[design, blog] Commerce Magazine Takes Note!

Thanks to a tipoff, we learn that we are getting a mench in a local magazine.

As hinted at in the previous entry, the Times has garnered a mention in the magazine Commerce,
published by the Daily Journal of Commerce. I understand the issue is themed in local design, and right there, in what appears to be an "A to Z" listing of interesting things, is my own humble missive mill, mentioned in the same breath as Blog-oMotives, Kamp Grizzly, and SportBucket.

We are thrilled to be considered in such company. Click on the graphic to see it bigly; here's the text of the part that mentions us:

Portland designers blog in–and about–thier downtime, too. Random thoughts and news from designer Samuel John Klein show up at zehnkatzen.blogspot.com, plus a click-through feast to Klein's current projects, such as Designorati.com and Quarkvsindesign.com.

It must of course be said that if it weren't for Pariah S. Burke, I wouldn't have Designorati or QVI in my portfolio. He's definitely the genius there.

We haven't seen the issue yet (though DJC was nice enough to pop one in the post for the asking–thanks, you guys), but thanks to the tip off of Friend Of Zehnkazen John Chilson at Stumptown Confidential, we got a look at the page. We don't know who put the article together yet, but we thank them.

Technorati Tags: blog, design, The Zehnkatzen Times, promotion

[bloggage] Welcome Commerce Magazine Readers

A little bird has told me that I was listed amongst the design-oriented 'blogs in an article in the current issue of Commerce magazine, a publication of the Daily Journal of Commerce.

This is, of course, most cool. If you're reading this blog because you were referred here, then welcome...feel free to converse!

Welcome!

[design] Dreamweaver 8 Enters The Creative Suite

This is fairly big news if you're wondering what the next release of the Adobe Creative Suite is going to look like.

According to this article posted on CreativePro.com (and commented on by me at Designorati) Adobe is going to kick GoLive, thier web-authoring tool, out of the Creative Suite, and before the next full version release.

Apparently what's going to happen is Dreamweaver 8, nee Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, is going into the Suite and GoLive is getting cut loose as a stand-alone application. Not only this, but the new Suite, saith CreativePro.com, is going to be released in November as Creative Suite 2.3. It won't be Universal; that's not due till CS3, next year.

You lucky and wise dogs who have been on the CS train and have CS2 will only suffer $160 worth of damage. If you didn't think you needed CS2 and stayed with the CS, you'll be forking over $550. A new seat of the Suite will still be $1,200.

Technorati Tags: Adobe, Creative Suite, Dreamweaver 8, GoLiveCS2

[logo_design] Lowering The Bar Even Farther: MMOL

I just returned from surfing the most amazing, appalling thing I've seen in a while.

It's not even Internet pr0n...

There is, of late, a site called "Make My Own Logo". It is an automated logo creation engine.

I have here, before, commented on what I find a pernicious attitude that you can economize down the creative process and still get a solid logo. The online reaction to LogoWorks catalyzed my thinking in this regard. LogoWorks, it will be recalled, is a site that promises to get you your own customized logo for a fraction of what it would cost to obtain real design talent; the way this was done was by gathering designers desperate for work and throw them on projects in somewhat the same way gamecocks compete at a cockfight, paying them a pittance in return.

It generated bad will amongst designers who had, you know, actually bothered to go out and get trained or at least mentored, to become enlightened designers who'd actually striven to get smart at this. And then there was the plagiarism (including the simple cut-and-paste copying of the Xerox logo, so help me). But I, once again digress.

Alerted by my colleague Elisabetta Bruno at this posting on Designorati here, I looked at the site calling itself MakeMyOwnLogo.com. Here was a site that actually has lowered the bar even farther than LogoWorks did. I didn't think it possible, but it happened.

DIY Logo Development

The model is, to give credit, admirably simple. Surfing the home page you'll find some logo examples and a big yellow button that proclaims a free trial. Clicking that button will take you through a short process:

1. Input your company name, tagline (if you want), and check the industry segment as appropriate (no Graphic Design there. Coincidence? I think..oh never mind).
2. Choose a design that speaks to you out of the grab-bag of images they come up with.
   
3. Customize the font and color (if appropriate).
4. Pay $99.
   
5. Job done! Your result arrives in email presently.

The images I was given to choose from had this clip-arty feel to them, and the range of type seemed somewhat limited. I chose "Computers & Internet" and "Communications & Electronics" for my industry segments. Amongst the images paired with the word SunDial were: an abstracted Beelzebub, several national flags ghosted in the background of the word (Including Brazil and Turkey (Turkey?)), a classic car, and a fly.

Yeah, those express my mission to a T. Ai yi yi.

But wait, there's less

Now, anyone can debate with me 'til the river rises about how much work ought to go into designing a logo and what a fair price for this service is. But regardless of what anyone thinks about the actual value of a desinger's services, let's instead look at it as a different equivalency: are you getting back value for the money?

Even on my C.A. dialup connection, the whole process of winnowing MMOL's rather (in my opinion) limited offerings to something only vaguely appropriate took less than 10 minutes.

10 minutes of your time to pay $99 for something that thousands of other people could get in a flash, pretty much probably at the same time you are? Doesn't seem an even trade to me.

And when I got to the finish line, where was the free trial? Or was the design process the free trial?

If LogoWorks is like going to the supermarket to get something mass produced but still somehow just for you, this outfit is like going to the convenience store: limited selection, high prices, low quality. There's a bunch of huffing and puffing about the product I could do, but to me it's enough to know that they are making you pay to do what you could do for free with a book of clipart and some low-cost graphics program.

It's bad...and not in the good way.

Technorati Tags: logo design

[bloggage] The Middle Earth Journal

Today I linked to Ron Beasley's Middle Earth Journal.

I don't usually announce the 'blogs I link to: that's probably a silly attitude to have, but it always feels like this bizarre cross of bragging and begging (I would like more links, if I may crassly mention in passing, [harvey fierstiein]I just want to be popular, is that so wroooong?[/harvey fierstein]. Ahem. Anyway.)

But after stopping by MEJ, I really began to apprciate his style. Even I remember a time when the vox pop could have a contentious discussion without the powerful side turning into a bully who attacks every one who disagrees with them as unpatriotic, unAmerican, evil and very possibly going straight to hell.

That's not to say that I disagree with Ron; as it happens, I agree with him more often than not. But reading his reasoned (and rather well-written) prose I find that I've pictured him as a man whom, if I did have a substantial disagreement, we could actually come away respecting each other.

That's a rare quality these days. Some other 'bloggers share it.

So a link goes in, and if he recpirocated, I'd be quite flattered, actually.

Technorati Tags: Middle Earth Journal, Oregon Blogs, Ron Beasley

[misc] This "Dog" Ain't No Sleuth

(NB and disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with this fine fellow but for lifting his 'blog's name for the purposes of satire. Sincere apologies.)

When I heard that Duane "Dog" Chapman got arrested and was facing extradition to Mexico for messing up on the job that made him famous, I had to laugh.

Now, I actually don't necessarily have anything against that singular American character the hustler. As long as he's giving us a good show and isn't hurting anybody, having one around can add spice to a mundane, dreary life. And, after all, regardless of what anybody says or thinks, America is a place where the motto ought to be "fake it 'till you make it".

So, we have the hustler, the BS artist supreme, making you think he's all that regardless of whether or not they are all that. And, by doing so, he can sometimes becomee famous, which I also don't begrudge, because that's the way sometimes things are done. And, like I said, if you don't hurt or steal from anybody–what the heck. We got entertained by you.

Now, Mr. Dog enters into this because, whenever I hear about anything he ever does, I think of a few years back, when he pretty much blew into town, bad taste incarnate, stomping about braying about how he was going to find Brooke Wilberger, and then pretty much blew back out when the PR machine ran dry on him.

I don't know about anybody else, but I got the feeling of all mullet, no cattle there. But, hey, he got his few minutes of press, neh?

Although he does give a bad name to the mullet.

That, and his escapade, depending as it does from his bad-boy style and rep, did nothing to add to the public regard of the "bounty hunter".

And so we have today. The case that made him famous, the apprehension of Andrew Luster (who, we must note, is going to be in stir for an awful long time to come, rightfully) was handled–well, a bit sloppily. As we gather from the news reports, "bounty hunting" is illegal in Mexico; when the Mexican police caught up with him and demanded Luster back, Dog said "No", proceeded directly to Hawaii and collected his fame and fortune. When Dog didn't return to Mexico to resolve the charges he became a fugitive (maybe he had a hint that his case was a bit weak) and made himself vulnerable to what eventually happened: The Mexican Government initiating an extradition.

I mean, he works in the sphere of the law. Shouldn't he of known better?

Though they don't usually chase people down after a span of years (the Luster case happened back in '03). That is kind of weird, I understand. But then, if you black somebody's eye like that, I guess you've got to expect they'll come after you eventually.

So, no, I don't have a great deal of respect for the man, and I find his current travail ironically hilarious, and something that reminds me of something said by more than one police officer on the show Cops to a perp getting jacked up on outstanding paper:

"You've got to take care of your warrants."

Words to live by.

Technorati Tags: Duane "Dog" Chapman, Duane Chapman, Dog The Bounty Hunter

[design] Have You Seen The New QuarkVSInDesign.com?

If you haven't, then you should.

QuarkVSInDesign is, of course, an association I am most pround of. Some four years ago, Pariah S. Burke, another of Portland's, hidden gems, noticed that entries on his 'blog, I Am Pariah, titled "Quark Sucks!", came up regularly in the top three on Google.com.

No mean feat.

The talk got so thick, as a matter of fact, that he eventually hit on the idea that "World DTP War II: This time it ain't PageMaker" had legs and needed attention of its own, and the world got QuarkVSInDeisgn.com, "The Authority on The War of the Desktop Publishing Giants™". Ever since then it's been doing the yeoman's work living up to that billing. Along the way, it picked up me.

Times change, and the digital design world hardly stands still; nor does QVI (as I call it to avoid having to type out the whole URL alla time). Quark 7 is out; CS3 is down the road just a little bit; the DTP War doesn't appear, to me, to be as close to over as it used to.

During the past few weeks, Pariah got busy, and QVI got a major makeover. Gone is the old color scheme, which some readers found a bit hard to read, to be replaced by some eldritch web wizardry implementing an office-supply motife that is the most fun thing I've seen in a while (index tabs, torn sheets back up documents, and you actually seem to be entering your comments on a Post-It™ Note.

Amazing how he does this. As usual, I stand in awe.

You guys don't have to stand in awe, you just have to get over there and avail yourself of the sassiest, most independent writing on the web about QuarkXPress and InDesign (and occaisionally, my own quite modest writing).

What are you waiting for? Git!

Technorati Tags: QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, InDesign, Quark, Quark vs InDesign, QuarkVSInDesign.com, DTP, digital design, DTP War II

[design] QuarkXPress Vs. Its Installed Base

Just caught a job listing on Craigslist here in Portland looking for a QuarkXPress expert who can work fast. There's one important caveat though. More on that momentarily.

A central concept in computer software/hardware sales is that of the "installed base"; that pool of users who already have a version of what you're trying to sell 'em. They're already using you. They'll continue to use you as long as they work for you, moreover, they're more likely to use you in the future when your product improves through successive versions.

The pitfall here is that your successive versions need to actually be better. You still have to sell yourself–not as hard a sell, to be sure, because that installed base is most likely to use you again–but if you deliver that base infrequent updates that are either poor quality or of only dubious functional improvement (at best), then they will stay with your old versions; they won't follow you no matter how sexah you make the product.

And if something that looks better comes along, they'll look at it. And if you keep shining them on, they'll jump (helloooo, InDesign...).

You keep the fans fans by giving them compelling reasons to come along with you.

This factors back into the history of Quark because, before the current release (QuarkXPress 7), thier last big-time version was QuarkXPress 4.1. This was back in 2001. Five years, as perhaps goes a certain tautology, is an eternity in computers and software. In that time, Adobe was able to make InDesign ready for primetime and QuarkXPress is no longer the undobted king of the hill.

Back to the installed base, however; another thing that creature dislikes is change, because change is going to cost you; sheer money, to buy a seat of the software (InDesign and Quark are now about even in cost, but the entire CS2 is going to run you slightly over one-large, and the multi-langugage version of XPress, Passport, is still several hundred dollars more than QuarkXPress Regular), and time (and also money) to train yourself (or your staff) to shift over to the new software.

As time has gone on, it has made more and more sense for former Quark shops to go Adobe. And those shops have been, not XPress 5, 6, or even 6.5, but 4.1. Quark's biggest threat may be Adobe, but its biggest competitor is QuarkXPress 4.1–a software application more than five years old.

This is why XPress is vulnerable, why Adobe has been stealing market share and slowly (but inexorably) chipping away XPress's installed base, and why even though Adobe isn't going Universal until CS3 (due sometime next year) it shouldn't hurt them much, as, by the same token, even though QuarkXPress 7 is Universal, it probably won't make a difference to them long-term.

The job listing I was talking about at the front of this article insipired me down this road with one certain caveat, as I mentioned: the designer must be able to save back to QuarkXPress 4.1. If you have QuarkXPress 6.5 (as I do), you can't do it. If you have 5 on the shelf (as I do), you could do it, because XPress saves one version back...but do you want to? Will your computer even tolerate two different XPresses on the same disk?

I don't know. But as long as one can still find need for designers who can save back to QuarkXPress 4.1, regardless of how shiny-new XPress 7 is, Quark's going to have problems.

(NB: This article should not be construed to, in any way, cast aspersions on the people who placed the ad. If you're interested, go to Portland Craigslist right now, and if you're a Quarkster who can save back to version 4, hey, you might get yourself what looks like a neat freelance opportunity. The title line is :Need Quark Expert on Mac ASAP)

Technorati Tags: Quark Inc, QuarkXPress, Adobe, Adobe InDesign

[distractions] Gordon Ramsay: He Hates The French, Too

Just stumbled on this little nugget via Topix.net...

Some say that our pasts leave indelible marks on our psyches; others say it's a matter of perspective. We don't know ourselves, but The Ramdog sure remembers what it was like when he was coming up in the shining capital of world cuisine, and has a notion to even the score...

They make us all look so normal. I got such abuse there, I was like a tortured child. So the idea is to go back to Paris, staff the restaurant all with English and call it Roast Beef.

That oughta learn 'em.

Technorati Tags: Gordon Ramsay

[font_design] Over At Designorati, I'm Getting Something Started...

Right now I'm getting something started over at Designorati that's really gotten me excitied. Since Chief Editor and Dragonslayer Pariah S. Burke did some serious battle against the forces of Evil, it's better than it was, and I'm embarking on, for me, a rather ambitious project.

I've done a bit of noodling about font design and have always wondered what it would be like if I could come up with something that I could let out in the wild. I don't know if I can do anything innovative or übercool but I would like to put together something solid and have someone else use it.

Well, FontLab, who is to font editors what Adobe is to digital graphics, has unwittingly agreed to help me in my world conquest goals (mwah-ha-ha-ha-HA!). Seriously, though, they have two tools for two price-levels, TypeTool and FontLab Studio, which I've long admired and have always wanted to put to a stress test.

Well, now, I get that chance. I have both TypeTool and FontLab Studio and I'm going through an evolution on Designorati in which I examine both tools, cut a review on each, then use one as the design engine that brings my digital vision into reality. This is a big thing for me, and a chance to let my ambition run kinda wild...

This looks like a hell of a lot of fun. Follow me if you want at Designorati.

Technorati Tags: font design, FontLab, FontLab Studio, TypeTool, Designorati

[zeitgeist] The Ironic Demise of The Crocodile Hunter

I've held this down for as long as I can. If you have a low tolerance for irreverence, then please, dear God, disregard this post, but if I don't put it up on the 'web, where everyone will see it, and in, to paraphrase a certain Dr. Lizardo, "in the miserable annals of the Earth it shall be duly enshrined."

Ever since I heard of the tragic, strange end to the life of Steve Irwin (and my sincere condolences to his wife and two children, he did entertain even a hard heart as myself) I learned two very interesting things:

1. His lovely wife, Terri, was born in Oregon and reared in Eugene.
2. The incident that took Steve's life, involving a bull ray, was as close to a random accident as Steve Irwin was likely to get.

Point 2 needs elaboration.

The incidents of death from the sting of a ray are exceedingly rare. How so? Reading the Wikipedia entry (yes, I know, caveat lector), I find that the incidents of death from ray-sting in 1996 totalled up to a mere 17.

Not 17 per month or 17 per whatever. 17 period.

Not only that, the venom of the ray sting, while capable of making one sick, doesn't necessarily kill. Quick action by first-aiders can resolve the emergency.

Moreover, way this particular attack did the poor fellow seemed to be as "lucky" as can be: piercing the chest and going through to the heart, in a shot that could have only been one-in-a-million.

So. To summarize: Steve Irwin, during his remarkable life, looked into the jaws of things that would help themselves to some Steve Irwin face; played with reptiles that could poison him to death in an instant; diced with carnivores that consider him a mere snack. But for all his rolling of the dice with the animal kingdom, all his chance-taking, what should get him but what would amount, to you or I, to a careless slip on the kitchen floor that just happened to go wrong.

Here's the irreverent part; the inner part of me, that twisted part that enjoys dark humor, thinks this is incredibly funny. And this chronicler begs his reader's forgiveness, but ever since I computed the above calculus, I just can't quit grinning inwardly about the sheer absurdity of it all.

There. I've said it. I feel much, much, better.

Back to our regularly scheduled show...whatever that is.

Technorati Tags: Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter

[transit] Cherriots Announces New Service Levels and Fares

In the wake of the news that the last transit levy Salem voters voted on was turned down and service cuts were to be expected, Cherriots have finally announced just what those service cuts and changes are to be.

All but six of Cherriot's 29 routes (25 regular fixed routes and four park and ride routes) will suffer service reductions or changes. Most of these seem to take the form of elmination of quarter-hour runs, elminiation of two or three early runs, and elimination of inbound runs on late routes.

Saturday service is being retained, but buses will no longer run on additional legal holidays: President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veteran's Day. There already is no service on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day.

The fares are also going up: $1.00 regular adult, $0.75 Youth, $0.50 Senior/disabled. Wow. In my distant past, I remember when the system fare was 35 cents. And, at one time, Cherriots drivers actually gave change.

Good times.

I think Cherriots is to be commended for spreading the cuts in the evenest possible way (at least as far as I can see) and making wise choices as to what services will be maintained, especially the maintenance of Saturday service, which, if I recall correctly, may have been on the chopping block.

A summary of the changes (and links to downloadable schedule information) is here, at the Cherriots website. Changes take effect 4 September 2006.

As someone who grew up (and was a carless youth) in Salem, I always thought that Salem never has had the transit service it ought to have had. It pains me that the voters didn't value it. Such is life, though; things are kind of tough all over. Since transit is a service that serves you even if you don't use it, though, cutting funding for it we either directly or indirectly undermine ourselves.

Healthy cities have good public transportation. The way I see it, that's just the fact.

Technorati Tags: Salem-Keizer Transit, Cherriots, system changes, transit fares

[bloggage] Introducing Chef Tony

This 'blog is not becoming a foodie blog; not that that's a bad thing, but it's a bit off-mission.

The minutiae would be threatening to overcome the other stuff, and they shouldn't. That's why we call them minutiae.

However, I would be remiss if I didn't comment on another local. Let's add to this that I think chefs and cooks are cool people. Cookery is a public art that everyone has a feeling on, and watching a good chef do thier job is like watching a painter work alla prima right in front of you, with the additional benefit that it's a lot easier to find chefs to watch than it is painters.

So, allow me to introduce Chef Tony, who had the decency to post a comment about one of my myriad commentaries on Chef Ramsay. He's just getting started with a site at http://www.cheflifeonline.com, so it's a little rough right now, but if we all give him some visitor love, I'll bet he'll come up with something worth seeing.

He works at a famous local restaurant that's a bit outside my budget range right now (that's just the facts, kids), but if any one of you folks stop by there, say "hi" to him for me.

Support your local chef.

Technorati Tags: Chef Tony, Chef Life Online, Portland Oregon

[artist] Thomas Kinkade: It's Getting Heavy for the Painter of Light™

Warning: If you enjoy the paintings of and admire the work of soi-disant Painter of Light™ Thomas Kinkade, do not, under ANY circumstances, read this post.

Okay, the Kincade fans are on board now. We can proceed.

Some time ago, in this post and this post, we assayed the personal and professional style of one Thomas Kincade, Painter of Light™. Looks like he's been doing a bit more than painting.

In my blog tripping, I stumbled upon this gem (via the L.A. Times, registration may be required). Long story short, the FBI suspects our boy Thomas just may have been getting away with fraud:

The FBI is investigating allegations that self-styled "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade and some of his top executives fraudulently induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially, former dealers contacted by federal agents said.

The bait? An appeal to Christian faith.

"They really knew how to bait the hook," said one former dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case. "They certainly used the Christian hook."

The switch? Unchristian business practices, quite possibly:

Former gallery owners said that after they had invested tens of thousands of dollars each or more, the company's practices and policies drove them out of business. They alleged they were stuck with unsalable limited-edition prints, forced to open additional stores in saturated markets and undercut by discounters that sold identical artworks at prices they were forbidden to match.

Whatever you think of Kincade, you owe it to yourself to read the full article, and make up your own mind. I, for my part, am hardly a Bible scholar, but something goes off in my head when one uses thier devout faith as a selling point. It cheapens the whole thing. To me, you're either trustworthy, or you ain't. The words "Trust me" should never, ever, be follwed by the words "because I'm a Christian". It matters not whether you are Christian, atheist, Hindu, or Pastafarian, for that matter.

And, as a chaser, peep this masterwork. My understanding is, it didn't sell to well (another warning to Kinkade fans: doubleplusungood to surf this link. I'm serious this time!)

Technorati Tags: Thomas Kinkade, artists, bad art

[distractions] Gordon Ramsay London's Top Chef Again, Again

Just caught this little gem being reported across the world on various sources: in a popular survey conducted by the guide Harden's London Restaurants 2007, Chef Gordon Ramsay was voted best London cook for the 11th consecutive year.

But that's not all: of London's restaurants, five of them (including his eponymous Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Chez Bruce, and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's) appeared on the top-10 list, up from three last year.

While acknowledging the Chef's apt PR acumen and obvious culinary talent, Harden's does wonder if Chef's culinary dominance of the London scene might be a bit of a straitjacket, however:

"In some cases this reflects the intrinsic merits of the restaurants, but in others it is just a function of the power of the Ramsay PR machine to generate footfall...It is no criticism of Gordon - or his vaulting international ambitions - to say that for one man, or brand, to achieve such dominance over London's top-end restaurant scene risks becoming stifling."

It's all about the branding, baby.

Technorati Tags: Gordon Ramsay

[design] Getting What You Want Out of Your Designer

Communication. Interflow. Keeping the lines open. Reading is fundamental. There are about a billion ways, so it seems, to highlight the importance of keeping in touch with people who are using one's services that it all seems trite to remind people that of all the communications protocols out there, simple human communication is perhaps the most important...and the most taken for granted.

Liz Strauss, of Successful-Blog, has distilled her POV down to an insightful list. In a post titled 10+1 Sure-fire Ways To Get My Best Work–and the Best Work from Everyone–Every Time, she offers the following list:

1. Make the work important.
2. Spend time to show me you mean that.
3. Start by defining as many terms as you can.
4. Be able to tell me what you want to write.
5. Think about how you would approach the writing task if you had to do it.
6. Imagine how I might go off in the wrong direction.
7. Tell me where you want me to get creative
8. Estimate how long you think it would take you to do the job.
9. Ask for an early checkpoint or sample.
10. Write a quick bulleted list of what we agreed to.
11. And, the +1 bonus point: Give me all the information you can...don't hold back for fear of insulting my intelligence.

At this point I suggest you go to Liz's article and give it a quick read–it's actually quite succinct. Tell Liz I sent you. Then, come right back here. I'll wait.

In the prefacing remarks, Liz boils it down to one salient point: It wasn’t the work. It wasn’t the people. It was how we put the two together. This is the nut of the thing: It's how I work with you. It's what each of us knows about one another's work what I'm doing and you're wanting. It's the communication, stupid (sorry, nothing personal).

The list she made above captured my imagination but while it's well suited to writing–which a lot of people who aren't professional writers do everyday at varying levels of skill, so an injunction such as Estimate how long you think it would take you to do the job is a reasonable question–it wouldn't quite work in the design transaction.

Apt design is a trained skill. Not everyone can do this. Note that I am sincerely not saying the non-designer isn't smart enough to design. The truth I've learned, though, is that whether or not you get the skill through self-teaching or instruction, those calling themselves designers and who do it well pull together skills and perceptions that the average untrained designer just hasn't been exposed to. Design is a grammar; one has to at least learn some of it for one's designs to work.

It's about pulling the client into the process

The way Liz's concept works in the designer-client interplay could more be thought of pulling the client into the design process. Design is an evolution, and when a client hands a job over to a designer they may feel as though they're sending thier baby off to school, and have no hand in it until such time as they get it back.

The process can be improved by giving the client some active hand. Naturally, the designer will still be doing the designing, but I think of the client's influence as a guidon. Remember, the creativity comes with not coming up with your own vision of what the client wants, but translating that vision into a practical reality. The client wants to boat down the design river, but you're the pilot; the client wants something, and you'll be steering the client's wants away from the impractical.

But the client can take the ride with you. An ideal end to this would be an enlightened and satisfied customer, and a triumphant designer.

The List–My Version

Liz's list is a great one and very insightful, as I've said. It is, however, as I now see it, a slightly ill fit for the designer-client relationship. Here's my list:

1. Let Me Know Why You Came To Me. I already assume that your work is important;
   Don't let me forget that the reason you're querying me is because you think I'm up
   to doing your job and doing it well.
   
2. Take Time to Tell Me Exactly What You Want. I want to give you what you want
   me to give you, but I can't read your mind. Since you aren't a designer, you may feel
   that just a few words will suggest to me what you want; this is where misunderstandings start. Let's avoid those, and use whatever words you feel are necessary to explain it as clearly as you want to. Don't assume that I'll not respect you if you don't speak the lingo; I'm on board with you and will automatically give you all due respect.
3. Let's agree on terms from the start. Go ahead and tell me what you expect from me during the process. Be blunt if you feel you must; I won't be offended unless you're trying to be obnoxious. Do you expect constant updates on progress? Do you have any questions on what I'm going to charge you? Do you want to make a list of checkpoints, either formal or informal? Let's get all your concerns on the table where we can discuss them.
4. Let's Settle on a Timetable. I can work either with or without a timetable; I'm adaptable. If you want a timetable, though, let's hash that out in the very beginning. I'll say what's possible; you say what you're hoping for. Together we'll negotiate that to something we can both live with.
5. Let's Agree to Disagree. After we dice out the terms it may prove that we, as client and designer, might not be the best match. We should have the mutual courage and respect to admit to each other that we have differences or, if the differences be large enough, conclude our relationship before too much investment happens.
   
6. Let's Make Each Other Accessable. I check my email sometimes several times a day. Give me a way to reach you with reasonable speed. I promise to respond to you directly to any question; please respond to me as quickly as you can if I send you a query or a proof.
   
7. Don't Be Afraid To Ask Me How I'm Doing. This one should explain itself. Any question? I am at your service–shoot!
8. Don't Ever Hold Back For Fear Of Insulting Me. As Liz says: You’d be surprised how often it happens that intelligent folks hesitate to give other folks information about work for fear of insulting a person’s intelligence. Not knowing is not the same as not being intelligent. Please tell me so that I can do well for you.

This is the first attempt at a philosophy along those lines; I'm expecting to evolve this as time moves forward.

If it is a big ball of "oh my gosh", though, just remember, it all boils down to communication: you tell me what you want, I tell you want I can do for you, and in the end, we come to common ground.

Talk to me.


Technorati Tags: design, freelancing

[bloggage] It's Raining Blog Services

The funny thing about the 'blog fad is, just when it seems to become trite, someone figures out a new service to debut. We now have two new ones.

Just about everyone has heard of Vox, the New Thing by SixApart. It's free but you can't just walk in and get you some; you have to get invited. Unlike Gmail, which you had to beg, borrow, Google, or bid up on eBay to get an invite, though, you can sign up for one on thier home page.

I've heard that some people are selling or auctioning off Vox invites. At the time of my posting I had five available; following up on another post will get you one, until I run out of that five.

In general, after looking through Vox, as it stands now, it's a blog service for the casual blog user, the kind who wants to share pictures and stuff with friends and family, and doesn't care much for blogrolls, or link lists, or getting thier hands dirty customizing the HTML in the template. There is customization options available, but how to contribute your own–or if they ever will allow you to do so–is far from obvious, if not completely unimplemented.

They do have a nice selection of templates with some quite attractive designs, but no apparentl way to customize your own past some preset options for the sidebars, and I couldn't find a way to get to the HTML to edit it, like you can with Blogger. If eventually having to settle for a 'blog that looks like a lot of other people's isn't for you, you might not like it much.

Vox does, however, excel in the way you can upload and share things. The interface for uploading is very cool and intuitive, and includes options for photos, sounds, movies, file collections, and even simplifies embedding links to books from Amazon...or wherever. It's very slick there. It is, though, slow-loading for those of me with dialup connections; if youu have one too, you might find the page load time irritating.

The other new service is really an old one. Blogger beta is here and in the process of being implemented in a public test phase occurring right now. Just like Blogger regular, Blogger beta is free for the asking; you do have to get a Blogger or Google account.

From what I've seen of it, Blogger beta is headed for a very slick implementation. There are new dynamic configuration features that have to do with blog appearance that include live previews. There is a new field that allows you to put what they call "labels" on your posts, which allow posters blog categories like other blog services provide. Uploading is a lot more slick, and there looks to be more sophisticated photo handling–even the ability to delete photos and pictures you've already uploaded.

The version of Minima Black that I used while playing around on Blogger beta used disclosure triangles to hide and show the archive list. Atom feeds are now avalable directly from the post, rather than you having to hack your template to install RSS links, as well as subscribing to post comments.

I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but it's starting to look pretty exciting. Blogger beta, being in a test phase, does not yet allow template editing, but that is apparently in the working.

It really does look like Blogger is going to take a good thing and make it better. Sa-weet!


Technorati Tags: blogger beta, blogger, vox, blogging, blogging software, blogging services

[bloggage] I Have 5 Vox Invites...

Vox, the new blogging service being mounted by SixApart, is in beta right now. Just like Gmail beta when it was debuted, admission is by invitation only.

You can sign up for the invites at the Vox home page and wait for a while to get one, or, if you're one of the first 5 commenters on this post, I'll toss you one for free. First come, first served, you guys.

Go!

Technorati Tags: vox, sixapart, blogging

[pdx, sf] The Awarded Among Us: David Levine Takes The Hugo

The Hugo Award®, given annually by the World Science Fiction Society, goes to the best of the best. This year, the best of the best for short stories went to a local writer, David Levine.

The awards were given at a convention just held in Anaheim, called Interaction, and the story, entitiled "Tk'tk'tk'", went up against such notables as Mike Resnick.

The story was published in Asimov's Science Fiction in March 2005. Asimov's has mounted the story on thier website and it can be read (for now) for free here. I recommend it.

I'm happy to hear that David's won this award; I've had the pleasure of meeting him and, while I'm really no more than a nodding acquaintace I've known him to be a truly nice guy; I've never seen him that he doesn't have a smile and a good word for people he even doesn't know. And, as OryCon attendees must know, his appearances as part of the panel of the late-night "Whose Line Is It Anyway" performances are simply legend.

We should all celebrate when a decent local fellow wins; please join me in celebrating David.

NB: The photo of the 2005 Hugo (the rocket remains the same, but the award design is unique every year) was nicked from the Wikipedia entry on the Hugo Award.

Technorati Tags: Hugo Award, David Levine, OryCon, Portland Writers

[design, typography] Via design matters

Where the blogger asks a very good question:

I don't know why our field seems so curiously self-obsessive.

And arrives at a very apt conclusion:

All in all, it's a great time in which to be a graphic designer. Don't worry so much about your software skills. Instead, learn how to think. Then it won't matter how you're defined, you'll know how to solve problems, and your clients will recognize that and value you for it.

For the skinny, read this post.

My view has always been that which CeCe Cutsforth put forth in my training at P.C.C.: a designer is a problem-solver. I think that, withal, contains all one needs to know. Others, however, do require more detailed definitions. So it goes.
Also of note: it's the Wrong Apostrophe. Wrong apostrophe? Yes; you're soaking in it. Find out what I mean by reading this post (illo nicked from design matters).


Technorati Tags: design, typography, meta

[art] Why Cheap Art?

With little further ado, I lead off with Bread & Puppet's Why Cheap Art Manifesto:


I love this broadsheet. I love the play of the type, and I love the rough look of the type. I love the appeal to freedom ironically dated 1984. I love the way majuscules fight with minuscules; I love the way the type in the lower half is varied from exuberant line to exuberant line. I love the way the composer didn't give a flying damn about leading, letterspacing, kerning, or in some cases, even the baseline.

I first saw this a year or so ago when I was taking an art class at PCC Sylvania; it was photocopied and stuck to the wall over the sinks in one of the painting studio classrooms. This particular graphic was nicked from the Art Manifested site (I don't think they'll mind) whose aim is wholly laudable, though I find thier self-impression at the rather droll and obvious joke that inspired the name somewhat irritating. They advance a subject sadly missing from the current cultural conversation. Notice how there's a continuing call for the Portland Art Museum to stage events that the working folk can afford? Notice the (at least as far as I can percieve it) dearth of affordable opportunities to see orchestra?

The only time I've been to the PAM was with school field trips. My The Wife™ has never gone, and wants to. This is sad.

The only affordable events that the orchestra holds are on the weekends. I work weekends, and must arrange well in advance to get time off for things. And I certainly don't have an unlimited vacation bank, so I can't make it a habit.

There's a perception that fine art is for the élite, and there's a good reason why most "reg'lar folks" don't think real art has anything to do with them.

Technorati Tags: art, type, typography, inspiration, Bread and Puppet

[web_design] Basic XHTML Knowledge To Go

Just stumbled on: a PDF excerpt of a book called Stylin' With CSS by Charles Wyke-Smith, mounted by CreativePro.com.

The upshot of it is that to make web pages that are graphically good-to-go with the greatest number of modern browsers, you gots to use CSS; to use CSS effectively your markup should be XHTML-compliant. This excerpt gives you the fundamentals you need to know that will make your markup compliant.

Download it from the CreativePro feature article here; and while you're at it, make CreativePro.com a regular read. You get a lot of great knowledge there for no extra cost.

While I'm at it, I have a short, shamful admission to make; in the beginning, before I learnt much about CSS, I was convinced that it was just some sort of fad designed to make markup just a little more difficult. How very wrong I was. When I took the time to sit down and study up on basic CSS, I found that it's like lightning in styling and giving graphical cohesiveness to your web pages. If you don't know CSS, you're missing out; when it comes to sane web design, CSS knowledge is one of the coins of the realm.

So, I'm kind of showing what sort of innocent fool I can be, but remember, the breaking of innocence is the beginning of wisdom.

Technorati Tags: web design, CSS, XHTML, CreativePro.com,

[design, tools] The Fray, Overlooked: Yes, Mac Good!

In the last post I mentioned a series of epiphanies I had on my last job interview, I neglected to mention one, and it has to do with technology:

Apple PowerMac is the gift that keeps on giving.

I was pleased to see that the machine they were doing design on, running Mac OS X 10.4.7, was a Power Macintosh G4, not sure what the clock speed or the number of processors is (though if they're as smart as I think they are, it's a 2-brain G4 running at least at 1.25 GHz), but it was in the 2004 Mirrored Drive Door chassis. Their set up is very similar to mine, which just so happens to be a 2-brain 1.25 GHz G4 in the MDD case.

I've notice this again and again; those who acquire PowerMacs get years worth of work out of them. They seem to go obsolete just a bit slower than ISA machine and when they age they age gracefully; I have personally known of other designers and net-heads who have Quicksilver G4s and even blue'n'white G3s running well under 1.0 GHz that are still getting good, productive work out of them.

I'll be honest; I'd love to upgrade to a G5 or one of the hot new MacIntels–who wouldn't? But I'm getting another half-gig of memory on this set up of my own and she's still turning out the work I need, day after day.

Looks like I picked the right pony here.

Technorati Tags: design, tools, design technology, Apple, PowerMac, PowerMac G4

[design] More From the Fray: Interviewing as Market Research

In interviewing for jobs one sometimes finds out things one didn't know about, and it becomes a lesson, if approached at just the right way.

I was fortunate enough to go out on another interview yesterday. I walked in not knowing if I would be a good fit for this organization so I made of it a research thing.

Walking in there, I had already acquired information that I didn't have before. I'll not specify who it was over the company's own privacy interests, but in the day between when I made the appointment and walked up to the company's front door, I found out a lot more about photography (digital and film, and taking pictures of very specialized subjects) than I thought I would.

The job requires Quark experience, so I found out that despite the up-and-coming of Adobe InDesign there are still shops committed to the platform; I do note, however, that in my job searching so far, I find that I see the word InDesign a lot more than I do the word (and yes, though I tend to call the product XPress, for a while now, the products official name has been QuarkXPress). A corollary to this is, if you want to work in layout, at least try to grok QuarkXPress. Quark has a free trial copy of V7 you can download here. At least get you an orientation.

I found that, if you want to work web design, then you have an edge if you can at least understand the concept of mail merge, and that knowing where to find out about shopping carts will find you in good stead.

I also found that marketing insight is vital if you want to at least have an intelligent conversation. The company's primary web presence exists, largely, as two sites; one styled more for consumers and one styled more in thier 'purveyor-to-the-trade' mode. The consumer site can function as a front end to the purveyor site; this is what Google analytics calles a 'defined funnel'. The first site is slick, glossy, and well-designed; the second, an efficient, simply-styled site for those who know what they're looking for. I noted this in the interview and it resulted in a rather educational discussion of what this company wants its web presence to actually do for them.

I found that a really unified graphic approach indeed does make an impression. The company's graphic face uses a handful of typefaces and a simple, uncomplicated theme. The result; a luxury appearance. And it communicates that very well. Standards matter. Adhering to them strengthens the company's personality and style.

Frequently I talk logos. Even more frequently, people talke trademarks..you know, the ® thing. There is a tendency to confuse the two, and this is a dangerous misunderstanding for a designer who has anything to do them:

A logo, as understood by myself (and many), is a unique graphic device, either abstract or realistic, that may or may not also contain type, and uniquely identifies a product, service, or what-have you.

A trademark, on the other hand, is a legal thing, which uniquely describes a product or service but which confers a great number of additional rights on the trademark holder. Trademarks require distinctive character, as well; it cannot be discriptive. You can have an "Apple® Computer", but you cannot have an "Apple® Apple.". Read the Wikipedia's entry on it, which is quite complete.

Many times people will say "trademark" when they mean "logo". For the layman, this is forgivable, for the desinger who deals in identity, much less so. And there are legal steps which must be taken and billable hours expenede to get that little ® mark. Respect the mark.

Just another word on marketing, as a concept; the transition of thinking of myself as someone who can work in design to, looked at another way, something that can be marketed, has been jarring, just a little. There is a certain depersonalization, but there's an empowerment to be had there too (sorry to resort to the itchy neo-words there, but the meaning's the thing), and that comes in acknowledging the rules of the game.

Our economy–such as it is, however its working now–is a market economy, and if we cast ourselves as a value-producer, that market is where we sell those values. My market, as "Brand Me", is the graphic design field. Occupations in that field come in a dizzying array of shapes and colors, but when I come to my market I have to put my wares up front–what I have, what I can do. Understand this, and you can participate–at least until the paradigm shifts again (sorry 'bout that overused word too).

On a related note, it's not a bad company. Would be a pleasure to work for it. No chance for the grass to grow under my feet, something always needing to be done. As I said to the fellow interviewed me, "I didn't learn this trade to read a newspaper on the job".

Well, at least in so far as I'd be involved in its design.

Let's think the good thoughts.

Technorati Tags: graphic design, job search, self promotion, marketing

[inspiration] I'm for this book, See...

A fair time ago I reviewed a movie from 1985, The Quiet Earth (and here's how I wrote about it). Subsequently I found that it was a 1981 novel by a New Zealand writer and academic named Craig Harrison. Naturally I'd like to get a look at this book...

But in a world (NB if the preceding clause were outlawed from the language 93% of the motion pictures now made would have to have thier promotional shorts redone) where, even to this day, Beanie Babies (yes, Beanie Babies) can still occasionally have a show at the Baja Gresham Mall of America, where books like Battlefield: Earth can still sell (well, that's what they say, anyway), one may reasonably, I think, expect to find a single copy of a 1981 novel floating around somewhere.

One would be proven very soon wrong, ABEbooks, Alibris, Amazon, the lot...all them come up empty.

So, I'm throwing this message in a bottle (and tagging it appropriately), in hopes someone somewhere might have an connection. I'd really like to read this book!

Title: The Quiet Earth
Author: Craig Harrison
Year: 1981
ISBN: 0340265078

Let's see where this gets us.

Technorati Tags: The Quiet Earth, Craig Harrison, book wanted

[distractions] Heather West To Stage Kitchen Reunion?

Nicked from Us Magazine, queried by reporter Eric Andersson, and via tmsfeatures.com, we hear a rumor that Chef Heather is building bridges with at least two of her former competitors:

Q: When do you go to Vegas?
A: Soon! I'm psyched. It's a big task, but I'm going to dive right in. And I've talked to [Kitchen alums] Keith and Garrett about joining the staff.

We've been saying that Heather's a class act. Here's more proof. And more:

Q: You sparred with Virginia, your cofinalist. Is it safe to assume she won't be pitching in?
A: She's a good friend of mine now. One thing I regret is how mean and hurtful I was to her. We're all just there to win.

This and many other interesting tidbits about HK and the chef's can be found on The Times' HK2006 index.

Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heather West, Chef Heather West, Red Rock Resort, Terra Rossa

[design, how-to] Brushin' It Up In Illustrator

I do work in Adobe Illustrator CS2, but it, as all Adobe graphics tools, are sprawling programs. Once one develops a style, one uses some features less than others, and I am no exception.

Just now, coming in on a situation, I was experimenting with brushes. Brushes take your vector path and apply a graphic look to it, which can be varied and changed, and there are effects already in Illustrator, such as a watercolor brush, ink splatter, and charcoal smear. But how to create your own?

With the "calligraphic" brushes and the "pattern" brushes, it's as simple as selecting "New Brush..." from the palette flyout menu or clicking the New Palette button on the bottom of the palette. When you do this with nothing selected, however, the "Art Brush" and "Scatter Brush" options are grayed-out. How to start those?

Simple, actually. The Art Brushes and Scatter Brushed require something to get started with, and that can be any vector path you already have, though the true power of this is to introduce painterly things into your Illustrator document, so if you really want to go to town, get yourself some crayon, watercolor mark, or such, and scan it. Place the scan into Illustrator to make of it a vector thing, then drag that thing onto the Brushes palette. The New dialog will pop up with Art, Scatter, and Pattern brushes selectable (and Calligraphic grayed-out this time). Select the brush type desired, then go to work on your options.

That's what I get for brushing up with "Illy".

LAYERS magazine has an excellent (and more complete) brush creation tute if you surf this link.

Technorati Tags: design, how-to, Adobe Illustrator, brushes

[design] Embarking Upon the Technical Editing Sea Anon

While it is true that the last two attempts at getting in-house design positions has come up closed-handed, this is not the same thing as saying that the situation here has been completely without success. My reputation has just helped me land a technical editing contract!

It's true. And a bit more well-paid than the last time too...

Likely as not, not many of you know who a tech editor is or what they do. If you use how-to books, specifically in my case computer software books, they've been intimately involved in the production of that book.

What a technical editor does is check the book for accuracy, clarity, and use. Particularly; the author crafts a chapter and the editor sends it along to the tech ed. Tech ed reads the chapter and does the exercises and projects, noting where things didn't quite work out or where something maybe could be worded a little better. The completed chapter is forwarded back to the publisher for finishing.

When you work with programs like Adobe Illustrator (like the last TE job I did) it's a joy; when you're doing it under the authorship of an accomplished instructor (like Pariah) it's like getting an intensive training session that you get paid for. Failing a regular full-time gig, there's seldom anything better. And I get my name in the credits of a book...how cool is that?

The contract sits upon my desk, waiting to be signed. Signed it shall be, and sent by the morrow at latest. The author tells me he suggested me only to find out that the publisher was leaning toward asking me from research he'd already did.

Now, that is flattering–not to mention being me very impressed with myself.

I love tech editing–and I can't wait to get started on this. Not to mention I just got paid a little from another project, not a kingly amount, but enough to get an extra 512MB on this G4...but I'm digressing again.

There will be more on the editing project when I get an idea of how much I can say about it.

Technorati Tags: design, technical editing, technical editor

[design] Jacci Howard Bear's Design ABC's

At the DTP forum at About.com (desktopput.about.com), Jacci Howard Bear is spending the next 26 days (from 11 August) taking you on a rocket ride around the alphabet of design.

So far we've done A (Adobe, alignment, small "a"), B (business cards, balance, baseline), C (calendars, contacts, color), D (dingbat, diphthong, dummy), E (Elements of Design, Eyes & Ears, Envelopes), F (finishing, folding, fonts), G (guides, gutter, greeking), H (hairline, head, how do you DTP), and I (graphic identity).

Worth following, we think.

On a related note, I think graphic design is the only field in which I am aware that you can use words like dingbat and not be arguing, diphthong with a straight face, and dummy without necessarily commenting on your associates intelligence. Why not work in design?

Technorati Tags: graphic design, DTP, Jacci Howard Bear

[design] QuarkXPress=The Evil? Still?

Returning to an old saw I just can't quit using, "It' takes 10 atta-boys to make up for one aw, hell". As tired as that's starting to sound, I keep turning up instances where someone burned by Quark's past performance still holds little goodwill toward the quondam layout king and its signature product, QuarkXPress.

This time's bit of evidence for the file comes from the Live Journal blog The Scenic Route (pixeldrift.livejournal.com). It's a short-short entry you can read in its entirety here, but here, AFAIC, is the money shot:

The previous designer in my position was a Quark guy. His work has that style to it. I don't know what it is, but just looking at some spreads you almost want to say, "That looks Quarkish." Maybe it's because early, even clunkier versions of Quark influenced designers in their formative years and it just sort of stuck.

Well, now I'm stuck having to make updates to his old Quark files. Grrness.

Grrrness, indeed. One more Aw, Hell Quark has to make up for. Multiply this by the thousands of customers Quark took for granted Back In The Day™, and you'll get some idea why Quark is still in some trouble despite generally positive reviews for XPress 7.

In Quark's defense, the poster didn't say whether the software in question was XPress 4, 5, 6, or even 7, for that matter. And, in the interests of disclosure, The poster links to QuarkVSInDesign with the "Quark Sucks" button (it's at the bottom of the post).

Technorati Tags: QuarkXPress, InDesign, Quark vs InDesign

[distractions] Breaking: Heather West To Actually Get Own Restaurant

Just found this bit out while scanning for news on the recently-crowned Hell's Kitchen winner...

The prize, as advertised through the show, was an executive chef position at T-Bone's Chophouse in the Red Rock Casino resort in Las Vegas. Well, Heather will be working there, but not at T-Bone's, after all. It would seem her fortunes have become just a bit more charmed.

On 18 August, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Heather is set to become Senior Chef at the resort's Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa:

Red Rock President Scott Kreeger said in June that the "Hell's Kitchen" winner would be placed in T-Bones Chophouse in a position based on the chef's skill level. However, management decided her abilities would best be utilized at Terra Rossa, said resort spokesman Jeff Lovari.

The contract details had not been finalized Thursday, said resort general manager Ronan O'Gorman, but hotel officials are looking forward to West working at Red Rock.

"I think it's very, very positive for the resort. It's been an extremely popular show, we've had a lot of exposure, and we've had a lot of response from the public," O'Gorman said. "The phones were ringing right after the show with people asking where they could eat Heather's food."

Read the entire article here, which also comments extensively on the winner of So You Think You Can Dance, Benji Schwimmer.

Also: I've created this post as a central repository for all things HK/Heather West/Gordon Ramsay that I can find that's interesting, and in anticipation of HK3 next year. If I get enough interesting stuff I'll spin it off into a 'blog or site of its own, when I get enough stuff.

Technorati Tags: Heather West, Chef Heather West, Hell's Kitchen, Red Rock Resort

[designers] Jeff Fisher Rules From Above

If just getting a cool issue of HOW this month wasn't enough, local logo design god Jeff Fisher gets back-page visibility, in a major way.

On the last page of HOW is the feature "Double Vision", where the magazine asks two designers the same question to see what different responses they get. Jeff is hanging from the top of the magazine, kind of like that trapeze kid in Safe Havens, and the question is one he's got a black-belt in: How much time do you devote to self-promotion?

About 20%, as it turns out. See? Self-promo is even important to design gods.

Jeff toots his own horn about it at bLog-oMotives here.

Technorati Tags: designers, Jeff Fisher, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, self-promotion, Oregon Designers

[design] Get You Some Periodicals

I love me my design magazines. Some of you who aren't trying to aspire in the design profession may have heard of some of them: Print and Communication Arts come to mind as ones I see on the racks at places like Powell's and Art Media.

My favorites are two others that I am happy–nay, thrilled–to skip a meal if I have to to get the subscription money for. One is STEPinsidedesign (usually referred to as just STEP) and the other is HOW Magazine. Both are sumptuous magazines, both well-designed, and both usually inspirational.

As might be suggested by the publication names, they are not merely about design and the design world but also about design from the inside out (as a matter of fact, that's STEP's self-defined remit–and was thier tagline back when they were called Step By Step Design, a name that was changed because it sounds a little too much like a how-to book). Each month they challenge with what designers are doing, how they are doing it, and suggestions about how one could do it themselves.

Design happens on all levels...even those of the cash-starved job seeker.

This month's HOW is a themed issue, the Self-Promotion Design Annual. Self-Promo, it should be self-evident, is an important ingredient in the quest going from non-employed design professional to employed (this is an overt attempt to not portray freelancers (though I prefer the term independent) designers as 'unemployed', because that is a legitimate career path as well). It involves a whole lot of things, from production of promotional material to strategies for publicity to strategies for keeping one's attitude up over what may become months of trying to no obvious result.

So far, I've seen a lot of ups and downs, and come close to the prize only to have it evaporate seemingly like mist on the air.

This month's issue has a lot to offer in the way of insipriation: page after page of competition entries (it is a design annual, after all), and while, of course, not everyone can be the winner, all of these are quite remarkably stellar. A lot of ideas and inspiration there. There's sage advice from contributing writers about pitching oneself, writing proposals, and the most exciting one to me was the article by Jeff Domke.

Jeff's article, titled "How to Land Your Dream Job", is a step-by-step map to what to pay attention to and develop that got him to where he wanted to be–employed in a design firm. After graduating from design school, it took him 14 months to land that job...and he won an award in HOW's 2005 Self-Promotion Design Awards. He has a lot suggestions that even a modest talent as myself can use, and a positive attitude that shows through in his writing.

A good day for me is always when my copy of HOW or STEP arrives in the mail, you see.

Oh, and BTW, HOW publishing produces a range of excellent design books, a few of which are on my shelf right now, including a certain tome by a respected and well known local logo designer. You should check it out.

And get yourself a magazine subscription, if you can. Links to STEP and HOW can be found back up this article.

Technorati Tags: design, print design, STEPinsidedesign magazine, STEP Magazine, HOW Magazine, self-promotion, inspiration

[distractions] Hell's Kitchen, 2006–The Times' Index

During the months of June to August, 2006, FOX television served the SunDial Earth Station with a nearly fatal distraction: Hell's Kitchen. Hosted by Gordon Ramsay, the three-Michelin-starred Scottish superchef known for his exacting standards, his business acumen, and his hot temper, put twelve aspiring chefs, with skill-levels ranging from six months of culinary school to garde manger and sous chef, through the proverbial wringer. The prize: a highly lucrative and powerful position as excutive chef at T-Bones' Steak and Chophouse, called a "million-dollar" restaurant, in the billion-dollar Red Rock casino complex then being built in Las Vegas, a hand in designing the eatery, and a share of the profits.

During that time we were distracted and entertained by this crackling good program, we blogged about our feelings of the show, mixing interpretation and somewhat-inaccurate recap. This reference post provides links to all the articles written.

The twelve hopefuls were divided, as customary, into red and blue teams, segregated in the beginning by gender:

The Red Team (women):

1. Sara, a deli manager;
   
2. Maribel, a cafeteria worker;
3. Virginia, a garde manger (salad and cold-foods chef);
4. Heather, a sous-chef;
5. Polly, a professional caterer.
6. Rachel, a personal chef.
   

The Blue team (men):

1. Gabe, a marketing executive with six months' culinary school;
2. Tom, also a former stockbroker;
3. Giacomo, a pizza chef;
4. Larry, a fishmonger;
5. Keith, a chef/bartender
6. Garrett, a former prisoner and prison cook.
   

The Chef's Progress

The majority of the shows followed a pattern: Reward/Punishment challenge, spotlight on the challenge winners (and their treat), spotlight on the challenge losers (and thier punishment), preparation for a dinner service, the dinner service itself, then the elimination ceremony, where one of the chefs was selected to go home. Notable differences were in the first epi, where the chefs, after an extremely-brief period of settling in, were commanded to make a signature dish in 30 minutes, and the finalé, where the the two finalists got a good prize regardless of who won or lost.

The series aired in two-hour blocks on Monday evenings, on KPTV-12, with the first hour being a rerun of last week's episode and the new episode being shown second. The exceptions to this were the premiere (two new epis) and the finale (which was one two-hour epi, not rebroadcasting the penultimate epi).

The Episodes

1. Hell's Kitchen, Three Epis Along. Me catching the bug and playing catchup. Eliminated: Polly, Larry, Gabe, Giacomo (in that order). Blogged: 20 Jun 2006.
2. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Four. Eliminated: Tom. Blogged: 27 Jun 2006.
3. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Five. Eliminated: Rachel. Blogged: 12 Jul 2006.
4. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Six. Elminated: Maribel. Blogged: 19 Jul 2006.
5. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Seven. Eliminated: Garrett. Blogged: 27 July 2006.
6. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Eight. Eliminated: Sara. Blogged: 04 Aug 2006.
7. Hell's Kitchen, Epi Nine. Elminated: Keith. Blogged: 10 Aug 2006.
8. Hells Kitchen, The Finalé. Finalists: Virginia and Heather. Winner: Heather West. Blogged: 16 Aug 2006.

The Others

During the course of the series we did opine on a few other things that were Ramsay-related but not necessarily series-related. Here they are.

1. Last Damned Post on Hell's Kitchen This Week: Seems there really wasn't a Gordon Ramsay dog after all! Blogged: 28 Jun 2006.
2. Hell's Kitchen, This Week: HK preempted that week by some Adam Sandler waste-of-time. We were not amused. Blogged: 3 Jul 2006.
3. Gordon Ramsay, Straight Up. Intrigued by the character of Chef Ramsay, we go googling. We find out about Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, and we find out that Chef recently won a British-style (loser pays the court costs) libel case. Blogged: 03 July 2006.
4. What I Think Will Happen On Hell's Kitchen This Week. Written just before Epi Six, in which we get a little giddy waiting to see it and try writing standup. Word from our agent: Keep the day job. Blogged: 18 July 2006.

And that's it; that's all. We can finally let go of the obsession and get back to design. But we will follow Gordon Ramsay and Heather West, that's for sure.

Updates!

Interesting things can happen to the contestants in the wake of HK2006. They'll be listed below as I find them. Scroll to the bottom for the newest stuff, and, if there's anything anyone sees that they think would belong here, hey, cha-ching me on the email, baby (or something like that...).

• 19 August 2006: Want to know what's on Heather West's mind now? Meevee.com has an exclusive interview here. Though brief, it contains surprising revelations about Heather's relationships with Garrett, Virginia...and, of course, Rachel. She's going to be a class act, we think. Earlier: MeeVee interviews Keith, Sara, Garrett, Maribel, Rachel, Tom, Giacomo, and thier original review (which had them calling Garrett "Dave" for some reason. At least I got Keith's first initial right when I called him "Kevin" a couple of times. But Dave? Open the pod bay doors, HAL...").
• 20 August 2006: In case you missed it, Keith Greene's site, Kgrease.com, is live (and we understand has been for a little while now). It's 100% flash-based, but, mercifully, the flash file is about 550KB, so if you're on 56K dialup, you'll be able to see it while you're still young. Right now there's links to his Bio, Links, Email Contact, and his four sauces: Mojo Marinade (for chicken or fish), Money Marinade (for steak and chops), "It's Slammin'" mango BBQ sauce, and the ever-famous "Cha-Ching" Sesame Crust ("It's Lamb...and It's Money?" – Gordon Ramsay). If the website checks for the plugin and doesn't find it, it sends you off to Adobe to get the plugin (rather than giving you a choice between downloading it and connecting to a non-flash version). Also, GlitteratiGossip.com links the MeeVee interview with Heather.
• 20 August 2006: This one deserves its own entry here: According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Heather won't be cheffing at T-Bones after all, but rather, Senior Chef at Red Rock's Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa. Read my own posting via this link.
• 21 August 2006: FOX-TV have opened applications for auditioning in the next series of Hell's Kitchen. Eligibility is wide open: 21 or older, legal US permanent resident. They want basic personal information, then answer questions such as: do you have any experience or training? If so, where? And, of course, the all important: What makes you think that you, more than anyone else, can live up to Chef Ramsay's standard? This is the only email you may ever send that requires a gut-check. The FOX-TV application page is here. Also: Chef Ramsay is expanding is restaurant empire into the Americas (Via Slashfood, The Observer).
• 21 August 2006, Even More: Two more interviews with Heather: This one at IGN.com, and this one from TV.com (via Google cache). Particularly interesting were the moments related in the IGN interview that didn't get on the series, such as the daily talk show, the orange bowling, and the dinner party. Also: The Wikipedia entry on HK has been updated with all information on HK2, including very clever and succinct grids showing week-by-week kitchen status at a glance for both HK1 and HK2. And From HK1: Runner-up Ralph Pagano battled Iron Chef Bobby Flay in the 6 August edition of the Food Network program. The secret ingredient: Barramundi (a/k/a Asian seabass). The winner, according to Answers.com: Bobby Flay.
• 22 August 2006: Ever wonder what it must be like to actually eat in Hell's Kitchen? We just stumbled on this article at MSNBC.com which links through to this article by TVGasm's correspondent "B-Side", who was a diner in Ralph Pagano's "Frank and Lulu's" Italian restaurant in the HK1 season finalé (The "Plank" Season). No, they didn't have to pay for thier meal; yes, they were paid for thier attendance; yes, the valeting was for real; no, Ralph's food wasn't all that good. Also: SnogBlog tries out cooking Chef Ramsay's Beef Wellington (from the recipe at The F-Word's site). Verdict: tasted decent.
• 23 August 2006: Winning through despite technical difficulties, SmallPouch blogger perrik posts her witty, somewhat snarky, and unexpurgated ("FOX censors. I don't") review of the Series 2 (The "Donkey" Season) finalé.
• 24 August 2006: From BBC4's The F-Word site, intriguing interviews with Chef Ramsay. Find them all via this link, and if you don't care to click-through, find them via the "Gordon Interview" link in the navitgation on the left. May we particularly recommend this one, however, which reveals The Real Ramsay? His accents: fresh food, local ingredients, the power of the family dinner table; very much the family man. Also, tucked away at the end of that one is this interview with Gordon's wife Tana. She has her own kitchen; she isn't allowed in his. Surprised? Don't worry, it's all good: Read the interview.
• 24 August 2006, More: Chef Ramsay says a generation of women can't cook? Before you jump to conclusions, read about his campaign to get women (who want to go) back into the kitchen. Speaking of which: Us Magazine's Eric Andersson hints (via tmsfeatures.com) that HK2 winner Chef Heather West may be working at a partial kitchen reunion:

  Q:When do you go to Vegas? A:Soon! I'm psyched. It's a big task, but I'm going to dive right in. And I've talked to [Kitchen alums] Keith and Garrett about joining the staff.

• 24 August 2006: It's Good to Be The King... The UK's Independent notes that Chef Ramsay has finished the last year as the UK's richest chef, with earnings in USD$124M. 2nd place? Jamie Oliver (via bfeedme.com). Also via bfeedme.com: Chef Ramsay's Baked Apples with Peppercorn. And, speaking of Chef's business empire, meet Gordon Ramsay the publican; the Independent also reports that Ramsay is adding a constellation of country inns to his culinary universe.
• 25 August 2006: Chef Ramsay's sine qua non? Before there was a famous Chef Ramsay, there was Chef Marco Pierre White, a man who came on strong and young to be the first-ever Briton to win three Michelin Stars. Did Chef White make Chef Ramsay inevitable? We suspect so: in an upcoming book to be published by Orion (via the Independent), he muses thus:
  

  Perhaps I created the monster Gordon Ramsay who ended up as a TV personality screaming at celebrities on Hell's Kitchen, doing to them what I had done to him
  

  The Wikipedia entry on Chef White references a photo in his book White Heat containing what's described as Gordon Ramsay as "a terrified commis (a commis is an assistant station chef-ed.)" whilst he was working under him. So, in this case, it's nurture, perhaps.
• 26 August 2006: The Company They Keep: As reported by 24 Hours Toronto, quondam Posh Spice (now, of course, mere Victoria Beckham) was seen on the town at Tana Ramsay's recent 32nd birthday party, well into her cups, sans ring...meanwhile, blog Inner Toob reports that international outplacer firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas has placed Chef Ramsay on a list of the worst TV Bosses of all time–the only TV personality who actually exists that can be found there. Also: The BBC detects Gordon Ramsay doing a charity showing at Derby...just not that Gordon Ramsay.
• 08 October 2006: It's way past time we made a cogent observation: indeed, the HK/Heather West well has pretty much run dry. As noted in this post, I'm taking down the tent and calling it happy. I very much enjoyed trying to keep track of things, and was...well, be honest, really was hoping it would take off, but alas, no. However, there will be me following the HK bandwagon next year, as well as a lot of people, I'm sure. See you then, donkeys!
  

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