New ‘09 Bovine Kits coming soon

Happy New Year…to kick it off I am unveiling the new ‘09 kit. Check it out here

The gear is rolling out this year on Boulder Colorado’s very own Panache Cycle Wear . In addition to a very good race inspired fit…this years kit will sport a new feature…the ability to customize a message on the back…I’ll be making it easy on you all and only allowing you to choose from 1 of 5 one of which will be user generated and voted on right here.

So go take a look…I know Kanye would dig it…I hope you do too.

This post also gave me the option to try out the quick press option from wordpress…not much quicker…but less features…oh well happy new year.

We all must want the same thing

So I was chatting with Amanda Mahan the other day, and we were reflecting on the flood of campaigns and communication out there in the world that are reflections of positive thinking regarding the rather dire world we’re living in. In fact there seems to be a concerted and hopefully effective effort to reverse the current situation were all facing. There is a common theme surfacing. That common theme is about changing the way we think, and the thought that if we really start to change the way we think, we can change the situation were all in.

From Saturn’s ” Rethink” rainbow, happy campaign to a project I am deeply connected to Fuqua, Dukes School of Business and their own “Rethinking the Boundaries”, (which couldn’t have happened without Christian Seichrist, ad savant in residence, thanks xtian). In fact the smart folks at IDEO recently launched a campaign on Facebook that each week tackles a tough question and asks all of us to participate in the discussion. I appreciate the fact that they leveraged existing technology into an elegantly simple stage for us to sound off on. So can it help? Well it can’t hurt.

More positive energy and and open thinking may just be the way for us to fix this mess. It also makes us all a little more comfortable within our own skins to share a little bit of brightness and hope to if even for a minute to help chase the gloom away. As a visual communicator I help people tell their stories every day but most recently I really seem ( and the point of this entry are alot of other folks in the creative industries) to be trying to squeeze a bit more hope and postivity into all that I do. Just my effort to turn the tide. It seems we must all want the same thing with this much consistency in communication right now…we must all want the same thing…for the world to be a more chilled out happier place.

However all this “happy happy joy joy” will also take a serious commitment to seeing these new thoughts ideas, hopes and dreams whatever through. It boils down to the fact that no matter how good our ideas are…they arent gonna mean shit if we don’t focus on the tasks at hand and stop wasting energy freaking about the crap that doesn’t realy matter. The media should take a page out of this book. Politics hopefully is. All corporations, groups, agencies, etc. should simply focus on doing things that matter directly to making the planet,  our lives or…ok their products whatever that maybe… just better. If you listen between the lines you’ll hear one common thing. On TV, radio and the web experts all say the same thing…you need to be patient and wait this thing out. While were doing that lets think in new ways, listen to new thoughts, maybe even some old ones…and if that comes with some unicorns and rainbows I am cool with that.

What if we all got along?

I was thinking the other day about something the other day. What if we all really got along. Well what would happen? The whole goddamn world would fall apart, that’s what. I know I usually write about design but what got me thinking about this was communication. Design at its core is communication. So much of what we do is about trying to get people involved or adopt and new thing. But what if we didn’t have to convince, educate or unify folks anymore? It would be disastrous. Not only for us designers. But the world economy and nearly every profession would come crashing down.

Lets look at like this…what would the nightly news be like? Would journalists have anything to discuss? Would politicians be required anymore? Palms wouldn’t need greasing. Would we need police? Military?  Well? Would would it all be like? Boring as hell. My world ( here is where I get selfish) would cease to exist at least the real hard effort part of it would. I think there may be a need for graphic artists to lay out signs to free clinics and sale signs at socialized grocery stores.

I know it all sounds ridiculous, but I have started this quest for more positivity and good will among all of us who are fortunate enough to be here on Earth right now. So I naturally went to the worst case scenario of what the resluts of my new efforts may result in. We know that its an impossibility that we humans all could ever get along…completley. It really would be a boring place not to mention. Now knowing that there is no possibility at least in the very near future, the lot of us will all get along. So my chosen profession of design lives to fight another day…but…that doesn’t mean we can’t at least attemp to harmonize the small spheres in which we all live. I know I’ve been on a rant about this kind of “unity of humanity” kick I’ve been on of late. Maybe I have simply grown tired of floating in the sea of people’s hostility, stress and isolation. Therefore I am trying to make strides against this phenomena by chipping away at it as best I can. You can help me chip away at this thing too by trying to make us all a little closer. Let’s just start with saying “Hello” anyone and everyone you can.

Say Hello…

So I’ll agree design alone can’t change the world. But we as designers, communicators, creatives… whatever you call yourself…we can use our craft to help effect change. In fact there are lots of creatives who are effecting the forces and direction of society and culture by focusing efforts and actions on the things they believe in. The tremendous out pouring of creative diversity and effort around Obama’s campaign is astounding. I mean there is some really great work being done by world class creatives in an effort to support their beliefs and hope. Hell, even I have joined in on that by helping out with communication material for the San Francisco event, Baracktoberfest. Will a logo or t-shirt design change the world on its own? Not even close. But it is a contribution. The Designers Accord, an effort founded Valerie Casey, asks creatives to sign a contract that obliges them  to bring change into every project they engage on.

I recently attended a Meetup event put on by the Principals of Leap Pad interactive whose Meetup was not only about connecting with other creatives in the area, but also about coming together so that our combined efforts could effect some amount of change. The idea I brought to the table was about starting a movement. The world is an angry place. Wars, politics and general upheaval are all around us. But in an effort to effect change I am suggested a simple thing. Say “Hello”. Being an avid cyclist I am constantly amazed by the lack of solidarity within this community. When passing another rider I always wave or extend at least a head nod. More often than not this is not reciprocated. This phenomena extends far beyond my isolated physical exploit of cycling in to my many other interests. How hard is it to just say ” hello”, wave, or acknowledge back to the passerby doing or obviously connected to the same thing you are? I mean there is already a connection there. So connect with it. How hard is it for folks who have something in common, be it cycling, skiing, running, underwater basket weaving whatever. I even see this in my chosen profession of design. Were not gun fighters folks, I am not here to steal your ideas, I have plenty of my own in fact. I’d like to share them with you. Would the world improve if we all just acknowledged one another? It just might. We would all be better off sharing our collective knowledge and energy.

The “Say Hello” project will address this. I intend to invite my peers in to help. We will start with simply…smartly designed t-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers that simply say “hello”. The proceeds from the sales of the shirts can be directed to a cause of your choice. Those who partipate will become envoys for solidarity and general good will. Stay tuned for more. And remember to acknowledge your bretheren who ever they may be.

Keeping it real.

Keeping it real. I was having a conversation the other night with a colleague and we started talking about the roles we all play in the arena of the creative profession. Both of us admire the aspect of guiding, understanding and seeing  the big picture from a “DNA” level and on up.

That got me thinking I have been thinking for a while about writing an entry about this topic for a while. In fact I thought I had written it. But then realized I hadn’t. And the fact I hadn’t even written anything, period, other than creative briefs for a long time. Moving my family half way across  United States  and running 2 creative groups remotely has taken up a considerable amount of my time. But now its time to get off my ass and get back to this.

I dont know if this is the way it’s supposed to work, but it’s how I do it. I can’t imagine not doing it “this way” actually. What am I talking about? Well, its the role of a creative director. And I dont think I do it like it anyone else. Good or bad its the truth. I am one hands on mofo. Like “Get out of my way, let me sit down here and do it.” I know my designers hate and at least tolerate this behavior.” I’ll say things like “Why are you building your file like this?…It’s so complicated…the idea is simple”. I actually think that designers today rely on complicated methods and  mechanisms to illustrate their ideas. I’ll get in to their files and see why they’re stuck. Simply because a lot of the filters and tools create this massive complexity where ideas get lost in the creation. Without my participation at this even this file level I couldn’t be a successful problem solver. The traditional role of a creative director is to set the stage for the creative strategy. For me to truly understand how the creative strategy is unfolding like I need to get my fingers in the shit. Literally.

Maybe it goes back to my days as a painter ( the art kind not house,but I have done  lot of that too) but there was something connective about actually creating that gave me a deeper ability to explain ( here comes my day job) what were doing and why. With my hands on level I can explain the approach much more truthfully and more relative to the greater business objective for my clients. Because I’ll admit it… most CD’s are consummate, elegant and brilliant bullshitters. I am horrible at this. It’s that I can’t talk with out reason.  I need ( and want) to actually have a concrete understanding of the goal at hand. without it I am sunk. I have met some CDs who can fire up a  presentation without ever seeing any of the creative contained within and make it up as they go. And they can be completely successful at it.

I on the other hand really need to be involved at what I mentioned as the “DNA level” to be convincing and assured that what were doing is on track. It is this “DNA level” of understanding that for me to be successful requires my complete and total focus. Its also a total pain in the ass because it requires so much of me. But there in lies the rub. Shouldn’t this be the way all CD’s work? consumate all CD’s involved at a granular level to ensure the strategy we have set forth is being fulfilled? I mean you can only tell so much from a wall crit or reviewing a pdf. I would truly miss the “making” part of our craft  I enjoy still knowing the craft of design I like to believe that my participation at the “DNA” level leads to potentially additional problem solving. Who knows maybe I gum up the whole machine with my approach. So regardless of what my title is, or how my fellow creative directors approach their tasks at hand. I only know how to do what i do by throwing myself into the task. But the point I am trying to make…if I can is that I got into the creative business to help people communicate better and to make things. The making part is actually a priveldge, and I am thankful to still be a maker of things rather than just talker things done.

Where have I been?

I’ve been at the white house.

The creative world is a weird one. We know that…we wouldn’t have signed up for this if it was anything but. A crazy life driven by time lines and deliveries…an endless cycle of ebb and flow in terms of work. Periods of full out effort and downtime of reflection and creative rejuvenation. What? Where the hell does that happen? Well..it has to happen sometime and I recently decided to take on a private project…despite my ridiculous schedule lately. I took on something I had no business doing. Ahh. Perfect. This is becoming a familiar trend in my life.

The project was called “Whitehouse Redux“. An open call for entries via their website (whitehouseredux.org) lured me in. I thought what an interesting challenge that would be to deliver a message and an experience in a physical environment. A departure for me where the majority of my creative effort resides is in the web or in print, but I actually think that the specifics of mediums is irrelevant. I mean communicators should be able to act in any medium. Right? Right. Besides I love the fact of doings things where I have no right to to be doing them. So architecture seemed like the perfect arena for me to do such an act, and it seems I am not the only one.

To the meat of it all…what was compelling to me about this project is that most of us instantly have some pre-conceived idea of what the White House symbolizes. What was even more compelling was the re-envisioning of what it could symbolize.

Something I preach to my team regularly is the practice of really getting into the language and idea your creating and really geeking out on those details. I usually say create your own world. I realized I miss that in what I mainly do now. I was joking with one of my creatives recently about my personal creative output lately had been .pdf edits and cocktail napkin sketches. I miss the process of the mechanics of getting into a file and creating the worlds I keep telling my creatives to do. This project was to be an escape, a place to immerse myself in the “what if” that is missing in so much of our lives, in this pre-calculated today.

The White House to me ( in its current state) a symbol of secrecy, power and well…not a home, anymore. Lets think about that…it is a home. A home for the highest elected official in our land. It’s a home that we all decide ( yeah I know…go with me on this) who gets to live there. That person we put there leads out nation. Translation: The White House is really “our house” all of ours. My goal was to design a house that was about making the White House a house again and allowing democracy to be served fully. A place where our decision making and international dealings were done in with complete transparency.

Like I said this was a contest and I had a blast doing it. I don’t expect to win…but it was a fun endeavor. I really am interested in seeing the other ideas. I am excited to see what real pros could churn out if there were no boundaries…so we’ll see. I did just receive a note from whitehouseredux.org mentioning due to the overwhelming participation ( 831 participants from 42 different countries around the world) that they need just a little more time to review the work and tally the votes.

So anyway stay tuned to see what the new residence of the world’s most powerful individual might look like. For the time being here is my take. Download “Transparency” now.

The Polaroid Edge Effect and the Little Save Icon.

Every once and a while I’ll just write about some stuff that is just in my head in the hopes the sheer process of getting it out of there may un-clutter my brain.

Some things are relics of our past intruding on present day….I think thats actually a line from Ghostbusters. Damn, thats weird, and re-affirms I am old(er). I am realizing that are many things that we use as very common visual vernacular that I am not convinced the folks under 25 may have ever seen, in real life. And since we really use or engage with these things everyday…lets figure out what to do about them.

#1. The polaroid edge effect. Its found on every photo sharing site. It’s also becoming especially popular in communications that are intended to be scrap-booky or collective. Lots of non-profits love this effect…in fact I may go as so far to say its the non profit equivalent to the “wet” or “glossy” omni present reflective look made popular by Apple. But does everyone know where it came from or what it denotes? I think its humorous that this vehicle is used in teasing younger audiences. I can remember special family events and grandpa pointing a big horrible piece of industrial design that clumsily un-folded, right at me. He would (with some effort) push a bulky button and the device would spit out an inky dark dark square surrounded by that white frame we see so much of today. I can remember the anticipation of waiting, then seeing the image emerge. To me I see that and I know where it came from. Those of us who can remember that era know that it represented candid-ness, and an “instant” flash minutes later providing memory preserved forever…(or until it turned a monoprint in all hues of reds)…but does everyone? I was shooting with a film camera the other day and I cant tell you the disapointment on my kids faces when they could “look at the back” an see what I just shot. Kids.

#2. The save icon on PC’s. Come on. It’s a 3.5 inch floppy. From a UE perspective its had to be a knock. Because again those who weren’t around when DOS was the thing and Macs loaded their 3.5’s into the front, probably don’t have a clue what that thing is. Let alone what it really means or as an icon implies. Yet it is the most important command available in any program…next to undo…of course. Also what does it say about brand? “Hey you see this little thing…it means you can save with confidence. Just like it was 1996. And we’re proud of that.” So, without a historical preservation tour before any new generation of users is allowed to run rampant through a computer, how in the world can anyone think this is a good idea?

OK. So what to do about it? The polaroid edge thing I think will evolve away going the way of the Dodo and hopefully all the trappings of “The Web 2.0 look”. So we might not have to do anything about it. But you could show the kids a real polaroid, how it works and to enjoy a bit of anticipation in an instant gratification world. The damn little save icon, its useless…we can never change it. Don’t force the kids to see where that thing came from. Let’s just keep our heads down and maybe it will go away…or the next iPod will look like it. Then we’ll all know what it means again.

The Cultural Cursor.

I was having a chat with resident genius and super guy (seriously) Marc Escobosa the other evening on our states of things. He spoke a phrase that I thought really was worth talking about more. That phrase was…”a cultural cursor”, he used it as a way describe the role we as visual communicators operate. The definition of cursor is…”A cursor is a moving placement or pointer that indicates a position.” Furthermore…”The literal meaning of the original latin word cursor expresses the idea of someone or something that runs.” Damn. Marc is smart. We are moving pointers who indicate a position, at least we should be. And we tend to run around a lot. Well at least I do. Don’t you?

Think about it…our roles as creatives are to be exactly that, pointers who indicate a position, or at least points of view. We are selective sponges…constantly taking cues and making notes of what is going out there and what people are ready for. I say selective because if you took in what everything that was popular, edgy, trendy, contemporary, corporate etc…you’d end up with…well, something like the current rage of the “Web 2.0 look”, a vast blend of everything that results in so much homogeneousness, it really depresses me. That look is completely devoid of any point of view originality, focus or real idea, not to mention brand. I guess that’s it’s purpose, to appease all, since there is no way that much glow and gradients could ever set off of someones subjectivity hot buttons (except mine). The result complete vanilla. Read here…no position. But its clear there is no cultural cursor in place in these instances.

In our problem solving efforts (our daily jobs) it become evident how good we are at being “cultural cursors” really comes into play. One of the creative exercises I like to perform in the initial period of any project engagement are what I refer to as the “Barometers”. This ideally consists of 2 types of explorations, socio personas and mood boards, individually or together these 2 exercises heavily inform the creative brief, but more importantly it gives me an idea of where to take our position. Here is where we prove we are cultural cursors.

The socio persona. I have never found much creative use for “user personas”. They are wonderful for seeing how buying process plays out. But less than impressive when I am trying to to really get glimpse into what these people consume and digest. I want to know the way they like to be talked to, or better yet how they like to be listened to. In an effort to communicate with people you have to speak their language. And how do you do that without knowing all the things that define their vocabulary? Well? Ask them. Ask them what they read, what they watch, what they listen to…music especially is a big cue for me. Like fans of “The Smiths” can always handle the color, black. True. Ask them if they cook. What kind of car do they drive? Incomes and age are deciding factors but they don’t tell complete stories. From interviewing users we usually will construct 1 persona from a number of interviews…the result: a collaged interpretation of the persona. A visual depiction, usually a paste up of different things, from typographic approaches to words, to colors and patterns. Here notes, doodles etc find their way in. And always a face. From here we get to understand what a particular audience segment, who the persona represents, can handle or expects visually and gives us insight on how they want to be spoken to.

The mood board. Time permitting the mood board provides an organic way for designer to really begin to feel out “what if’s”. It provides an opportunity for the starts of directions and languages to be envisioned. Mood boards if not approached with goals in mind correctly can be fun, but useless. Clearly defined objectives for each board are necessary. These can be composed form clippings and sketches from magazines, books whatever. When dealing with a project where there is an abundance of material that exists already, this is always a wonderful excuse, to tear that stuff apart. Literally. Tear it apart and put it back together so that it becomes new again, yet remains familiar. When these come out right they result into “at a glance” glimpses of possible directions.

In combination or individually these two exercises are wonderful tools, which I like to refer to as barometers. These exercises allow us to go into a project very early on and plant stakes firmly in the ground. Once we read the “barometers” we can really focus in on some specific direction and concentrate all of our energy where it will do the most use.

So it’s true…a lot of what I just described can happen without a lot of formality. In fact more often than not it does. We are after all “cultural cursors”. My friend Marc mentioned the the book ” The Tipping Point” saying it suggests that people are either ready for an idea or not. Plain and simple. I like to believe our role as visual communicators, is not defined by a black and white line drawn in the sand. Part of the fun part of our job is the fact that we see, feel and experience so much of whats going on out there, we have good instincts about what our clients need and what they can handle. I am saying trust your gut, your clients should come to you for as much as what goes on there just much as they do for what goes on in your head. After all it is experiences that lead us to any sort of ideas we come up with. Whether you’re aware of it or not, it is your constant responsibility as a creative to take note of your surroundings as much as it is to figure how much of what you see, experience and learn makes its way back into your particular projects. Good visual communicators are “Cultural Cursors”.

The value of idea.

According to wikipedia an idea is…a concept or abstraction formed in the mind. Philosophers view the simple definition of the word itself in a million different ways. Ideas can be many things…from simple diversions ranging to legal property. But the one thing ideas aren’t is “free”. All ideas have value. Sure some less than others. Compare the idea behind those baby pacifiers with the hillbilly teeth in the front to say, the idea behind the cure for Polio or the Pasteurization process. Or are they? The value of any idea is directly based on it’s relevance to those who need it. We like to think that what we do as designers, visual communicators and creatives is that we strive to act upon the force known as the idea. In fact that is the most valuable part of what we do…coming up with ideas.

Original ideas are I would dare to say the most valuable part of any creative or strategic exercise. With the wealth of layout programs, filters and pre-built templates out there…the execution is inherently less valuable. Why? Because execution, not to ever be confused with craft, is now a commodity. Because one idea does not fit every problem. That is why truly original thinking and the ideas that result are the most valuable things that anyone can ever create. It is why we work so hard everyday to deliver the things our clients not only want but what we know they need. That is why we get hired.

There is a reason you don’t see a lot of outsourcing for things like curing cancer or any sort of great creative work. Why? Because really big ideas and the solutions that result, don’t fit into template structures and require organic and unorthodox approaches that are not easily replicated in assembly line fashion. Its nice to know in our constant quest to speed every damn thing in this world up, that the idea will come when the idea comes. Again another reason why ideas are highly valuable. In many ways ideas, strategic, thinking and sheer creativity, are not unlike diamonds. Both are reasonably unlimited resources (I know DeBeers would like us to believe diamonds are otherwise…). Both are highly valuable when in the right hands, and ironically there are varying degrees to their perfection. But regardless…there is an awareness of the value they represent.

When was the last time you got a diamond for free? I would say unless you’re on the fortunate end of some inheritance the answer is never. So the same should hold true for ideas. We value our ideas. Our clients value our ideas. Clients would never arrive on our doorstep and they would definitely never return if they didn’t see this value. The ideas that we arrive at or strive for, directly add value to our clients business and goals, in many ways, further compounding the pure value of what I have been talking about. Additionally we benefit from our ideas too, since they provide opportunities to explore new possibilities, that lend to our experience as strategic thinkers, and help power our internal libraries of material that help generate even more valuable new ideas. Simply put. We work very hard on our ideas, they deserve to be honored and delivered with respect. So it goes without saying that our ideas are never ever to be given away for free.

Consistency above all else.

Paul Rand once said “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good”. Some may argue with that, voicing that originality and inventiveness rule the business we are in. Many would think without it we would all be bored out of our skulls and stuck in the dark ages. I can partially agree with that…but without consistency we would all be lost. I like to think what Paul was saying was be consistent. Consistency undoubtedly breeds “good” visual communication.

Why?  Because without consistency you end up presenting multiple problems to your audience before you can even begin to communicate with them. I often push design teams to build “rules” for themselves that will establish systems of consistency. This way we can “teach” users our rules, related to the particular problem we are solving. That could be extending a brand or relaying the idea of some new technology, sometimes both. These rules that enforce consistency, visual handrails if you will, that provide a sense of dependability and safety. This all makes it easier for the audience to venture out to different parts of the communication we’re creating and immediately get down to doing what they came the for, the business of finding, exploring and digesting information contained within printed pages or digital experiences.

I love it when clients, friends and even our families think that designers, creatives… whatever you call them, are artists in smocks and berets, throwing pixels around. Ideation can happen in that environment, but the craft of actually making the delivery mechanism of the communication, (Websites, brochures, ads, etc) is far less sexy than that. Simply because what we do is about thinking and reasoning, to reach conclusions and to tell those stories, you need rules and systems. Big or small, rules and systems provide the consistency, that make sit possible for information to be distributed and consumed. It’s kind of ironic to think that in the world of brand and technology which is in a constantly state of re-invention and always looking for originality, really can’t move forward with out some adherence to consistency.

Whether its messaging, visual systems or even coding…to be “good” at what we do everyday there needs to be a set of underlying rules, known as consistencies.