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My latest brochure proof
After listening to a SXSW podcast about the 4 hour work week, I decided that I should really employee the 80/20 rule. That is to focus my marketing efforts on that 20% of my clients that bring my 80%...
View ArticleUsing Color as Communication
As designers, web developers, or marketers we spend a lot of time developing different forms of communication. On some level that is our job, to communicate and decide how to communicate something....
View ArticleImprove Your Creative Process, Better Design, Quicker Approvals
There are two things I struggle with the most in my job, staring at a blank photoshop canvas and having to fight the fourth round of revisions despite the fact that we had established doing only two in...
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As designers we need to use more adjectives in our work…
Adjectives? Wait am I confused? Should I be talking about copy writing? No no, I assure you I am in fact talking about design. Like many of you I am always browsing through galleries and assessing new...
View ArticleSpatial Awareness in Design
Have you ever come across a design that is so simple, so clean, yet so beautiful that it makes you wonder “How are they able to do so much with so little?” If so, then you are probably subconsciously...
View ArticleBetter design by brushing up on your techniques
I often fall into the trap where I limit the scope of my design capabilities by what techniques I have learned for my design tools (in this case photoshop, and illustrator.) You may not realize it,...
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Improve your typography with “typographic contrast”
Having just spent a week in various countries through out Europe I found myself studying the design techniques of thee various different cultures as well as how it compares to that of the US....
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Website Art Direction Redux
Despite Art Direction having been discussed as early 2004, it is now gaining more attention as designer Jason Santa Maria has proven it’s use through his blog and Noel Jackson has made it easy to do...
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Mood boards are an Essential Step in Design
As of late I have found that creating and using mood boards to be an essential step in both the design and the approval process. The classic case for mood boards is that they help stimulate your...
View ArticleDesigning with Intention
Since I have started teaching design I have had to find ways to articulate concepts that I know internally but have never fully fleshed out. Teaching a concept requires that you know how to describe...
View ArticleYour Design May Be Beautiful, but It Might Still Suck…
I want to preface this post by first saying that I believe one of the great strengths of our industry is that we have people from such diverse backgrounds. The evolution of the personal computer and...
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Ten Laws to Design By
As designers we have to be aware of the function of our work and design as much as we care about the aesthetics and visuals. There are a lot of terms for the design of how the site functions and works,...
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Nobody Gives a Shit About Your Logo
The four little words that make designers cringe, “make the logo bigger.” We joke about it all the time, sometimes with elaborate internet pranks like the make my logo bigger cream. Yet we get this...
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How To Design Using The Fibonacci Sequence
Not too long ago I posted an article that outlined ten laws to design by. I was ecstatic when the post received ample attention and fan fare. I might be a bit jaded, but I have grown very sick of the...
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Browser Chrome for Your Moleskine
If you have seen my Web Design Sketchbook project it should be no surprise that I am a huge advocate of sketching out ideas before firing up a program (regardless of it being Photoshop, Omnigraffle,...
View ArticleDesign Is Not What You Think It Is
Growing up I had many hobbies that I was passionate about. From computer to cars, fine arts to film, I always thirsted for information and relished learning more. This of course was before the internet...
View ArticleDesigners Are Scientists, Not Artists
I run across references of design as art on almost a daily basis. Somewhere down the road, design changed from a predictable approach of creating desired outcomes into an intangible magic trick. More...
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The Web Design Sketchbook, Version Three
Early December 2008 was when I first held a prototype of what I would later call “The Web Design Sketchbook” in my hands. It was pretty rough, had been printed using an old, slowly dying ink jet...
View ArticleWhy Coders Need to Understand Design
I see more web professionals specializing these days. There was a time where web designers literally did everything. If you worked on the web it meant you did coding, design, photography and any...
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Objective Driven Design (ODD)
If you define design as “to devise for a specific function or end,” it’s hard to imagine designing with out intended outcome at the forefront of your mind. Yet at some point in our careers we have...
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Designing with Intention
Anytime you design there exists a choice to do so intentionally or intuitively. The intuitive approach uses one’s instincts to feel out the needs of the design. They piece together the layout,...
View ArticleGetting Past the Blank Canvas
I’m sure you can picture a time when you’ve been ready to start a new design, opened up Photoshop or Sketch, stared at a blank canvas and felt totally clueless about where to start. This used to be a...
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Practicing Reliable Design
You may question first how reliability has anything to do with design, but it’s one of the most important aspects of design. I prioritize it over both usability and aesthetics. By the end of this post...
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Evolving the Design Discovery Process
The design phase used to be the most time consuming part of our project but now it’s the smoothest. Where we once sought buy-in along the way with wireframes, style tiles, and finally two finished...
View ArticleWebsite Discovery Questions
If you’ve done your job during the sales process, you’ll have a solid understanding of what you’re building when a project kick offs. Knowing what is important, but there is still more to learn before...
View ArticleMastering the Design Approval Process
Being a designer means channeling your soul into bringing something new into the world… only to have a group of strangers tear it — and your self worth — apart. Critiques are an unwavering part of any...
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Using Design Adjectives to Determine Look and Feel
One of the biggest challenges in interface design is deciding what this visual layer needs to communicate and how it should make users feel. Commonly referred to as “look and feel,” this terminology...
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Emotional Web Design
If you have designed a site that addressed five of the six layers of design you have surpassed most sites on the web. Even great designers will fail to address the first five layers in a design....
View ArticleThe Psychology of Grid Based Layouts in Design
Grids are a fundamental design tool that have been used since the modernization of visual design. Using a grid is such a de-facto standard that you may have never stopped to think about why grids...
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History of Design in Michigan
While most known for automotive, Michigan has a rich history in design. As a designer myself, I wanted to learn more about Michigan’s design roots. Not knowing what to expect, I found Michigan is home...
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