up Gina (no last name), an employee of Sweetheart in the '80s/'90s in Springfield, Missouri. Mystery not yet fully solved, News-Leader's Thomas Gouney started searching... 

The search was extensive, but following a Twitter lead, Gouney eventually found and interviewed Gina Ekiss in Aurora, Missouri.

Gina's design was the winning entry in an internal design contest for a new stock design held in 1989. Without design parameters to go on, Gina designed Jazz to be mass-produced, and to maintain it's overall integrity if misrepresented slightly.

The design went on to become part of '90s culture, becoming beloved and reproduced on everything from clothing to nail art to car decals.  


The cups may have been disposable, but Gina's legacy seems to have lived on. You can read Gouney's full account and watch his interview with Gina on News-Leader.com. 
 

You know you're a designer if....

Designers speak their own language. And they seem to have their own breed of funny bones. So you know you're in the club if you understand their jokes.
Check out these cards and more from Sara Heffernen on adweek.com.

Now that's my type of humor...

Super Beer

This is what happen when designers have free time.... the surrender to the nerd within. Graphic designer Marcelo Rizzetto has taken two passions... beer and superheroes... and combined them into one of the sexiest Justice Leagues I've ever seen.

Checkout the newly designed and refined Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and  Flash, all paired with the appropriate Brew.  

As seen on adweek.com. You can see all 6 on behance.

Now you see it

Typography is beautiful and amazing. And when done well it can be truly inspiring. 

These typographical elements are design treats–when you discover the visual wordplay it's pure glee!

But wait! There's more. Check them out at 9gag.

A Generic Brand Video

This is so true, and this is so my job. So much of my time is spent creating really generic metaphors–and finding existing (free?) stock photography and footage to illustrate them!

It's funny because it's true. Time to break free. And laugh at ourselves.