Archive for ‘Guest Authors’
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Probably my favorite part of attending things like the HOW Interactive Design Conference- is just the opportunity to meet and interact with great talent from all over the country. This year, one of those great talents is Tess Donohoe from Los Angeles.
Tess (as she explained to us in yesterday’s recap) is a native of Denmark- and moved to the US only 5 years ago. But you would never be able to guess that english is the second language of this articulate graphic designer. Tess has strengths in traditional illustration, animation, and collaborating with coders and illustrators on large-scale websites and mobile applications.
Check out her amazing website here—> www.tdonohoe.com/
I had the privilege of sitting next to Tess during a couple of the conference sessions- and I was delighted to see the kind of “notes” that Tess makes. Below is a sampling of the simple, line drawings that filled her moleskine over the past few days. I hope you enjoy them!
-Ben Lueders // Eleven19 Communications
(HOW IDC ATTENDERS: Can you identify any of the speakers or attenders in these drawings?)
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The very first ever HOW Interactive Design conference got off to a great start this morning!
You may ask, “Ben Lueders- what made it so great?”
Well the answer is really two-fold: free design stuff and complimentary Starbucks coffee. (But it was really the hot tea, lemon and honey that I gravitated towards- to soothe this rookie podcaster’s very sore throat.)
I immediately recognized the very intelligent and likeable David Sherwin (Frog Design) sitting at a table in the lobby on his MacBook pro. It was great to get to know him a little bit- and he’s excited to be interviewed on the podcast later today. David is one of the main speakers at the HOW IDC, and is leading the “PROGRESSIVE DESIGN CHALLENGE”- a participatory design activity to engage the largely print-minded conference-goers to think more “interactively”- while simply using the pen and paper they already know and love.
MORNING HIGHLIGHTS
David Sherwin gave an intelligent and likeable (and well designed) presentation for the “PROGRESSIVE DESIGN CHALLENGE”. (He was wearing a hat that could be described as both intelligent and likable.)
15 year digital interactive designer Jose Cabellar shocked the audience by confessing that he’s never actually coded a website. He emphasized that so much of of interactive design takes place on white boards, conversations, storytelling, and in your moleskine. Here’s a memorable slide from Jose’s presentation:
Information architect Karen McGrane explained to us emphatically (in a lightly profanity-laced presentation) that CONTENT is of utmost importance. Designers tend to focus so much on exterior aesthetics that often the actual content of our projects is absolutely forgotten. She captured this faulty idea very vividly in her opening illustration. Would you give a loved one a beautifully wrapped package…with nothing inside? Is content really of secondary importance? No it is not.
Alright- break’s over! Looks like David Sherwin’s giving a presentation on Information Architecture. (Dang- he sounds so intelligent… yet very likeable…)
Well-
I arrived safely in San Francisco this afternoon- excited to explore the city before all my blogging/podcasting duties start up. Because I don’t have an iPhone, (Probably just lost half of my audience right there) I had to explore the city via “wandering-around-aimlessly-until-I-get-so-lost-that-I-have-to-stop-into-a-Starbucks-to-utilize-wi-fi-and-find-my-location-with-google-maps-on-my-MacBook.” (At one point I actually took a photo of the google directions on my MacBook screen with my Canon Powershot- so I wouldn’t have to pull out my laptop in the middle of the street.) I know, I know- I’m pretty stone age for a guy doing such newfangled things as “podcasting” and “blogging” at a design conference marked by “interactivity”. (Your haughty giggles are so pretentious.)
HERE’S SOME HIGH/LOW LIGHTS:
I like how my hotel’s sign is right next to an Academy of Art DESIGN sign.
I don’t like how all this cool breakable stuff is so expensive.
I like how I can see two Starbucks from my hotel.
I don’t like how they mis-spell Nebraska cites.
I like how these child statues dance with such jubilance.
I don’t like anything about these statues.
I like how this HUGE boat went right under the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE.
I don’t like how this fisherman guy told me that the bridge I took a million pictures of was not the Golden Gate bridge but actually just the Bay Bridge.
I like how the fisherman guy has a flip-phone.
I LOVE how there’s an L&L right down the street from my hotel!
Katsu chicken- YUM!
Even our President loves a good Hawaiian Plate Lunch! (Wait- we are still allowed to mention Barack Obama…right?)
SEE YOU AT THE CONFERENCE TOMORROW!!!
Well- it was bound to happen.
When I first started working for self-proclaimed “media mogul” Donovan Beery- I can’t say it never entered my mind. I mean- Donovan was so busy flying all over the country to interview graphic design’s brightest stars- that he would have to cave in at some time:
He’d have to ask me to go in his place.
So, just as the faithful servant in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (yes, the Mickey Mouse version- nobody saw that new one), I slaved away completing my daily design tasks at Eleven19- just waiting for that old, mysterious wizard (Donovan) to leave his magical wizard hat to me.
And then it happened.
Donovan realized that the all-new HOW Interactive Design Conference in downtown San Francisco would be taking place shortly after his return from the AIGA Pivot Conference in Phoenix. He had already traveled quite a bit that year (surely spreading his media mogulish power everywhere he went) and so he turned to me, with that old, mysterious, wizardly gaze and said:
“Ben, you’re going to San Francisco”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Yes, I’m excited. Yes, I’m nervous. And no… I’ve never done a podcast before. But then again- this aint no “Design Matters“, right? I mean- The Reflex Blue Show is kind of known for it’s wild, last-minute, nitty-gritty, unedited realism, right? Well- I’m kinda counting on that anyway…
Tomorrow morning I have my debut podcast session with Donovan and Nate. This could be terrible… or this could be beautiful. Either way- won’t you join me on this fantastic journey?
-Ben Lueders
Assistant Designer
Eleven19 Communications
RockPaperInk Launches with a Dynamic Roster of Design Experts
July 7th, 2011 |Posted In: Guest Authors
A New Website for Designers to Share Inspiration, Ideas, and Opinions
RockPaperInk, a new, collaborative online design destination, launched recently at www.rockpaperink.com. This is a place for designers to come together as a community to share their opinions, creations, and passion for the field. From logo design to the broader scope of branding, color consumption to the business of design, every topic is fair game.
The website offers the opportunity to foster dialogue about a range of design subjects and inspire through the views, ideas, and design dilemmas of fellow creators. Articles, videos, and columns from some of the leading design experts from around the world will be featured, including:
- Justin Ahrens of Rule29 writing about “What Matters”
- Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim of Peopledesign exploring “Design Change”
- British creative Paul Burgess covering “The International Landscape of Design”
- Trendsetter Jay Calderin discovering new ways into and around fashion in “The Fashion Filter”
- John Foster of Bad People Good Things applying some elbow grease in “Dirty Work”
- Bill Gardner of Gardner Design talking about identity in “Love Thy Logo”
- Steve Gordon of RDQLUS offering advice to independent creative professionals in “Indie”
- Stanley Hainsworth of Tether getting to the core of the story in “The Storyteller”
- Jake and Pum Lefebure of Design Army finding inspiration in “Color Consumption”
- Debbie Millman of Sterling Brands with all of the gritty details in “Brand Bible Blogumentary”
- Robynne Raye of Modern Dog Design reporting on the design stuff she loves in “Sister Raye”
- Strategist and pragmatic realist Terry Lee Stone sweating the business decisions for you in “Ask Design B*tch”
- Educator Jason Tselentis analyzing fonts and sharing his admiration for typography in “Points, Pixels, Paper”
Readers will be able to view the portfolios of these designers and they will also have the opportunity to promote their own work and skills across the industry by creating personalized profile pages on the site and uploading and displaying selections of their designs.
Summer is the perfect time to sit back, relax, and soak up the musings of a great group of design world personalities at RockPaperInk. Readers are encouraged to join the conversation as well and take a stance on everything from what makes a good logo to how color inspires to the latest design trends in the UK, Australia and beyond, and much more.
Visit the new site and join the conversation: www.rockpaperink.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/RockPaperInk
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RockPaperInk
Susan Hershberg
Rockport Publishers
Nate Voss is a designer, illustrator, talkshow host and design journalist. Working in Omaha since 2001, Nate served four years on the Board of Directors for 
Donovan oversees all creative development at 
