Right Brain, Left Field

Where ideas come from

2007-08-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

A question was asked on LinkedIn.com about brainstorming sessions. Since this is one of my favorite business activities, I though I'd share my answer here (with some added bits) as well.This is my process for conducting a brainstorming meeting:1. Solidly define the question. This sounds like a no-brainer, but I think many times it's glossed over and the results don't really hit the sweet spot.

Fresh coat of paint

2007-07-18T17:11:00.000-04:00

My agency, Eurekaville Advertising & Design, has just launched a new identity and website! I'm proud of the results and invite you to take a minute and check it out.Eurekaville Advertising & Design

Type Nerdery

2007-07-02T18:55:00.000-04:00

It took forever, but it was worth it.I spent about 3 hours last week culling and sorting my type library in Suitcase Fusion. I had gone through this process on my old PowerBook about 3 years ago, but after switching to an Intel Mac and a new office, I kept putting it off. Not only did I sort and categorize all my fonts, but I threw out a ton. You know, all those way out-crazy fonts that are free

Interview with Pete McArthur

2005-12-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

Pete McArthur has been one of the most prominent commercial & advertising photographers in the field for quite some time. His images are highly conceptual and he's developed a look and feel that is uniquely his. He's also started his own stock photo division. We chatted via e-mail recently.KW: How about a basic one minute bio to start?PM: I was originally trained as a graphic designer and later

Meeting "da' Man"

2005-11-29T09:58:00.000-05:00

The week before Thanksgiving I took a business trip to Utah. While I was there I took time to catch up with old friends. I also had the opportunity to grab lunch with one of web design's rock-stars-Cameron Moll.I met Cameron via his blog a couple of years ago. We've e-mailed back and forth a bit and he and Greg were both invaluable in helping me to get the CSS for this blog (and other sites)

Smarty Phone

2005-11-04T15:34:00.000-05:00

My first real geek gadget was a Handspring PDA. Before the PDA, I tried using various planners without too much success in organizing myself. I gave that old Handspring to my wife when I got my PowerBook, because I pretty much took it with me everywhere and found I was just using the OSX apps instead.I'm going to be selling the PowerBook soon and going back to using a big desktop computer, so I

Not just for the web anymore...

2005-10-26T10:18:00.000-04:00

"Usability" has been an objective in the web design realm forever. The past few years I've noticed a difference in how I approach print work because of the influence usability holds on the web. Actually, I find myself noticing more and more the need for those who work in media other than the web to embrace the cult of usability.Case in point: gas stations. Pumping gas is an exercise in the

d.i.y. pubs

2005-07-15T09:33:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of talk recently about the demise of Design In Flight. In reading Andy's entry about the three reasons he's no longer going to publish, I was taken back about 3 years. I had this brilliant idea of creating an online magazine devoted to exploring the creative process: Thinking Around the Corners. The grand scheme included interviews with artists from all mediums, guest articles

sanity

2005-07-11T12:04:00.000-04:00

I guess this explains it:Link between creativity and psychopathsWorking too hard to be sane

Proxima

2005-07-01T11:06:00.000-04:00

Mark Simonson has released the new OpenType version of his outstanding Proxima Sans font. Available in 7 weights, 3 widths with more alternates, ligatures and other features than you can shake a Linotype stick at. Mark briefly told us about it in his recent interview. Check it: Normal, Condensed and Extra Condensed.

The art of the Photoshoot

2005-06-28T07:54:00.000-04:00

I'll spend the better part of July and a small chunk of August in a studio shooting apparel and accessories for the Corvette, Hummer and SSR catalogs for GM's licensing agency. Between the three catalogs there are about 500 shots of clothing and hard goods, with each having to be styled, lit, propped, photographed and color-corrected. It's a large project to say the least, and with any large

Woodcuts

2005-06-17T15:44:00.000-04:00

Here's the cliche "I've been very busy that's why I haven't been posting" post.Click here for a Photoshop tutorial on creating faux-woodcut illustrations. It's rather long with a lot of images, so dial-up users, be forewarned.

Dear Stock Photo Companies

2005-06-16T17:42:00.000-04:00

Please be sure that if you are going to do a photoshoot with someone who is going to be boxing or any other martial arts, please be sure that the model ACTUALLY KNOWS how to punch/kick, etc.My client's concept and I thank you.

interview with Richard Borge

2005-06-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

I remember the first Richard Borge illustration I ever saw. It was in a design annual (CA, I think), magazine ads for a website called Fatbrain.com. I recently had the chance to chat with this incredibly creative illustrator.KW: What is your background? What path led you to be an illustrator?RB: I was always into art. Then went to a liberal art school, then grad school... then teaching and

Drool

2005-05-31T16:19:00.000-04:00

I wish I could manage to head over to Wired's NextFest this summer in Chicago. They've set up a little preview online for people like me to drool over.

being the boss, advantage #2673: time with family

2005-05-27T15:35:00.000-04:00

I've always tried to spent as much time as possible with my kids after work and on weekends. The few hours between me getting home and them going to bed didn't seem to really be enough, though. My relationship with the two youngest, Benjamin (10 months old) and Spencer (4 years old) has been totally different. I quit the corporate gig a month after Benjamin was born and have been working from a

free form

2005-05-18T16:11:00.000-04:00

All of the projects and assignments I give out to my design students are concrete. I give them "real-world" limits and boundaries, in an effort to prepare them for the world they are about to enter. Sounds pretty reasonable, right?The June issue of Metropolis Magazine contains an article by Philip Noble entitled "Swordplay. Why is architectural thought taught without the benefit of architectural

artist feature: tammy garcia

2005-05-16T15:15:00.000-04:00

Potter, sculptor, metal-smith, glass-blower. Tammy Garcia (more here and here) is an artist who's skill and style crosses into many mediums. Whatever form her work takes, it is easily recognized. The dynamic use of pattern and graphic elements combined with a bold sense of depth and dimension. Coming from a long family heritage of Santa Clara potters, Garcia is hailed as one of the top Native

art outing

2005-05-08T00:35:00.000-04:00

Last my wife and I took our two youngest kids to the Kalamazoo Art Hop, an evening where all the galleries open up for a city-wide night of art and culture. We only took in two exhibits, but they were great:"The Art of Dr. Suess: A Retrospective and National Touring Exhibition," an exhibit celebrating the 100th birthday of Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, one of my all-time favorite creative

Intel Inside

2005-05-02T21:52:00.000-04:00

For a couple of decades, many have made the analogy that the brain is like a computer. The idea is that the brain takes data from the senses and runs it through a number of "programs", providing everything from visual identification to numerical problem solving. Behavioral psychologists talk about our emotional responses being the result of "programs" that were created by our experiences. The

update-apple rocks!

2005-04-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

I've bought a decent amount of music from iTunes Music Store in the past few years. That was one of the more painful parts of the whole "deleting my entire iTunes library" thing.I was resigned to losing all that music (and money), but chanced an e-mail to iTunes tech support anyway. Within 24 hours, they responded saying that I could re-download all those tracks. No problem. It was quick,

Dual digital tragedies

2005-04-25T13:02:00.000-04:00

I returned from teaching my InDesign class Friday afternoon to find that the DSL was down. Whoops, Walkman forgot to mail Verizon a payment. The bill was paid over the phone, but I was told that it would be 24-48 HOURS before the service would be restored. 24-48 hours! I started to sweat. By dinner time my hands were shaking. DSL withdrawal is an ugly thing. Sometime around 9pm I was curled on

Wolfgang & Me

2005-04-22T12:38:00.000-04:00

I keep reading about how classical music effects brain activity, so I decided to run an informal experiment. I usually listen to jazz when I'm working, but I'm going to start listening to only classical to see if I can perceive any differences in my thinking over time.I just bought Yo-Yo Ma's Bach: The Cello Suites. A great album for deep thinking. Ma's unaccompanied solo cello is beautiful and

pondering flames

2005-04-19T15:29:00.000-04:00

We recently built a sizable bonfire to clean up yard debris and deadwood. I love watching a fire. On a camp out, I'm the usually the last one up watching the embers burn out.What is it about a fire that get's one thinking? Why do flames pull us into deep thought? click here for full imageFire equals both good and bad. Hell's never-ending flames. A house fire. Witches burned at the stake. All

Not a huge job, but fun...

2005-04-18T23:04:00.000-04:00

You know the new Solstice from Pontiac? The one that's on The Apprentice? As luck would have it, I got the gig of designing the first round of official apparel to go with the launch:Solstice Shadow TeeThere are a few other Tees in the works. Like I said, not a huge job, but it's fun. I also might get the full catalog design gig as well (crossing fingers).I don't watch the show, but if anyone sees