Duality

Ahhh January comes to a close and we wrap up the first month of the year… wow, one full month of blogging.

I have been doing a little bit of reflection regarding where things are going with projects, and became ‘wound up’ in intertwining, and seemingly contradictory thoughts.

Case in point: Much of my consulting work has involved a great deal of ambiguity—defining and navigating the parameters of the work “as we go.” Often times, there are few rules, and there are many undefined boundaries, needs, schedules, etc. involved in the process. A well-known phrase that came to mind was: “the more you know, the more you don’t know.”

This truly epitomizes much of my recent work. My “learning about learning” is the process needed to figure out what I need to know, so that I can move forward.

It’s sometimes very humbling to realize that there is still so much to learn, and it’s also a way to give yourself a break when you feel times are tough. It’s like saying “there is so much I have accomplished, yet so much more to learn.”

It establishes and validates all I have done to get to where I am now. It is that pat on the back that may sometimes be needed in the now to get you where you want to go, but to get to where you want to go, you must feel good now.

Make sense? Such circuitous, yet profound life-design!

Another path through this is what Robert Fritz has called “structural tension.” Applied to both people and organizations, it is a way to control your destiny: “The most important tension we will use in our redesign work is the difference between what we want and what we have.” Because we always seem to want to progress in some way, there is an inevitable tension!

For me, it seems like giving the past the “voice” it deserves, creates a sense of well being right now, and that well-being brings you into a much healthier state to focus on where you want to go. It’s a big iterative feedback loop of learning and change.

Instead of structural tension, I sometimes call it “creative tension.” Hey, I'm an artist, always in that mode of wanting to bring new things into existence.

Well, we’ll leave in-depth thoughts on creative process for another time (you don’t have to be an artist), but I consider this tension the binding substance that helps get me where I want to go, but it challenges me to live in the present. Think about it, isn’t the present moment the only place where things ultimately happen?

So has anyone been holding any of that opposite-polarity-tension in their lives lately? I think it’s working through that contradiction that can both frustrate and engage us. We’re at least engaged to do something about it… or give it our best shot. It’s all about the journey, right?

:)

m

The Language OF the client: infinite value FOR the client

As some of you may know, over the last 6 months, I have partnered with several Microsoft employees to create a new publication, addressing topics that concern visual storytelling. From a graphic designer’s perspective, this is often called “information graphics,” “data visualization,” or simply “infographics.”

But it’s more than that.

One of my collaborative authors had inspired my design thinking by showing me how a designer had essentially turned his professional resumé into a series of infographics arranged on a single page.

I set out with a mission: create a unique visual depiction and experience for potential clients and customers, showing them a different way to see what I have done, as well as what I might do for them.

I believe that last bit was the more important part.

I set out to create something that was essentially in the language of my audience. In this case, I was creating an infographic that would cater to others needing infographics. I was putting the content into a form that was palatable for the intended audience, and I was also searching for a new way to show the value I could bring to the client.

ARGHHH... after getting some lackluster feedback on my first draft, 

I started over.

I’ve decided I have little interest in strictly laying out all the work I have done. Honestly, I don’t think many clients even care about that. What they are probably looking for—first and foremost—is what value you would bring to their company or project, and spoken in an organizational language that they can easily understand.

As I ihave gained more and more experience in design, I have started to realize that ultimately it’s less and less about what I have done, and more and more about what I can do for the client: in their language.

When you are not a “designer” per se, customizing the resumé is probably the best way to do this.

That said, regardless of your individual profession and whether you are turning your resumé into a dandy ‘ol infographic, I challenge you to think about it by asking: What value do you bring (or wish to bring) to your intended clients, and is it being stated in a language they can easily understand?

In some circles, a form of this is called the “elevator pitch.” It’s a 1-2 sentence summary that gives you AND the client the clarity that can be expanded upon when needed: it also invites discussion. This is not dissimilar to how an infographic gives you something to “talk to,” and before you know it, you have a great interview!

In the end, you focus on using the language of the client (understanding how they think to get through to them) and the value of your abilities (understanding and connecting you with what they need).

It may sound simple, but after years of this kind of work, I still find it is healthy to remind myself of this everyday.

m

P.S. Anyone who may want to see the infographic is welcome to email me about it.

:)

Asking the Right Questions: the ever-evolving conundrum

So, let's pick this up from last week's post.  

In getting to the bottom of what you need to know about your client and their products/services, I suggest you view it as information gathering that starts with you “not even knowing what you need to know.”

YET.

Answers: Well, in my opinion, there’s no single solution my friend. Try to avoid a single “templatized” set of questions you should ask the client.  The may be a few you regularly ask. For me though, determining design context has been more about determining and asking the right questions, and not the same ones every time, depending on circumstances, of course. Here are some suggestions, and remember, there is no single way to interact with clients, it’s simply having a methodology and a process that is most important. You’ll fine tune it over time, because “you are you,” and you bring something unique to the table, so you need to value your personal approach just as much as what may be important to the client.  

• When interacting with clients, your ability to ask questions (and ask the right ones) is just as critical as your ability to listen. If you’re always thinking about your next question while they’re talking, you may not actually hear them, and truly hearing someone is an art form. Try to be an open conduit for receiving a fuller spectrum of information; this attitude will take you far. You’ve done some research and know a lot about them, so now let them give you their take on the company.
• Ask the necessary close-ended questions that require a “yes,” a “no” or a few words in reply. These often address quantitative aspects of the project: “Yes, this is s a first-time delivery of the product.” ALSO ask open-ended questions that encourage a wider range of potentially important information that may not have even been something previously on your radar. When working with new clients, I especially find this helpful, because if you can give them a few open questions, you give them the opportunity to talk about subjects like: themselves, their company, the history of their company, and… “Their story.” You need to know their story. In some ways, what they choose to say, as well as how they say it, can both be very valuable information! 
• What will the full range of user experience involve, from first hearing about the product, to purchasing and using the product, and coming back again to renew interest? What products/services out there compete?
• Your client may LOVE the color red, and want you to include it in all your designs, but is this the best color to use for a relaxation product? Identify and define differences that may exist between your actual client, and the ultimate users of their product/service. Know the differences, account for them in your designs, and be prepared to defend your findings/solutions with the client.
• Talk to multiple stakeholders whenever possible. Sometimes focusing on one stakeholder or client can bring a little too much subjectivity to the table—this is quite human and normal.

This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but it’s a good starting point. Design responsibility can entail establishing a much bigger picture for your client. Of course, they probably have immediate needs (they almost always do in consulting), but you ultimately create much greater value for them by paying attention to their story, even if this is your approach “under the hood” and in less visible ways, it’s your guiding intention. 

For example, creating a timeless logo, and longer-term solutions, start with you knowing where they have been, where they are now, and more importantly where they may want to go. Beg for their patience as you engage in the process, and take the time to fully understand, as best as possible, how you can partner to help define them, and their organization. I know I appreciate learning, as well as fine-tuning my ever-evolving process and methodology, and I wish you luck on your path as well.

So, in wrapping up this post, I ask you:  On a past, present or future project, what 2-3 open-ended questions might you have asked, did ask, or will ask, that would be most useful to you, and how might they be most valuable (for the short or long-term) needs of your client? 


m

The Pepsi Challenge...or...design without context

When I was a kid, I really liked pop—soda, fizzy, whatever you want to call it—namely Coke. Later, I adapted my taste to new developments in pop… new Coke didn’t work for me, but other new flavors, like Cherry Coke, hit the spot. As I grew older, I strived to moderate my high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) intake with diet versions.

Let’s talk a little about advertising, design, and figuring out what people like…

Consider two cases, relating to design context, as well as my aforementioned love for soda or—er— Pop.

1. In his book, Blink:The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how “New Coke” held up to Pepsi with “The Pepsi Challenge.” The Pepsi challenge actually failed miserably for both New Coke and Pepsi. The single biggest reason: context. It failed to consider that a “sip test” (one single sip of each product) might not be accurate for anyone who would buy pop. Would they normally buy a whole can on lunch break? Would they buy a case, and take it home for the kids? Who would be drinking it, and how much would they drink? Question: How complex and complicated can it be, to find out what a customer really thinks?
2. Steven Heller (a designer, art director and author of many books, whom I deeply respect) presents the challenge of design, in discussing a fuller design context: building a car is the analogy. Internal and external environmental factors, as well as the actual target audience must be validated. The user interacts with the gauges and controls of the car, our own height and body size/movement are involved, and things like the tires of the car and the signage on the highway come into play. The experience is determined by all of these systemic variables. Question: What other potential products and services (these are variables) effect your present client’s products or services?

This “system,” with all these variables, is quite complex. And the success of the system is often time based, with results often occurring over time and needs changing over time. Success can also depend on what’s going on, in and around the neighborhood cultural block, or all the way out to the international scene. Oh, and how is success actually measured???

WOW. Ok. Slow down... 

No need to take on the world, it could get a little overwhelming...But there are so many variables involved when establishing design context. It's an on-going process, this discussion of process and context! I generally engage in the client-designer relationship as a way to engage my curiosity, my sense of adventure, and my ultimate desire to “design value” for the products and services of customers and their audiences. I ask myself: What’s going to create the most value for the client over time, and what might affect the audiences in (hopefully) positive, productive, useful ways?

How can you design greater value for your clients? I’ll have some suggestions centered around this and the gathering of valuable information next time… I have vowed to keep my posts shorter, and as useful as possible.

:)

m

1 + 1 ≠ 2

Shooting for a more concise blog entry today, apparently 2011 is starting with a little bit of time to reflect on a few things. Let’s give the potential of a shorter note a shot!

As a designer, I incorporate the concept of the title of this post into my work. 

Here’s the concept (many designers are familiar with this in some way already):

When arranging elements in a composition or page, placing one shape, then placing a second shape does not create 2 shapes. The “empty” space actually creates a third one. This is often why we don’t call that space “empty,” we call it negative space, the interaction of “figure” and “ground,” or the foreground/background relationship.

I have been addressing this in my upcoming book. This way of describing a concept I have taught for a long time was discussed in an Edward R. Tufte seminar I attended last summer.

And here’s a more interesting application I started considering today:

“What if” this concept were applied to real life? "What if" what you “looked at” or noticed in life, were just as important as what you did not look at?

As an artist, and as a human being, I am finding my life is lived through where I put my attention, and the distinctions I make between things, because the various things in my life are just as important as what I do not have in my life. 

Sometimes I wonder which one makes a bigger statement!

That said, when the day is done, I put more weight in the relationships between the things on the page (how they interact), than the things themselves.

I think I'll put my own little twist on this little math problem—I hereby call it: "The Shape Equation."

Back to work, have a great Monday!

m 

Nostalgia and the Infinite Present

As I start this New Year, I also look back and honor the past. I’m also pondering how I think about the past.

It’s this balance of heart, mind and body: how I feel it, think about it, and experience it. It’s hard to separate these things, as they really all just become entangled as one “whole” experience, but I’m sure going to try…

To the left: A recently discovered work. It's literally one of the first commercial illustrations I ever did for a design rough. The final design was never approved, but this work brings back so many memories... it now sits framed in my office to symbolize the promise of the future, and the freshness of the past.

Loss, fondness and fascination

From a high-level, and without getting into specifics, I have often associated a feeling of loss with the past. Many of us may very well do that. There’s this sense that we can “never go back,” and that what we once had is lost forever. We feel a familiar lump in the stomach as we try to grasp at what was, and bring it back. A few slightly more specific memories:

• Places I have lived and traveled to over the years that seem so hard to get back to.
• Family, and how living so far away from home has changed my familial relationships.
• Friends that have been so dear to me in the past that seems to have moved into the outer circle now. Previously, I would have never envisioned that was possible.
• Relationships: even the tortured ones leave a mark that we like, or are drawn to think about. Why is that?
• Being the youngster, fresh out of college that was the youngest teacher I ever knew. When I started teaching in colleges, I had many students my dad’s age. It was a bit of an expected turn to become a teacher, and it involved a bit of a time-warp.
• And there are sooo many more… 

I have also looked at it with fondness and fascination, and even something I might have bragging rights for...

As a technology geek, digital artist, and “early adopter” of new invention, I often think about things like:

• Using and learning the very first version of Adobe Photoshop in my undergraduate work in Western New York. The program did not support color yet. 
• Buying LPs, and getting used to a particular “track order” as I bought rock albums. LPs often skipped and popped after frequent use.
• Automotive wonders: Owning a car without anything really “powered” (going to any kind of drive-in required a full-body workout, something I didn’t do as much as a kid). No iPod, no A/C, no CD, but plenty of AC/DC… shall I go on? OK...
• Computer memory was measured in MB (megabytes) and KB (kilobytes), not GB (gigabytes). My early model mac had 8 MB of VERY expensive RAM, that said, I could trick it into artificially thinking it had twice that much, with some cheap software called “RAM Doubler.” Instead of buying more RAM, It was a lot cheaper at the time to go that route (memory was about 10x as much back then).
• Saving all year to buy the aforementioned computer, and any additional RAM I could afford for approximately $3000. It would very quickly become a very expensive doorstop in about a year.
• Many other things I take for granted now: Cell phone? Yes folks the land line was the ONLY line. Internet?

Ok, I’m gonna STOP. All of a sudden, I feel really old…

A Sense of place

So it seems like a lot of this comes back to how I define my identity: where I have been, what I have done, how I have left my mark. It’s comforting to think about things accomplished. Strangely enough, I think even when the thoughts are unpleasant; I often like to think about them too. It's like I'm addicted.

I can’t even begin to tell you the journey of awareness I have embarked upon to really pay attention to my patterns. Those habits are SO hard to break, and sometimes they become so comforting that we would DARE try to break them.

Now that I can buy a song instead of the whole album, I am forced to consider that things are different now. I would like to think they could even be better.

A Sense of Momentum

I never wish to stop thinking about the past, that’s not my point. I think what I have realized I am starting to do, is change how I am thinking about the past. Seems I am slowly adopting new patterns.

I think in some ways, past and present are becoming “one.” Let me explain: in all my awareness of patterns, and how I am changing, a new design has been emerging: the ability to look at the past as part of the present. What I have done has set me up to be right here, right now: I am in crystal clear focus.

A Sense of Focus

I find myself accepting who I am in a new way as I focus in on this moment, the moment that all of my past action has lead to: the fruits of that action. A new “working” identity is formed. I say that, because if I label it too closely as permanent and unchanging, I risk falling into older patterns, and then fall under the surface of the big pond again.

I think I have to remember that I’m measured in Gigabytes now, not Kilobytes: I’m a new man!

;)

It’s really scary to consider what’s possible. It might mean you have to change, or accept that you don’t know what next week looks like (just ask me about being a consultant sometime).

The unknown is terrifying. It’s not something easily adopted, understood or embraced. The lump in my belly from experiencing the loss of the past still happens sometimes, but I think it has slowly become one that is more about acceptance, celebrating triumphs, and the creation of momentum for the future. If everything has led us to where we are now, I think it puts a little more pressure on us to fully embrace the responsibility of “the now,” and out sense of the new.

Creating Momentum

So my final thoughts here, are regarding the "product-of-my-process." Ultimately, all this thinking, feeling and experiencing is creating momentum. The product of your actions, thoughts and feelings is:

1.     Is often hard to recognize

2.     Can involve time delays

3.     Involves as much objectivity as you can muster

Being able to look back at how you have changed, evaluate it, learn from it, and use it to create momentum for continuing, is a hard skill to learn.

I’m still working on it.

The “present,” or the gift of nostalgia, is how nostalgia has led me to the infinite—never-ending—importance of the moment. It’s all we’ve got, and the moment is what ultimately changes us, regardless of how we think, feel or experience the past. It’s the gist that keeps on giving, like it or now. Our experience of the world wraps around all these things and makes us whole, and part of a much bigger whole.

I end up feeling a little displaced from the "linearity" of my perception of time—the then and now.  Relationships seem to occur across these limiting boundaries, and I want to time in a a much more expansive way. I think I'll work on that too. Perhaps this is a good time to read some more Robert Grudin (try his book "Time and the Art of Living.")

And as the consulting business seems to prove, time and time again: change really IS the only thing we can count on. Who’s up for it?

Much love in 2011 to friends, family and acquaintances—everyone—I have met, learned from, shared moments with, and tipped a glass with over the years…

Happy New Year!!!