Seven is the lucky number?

Last week there was talk about a 700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout.
This week, Monday, the stock market dropped 777 points.
Tomorrow looms ominously.
I took a trip down the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado to take my mind off my disappearing 401K.












I renamed Highway 550 the 700 billion dollar highway.












Molas Pass between Silverton and Durango.

Final Card Design

This is the final look I came up with today...
"Anisozygoptera"
So the question came up, "Why the dragonfly?"
well...
"In many cultures, the dragonfly is regarded as a symbol of light, adaptability, grace and transformation." This seems an appropriate symbol for conscious design.

Here's a dragonfly story that explains it all...

"Oyenstikker", "Trollslanda":
The Europeans thought dragonflies were sinister, but the Asians and Native Americans thought of them as symbols of courage, strength, and happiness. This connotation has spread worldwide in modern times.












In ancient mythology Japan was referred to as "Akitsushima, Land of the dragonflies."

Dead Trees

The Daily Green:

The variety of paper out there in the world is amazing.

The people at xpedex, a great paper resource, are familiar with each and every kind.

Kind of like the tea plantation owners in India.  

They know all the variety and then some.

TMI

Recycled  paper intrigued me.

PWC  post consumer waste %

You can choose.  

There is even 100% PWC paper out there.  

As a designer it is becoming more cost effective to use recycled paper and non-toxic inks.

Design proofs

I played around with my logo design.
The results...in the form of business cards:

Design examples everywhere

I looked around and found some cards that caught my eye.
I complied the ideas I liked and then uniqued them into my card.














Some thoughts that came to mind as I did.
a. What is it that I do? Is it apparent in the design?
b. What colors do I think speak best to that?
c. What font?
d. Does my design emote ?

I found a few great resources:
a. "A Brand Apart" by Joe Duffy.
b. www.justcreativedesign.com
c. Are you a bad designer? (yikes!)

Identifying Markets and Branding

Investigating how other design firms market and brand themselves.
Well I work in design now and have pondered these questions...where is my niche.
Small business, artist, women...
Someone asked me "where is the money in that, most artists can't afford websites or anything?"

I found there are lots of plug in design firms and web developers, but the most common response from my clients were they tried that and it worked for a while but now they want more personal design that represents them and their business.
My competition:
They have templates for artists...
other peoples pixels.com

I found some interesting sites:









www.3indesign.com









www.pascalarquitectos.com







www.contempomodels.com







www.leoburnett.com

From 500 to 499 to...

500 one day, 499 the next and then "poof" suddenly trillions have disappeared in a day.
Add this to the approximate 39,000 per breathing American that has been seeping out like a leaky faucet everyday since the war began.
I'd say this has been a decade of numbers.
Perfect fodder for an art project.
Reductionism.
What matters is the NUMBERS, the Wall Street mantra as seen in this CNN top story:
"The New York Federal Reserve Bank Thursday also pumped $55 billion into the nation's financial system. That comes on top of $70 billion that it pumped into the system Tuesday."

"The Bank of Japan, Bank of England and Bank of Canada set up new swap programs with the Fed, with Japan getting $60 billion, England getting $50 billion and Canada getting $10 billion."

And so on...

But even the power of numbers is collapsing as we speak.
We are on the event horizon of...
Some were afraid of Cern's Large Hadron Collider creating a black hole that would end the world.
Seems like there has been an invisible black hole operating within our midst for years.
Its all in the matrix of numbers flashing in the news every day.

Have you seen the latest poll numbers? The percentages are...
And so on...

Backlash Against Design and Innovation

Following the links on Renee's site plaid and polyester>Design21>
A r t i c l e:
>A lack of Design knowledge:
"We actually live in a world full of bad products and bad design." says >>David Carlson
"Quote"
//"Bruce Nussbaum from BusinessWeek puts it like this:

'The truth is that the backlash is against the fad of innovation, not the fact of it. The backlash is against CEOs who get up and shroud their companies and their reputations in the rhetoric of innovation while continuing to sell out-of-date, poorly designed products and services. Consumers know this is fake and realize that the talk about innovation is not authentic.'" read more://

>Look at: as art, play, information...
>Dunne and Raby

Robin Strelow, a local Colorado designer, worked as a volunteer for CASA, a non-profit organization that trains volunteers to act as child advocates in court custody cases involving abuse and neglect.
Defining the problem:
During her volunteer work she came across CASA’s brochure and noticed it was out of date. It had several different font types and featured only pictures of Caucasian children. Since the county's demographic had shifted in the last decade the overall image of the brochure had to as well. It didn’t meet the organization’s needs for recruitment and funding. The brochure is handed out during a yearly gala to attract new volunteers and gather donations, both corporate and individual. CASA was running out of the old brochures, which created the opportunity for a reassessment.
Aware a new look was needed, Robin was approached to do the redesign. There were no funds available for this project.
Design Strategy:
Robin worked with a marketing business volunteer who help develop new contemporary copy. The aesthetic had changed in the decades since the last brochure was update, from information overload to information distinction based on your organization’s target audience. This was the first time the brochure would be “designed.”
Goals of the brochure:
1. Attract more volunteers
2. Attract more funding
3. Inform public about the work of CASA
4. Create a value statement.
Approach:
1. Integrate diversity into the images.
2. Tighten the body copy to purge unnecessary text.
a. This required a reassessment of the organizations mission and goals.
3. Utilize existing assets such as the website to provide essential information.
4. Inspire confidence in the advocacy process by updating the imagery.
5. Set up a meeting between copywriter, executive, and designer to build a cohesive vision.
Innovating:
Inspiration
Working as a volunteer helped Robin to understand the goals and needs of CASA as well as the value it had within the community. There were many sad stories entering the court system daily. Much of the design came intuitively and as a result of defining the current needs of CASA.
Tough Choices:
With no budget for artwork or photography the Internet was a great resource for free imagery. The new brochure had a sense of competency and seriousness to it. It used white space and new imagery to lighten the message and give the reader room to breathe while conveying a sense of grace to CASA’s mission.
Funny enough there was an issue with one of the photos on the final brochure. It was a picture of a young girl twirling, her arms spread wide. The director felt the girl looked “scary” like she was being crucified. The photo was replaced. There was also some push and pull with the amount of text. This was resolved by using the organization’s assets such as the website, for more detailed information allowing the brochure to gain more white space.
Generating Value:
The design didn’t require a sell because it was a collaborative process integrated throughout the design process. Value was established by the choice of photos and words and their treatment. The new design provided room for the audience to digest and contemplate the issues presented. The professional look established legitimacy as it adopted the current aesthetic common to modern corporations and businesses. In order to be considered, CASA needed to speak the same culturally appropriate visual language as their audience. The new brochure invited comment not because of its lack of adherence to modern design principles but because it seamlessly fits into the modern aesthetic as well as created an indescribable ahh-ness best described by the Japanese expression, “mono no aware.”








Note:
I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Robin. She gave me an extensive indepth picture of what the design world has been like for her. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to talk to her. The work she has done has been varied and interesting reflecting the passion she has for design.
"Passion in life feels itself"
Thank You.
Sincerely,
Claudia

Pro Bono D-day

I was scheduled to talk to Robin today but we haven't connected yet...
I feel like I'm just shy of harassing her, leaving messages, sending follow up, just in case emails.
Well, she has my email, my number, my questions, knowledge of my intention and of my deadline.

In the mean time I've been researching her on the internet.
She founded Bluegg Creative Design in 2001.
No record of a website exists of this company.
There is a Bluegg Design in Cardiff, England that is hiring.
Check out their website. They create clean modern designs.







Robin is now working for Interweave Press, a national craft media company. She is helping this firm, who seems to be stuck in a "craft" 80's ish aesthetic, to develop a cohesive vision that will translate through all their departments; advertising, web, print, and launch them into a 21st century aesthetic. Take a peek at their current website and you'll understand what I mean. Despite their audience it needs...something...less. I found the book "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug, a great resource about juggling a company's many diverse needs and balancing that with successful user interface design. (*A Brian Book, recommended in one of his classes)

She has two pro bono projects listed online:
Voices For Children/CASA of Boulder County
vfccasa.org




Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers
www.rfov.org