Suspended in Motion
June 26th, 2009Even though I follow his tweets, I just discovered nutida’s Suspended in Motion photo series. I especially like the lettuce and the toilet, although I cringe thinking about how many times he had to pull the lettuce OUT of the toilet. Lovely.
Good Manners
June 23rd, 2009Illustrator is so nice.
The value of design
June 23rd, 2009I was just talking to a coworker about the value of design, how hard it can be to convince companies with low budgets that design is extremely valuable. When I was checking my RSS feeds, I came across this article, which I thought related so well to the conversation. Love the responses to visual stimuli chart.
Your momma’s a CEO
June 22nd, 2009I heard a story on NPR this morning, The Entrepreneurial Spirit Burns Bright In Detroit, that made me think about the fact that in 2009 everyone is an “entrepreneur” and a “CEO”. I’m a CEO (hey, I’ve got a website), you’re a CEO (you’ve probably sold something on Craig’s List), your brother, your dad, even the kid down the street is a CEO. Your momma’s so 2009, she’s a CEO.
The thing about providing a service or starting a business is that it doesn’t mean that you’re a CEO…or even very innovative. Innovation is as innovation does. At my previous job, when I read CEO or Principal on a designer’s resume, I tried to be objective and not balk immediately—not until I looked at the designer’s website or interviewed them. If you’re going to announce that you’ve had a high level executive position, you’d better be able to back it up. I’ll be completely honest and say that I would not be able to back up a CEO title. I’m a Principal.
So as not to be a complete stick in the mud, I will say that starting a small business and providing jobs in a down economy when you can’t find a job yourself is great. However, I think there are probably an overabundance of “CEOs” and “entrepreneurs” in America right now. Which is understandable—because one can only post job applications and search for job openings for so long. But is the next step really starting a business? Yes!
In The Entrepreneurial Spirit, the “entrepreneur” being interviewed says, “If you want to make something of yourself in this day and age, you have to hustle.” I first heard the word hustle being used in this context by Gary Vaynerchuck. Yes, we do have to hustle. But we also need a strategy; we need to research; we need to think. Or we could just sit on the couch and play Xbox all day.
Becoming a CEO is more than just calling yourself one. Being entrepreneurial does involve actualizing innovative ideas. Calling yourself a CEO and working hard and hustling to fill time is just as worthless as doing nothing. I vote for doing nothing. At least you’ll get somewhere with Xbox.
Phoenix Light Rail
June 18th, 2009Yay! Good on yah, Phoenix! This is why Arizonans need to stop wasting tax payer and state government time on bills like prop 102 (marriage inequality proposition that passed last year) and work on projects that benefit everyone.
Your x-ray showed a broken rib, but we fixed it with Photoshop.
June 11th, 2009I’ve had this comic by Randy Glasbergen taped to my computer monitor(s) for the last 8 years. The newsprint is yellowed, and I looked at the copyright date this morning, realizing how long I’ve had it. It made me think about my progression in design and where I plan to be in another 8 years.
Animation on the Bart
June 11th, 2009A recent post in Wooster reminded me of this animation I saw in San Francisco last month. I’m actually surprised there aren’t more of these.