Have you ever hung out with people who all belong to a different professional circle than you and they crack ‘industry specific’ jokes? You can feel clueless and a total ‘div head’ (English slang for a rather slow stupid person) for not getting the joke. In the same way I am also sure we have […]
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Article in BIV’s How-To 2011 publication argues that businesses who invest in hiring experienced designers have advantage and reap rewards.
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An open letter to our future clients on why we charge more.
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Design is in chaos, and leadership is sorely lacking. It’s time for those with the ability to take the reins of power and haul the industry into the modern world.
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Over the years as a design director, design association executive, and design instructor, I’ve been asked by innumerable potential students about the merits or shortcomings of the various local design schools. It seemed time to put these thoughts down in writing once and for all, hopefully saving me some time in the future. (more…)
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Separating Church and State (of Mind). At some point in our lives, each of us learns the lesson that discussing religion or politics in mixed company can backfire.
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For the past three and a half months I have been an intern at Industrial Brand, and what a journey it has been. I have learnt a lot about the business of design and every step in between from how to write an RFP response to preparing production ready files. The whole design process: beginning to end. Come on, what more could you ask for out of an internship, really! It’s awesome!
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“We need a Facebook page and a Twitter account, right?” ask many of our clients these days. Much like clients who want news sections or blogs as part of their websites, our answer is always “It really depends.” If social media channels are where a majority of your audience is spending their time, then yes, […]
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Jim Rimmer died last week and I really wasn’t sure I wanted to post anything online after writing a tribute post for my recently deceased friend Leo Obstbaum. Losing people takes the wind right out of your sails. Then I found the following letter which was part of the nomination a group of us submitted […]
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The Industrial Brand team circa 2009—no contractors included. I recently spoke with a client who expressed his frustration with design firms who include associates on websites or in proposal responses without clearly expressing that they are external contractors and not employees. Does it really matter? Is it a personal choice or a question of professional […]
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Mark Busse gives his final speech as President of GDC/BC in January, 2009. GDC/BC‘s President, Marga Lopez, recently asked me to submit an overview of 2009 from my perspective as a GDC Executive. After a little thought, I jotted down the following, which I thought I’d share here. (more…)
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IMPORTANT UPDATE – See amendment below for some good news. I love living in Vancouver for a myriad of reasons. The more I travel, the more I realize how good we have it here. But I have to say, as a creative professional who makes his living in the communication design field, my city’s lack […]
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