Our Zeitgeist tagged with “mark-busse”
"Some animals mate for Life"
In business, mating for life isn’t usually the case. And love rarely comes into it. Tricky business finding a partner. So the plan today is to delve into the topic of when it’s time to pursue a partner and how to choose the right person so your design business can grow. Identifying and selecting this person can be fraught with complexity and choosing incorrectly can ruin your business, not to mention your relationship with that person. Choosing well can be a brilliant move. Even then, it may not be for life, but certainly will be a more positive experience.
“A partnership is like marriage, in that like marriage they ought to make it as hard to get into as they make it to get out of.”
This article started out as a sole proprietorship, just one person’s thoughts on the subject of taking on a business partner, specifically in the design industry but really good advice for anyone. It was a decent article; informed and informative and generally well written. But the author thought it could be better so he sought a co-writer and effectively formed a partnership. In doing so he gave up complete control over the content and the end result, probably figuring he’d either have not much more work to do on it as his new partner took the reins, or that he might be in for a couple debates on its direction before it was finalized. Or, totally regret the decision and have to figure out how to wrest authorship control back.
Before you read on, know this: the resulting advice you are about to read now comes from a partnership. We collaborated on its creation much as we’ve complimented each other for the past twelve years in the running of our design firm. Some of this information we’re going to share may seem like common sense. Some of this learning came via the business degrees that we both hold and our creative backgrounds, but mostly it’s been from working together as partners, the triumphs and mistakes we’ve made over the 12 years we’ve been in business together. We’ll share our perspectives and advice for design professionals considering a business partner. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll try to cover as many of the angles as we can based on our personal experiences—including our own failed third partner attempt.
“Ask yourself, ‘Would I marry this person?’”
Let’s assume you’ve made it though design school of some kind and now have achieved relative success growing your small design practice into a viable business under your leadership. You’ve looked at the numbers, evaluated the industry and it’s time to expand to take your business to that next level. You think the way to do it is to get a business partner. But where do you start? What do you look for in a candidate? And when you find him, what then?
Despite the faith business clients often place in designers to build brand strategies on their behalf, the irony is that designers often do not possess adequate business acumen to run their own companies. Talk to any designer that runs his own operation and you’ll hear the same stories about getting “burned” by clients because he learned the hard way that you have to take care of the business side of the relationship before the creative one. The same thing applies to establishing a healthy partnership.
A design practice can be profitable and growing for years, yet all could be lost in a short period of time with one bad client, or an inappropriate choice of partner. Don’t be blinded by the desire to partner with someone who appears brilliantly talented. He may be, but he may also wreak havoc on your business for a variety of reasons. The cultural and financial benefits of finding the right partner can be amazing and rewarding. The price of a bad choice will, at minimum, be felt for months or years afterwards, if the business survives.
There are numerous reasons why a business owner would take on a partner. Besides sharing leadership, management and administrative duties, a partner shares your financial risk and responsibility. But this is rarely the reason a design professional jumps into a partnership. The primary motivating factors should be the potential for expanding the company’s capabilities and growing the business.
Rather than pontificate on the merits and pitfalls of partnerships from only our perspective, we asked a number of respected design business owners what their views and experience on the matter are. This is a diverse group of people coming from completely different backgrounds. All have been or are still in partnerships—some successful and some incredible failures.
“Think about it, if you were a figure skater, you’d want to make damn sure whomever was going to catch you actually can.”
The beauty of an effective partnership is that you are working together with the same incentives—a share of ownership in the success of what you are building together. Two really can be better than one. In the absence of a lot of cash to offer a person with the expertise you need, a share of the business may be the way to go—especially if he brings his existing key clients, vendors and staff with him.
From another perspective, you are creating a great efficiency by merging the cost structures of running two separate businesses and keeping all the revenue from both. In many cases when you only look at a prospective partnership from that angle, it looks very rosy indeed.
Ask yourself this though: Do you really need a partner to achieve your goals? Can you hire someone to help you and work out some other form of profit sharing or compensation without sharing control of the company? It’s an option worth looking at. It may seem like you are paying him too much, or more than you can afford at the moment, but partnerships—especially those that fail—can be even more costly.
“One major factor of our failed relationship was that we had no mission statement when we started.”
Understand what a partnership is. You don’t need to technically do anything to form a partnership except declare one, but let’s be straight here; if you don’t do your due diligence, openly discuss both sides’ intentions, and agree to all aspects of the business structure, ownership, responsibilities and profit sharing in writing, there is a high likelihood of misunderstandings, mistrust and ultimately failure.
Have a business plan to serve as a foundation. Without a plan, you have nothing. What do you provide? To whom? Analyze your situation and do a SWOT analysis like you would for any of your client projects. What are your individual strengths and weaknesses? What opportunities and threats face you personally and your company? This will go a long way to answering the question about whether a partnership is a good idea. And once you find the potential new partner(s), repeat this process all over again for all parties.
“Don’t be 100 percent sure, be five hundred percent.”
There are numerous risks to entering into a partnership too. Beyond the emotional stress that can occur, or risks of giving someone else access to the assets , finances and proprietary information of the company, the wrong choice in a partner can ruin a firm’s reputation. Remember, not only the company’s, but your reputation will now be tied to his. Your colleagues, past and potential clients and employees, and the entire industry will likely judge you based on this new relationship.
If your new partner is talented, well-known, respected and professional, this will be a wonderful public alliance. If he’s not, then you might have a major image problem on your hands. Oh, and keep this in mind: your partner has the same thing on his mind. No more raunchy behaviour at client parties, unless you both agree that your reputations will be damaged if you behave!
“No one said anything to me about this person until after it was a done deal. I should have been more assertive in my lines of questioning.”
Look for the best fit and investigate your prospective partner’s experience, history and reputation to determine if he has indeed done what he claims he can do for you. If you are seeking a senior creative professional with management and leadership abilities, verify he has been successful with this in the past. You don’t want to find yourself partners with someone you expect to build your team and guide the creative and production process only to discover that he is best suited to working autonomously.
Regardless of what he has told you, Google your potential candidate. What has he done? What is his reputation? Talk to former employers, clients and employees—happy and more importantly, unhappy ones. This might be harder to do if the person is coming from another city, but that makes it even more important. Why is he really moving?
Don’t skip this step. Many failed partners we spoke with admitted that if they’d only spent more time doing due diligence in this area, they would have uncovered serious doubts and concerns over potential choices for potential partners.
“Not to say going into business with friends is a bad thing, but I think we all wandered into it with more optimism than realism.”
Just because you like someone, worked well with him at school, or are related to him is not a good enough reason to get into business together. There are exceptions of course, but along with the usual risks, going into business with a chum or relative can turn into both a volatile and caustic work situation that can also destroy your personal relationship.
Something else to consider is if there is a pre-existing friendship or relationship between some partners but not all. It will undoubtedly be difficult for a new partner to feel truly a part of your team right away. Your partnership should based on goals, skills and strategy, not merely on being social friends. It’s been said many times before, but a partnership is a fast way to lose a friend forever.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have had a partnership last as long as we have (20 years)...largely due to the fact that we have complementary/contrasting personalities and aptitudes.”
Imagine trying to run a marathon with a pebble in your shoe. At first it might just be a little annoying, but after a few kms...
As a designer, consider your styles and approach to problem solving. Are they compatible and complementary? As important as whether your personalities ‘fit’, your design backgrounds, aesthetic preferences and methodologies must be considered. Will there be a power struggle? How well will you collaborate? Who gets to make the final call on a design or production choice? Will this anger the other partner and make him feel undermined or disrespected? If not carefully considered, a bad ‘fit’ can grow from a seemingly little thing to a major problem and source of stress.
“My mistake was going into business with a partner from a different background.”
There’s a well-known adage that a partnership is like a marriage, and it’s true. In his article Good and Bad Reasons for Having a Partner, John Burton put it best when he said that “like marriage, they ought to make it as hard to get into [a partnership] as they make it to get out of.” Make sure you’re comfortable with each other before moving in together.
Don’t rush into a partnership. Once you’ve identified what you deem to be a good candidate, be patient. It’s not always easy, or possible, but consider creating a working relationship that allows you to work with one another for a while. Of course, you might have already been doing so which led you to both conclude a partnership might make sense.
Take it slowly. If your potential partner is unwilling to be patient, then you have your first clue that something might be awry. If you’re married, or even in a committed relationship, consider how long it was before you took those critical steps in the relationship.
“As much as I hate lawyers, I love them too.”
Yes, lawyers are going to cost you some money, but think about it: as designers we’re constantly telling our clients to leave design to the professionals; so leave the law to lawyers.
Find a corporate lawyer you like who has experience in partnerships and get him to draft up the official shareholders agreement for you. Don’t skip this step! There are even consultants that specialize in helping small businesses expand or transition with issues such as partnerships. Find one and let the experts help guide you.
Likewise, use an accountant and lawyer to establish valuations and share structure and create a shareholders agreement (SHA). There is no one way to do this and really the only important thing is to agree on amounts, ownership structure, timelines and make sure both parties are comfortable.
“The legal agreement we had in place saved my ass.”
You know, they didn’t have enough life boats on the Titanic and look what happened. Design management consultant and speaker David C. Baker warns about what he calls the “Five Ds”: divorce, death, disability, dismissal or departure. What happens when one of these occur? It’s crucial to be prepare for the worst.
In your SHA, include provisions for an exit should you, or your new partner, ever want out—whether it is amicable or not. So do you dive in or wade into the partnership? One school of thought believes that having a trial period with a short term exit plan will actually hinder the progress of the partnership and reduce each party’s willingness to really give it their all. This is an area where you have to make your own decision because there’s no one right way to do it. Do what’s comfortable for you both and realize that the focus of the relationship should be long term.
“Another contributing factor to the demise of our partnership was we had too many chefs in the kitchen. Three designers, each taking on the creative director role.”
Even if you are bringing complimentary areas of expertise into the relationship, it’s important to establish well-defined roles and responsibilities that disseminate the various aspects of running the business such as marketing, sales, finances, management and who is primarily in charge of creative leadership. Even if creative duties are shared by the partners, understand how to deal with situations when one partner disagrees with a choice or direction on a project.
Here’s an old one: So, how many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? 'What...change it again?? I've already changed it six &$#* times!”
Mixed direction and inconsistency can be a huge cause of stress and difficulty within your team. Hence, the importance of partnering with someone with a compatible design style and creative process, and in establishing responsibilities so the culture of the creative team is not undermined by bickering or disagreements between the partners.
As much as conflict resolution should be a part of your written SHA, make sure you have also articulated in writing outside of it how these things are handled on a day-to-day basis (hint: well defined job descriptions are a good place for this). If you are constantly reaching for the SHA to sort things out, the partnership is likely doomed.
“Going into business with someone is serious stuff—do your homework and solicit input from trusted advisors."
Not all designers have the advantage of a business degree, but that’s no excuse not to do your homework and continue learning how to better run your business. Every community has a Board of Trade who may be able to help guide you. In Vancouver, we’re fortunate to have a small business resource centre located in Waterfront Centre. http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/ And of course designers have their professional associations, such as The Society of Graphic Designers in Canada and AIGA in the US—each filled with experienced design professionals with advice to give.
But don’t just rely on reading materials or the advice of strangers. On of the best ways to grow your business is to find yourself a mentor you respect or even form a small group of advisors—your Board of Directors as it were. Share all the information with your most trusted advisors and solicit their input before making any radical decisions. Heed their advice, but remember that people give away opinions like they do kittens, so in the end you need to make the decision for yourself and be willing to live with it.
“I wish I’d listened more intently to what my heart and gut was so obviously screaming.”
If something doesn’t seem right to you, it probably isn’t. Body language and listening as closely to what is not said are important cues that will give you a better sense of whether things feel right. If there’s something you can’t quite put you finger on, dig a little harder, it’s likely that something will rise to the surface eventually, better before than too late.
In addition, consider that the person you may partner with has his best face forward as you work through the details during the courtship phase. If his behaviour is less than exemplary, then there’s good indication that it won’t get any better as time moves on. It might also show you how he will react when dealing and negotiating with clients.
“We wanted to be sure the new relationship was solid before making a formal announcement, but by then we were getting calls from people asking us about it.”
Any senior designer you chose to partner with will bring with him a portfolio that predates your working relationship. Carefully consider how his work and yours will integrate as you seek new clients together. Moving forward, it’s best to be transparent with potential clients about the work you both did before the merger.
Of course you’ll want to announce to the world this new partnership. Timing is important. You’ll want to make sure you wait just long enough to ensure it’s a solid relationship, but also not too long that it’s old news.
It’s also important to consider the language you use to announce and describe your new partnership publicly. Make sure all partners agree on the story and language to be used to describe the change in the business structure so it best represents all sides.
“Anyone can run a company when times are good. It’s in difficult circumstances that great leaders are measured.”
In an attempt to summarize this complex topic, it’s best to go back to the beginning of this article. At various stages during the process of establishing a partnership keep asking these questions: Do you really need a business partner? Do the potential benefits still outweigh the possible risks? If the answer remains yes, keep going. But never hold off asking and dealing with the toughest questions at the start out of fear that the person will take offense or kill the deal. If this happens, consider it a blessing and keep looking.
Find a like-minded professional that brings something to the business—someone you want to be in business with for the long term. Commit to the relationship as you would a marriage. But do your homework. Going into business together has proven to be a great move for us and it can be for you too, just take the time to find that special someone.
Summary:
- Be honest with yourself about your business skills
- Understand what a partnership really is
- Analyze the situation thoroughly from all angles
- Recognize the risks
- Investigate the candidate thoroughly
- Resist the urge to work with friends or family
- Consider fit, style and approach
- Don’t rush into things
- Consult a lawyer and accountant
- Create a shareholder agreement
- Define roles and responsibilities
- Consult your mentor or trusted advisors
- Determine conflict resolution
- Listen to your gut
- Commit as you would to a marriage
For more information about this or other webinars, visit
FunctionFox's events page.
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Choosing the right partner to expand your design business can be just the thing you need to survive and grow, especially in these uncertain economic times. Recently we published a short article about partnerships which was well received, le [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Categories: Articles | No Comments »
In the last couple years, our chapter has become decidedly more organized and reinvigorated. We finally have a new permanent home, thanks to our friends at Emily Carr. Executive meetings are filled each month with the smiling faces of volunteers keen to make things happen. Our exposure to the public, business and media is more pronounced than ever before. Our online presence has improved immensely and our ability to grow our network and influence increases daily through the use of tools such as our new website, blog and wiki, as well as via our FaceBook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Video.ca, and YouTube pages.
I’ve been proud and somewhat astonished to watch our membership and sponsorship grow to the degree it has in the past few years. Since 2006, the BC Chapter has grown about 40% and sponsorship revenue has nearly doubled, making BC the largest, most active and most well-funded chapter in the country.
Another aspect of what we’ve accomplished the past two years has been our increased involvement in local communities outside our own industry. Through supporting other associations such as SIGGRAPH, CAPIC, BCID, and sponsoring local charities such as NABS (National Advertising Benevolent Society), Canstruction Vancouver, and The Food Bank we’ve made a real difference in numerous lives. For this I am especially proud.
Over the last couple years our team has planned and hosted numerous sold out industry events with international speakers, vendor and studio tours, movie screenings, exhibitions, conferences, workshops, student and professional design competitions. I was honoured to serve as a Chair of Graphex 2008, leading our committee to produce the largest and most successful national design competition on record. What a year to remember!
Someone asked me recently what I hoped my legacy would be after my time as President. I quickly reminded them I wasn’t done yet and not going nowhere, so don’t rush me! But if I had to pick one thing it would be the great honour of initiating the bid for Vancouver and our chapter to host the 2010 Icograda Design Week. As an opportunity to raise the local, national and global awareness of Vancouver as a significant design city, this opportunity is significant. With the help of others, we’ve managed to open dialogue and receive support from the Ministry of Arts & Culture, Tourism Vancouver, British Columbia Innovation Council, and Vancouver City Hall—all keen to showcase Vancouver’s design community to the world!
I cannot adequately express my respect and gratitude for each of the volunteers, be they VPs, Chairs, committee members and students who come out to help make events happen. Their reports in this, and previous years’ annual reports, stand as a testament to the effort it takes to run an association like ours. I invite each of you to consider if it is time for you to get more involved and help GDC and your industry.
And that “successor” I mentioned earlier? I’m so happy and proud to nominate my friend Marga Lopez as she takes her turn as the leader of our group. I will remain as Past President and support her as we move our association and our industry forward. Never before has design been as important or as powerful as it is now, and there are amazing days ahead. I am humbled and inspired by Marga and am confident she is the leader we need for these times.
¡Felicidades y buena suerte Marga!
[post_title] => Final Message From Mark Busse, GDC/BC President 2007/08
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I made a deal with myself, my wife and my business partner when I accepted the nomination for Presidency of GDC/BC back in 2006, promising that I would work hard for one term and hand the reigns to a qualified successor. Well, here we are a [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Categories: Articles | 3 Comments »
Even in the best of circumstances, I believe that the first question any entrepreneur should ask themselves is “do I really need a partner to achieve my goals?” There are numerous arguments supporting business partnerships such as cost savings, shared risk, expanded client list, and enhanced services and management skills. But it all comes at the cost of giving up ownership of the company you worked so hard to build, so be very careful, do your homework and protect yourself.
My business partner and I have enjoyed 12 years of business success and our partnership has flourished because we are very different people. There exists minimal overlap between us although we share similar backgrounds, educations, and skills. This is in stark contrast to what we have witnessed over the years as friends have partnered with like-minded or similarly skilled friends, enjoying shared perspectives and core competencies, but ultimately ending in failure. The deep respect and trust that has developed between my partner and I has allowed us to delegate key decisions and tasks to each other. Our open communication allows us to speak freely, even arguing over important issues when necessary. But by challenging and complementing each other, we bring out the best in one other and in our team.
There are numerous steps that any reasonable entrepreneur should take before committing to anything as serious as a partnership.
Be assertive when questioning former clients, employers, employees about the candidate’s claims, background, reputation and abilities to make very sure you found exactly the right person is critical. Hire a good accountant experienced with valuations and complex ownership scenarios. Use a lawyer experienced in mergers and acquisitions to create a legal agreement which outlines the arrangement including a trial period and mechanism for if/when one partner leaves—whether you eventually part on good terms or bad, it’s best to enter a partnership knowing how you can get out. If you do your homework up front, you’ll save yourself a huge headache later.
But before you start to look for a partner, or talk to a corporate lawyer, SWOT yourself. A SWOT analysis is common first step in developing a business strategy, so why not do one on yourself? If you are honest with yourself, you’ll likely paint a picture of what’s missing in your business and of the type of person you require for a business partner. And make sure you SWOT your potential partner too before committing.
And even if you think you have found the perfect partner, be ready for things to change.
The hard truth is that people change. You may change. What happens in a year or two if your new partner decides they want to do something different and want out? Or maybe you do? Understanding this and being okay with it is a key to business survival and a strong reason to prepare a Share Holders Agreement that protects all parties involved.
We’ve all heard the comparison between business partnerships and marriages. Indeed, like a marriage, a partnership is easy to rush into, but painful and difficult to get out of. Just as a shotgun marriage will likely result in misery down the road, rushing into a partnership can be a costly mistake, ultimately sinking your business instead of saving it. Make sure you’re comfortable with each other before moving in together.
Another hard truth is that partnerships often fail. Things can go sour quickly—regardless of whose fault. An ill-conceived or poorly planned partnership that fails will reflect negatively on all parties involved and possibly lead to business failure. In the lead up to the split, the tension will grow like cancer in the culture of your team and staff may quit to save themselves the anxiety. Clients may lose confidence, and unlike children during a divorce, want nothing to do with either partner and just walk away.
The good news is that the economy will ultimately improve and good times are ahead for those who plan smartly. Ask yourself if your potential new partner, their reputation, their clients, and their working style will still look good once the market recovers. Don’t just opt to partner because you are shoring up for a short- to mid-term storm. Do it because it makes ultimate sense and because your business is more likely to survive to see the good times.
[post_title] => Partner for good times and bad
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I was recently asked to submit an article about partnerships for the Small Business section of Business in Vancouver (BIV) magazine. The article, called Is a partnership the right choice for your business to weather these stormy times?, fou [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, January 12th, 2009
Categories: Articles | 3 Comments »
In an economic downturn, your business may seek ways to costs while maintaining its competitive edge. By slashing your budget for marketing and communications, however, you may do more harm than good. Instead, consider working with your communication designer to apply strategic, creative thinking to keep your brand message focused on your audience in ways that will not only help you survive the recession but also contribute to your long-term growth.
In fact, many great brands were created during economic turmoil by companies that recognized their customers’ changing needs, seized the moment and innovated, communicating their ways through difficult waters. Here are some approaches that can help.
Focus on your brand
Brand equity is a valuable asset, especially during a slow-down. Critical aspects of brand-building in hard times are differentiation and relevance. Experienced designers put their own assumptions, biases and aesthetic preferences aside in order to identify your unique selling proposition (USP) — what makes you different — and tailor your message to a specific audience in a consistent manner. Identifying your USP helps you use the economic climate to pierce the clutter and seize the attention of potential customers. Leaving a gap in your brand presence lets savvy competitors step in and capitalize as markets improve.
Downturns create a buyer’s market
As your competitors slash their marketing and communications budgets, reallocate your own spending strategically. Media is on sale! While others pull back and disappear from the minds of consumers, you can expand your own exposure without increasing your budget, ultimately grabbing additional market share. That will mean growth, profit and a stronger brand presence once the economy begins to rebound.
Include design early
Creative thinking should be a part of strategic business planning, not tacked on at the end just for aesthetics. Invite your communication designer to the boardroom table. Recognizing that communication design is far more than window dressing allows you to use it to your competitive advantage.
Know yourself
Be really honest with yourself about what your organization is, where you want to go and how you can get there. Experienced communication designers are skilled at helping groups research, identify and analyze their needs in relation to audiences and competitors. They can help you clarify business strengths, weaknesses and opportunities and the impediments you face in meeting your objectives.
You get what you pay for
Be smart in how you conserve and consolidate expenses. As companies downsize, many may let their large agency partners go in favour of smaller, less expensive teams. Make sure any “replacement” team consists of experienced design professionals, not desktop publishers or ill-equipped freelancers who may seem like good deals. Even if you already have a well-defined brand identity, a terrific logo, a graphic standards guide (style guide), and templates or previous samples for reference, make sure you get the most qualified help. Create comprehensive and fair requests for proposals (RFPs) that will identify your best-suited candidate, not the cheapest bidder.
Don’t skip steps
Times like these call for vision and leadership, not shortcuts. Now more than ever, focus on working closely with well-trained experts. Craft clear and comprehensive creative briefs that outline project parameters, goals, timelines and budgets.
Ask for help
Don’t panic or act rashly. It’s tempting to cut back on expenses, but skimping on your strategy, graphic design or production may damage your brand in the long run. The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) can help. With its directory of designers across Canada, its effective job board and its numerous resources including a handy RFP tool, the GDC is the smart place to start your search.
Everyone suffers during a recession, but if you understand that good design is good for business, you can save your organization by developing solid relationships with skilled design professionals and actually help strengthen the company’s brand and market position.
If you're wondering how to use brand and communication design to help your business survive the sagging economy, please
contact Industrial Brand soon.
[post_title] => How Design Can Help You Survive a Recession
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As President of the BC chapter of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), I recently wrote an article on behalf of GDC called How to Use Communication Design to Weather a Recession for Business in Vancouver (BIV) Magazine. The art [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Saturday, December 20th, 2008
Categories: Articles | 2 Comments »
The album is called
A Night Remembered, featuring the trumpet stylings of Chris Davis. It's a beautiful album and he's a wonderful, soft-spoken, genuine jazz man. I began the project as we do most, by sitting down with the client to ask a bunch of questions.
I listened to his numerous answers as he told me the story of how the album came to be and why it was special. That story is actually recounted on the liner notes on the album and well worth the read. Of course I also listened intently to this collection of soulful jazz tunes seeking inspiration—and there was plenty to be found.
In the end, I asked him to summarize all we had discussed into one single sentence that would describe what he wanted the album design to express. What was the one message that would impart the special aspect of this particular album and serve as the creative brief guiding my design of the project. That sentence was:
When people listen to this album, I want them to experience a celebration
of raw, honest, musical joy—devoid of any deep symbolism or intimidating
jazz attitude—like I did when I played that special night.
While still influenced by
some of the classic jazz album covers from Blue Note Records, I tried to capture elements of memory in a simple, informal layout design without it seeming too "jazz-like". I hope my design adequately meets the challenge of that eloquently expressed brief and beautifully performed music. Thanks for the chance to work on this important project Cory and Chris. And thanks
Steve Mynett for the terrific photography.
Chris Davis can be found on myspace.com and his newest album can be purchased online at cellarlive.com or in person at The Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club in Vancouver, BC.
[post_title] => Chris Davis: An Album Cover Remembered
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As a Partner and Design Director at a thriving studio, I tend to spend more time bringing in new business, dealing with clients or taking care of administrative duties more than actual design and production these days. Par for the course I [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Friday, October 31st, 2008
Categories: Design, Industrial Brand, Music | 1 Comment »
While I'll leave the note-taking to the super blogger Lauren, here is the agenda of the presentations:
8.30 Opening Remarks
PSFK founder Piers Fawkes welcomes the audience and introduces the agenda.
8.45 Trends-Should you care?
Ed Cotton (BSSP) explains why trends and inspiration matter - and how you can judge and use them.
9.15 San Francisco Snapshot
What makes the Bay Area tick? Colin Nagy (Attention) leads a discussion with passionate locals discuss what aspects of local culture inspire them the most. Panel includes Amit Gupta (Photojojo), Jeremy Townsend (Ghetto Gourmet), Kevin Allison (Financial Times) and Liz Dunn (funnyordie.com)
10.00 Shape The World
Chris Riley (Apple) explains how three Bay Area residents have shaped his world.
10.50 New Art
Since opening her online and offline art galleries, Jen Bekman (20×200) has witnessed (and encouraged) and new movement of artists, themes and styles. Bekman talks about the trends she sees in art and artists’ use of technology to connect with art-lovers and buyers.
11.20 Make It With Us
Ezra Cooperstein (Current TV) and Andrew Hoppin (NASA) describe how to shake up large bureaucratic industries (e.g.: aerospace and broadcast media) by turning customers into creators and collaborators.
12.00 Making Inspiration Matter
Gathering trends and ideas may be important but how do you take inspiration and create change? Gareth Kay (Modernista) leads a discussion with Eric Corey Freed (Organic Architect), Frank Striefler (Media Arts Lab) and Josh Morenstein (fuseprojects).
1.40 Thoughtful Change
Jean-Marie Shields (Starbucks) explains that the future will embrace brands that connect with consumers by converting ideas into Thoughtful Change.
2.10 Aligning Interests
When cynical people admit they’re idealistic you might be on to something; Publisher and Founding Editor Max Schorr shares his inspirations and learnings from the beginning of GOOD Magazine.
2.40 Look & Feel
Creative designer and inventor of Red, the award winning In Flight Entertainment system for Virgin America, speaks about innovation in the cabin worldwide.
3.40 Using It
How can companies and organizations leverage social media to enhance consumer dialog, evolve product offering and improve sales. Bootstrapping expert George Parker will lead a discussion with leading marketing innovators Adrian Ho (Zeus Jones), Mark Lewis (DDB), Lynn Casey (Team Noesis) and Rohit Bhargava (Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence).
4.20 When Words Are Not Enough
Using experience design to enhance communications: George Murphy (Modo-Group) and John Pollard (Microsoft) describe how environments and technology helped consumers connect with the brand.
4.50 Behave
Josh Handy & Nate Pence talk about how they design the method way, and how design and creative both mirror and shape the organization.
[post_title] => PSFK Conference: more than just trends
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Today I am in San Francisco at the PSFK Conference, billed as a day of trends, inspiration and creativity. So far I am enjoying the content and discussions so much that I am going to avoid trying to frantically keep up with notes, Twitter a [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Categories: Events, Inspiration, Learning, Trends | No Comments »
As mentioned previously, Matt and I recently gave a presentation about personal branding to a local professional association. We talked about how some simple brand strategies and tactics often reserved for businesses could be applied to hel [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Categories: Branding | No Comments »
Why do I so often find myself sitting in presentations that are so ill-suited to my mood or experience level or completely different than what I expected based on the pithy description you provided in your beautiful conference guide agenda? Granted, I'm an older, experienced designer, but I go to design conferences to expand my knowledge and skills just as much as the young design grad. Regardless of how many cool people I meet or how many free drinks you give me at the vendor-sponsored receptions, I'm here to learn too.
Does that mean I don't want to sit back, put my hands behind my head and laugh instead of frantically scribble notes all the time? Of course not! But throw me a bone please, will you? Your descriptions about "so-and-so and his inspiring story will provide you with insights into design leadership and describe the lessons he learned leaving you with strategies you can apply in your practice" is really unfair when it turns out to be someone glumly flipping through slides of all their accomplishments or pretty slides from their portfolio with no take away. Can you please strive to communicate to me more clearly the kind and caliber of presentation and which audience it's geared towards? If it's for newbies, please just tell me straight up. If it's a feel-good story, tell me that too as I may just be in the mood for that.
OK, enough ranting—er, observations—onto the suggestion part.
I suggest the creation of a simple scoring system based on two axis. One axis (numbers 1–5 from left to right perhaps) could be a scale from "practical" to "inspirational" so conference attendees can get a sense of the potential for practical learning and frantic note-taking versus the kind of talks where one kicks back and enjoying stories and a laugh. Both are equally as valid, but warn me please. I don't think this is too much to ask.
The other axis in this system (letters A–E from bottom to top for instance) could simply be something like an experience continuum from "rookie" to "senior"—bearing in mind that some talks are well-suited for everyone, regardless of experience or age. This way if the conference guide informed us that a workshop was rated 1A we'd at least know it was geared specifically for junior designers and would likely be a valuable learning experience. But if a talk was rated on the other end of spectrum—let's say a 5E—then you should expect it to be an inspirational experience without specific design relevance a high priority and directed to a more experienced audience
I think a system like this would be especially effective if conference speakers themselves were informed of ahead of time and required to rate their presentation, thus tailoring their materials to a particular audience—sort of like a design problem, don't you think?
Generous Design Conference Organizers, even if my suggested system isn't well considered, please consider adopting something like it so that you give us, your loyal attendees, some understanding of the kind and caliber of a presentation, drastically reducing incidents of someone being wooed by a well-written description only to find out later they missed something far more suitable in the room next door.
Gratefully yours,
Mark Busse - HOW Design Conference Alumnus, 2008
[post_title] => Conference Presentations: That's Not What the Description Said!
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Steve did a good job summing up our experiences with his review of the 2008 HOW Design Conference, which I enjoyed, so I won’t double our efforts describing the event here. But as I hear myself responding to so many questions about ho [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, May 26th, 2008
Categories: Design, Events, Tips | 2 Comments »
I was recently honoured to be invited to contribute a poster design to Prografica’s exhibit Design/Culture: Posters for Cultural Diversity as part of the Icograda World Design Congress 2007 held in Havana, Cuba this past October. I [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, November 26th, 2007
Categories: Industrial Brand, Inspiration | 1 Comment »
