Sharing Inspiration

May 2, 2012 By

I looooooove blogs that are full of visual inspiration. Love love love. I’ve deliberately avoiding becoming one, despite their seeming successes, because I’ve always wanted this blog to be more about the journey, words, stories and experiences.

Today, I’m breaking that rule. I’m actually breaking two rules of mine (gosh, when did I get so strict?!). I also never ever talk about current clients or projects. Even though very few of clients require NDA’s, I’ve always treated my clients like I treat all other relationships in my life: none of yo’ business. So, this sharing is a little hard because I’m not going to give away the client yet. But I am literally bursting at the seams over the fun-ness that is this web design project. I can’t wait to write about the whole process…for now, just the inspiration boards from the initial round of creative development:

Inspiration for Comp 1

Inspiration for Comp 2

Inspiration for Comp 3

 

In consumer product development, we use mood boards to define a style guide’s direction for the season. They were essential not only for the designers to build out the style guide following the chosen trend, color, tone and theme but also to the sales team who used them to sell the season’s look to partners (or licensees) and retailers.

I use the same process in developing new lines for Social Proper, except there is no licensee making the product; I do that part, too. I start with a concept, a feeling, a visual idea usually represented through imagery much like these boards.

Not all of my small business clients are into inspiration boards but I am. And it really made sense for this particular project because the end-user is a particularly visual person.

I love that I’ve had the chance to marry my experience with targeting very specific users with web design. I want more web projects like this!

–

all images pulled from pinterest

 

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April 5, 2012 By

This post is in response to Ryan Funduk’s post on the brogramming culture of exclusion. I’d like to thank one of my favorite developers for sharing it via twitter.

Ryan, I disagree.

Drinking is not making the tech scene douchey or sexist. The part of the tech scene that is douchey is that way because people are douchey or sexist. (and there are minorities in that bunch, to boot)

Alcohol and The Man

I had a somewhat traditional work life before moving to Baltimore and tip-toeing around the tech scene here. I got up, commuted and worked all day for the man, commuted home, and hung out with my husband or my friends. In my traditional world, I learned from my very first job that drinking was part of the business culture. I wasn’t in the tech scene, I was in the creative corporate world.

Some special moments involving work and alcohol:

  • I once had a boss who took shots on the job. Scratch that, she was an alcoholic.
  • I worked somewhere where they provided beer on Friday afternoons. That was the least shocking of my experiences at this firm. Once there was a film shot in the office, during working hours, that included a barely dressed woman spread eagle on our pool table (yeah, we had a pool table in the office) with the 8-ball between her legs….outside of my door.
  • Some coworkers and I once tried to lock a coworker in an empty office space so she could sleep off the beers she’d downed at lunch. We just wanted her to keep her job!
  • I once found a jr. associate on the floor of the women’s bathroom and had to crawl under the stall to her to convince her to actually sit on the toilet, not the floor, while she slept off her hangover.
  • The most popular gift come holiday season was alcohol.
  • Corporate events and trade shows required the stamina of spring break to survive.

*THANKFULLY, my brief stint in healthcare did not involve alcohol, if anyone is keeping track here.

The point of all of this is that drinking plays a part in many professional worlds. In my time of being self-employed, I, too, have started avoiding events to avoid debauchery. To avoid the brogramming culture. But I don’t pin the problem on drinking alone.

Maybe I’m douchey, too.

Last week, a female designer and I went to a trade show. We were drinking and got a little tipsy. We were giggling, and comparing notes on life and talking about things (openly where others could no doubt hear us) that would make people unlike us (men) not want to join in on the conversation. It was a wonderful bonding time with my friend. Did you see what just happened? We went from being two designers to friends…with the help of alcohol.

When we work for the man, whether that be with a group of developers or a group of sales reps, we typically don’t get to pick everyone we spend our time with. When we work for ourselves, we can be much more selective. Drinking is one way of bonding in the workplace. But when your workplace is your home or a coffee shop, there are no annoying coworkers to avoid when you walk to the kitchen. The flip side to that is that there are no coworkers that would have eventually become your friend because of that thing that happened that one time at that event we had to go to for work. So, we go get coffee with other freelancers. And sometimes, we make friends. Or maybe we try conferences or meetups or bars where alcohol greases the wheel of camaraderie.

The Real Problem is in the Mix

As a married female designer (could I be more cursed in the tech world?!), I’m sensitive on many levels to the douches of the tech world. But I don’t blame alcohol for my lack of interest in hanging out with others in that world. It’s usually the one thing that makes it more tolerable. My lack of interest comes from the people I’ve met, who are immature, inexperienced, douchey, egomaniacs, sexist, flakes. My current hub is populated by young white males.

My former world, my “traditional” workplaces, had men and women, young and old, from a variety of backgrounds. My best friends at one job were a 30-something guy born in Guam/raised in Texas and a 20-something Korean gal raised in upstate NY. At work, we hung out with a Latino guy who bought his parents a fridge and taught flash, a fat kid turned surfer/model from Malibu and an African American girl who only went by a nickname and watched porn on her ipod. I didn’t pick these people but the fact that they were NOTHING like me, that they questioned my decisions, they taught me new things, they pushed my own world-view and made me a different person. THIS is what the tech scene is lacking.

Real, true diversity.

And it’s hard to get that when we all get to pick who we hang out with. Who we hire. Who we partner with. Because, if it’s up to me, I’m going to pick that female designer that laughs at my jokes before I pick a young white male. But that makes me just like the rest of them, right?

 

Filed Under: networking, tech scene, women in design
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Designers and Developers Are More Alike Than They Realize

March 30, 2012 By

The most successful tech companies, mobile apps and software applications marry the creative and technical in such a seamless way that users never stop to think about a design element or a glitch. They’re enthralled in the experience, engulfed in the world they’re viewing through a screen. What used to be a separate entity, the internet, is now very much real and is being created and re-created by innovative teams around the world.

Designers and developers work behind the scenes of all of our favorite websites, campaigns and applications. Both play an integral part in the execution and when the chemistry exists, the results are nothing short of magic. Why, then, are they so often pitted against each other? Why do they try to convince each other that the other just doesn’t understand? Or worse, that they’re less important to the process?

The truth is, designers and developers are very much alike. They face similar struggles and growth and seek communal recognition for their successes. They work in similar environments and even share work habits.

Work Styles and Communication

Most designers and developers work on projects and with projects come timelines and deliverables. In order to complete any given project, both execute their own process. A designer is not going to expand a typeface early in the design phase in the same way that a developer is not going to minify the css and javascript until the end of the project. The better that each understands the others’ process, the easier the workflow will be between the two. Additionally, the better each is able to explain and agree upon a process with the client, the more smoothly the project will progress. This principle applies to both design and development. Communication between the designer/developer and the client can make or break the project.

Designers and developer depend on the same thing to get paid: clients. Even if they’re designing or developing their own application in-house, there is a decision-maker, a target audience, some outside force defining the deliverables. Neither designers nor developers can avoid having clients that don’t understand. Maybe they don’t understand the terminology, maybe it’s something a little more complex like design principles or information-architecture. Both become teachers and students time and time again. Both benefit from excellent communication skills to get through the hurdles of misunderstanding.

Whether it’s the typeface selection, the color palette or the beauty of the code, designers and developers make choices that will impact the result of the project.  Early in their careers, these choices may not be the most sophisticated, they’re both just getting by. They both go through growth phases and changes throughout their careers. Every developer has a first site, a first app, a first failure-to-launch story. Every designer has that horrible logo, that printing disaster or that phase where they couldn’t stop using that script font they saw on Martha Stewart. While the content may be different, the experiences are the same. The agony of having to push through, re-work. The disappointment felt at the end of the project when you did your best and yet you know you can do better. The exhaustion of expectation. The flop.

Getting over these experiences, learning from them and moving forward takes strength and courage, especially for those without a boss or team to push them along. Designers and developers know that the only way they can keep doing what they love is get back at it. To make the next one better. Maybe they blame each other. Or maybe they blame themselves. Either way, the thing they do next will determine their career’s success. Will they seek to learn more about the process? Will they refine their own? Do they need to change their workflow or sharpen their skills?

Learning and Growth

Any working designer or developer is at least somewhat self-taught. Both are required to continually develop skills to work in worlds that are ever changing. Some designers/developers feel that their own skillset is not enough, that they need to develop some skills from the others’ territory. There are different types of crossbreeds out there, some more successful than others. There are those who say they are capable of the other skillset (when they’re actually not) as well as those who are actually better at the skillset they weren’t originally trained in.

The best guidance for where they want to grow is through inspiration. Designers and developers both constant seek inspiration. They crave to know what’s next, or, even better, to be the one who created it.

Both designers and developers realize that their livelihood depends on their ability to stay relevant. Self-teaching and inspiration keep their skills and references up to date but the ability to execute, to combine new skills with inspiration to create something new, something that clients want, that users have to have, is where relevance becomes a necessity. As designers and developers fall into niches and serve similar markets throughout their careers, their radar for relevance becomes more defined and execution begins to serve their market. Both benefit from serving specific markets and staying relevant to those markets.

Community Seekers

While some designers and developers work in small agencies or large firms, a growing number of them are independent workers who are often turning to co-working.  The thing about co-working is that you’ll hear designers saying they don’t want to hang out with a bunch of developers and vice versa. The irony is that both are interested in the concept for the same reason: community. They’re looking for people to talk to when they’re stuck or bored. They might say that they want to work around someone who can understand their specific technical or design-related struggles, but as you can see, the truth at the center of the each of their struggles are the same. They want to be good at what they do, they want to be understood and they want to be recognized and compensated for their work. If more designers and developers depended on each other, crossed the verbal boundaries that separate them, the results could be amazing. Each could learn from the other’s workflow, client issues and failures. And the creative solutions one could provide to the other would no doubt change the way the other worked.

Merging the Gap

Whether they realize it or appreciate it, designers and developers are codependent. The success of any new site or application depends on the successful marriage of design and development. There are as many work-style differences between two designers as there are between designers and developers. Practical skills aside, all that’s left separating the two are a bunch of idioms. The thoughts, the motivations, the anxieties, the feelings that make us human, are very much the same.

Breaking down the barriers between designers and developers requires efforts on both sides. At the very minimum, designers need to be able to save files for web (screen) use. It’s more likely that designers need basic front-end web design skills such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Throw in a little PHP or jquery and you will have an open door to any developer’s heart. Developers should get to know the basics of typography and color theory. Take it a step further and learn some design principles  and you’ll avoid the dreaded grimace from your designer partner.

Not sure where to begin? Meetup is a great first step. Check out the Meetup events in your area and attend one from “the other side.” Even if you don’t fully understand everything that’s being discussed, being exposed to both the knowledge and the people will expand your capabilities and network, not to mention increase your credibility in that community. If there is an HourSchool class available in your area being taught by a designer or developer, go. Support them and learn from them. Then, teach a class and your expertise. Skillshare is another great resource for learning and connecting with your local community.

Online, follow inspiring designers and developers on twitter and Google+. Click their links and join in the conversation. There is no reason why your location should prohibit you from connecting and growing. Online learning sites such as Lynda and Treehouse can provide structured learning that you can complete at your own pace. And, of course, don’t forget blogs and larger design or development-focused media outlets.

 

 

Filed Under: blogging, design, technical-ish
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Seemingly Unfocused

March 9, 2012 By

My husband says I’m too hard on myself. That I demand of myself the unrealistic and then I let myself down when I don’t meet my own expectations. Lately, it’s been Social Proper. I don’t feel like I spend enough time on it. For a while, I was painting or drawing or sketching every day for it. Lately, hardly even a tweet. I finally got the Easter cards posted in the store last night, though they’ve been designed and ready since Jan 2.
While I struggle to find my rhythm with Social Proper developments, I also tend to ignore what it is that’s distracting me from it (you know, my design business…ok, and fashion week). I need to stop inspecting the surface so closely and step back and see the bigger picture. So, here’s a hoorah for myself for some pretty cool “distractions.”

    • Remember my rant about GBTC? Literally the next day, Jason Hardebeck reached out to me to connect and hear me out. We had coffee and he hired me to design something for the new team. During the process, they loved the way I treated their new identity so much that they adopted it as their branding.
    • The Made in Baltimore project is gaining a little bit of traction. First, Jason (yep, same one) used the logo on a coin he created for Who Glue. Then the project got a little bit bigger (and shifted just a bit) with its own site, built by Ben Kutil.
    • My CBS gig is up now that they’re no longer hiring bloggers in my market. Like magic, another writing opportunity opened up and I’m really excited about it.
    • I’ve currently got three client sites in “beta” meaning they’re fully built, just waiting for client approvals to go live.
    • I’ve also sent off five different jobs to the printer….this week. Three, of which, are Social Proper-related.

Which brings me full circle, I guess. When I put it all down like that in a little list, I guess I’m not as unfocused as I thought.

–
painting

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Mountains & Seas

February 13, 2012 By

One interesting thing about design is that the technology we use to create keeps changing. So, not only is there a depth of knowledge about design, design theory, processes, references and history to dive into, there is a technological mountain to always be climbing. Sure, we may stay at sea level and never dive nor climb and have a productive career. But the fact that there are mountains and seas at our toe tips make the possible journey both incredibly unique and personal but also exponentially challenging and interesting. The mountain will never stop rising and as time goes by, so does the sea deepen. These constant changes leave us as designers to make our way, crafting our skills where we see either the best fit, the most profit, or simply the most intriguing. This is why I love design and why it might be the final job of my life.

 

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