Design is not a public sport

Whenever a large company or brand launches a redesign it's inevitable that the Internet peanut gallery chimes in with their critiques and opinions. I get that designers are passionate about design. I am one of those designers. But to critique a design from afar without understanding the constraints, objectives and goals of the project is counter to what design is all about and is downright unnecessary.

It's easy to sit back and criticize a company, or more specifically a company's design team, for a design when you don't know the constraints in which they worked. Even in the best case scenarios where the design team is given creative freedom and all the resources they need to inform their work, their job is to design for the needs of the organization, which they know better as in-house designers than the public.

Design critique involves understanding the entirety of the problem first, and then questioning whether the solution solves that problem in the best possible way. I'm not saying there's no room for design critique on the Internet, I'm saying it needs to be more than a knee-jerk reaction and should involve more than 140 characters.

Thought-provoking design. Can it be found on the web?

It's difficult for me to think about design as separate fields–graphic design, web design, industrial design, experience design, etc–because for me, the most powerful design ideas encapsulates all of these things. You can call it product design or branding but I call it simply design. And it's the reason why I love this field.

I see such imaginative, thought-provoking, jaw-dropping, inquisitive and refreshing designs from all areas of the field and it gets me excited. That level of design thinking, art, and innovation is what I strive for. 

The most thought-provoking work that I've seen has been in product design, graphic design, architecture, industrial design and experience design/installations. But I'm rarely stopped in my tracks by profound web design and when I am it's generally as a result of the graphic design, the content or the branding. The effects are extras and the interactions are functional. It simply delivers information and let's you interact with it in simple ways because the important thing is the content.

It made me think, can the web provide a deeper level of smart, thought-provoking design that adds another level to the graphic design or the content? The web's ability to serve up form and content and allow you to virtually interact with the page is the distinguishing factor that separates it from the other design disciplines. How can we use this virtual space, this interaction to serve up form and content in different ways? meaningful, innovative ways?

I'm not simply talking about the user experience or user experience design. I'm not referring to just usability, though that is important and part of what makes thoughtful, smart design on the web. I'm talking about going beyond the utility or functionality or intuition we build into these interfaces. I'm talking about delighting people in ways that they've never seen before. In ways that are thoughtful and profound and allow you to experience things beyond merely fulfilling a task. It's about using the capabilities of the web to craft experiences that are new and make you stop dead in your tracks.

I can't seem to quite describe it... You know when you see a poster or a book design or a building that makes your jaw-drop because it's so powerful, it serves it's purpose/function AND it catches your breath? It's smart, it's elegant, it's purposeful, it's meaningful, it's beautiful. That's what I'm looking for.

I have yet to really experience that on the web. Though I've been close...

• The New York Times is leveraging the web to deliver thoughtful and engaging content in ways you can only experience on the web with their interactive stories.
• This interactive experience, Echos of Tsunami, in remembrance of the 2004 Tsunami victims by ACF International is a combination of video, audio and visual content that delivers storytelling in such an emotionally immersive way.
• Interactive data visualization on the web

One thing is for sure, that level of web design cannot be achieved without thoughtful and smart content.

On a final note, I will admit that maybe I haven't been looking hard enough. So I'll be looking harder and strive to add more thoughtfulness to my work and to the web... 

Growth

“It’s a slow and ongoing process of sharpening your sensibility and also your own understanding of yourself and the world.”

— Natasha Jen, Designer.

Natasha Jen is a partner at Pentagram and an award-winning, intelligent designer. I found this quote in an interview with her about her outlook on her career and it struck me. This is the definition of growth, career or otherwise.

Check out this PRINT mag interview with Natasha Jen to learn more about this thoughtful designer.

100 Days of Making

Yesterday marked the end of my 100 days of making. As part of #The100DayProject, instigated by artist Elle Luna and The Great Discontent, I committed to a line drawing each day for 100 days from April 5th - July 14th. The result is a body of work, the seeds of ideas, a lovely daily practice and most importantly the realization of the importance of play in my work and in my life.

I will admit that I fell behind constantly and was rarely on track except for maybe the first 30 days. There were days when I knew what I wanted to draw, most days I didn't. There were days when I hated what I drew and other times when I loved it. Days when it was a chore and days when it was a respite. Days when I thought it was stupid and days when it was inspirational. But one thing was for sure, every time I was on track, every time I completed a drawing, good or bad, I felt productive, accomplished and liberated.

View the complete 100 days (and more) of line drawings

I had some very simple goals for the project:

1. To give myself permission to draw every day.
2. To draw whatever I felt like and not worry about concept or problems or anything of consequence - essentially, to play.
3. To complete a personal body of work without the expectation of polish.
4. To finish. Working primarily on the web, I crave the idea of finishing something and to have it remain in that state forever.

I accomplished all of them except maybe #2. I say maybe because I did draw whatever I felt like but I found that as the project continued I did worry about consequence. There were days when I worried about the superficiality of what I was drawing. Girls in fashionable clothing, animals in silhouette, a cupcake, an apple. What did it all mean? Where will it lead me? I had to remind myself that it meant nothing, that it doesn't have to mean anything. That the whole point of this project was to make. It was about the act of making, not the final image. It was about drawing for the sake of drawing, playing for the sake of playing.

I'm a designer. I solve problems. That's what I love about design. I approach a problem, I analyze it, I look at it in different ways and I critique every decision. Being analytical and critical is important to design. But I've realized that for me it can also overcomplicate things. It's easy to get lost in all the data, in all the market research, but the best designs are elegant in their simplicity. So the practice of making, of playing each day is essential for me to get out of my head. To be less serious, have fun and let the ideas flow even if they mean nothing. That's what this project allowed me to do. 

I hadn't realized when I started just how critical I can be with myself and how serious I can be. That has affected my work, my life and my conviction. Thoughtfulness is important to me. But great design is thoughtful and playful. And what's life without a little playfulness? So thanks to this project I am learning to play, to make, to create without consequence and to get out of my head.

There's a time and place for everything, so when it's time to play, play. Enjoy it and don't overanalyze. And when it's time for work, perhaps some of that play will sneak in and help you get out of your head. After all it takes some playfulness to turn a problem upside down, inside out and back together again.

Though the project has ended, I'm continuing on with my drawings. It is a valuable habit that I'd like to keep. This time I'm going to consciously allow myself to play when I want to and to be thoughtful when I want to, giving each the proper space. If you'd like to follow along, I'm @ivonnekn on Instagram.

"Freelancer"

A quick Google search brings up the following definitions of "freelancer"...

“a person who contends in a cause or in a succession of various causes, as he or she chooses, without personal attachment or allegiance.”

— Dictionary.com

“a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or authorized by an organization.

a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer”

— Webster dictionary

More and more people are opting for the freelance career because they want to have control over how they work. The want the flexibility and the ability to choose the work they do.

The problem I find with the above definitions is that they imply that freelancers have no commitment to the people we work with. It's true that some of us–even the best of us–take on work sometimes more for the money than the work itself. But for me, being a freelancer means being able to work with the people I want to work with and to do the best work I can for them. That means committing to them for the period of time that they need me and helping them set off into the future of their business in a better way than when they first came to me. It may not be a long-term commitment but I am committed to their long term success. That is a big distinction.

The other problem is the implication that we have no commitment to the work that we do. I would again argue that the commitment to the work is one of the reasons we become freelancers. We have an idea of the type of work we want to do and are therefore committed to it. If I didn't care about the work I would work for any company. But I do, and that's why I am a freelancer, to have the ability to choose the work I want to do and the work that will make up my career.

In short, I care. Sure, maybe not all freelancers do, but this freelancer does.

The biggest benefit to freelancing outside of the work itself is the flexibility. That is more and more valuable in today's culture (and some companies provide flexible work arrangements). That being said, I would give that up to work with an agency or company who do the type of work I want and care to do and are committed to that work, their values and their clients because they also care.

If you're looking for a freelancer who cares or if you're simply looking for a designer who cares, reach out to me. If you don't know the difference between a caring and a non-caring designer–freelance or not–then reach out to me and I'll tell you.