“I started working in graphic design in 1953, when it was called commercial art,” said Pat Taylor, a lifelong member of ADCMW. Over his career, he’s exercised his branding talents for agencies like Advertising Art & Copy, publications like LOOK Magazine, and the Creative Group, Inc.

He specialized in logo development and magazine design through his company, Pat Taylor, Inc., since 1969. Plus, he volunteered his free time with ADCMW and beyond by helping to build the Washington, DC, creative community.

“In 1971, I moved to DC and started all over again. I also taught at the Corcoran College of Art and Design for 10 years. Later, I received the Honorary Life Member award from the Art Directors Club of Metro Washington and the Fellow award from the AIGA-DC.”

So we wanted to know what someone with such recognition as Taylor — who retired in 2008 — considers the defining moments in his career.

“I’m proud of my success in developing logos over many years for clients. And I’m thankful that, in my very first job, my bosses showed me how to work fast without errors,” he said.

Being able to work efficiently was essential to Taylor’s success as a volunteer with groups like ADCMW, for whom he helped lay out publications like FullBleed.

“I would design and produce — by paste-up of typeset copy — five magazines over two-month periods. That pattern lasted for more than three years, and it was an exercise that reinforced my bosses’ “work fast and error-free” motto.”

It was at this first job that Taylor designed and edited a magazine, Typography i, for five years.

“This client, Typographers International Association, allowed me to come up with the entire content plus design and production, plus editing, plus writing about type. What a joy!”

Taylor has also found great joy in running his own company and helping clients discover their brands.

“I designed for small accounts for most of my career,” he said. “I spent a great amount of time on small projects, believe it or not. I started out by showing clients every thumbnail I did for them to arrive at an answer.”

But, showing a client everything turned out to be a hard lesson learned.

“After a lot of frustration, I finally discovered that clients have a hard time deciding. So, I started only showing them one or two semi-comps. What a positive difference narrowing their choices made in my presentations!”

So what advice does he have for entrepreneurs who, like him, seek to run their own creative companies each day?

“Go for larger accounts. And, if you work for yourself, pay your bills within a 30-day period (even earlier if your cash flow allows). Plus, remember that your suppliers will break their backs for you if you do the same for them — they are among the most outstanding people in this business/craft.”

Some of the other outstanding people Taylor said have positively influenced his career have been creatives like Paul Rand, Henry Wolf, Herb Lubalin, Alan Fletcher, Bob Gill, Lou Dorfsman, Steve Kraft, Tom Suzuki, and Terry Dale. And although he said he hasn’t changed much over the 40 years he spent running Pat Taylor, Inc., he admits that the first 17 years of his career prior to company ownership crystallized his opinions about the importance of design in his life.

What he *has* seen evolve drastically is the creative world around him.

“Without a doubt, the computer is the most amazing advancement I’ve seen in my career. It’s fast and makes it easier to be error-free.”

But deciding how to leverage that potential from today’s digitally-based design programs is “mind-boggling,” Taylor said.

“I use two firms to handle my production. I have neither the design programs nor the know-how to use them, even if I did have them. My suppliers each have their own graphic designers who can take my thumbnail of a logo design and, 15 minutes later, it’s finished. Amazing!”

Taylor said he’s proud to be associated with the DC design industry. He loves that ADCMW provides information and resources that help its members grow individually while positively impacting our greater creative community.

“ADCMW’s meetings and events give people a chance to talk with other designers and even participate in design shows,” he said. “I think these sorts of opportunities are most inspiring to the young designers, which, in turn, inspires us seasoned members, too.”

To learn more about Pat, catch him in a video by David Franek on TheDesigNetwork.com or connect with him on Facebook.

Illustration by: Kendrick Kidd

In the lovely state of Virginia where I reside, citizens are not required to designate a political party affiliation when registering to vote. For that reason, I’m hesitant to unveil my affiliation to all the designers in the DC metro area.

But, for the sake of this article, I’ll say that if Virginia did require citizens to declare their affiliation, my voter registration card would have a check in the box next to “Republican.”

It wasn’t until college that I realized I was somewhat alone in my political beliefs. During my freshman year, my roommate and every other girl on my floor was a die-hard Al Gore supporter. I never openly expressed my view of Al Gore because I was nervous to be seen as an outsider. Instead, I carried on and didn’t say much during the closest election since 1876.

From then on, I became acutely aware of my place in the political spectrum — especially among the girls who lived in my dorm. Surely, the designers with whom I was studying at the time didn’t feel the same way.

I was wrong, not to mention confused.

Fast forward to the election of 2008. The isolating experiences I recalled during the presidential election of 2000 were back with a vengeance as the election built toward November 4. Yet again, everyone around me was vying for the guy I was against.

While struggling through that year, I ultimately came to realize that through my silence, I was hiding my beliefs. With this type of self-imposed restriction, I was refusing to consider other ways of thinking and, as a result, dramatically limiting the possibilities available to me.

So, I decided to make a choice: either be proud of my political stance and engage in positive dialogue with those around me, or spend my life retreating to avoid judgment and potentially uncomfortable discussions with fellow designers.

Obviously (because I’m writing this article), I decided to stand up for my beliefs. I researched the issues well enough to discuss them with Democrats, and I put a McCain + Palin bumper sticker on my car. I thought to myself, “Yes, it’s time to tell the world (or at least those who drive into Tyson’s Corner) what I believe in!” And having the courage to stand up for my party was the first step toward genuinely exercising one of the freedoms America affords me. It was not only my right, but also my duty to cast a vote for what I believed was in my country’s best interests.

But being honest about my Republican affiliation has been difficult in my industry. Not everyone is willing to have hearty conversations or to consider my opinions without casting harsh judgment. Even my mother worried and tried to convince me to remove the sticker from my car (for fear that my car would be stolen, if not vandalized). I’ve wondered throughout the past two(ish) years if my decision to be open about my political opinions is really worth the challenges I’ve experienced along the way.

And now, I can confidently say that it is worth it. Because, aside from making me feel empowered with my voice, it’s made me a better designer.

How? Well, I learned the most important lesson of my life (so far): that open-minded conversations with someone whose opinion is completely different than mine is the best way I can learn, grow, and develop an awareness of myself and my ideas. To be successful, I realized that my mind must be open to new possibilities — especially if they aren’t exactly what I had imagined they were before.

Here’s an example. I recently had a discussion with a close friend of mine about my personal stance on being pro-life. He then asked if I was opposed to the death penalty, and I replied that I was not opposed to it. However, as our conversation continued, I began to see a connection between those two statements that I hadn’t seen before. By considering something completely opposite from my original path of thinking, I saw two different ideas in an entirely new way.

To accomplish something similar during my design consultations with clients, I’ve now adopted the same approach when critically analyzing a company’s strategic message. I typically ask my clients to describe their message; then I ask them to consider an opposing message. By articulating what they think is the most ridiculous message they can imagine, my clients are able to strengthen their current messages. This process not only builds confidence, but it helps everyone to explore all options early, which leads to more cohesive and targeted products later.

As a designer in my industry, I am proudly among a unique group of communicators who disseminate messages through visual experiences on everything from websites or signs to a company’s logo or letterhead. My goal is to stimulate an individual’s senses in order to attract, inspire, and create desires that motivate them to respond to messages while positively affecting the bottom line. This process is strategic in thinking and planning, uses content based on research, and stretches the limits of my creativity; it’s a process in which success is based upon the development and implementation of new ideas and possibilities.

So, the next time I’m in a client meeting or having a discussion with someone whose opinion is different from mine, I’ll undoubtedly take a deep breath and swallow my pride if the conversation starts to challenge my beliefs. By opening my mind and senses to the potential of success through new possibilities, I know *now* that I can see the world differently and create something extraordinary.

I started to weave Randi Meredith’s answers to our Fresh Face questions into a narrative, but I felt compelled to leave her responses as-is. There are far too many details describing her that would otherwise be dropped … and then you wouldn’t get the full scope of Randi Meredith. Which would be a shame. – Steph

I’m from Shamokin, PA. I lived there for the first 18 years of my life then moved to Chestnut Hill, PA, for 2 years of school. After that I lived in King of Prussia & Phoenixville, PA for 6 years. Then off to Kutztown, PA for 4 more years of school.

I’m 29.

I’m the middle of three children all very close in age and raised by my mother. We are a very close group.

I only speak English but I can read Spanish in context. I love to travel and do so as often as possible. I’ve been in Cambodia, Thailand, Jamaica and took a sketching tour of Mexico. I’ve also traveled through the entire eastern seaboard and some of the mid-west.

My step-dad said if he told my mom and I that he wanted to go on a trip, she and I would have our bags packed and be in the car before we even asked where we were going.

I’ve gone tandem skydiving twice in the last year with my housemates from Kutztown. The second time I took my brother with me. The third time will be with my mom.

I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a kid. Completely obsessed with dinosaurs, dirt and worms. The dinosaur obsession continues to this day. I have all my dinosaur toys from when I was a kid decorating my office. I’ve got a number of dino books from when I was a kid and have collected many more since. The most recent addition was Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up by Robert Sabuda & Matthew Reinhart. He gave a lecture at Kutztown and they both autographed my copy and drew a rad T-Rex inside. All the Sabuda books are insane. If you need inspiration just open one spread.

I take photos with my cell of things I find amusing and put them in a Facebook album called “Umm…” Usually they are of typos, really bad kerning, or signs that don’t make sense.

I don’t eat fast food or anything that has to be classified as being a “food grade” substance.

I want to own lots of land and have a small farm; chickens, pigs, bees, a garden, etc.

I have a lot of sneakers. Weird ones with bright colors, odd color combinations. I got my hands (and feet) on considerably more pairs from my internship at Reebok last summer. Can’t beat a sample sale.

I love to draw, I always have. Though as much as people told me I was very good at it when I was growing up, I didn’t believe it. It wasn’t until I started at Kutztown that I believed I could really make a career out of something I loved to do.

I used to collect bugs — not in a serious way — but I loved to look at them. I would gather them out of the pool filter. I also would freeze them in ice cube trays of all things. How weird is that?

When I was applying for college during high school, it took a long time for me to decide between art and chemistry. Chemistry always made sense to me and I liked to draw the diagrams. I think the periodic table is beautiful. That’s probably the graphic designer in me. Mmm … grids.

I don’t have good penmanship, and I generally do my handwriting in all caps.

I played soccer for 10 years. I was the sweeper.

I had a pet iguana for 13 years. Her name was Gandhi — she wouldn’t eat for the first few days I had her, hence the name. She was 4′8″ and didn’t have a cage. She slept under my pillow and was toilet trained; on the actual toilet.

My older sister, Rachel, is the most intelligent person I’ve ever known. She went to NYU and lives in Boston with her husband and new baby boy. Having NYC and Boston in such an easily accessible way was very influential. When she went to college, I was still in high school and could just hop on a bus for three hours to visit her for the weekend. Her friend dyed my hair for the first time; bright red with Manic Panic dye. This started a whole new phase of my appearance; regularly dyeing my hair any color I could find throughout the remainder of high school. Until Rachel moved to NYC, my only exposure to “culture” was MTV — so laughable now : ).

My younger brother, Zachary, has been a computer person since we got our first computer when he was 11 or so. He taught me quite a bit about computers early on and gave me my first introduction to HTML and web design.

My mother, Melody, is wonderful. She has been an RN in an ICU for more than 20 years. She and my father got divorced when I was two, and she put herself through nursing school while caring for three small children.

She showed me, through example, that women can do everything. We did a lot of work to our house as I was growing up. We installed drywall and gutted our kitchen so it could be remodeled when I was 13 or 14.

She encouraged me to paint my bedroom whenever I wanted. If I wanted a change, she would take me to Kmart to pick out a can of paint. Once, I painted these giant hideous sunflowers all around my room. They were so scary at night — they were my height and it looked like I was surrounded by people. That paint job did not last long.

The interior of our house was a very colorful and happy place. I painted the living room several times when she wanted it changed. We joke that the room is smaller now because it has so many coats of paint. Eventually, she had the exterior of our house painted light purple with dark purple trim and I painted the porch purple and green to go with it, the porch job involved stripping all the old paint, sanding, priming, and painting it. It was so much fun for me. When I got older and found that people actually dreaded such an undertaking, I was astonished–it was so rewarding for me to see the great outcome of all my hard work. I attribute my appreciation of hard work to her entirely.

My grandfather, Ken Snyder — he passed away last year — was a hobby woodworker and would create these elaborate, large-scale, wooden Christmas cutout displays that he would put in front of my grandparents’ home. He eventually started selling them to others in our hometown. He would have me paint all the faces and would pay me to do so.

I am freelancing in-house for Smithworks Design Communications in West Chester, PA and I’m also freelancing from my home office in Milton, DE.

I just moved to Delaware at the beginning of the month with my boyfriend, Eban. It’s quite nice living near the beach. We are about 20 minutes from Lewes, DE. Milton is a nice old town. Lots of old houses painted bright beautiful colors and built from really great materials, so they are meant to last, and they have nice big yards with old growth trees.

In five years, if freelancing continues to go as well as it has been, I expect to be doing that or perhaps starting my own studio.

In 10 years, I would definitely like to have my own business.

In 30 years, I want to be a bee-keeper.

My high school art teacher, Chet Davis, was great. He told me a 2-year school would not be enough for me; he was right. I thanked him for that advice later and made sure to tell him he was right, after all.

Professor Denise Bosler at Kutztown University has been very influential in my education and has really helped me along as I begin my career as a freelancer. Not only is she a brilliant and talented designer and illustrator, but she has an incredible ability to teach. My education would not have been as fulfilling had she not been there to guide me.

Also, it’s great to have been able to work with and learn from such a wonderfully talented and successful group of women as Professors Karen Kresge, Elaine Cunfer, and Vicki Meloney.

Fortunately, I was in school during what has, thus far, been the worst of the economic downturn. I’ve been busy since graduation in May of this year, so it hasn’t had much of an effect on me. Though my Roth IRA took quite a hit.

I’ve had many callbacks for interviews since graduation and have had several job offers. All were from contacts I met at the following portfolio reviews: New York City ADC, National Invitational Student Portfolio Review, Kutztown University Communication Design Portfolio Review, and the ADCMW Portfolio Review at CDIA.

I haven’t had to do any cold calls.

The DC creative community has been fabulous. I attended the ADCMW’s student portfolio review at CDIA in April and got really great feedback and suggestions for improving my portfolio. I also did an illustration for an article in FullBleed via Nick Whitmoyer, a contact I made at the DC portfolio review. I was also contacted by another designer I met at the review about a job opening.

I worked for Montgomery Signs, Inc. as the Senior Production Designer, for six years. When I told my employer that I would be returning to school to get my BFA in Communication Design, he replied with, “No one is going to pay you to be creative.” That was a pretty motivating statement. I know he meant it in a joking manner (with a hint of his actual opinion.)

I continued to work part-time at Montgomery Signs while I was in school, and I was glad to have that available to me. After his initial disappointment, he was very supportive of my decision to continue my education, and he and his wife attended my Senior Show to show their support and commend my effort. I think it’s important to receive that kind of motivating statement every once in a while, it keeps you sharp.

Best advice I’ve received? “KERN EVERYTHING!” Every professor I had in the Communication Design Department at Kutztown University told me that.

Best advice I can give? “There’s no reason to wait another year for school; go now, you’re going to love it!”

Learn more about Randi Meredith at http://randimeredith.com/ and http://www.behance.net/RandiMeredith

Until very recently, Jamielyn Smith never lived in the same house for more than three years. While growing up as the second of five kids (three boys and two girls) in a family having a father in the Navy, the 23-year-old San Diego native remembers loving to create things.

“I had a subscription to Highlights for Children magazine and would always do the craft projects. I also did all the projects in old rainy day craft books for kids and would get different craft kits and art supplies for my birthday and Christmas.”

But it would be composing photographs that would lead Smith to an ongoing outlet for her passion for creation. At only 11, she started taking pictures with a friend. Then, at 12, she went to visit that friend in Phoenix and took a lot of photos of the city’s landscape. Her parents noticed her talent, and they decided to foster her skills by giving her a Canon SLR camera for Christmas.

From there, she set goals, worked hard, tried new things, and got involved in creative endeavors while continuing to hone her aesthetic eye, which she said really developed while in college at George Mason University.

“I had never been to DC before, but I have always loved the art found in cities and wanted to be close to a big city. I didn’t go to art school because I originally thought about majoring in International Relations or Journalism. I didn’t really know that you could make a living as an artist. But after going to one International Relations class, I realized that I would rather be studying art and photography.”

She expanded her existing knowledge of art and photography to sculpture, print-making, digital photography, web design, and graphic design. She helped to start a magazine, emDash, under the guidance and lead of her faculty adviser, Jandos Rothstein, though, she said that most of her photography and design professors also had a huge influence on her, including Peggy Feerick, Jessica Rodríguez, Shanshan Cui, Elliott de Luca, and Anne Kerns.

“[Jessica Rodriguez] exposed us to a lot of designers and different types of design. After taking her class, I decided that I liked graphic design enough to change my concentration. I learned concepts in my fine art and photography classes that I later applied to my designs, like color theory and composition. Anne [Kerns] also has her own business and is really involved in the DC design scene, so it was great to learn from someone who is actively practicing her craft. She also encouraged us to attend lectures and events and even had a few designers speak to our class.”

Now, having graduated in January with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design, Smith is looking to start her career full-time at a creative studio somewhere in DC or near her parents in Virginia Beach.

“I hope to be working on projects with a social conscience. One of my favorite projects in school was when we were required to create a brochure that brought awareness to a problem in the world. I did my brochure on TOMS Shoes, a business that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes they sell. It made me realize the power of design and how designers can use their talent to create positive social change.”

She’s excited about finding similar innovative and impactful work among the DC creative community.

“I can see how people who are unfamiliar with DC would think that it’s really conservative and designers are only doing work for the government, but they couldn’t be more wrong. There are some amazingly talented designers and studios that are producing really creative and award-winning work in the area.”

And she’s already got a track record of taking initiative to market herself and create her own opportunities; for example, she landed an internship her senior year at KINETIK after sending her resume and portfolio asking if they needed an intern … and without their advertising for one.

“It was great to see KINETIK’s design process and what goes into creating a project. In school, you’re normally working by yourself and, although you are assigned some bigger projects as you progress through the design program, most of the projects are fairly small in comparison. But in the real world of design, the projects are on a much bigger scale, and there are many different moving parts and multiple people working on the same project. Even when I was just making photocopies of a round of project revisions or purging old job folders, I got to see the process behind the project, which is not something that every student gets to experience.”

That real-world design process introduction – combined with her collegiate experiences and some good advice to “be open-minded and learn from other people” – has motivated Smith to continue developing her abilities as a designer.

“It’s important to be open-minded because you can’t learn or grow if you always think you’re right. Plus, you can get so attached and involved when you’re working on a project, it can be hard to see where it can be improved unless someone else critiques it. And, after you graduate, you still have a lot to learn, so it’s important to be around people who are more experienced and are better designers than you are.”

She finds great design and inspiration in the DIY movement spearheaded by websites like BuyOlympia and Etsy, which feature artists who create handmade items. Someday, Smith hopes to create a line of handmade paper goods and housewares that she could sell.

But, until then, she’ll be looking for the right studio to start her post-graduate design career and polishing her portfolio, which you can see at her portfolio site: www.jamielyn-smith.com.

Photo by Sean McCormick

In response to ADCMW interest last year when the Washington Post redesigned its magazine, our own John Foster interviewed WaPo’s Features Design Director, Janet Michaud. Thanks to Janet for taking time to candidly respond to questions from members of the DC creative community, and for giving us all some insight on how WaPo is continuing to evolve its brand.

The bluster around the redesign has quickly died down — largely in part because the paper and magazine have expanded on the look and really found their legs. There is no better test for a redesign then actually using it: Which adjustments have you made?

It’s been six months since the redesign launched. We held some focus groups a couple of weeks ago to get concrete feedback from readers about what they like and what they don’t. The majority of readers haven’t noticed that the magazine was redesigned. I’m in the process of making design tweaks, but not huge changes. Some of the things I’m looking closely at are the FOB navigation and changing some content/features (I want to streamline the type hierarchies); cover design (it needs to do a little more work in getting readers to the secondary Well story, which many are missing, while not trying to be a newsstand magazine; and no, we’re not changing the WPMagazine logo); and the TOC (I’ve hated this page from the beginning, but six weeks to redesign the magazine didn’t allow much time for the TOC!)

Where have you been more playful since the re-launch?

As far as where we’ve been more playful, I’d say we’re making photo choices differently. I found the way we were using photography in the former magazine was mostly to supplement points in the story. The photo editor, Evan Jane Kriss, and I are really trying to move away from that. I want there to be more surprises, as well as more emotive choices that make readers feel something or grab them and don’t let go. For example, we’ve been choosing more impactful, counter-intuitive images for the Going Out Guide opener. Another area we’ve been more playful is with illustration. I think illustration can be very powerful…it’s just about what kind of illustration you pair with what writing. Like photography, it can also make you feel something, if used well.

How is the redesign intended to position The Post in the marketplace?

The mission of the redesign was to produce the same strong journalism that The Post magazine is known for (although readers told us they wanted some shorter stories); to be locally-focused with more profiles; and to provide some entertainment content, which would help in our company-wide goal to be the indispensable guide to Washington. That last goal has taken the form of The Going Out Guide, which is part Style Critics picks, part listings from our online gurus. We wanted to appeal to a broader audience without alienating our existing one. We were also trying to lure in those elusive frenetic households. Not sure if that’s a common term. Basically that demographic is women with young children who are too busy to read. They’re an incredibly hard group to attract. I’m one of them :)

How do you see the future of newspapers in general?

The future of newspapers…that’s always a tough question. I have a deep love for newspapering. I believe it was Eugene Meyer who described them as a daily miracle. Maybe that’s become a cliche, but it’s totally true. The reality is that children are consuming information so differently than we did. They’re taking digital photos and sharing them on Facebook…who needs photo albums? Some of us do…some of us need that printed product in our hands…something tactile to hold on to. Not sure by the time that 10-year-old is 24 she’ll feel the same way. That’ll take 10-15 years. I’m not saying newspapers are going to go away completely, but their form will probably change significantly. One scenario is that they become a Sunday read that is more like a weekly magazine, with readers consuming their daily news online. As one of my colleagues recently said to me, we’re better off looking at ourselves as journalists rather than print journalists. That’s a hard pill for me to swallow. But I also think there are a lot of opportunities that are yet unknown.

What editorial changes were you charged with accommodating in the redesign?

We wanted to enhance the FOB to give readers more range in what they were consuming. We wanted to expand our range of visual storytelling (still do), which is why we introduced Breakdown (a profile of someone or something told through an annotated photo) and Our Town (graphic reportage, a feature that has sadly bitten the dust…for reasons beyond my control we could never fully realize it). We were also charged with doing more profiles of local figures in the Well and with adding more entertainment coverage. The overall focus was to be very local and to have more range in the cover stories.

What other changes had the largest effect on the redesign?

Another change was that the magazine was going through a lot of staffing changes, partly due to a round of buyouts last summer. They were in the process of not only finding a new editor, but rethinking how to better use resources at the newspaper to support the magazine. The strong, sturdy silos at The Post were being broken down. Writers, editors and photographers around the newsroom are being asked to contribute now. For example, Marc Fisher wrote the relaunch issue’s cover story, and former deputy magazine editor Sydney Trent — who is now the enterprise editor based in Style — routinely assigns and edits magazine stories. Brigid Schulte just wrote a cover story about time, which she’s going to further discuss on Dr. Phil (airing in late March).

How have you used improvements in production and technology to further the redesign?

We’ve really focused on color. Our printer is in Virginia, which is part of the reason we print so far ahead (two weeks). We’ve been working really closely with the folks there to improve color. Or maybe it’s just about aesthetic…I like more ink on the page, more saturated photos. Not overly so, just not washed out with a lot of push-and-pull, dimension. The mindmeld has been time-consuming, but I think it’s paying off.

Getting into the internal process — can you break down the stages and how many people are involved from the initial idea of a redesign through the approval and implementation?

Here’s how it happened in my case at The Post.

I came to The Post in May 2008 to establish a newly created position as Features Design Director, overseeing Food, Home, Health, BookWorld (which has since folded), Weekend, Travel, Sunday Source (which has since folded), Outlook, daily Style, and Sunday Style&Arts. I had been an associate art director at TIME magazine for seven years and was eager for management experience. After I had managed a staff of about 15 art directors (has since grown to about 20) for nine months, then, in December, it was decided that we were going to redesign the newspaper by Fall 2009 — and I was asked to be on the team.

We started the redesign process for the newspaper in January 2009, at which time we hired Roger Black as our consultant. The newspaper redesign’s visual team consisted of Dennis Brack (DD of the WPost), Justin Ferrell (News DD), Larry Nista (Informational Graphics Director), and me.

In May, the Executive Editor, Marcus Brauchli, and one of his two deputies, Raju Narisetti, told us they wanted to redesign the magazine as well. Roger Black’s studio had been working on some ideas, which were being used in reader testing. Our magazine readership is incredibly loyal, and they consistently read other sections of the newspaper. At the risk of oversimplifying that round of research, the results showed the business side of the company that the risk of redesigning was worth taking.

In June, Raju asked if I would redesign the magazine, launch it, and be its art director for at least the first six months. The launch date would be September 27, 2009, but given our production schedule we’d have to put it to bed on September 11.

There were a lot of things I had started in the newspaper redesign that I had to finish up. The most immediate being helping to restructure all the visual departments at The Post across platforms. The print and online newsrooms were merging, which meant that we needed to take a look at our overall structure. We were deep in this process when the magazine opportunity came around. It took me awhile to help get that structure in place. (We’re now a Presentation Department, which is working very well).

As I mentioned earlier, the magazine was going through a lot of staffing changes. By the time the new editor was named and things had settled down enough for me to focus on the magazine, we started rethinking it in mid- July. That left us about eight weeks to create a new magazine! We used the research that came out of Roger’s work, as well as the new company-wide goals to be “for and about Washington,” to hone the mission of the redesign. The editor, Denny, Justin and I worked together on rethinking the content; then, I created the new look.

There wasn’t much time for considering a lot of options. We had to fly very quickly. It’s nice to take a step back six months later and react to some of the reader feedback thoughtfully. The initial redesign was thoughtful in its own right (it has consumed me), but there wasn’t much time.

What was involved with selecting new fonts to use in the publication? How were the fonts customized for your use?

I really wanted the new magazine and the newspaper to feel more like a family visually. They felt very disconnected to me before the redesigns. We had done extensive font testing for the newspaper redesign and worked very closely with Roger on typography. Given the timeframe I had to redesign and my desire to visually join the print products, I used the fonts we decided on for the paper in the magazine. Obviously, I had to adjust how we used them.

Postoni Display and Postoni TItling were drawn by Richard Lipton of Font Bureau, and they are based on Postoni, drawn by Matthew Carter in 1998. Matthew blessed the Postoni Displays, too. (There’s also a Postoni Display Condensed series, which we haven’t used yet).

Big Figgins was an existing font drawn by Matthew that Font Bureau created.

Baby Figgins based on Big Fig.

Jim Parkinson created the WP lettering. Parkinson also re-drew the newspaper’s front page nameplate in 1998 when the paper moved entirely to offset printing.

Miller Text, used for the magazine’s body copy, is based on the Miller font that Matthew originally created for The Guardian in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s.

Why move to a larger font?

The body copy pre-redesign was Garamond 10pt. We went to Millertext 9pt. Technically, it’s smaller, but the cut feels bigger. We changed for the obvious reason … increased readability. And, again, marriage with the newspaper.

How hard is it to overcome just the sense of familiarity and resistance to change in a readership for such an iconic publication?

Incredibly hard. The way I look at it is that we put it out there and many have come along for the ride. Now I’m taking a step back, trying to detach (which is very difficult, but part of the job), and objectively looking at what could be done better. It can always be better, right? I say to myself, “OK…what can I adjust so that more of you come along for the ride?” It’s really hard when you’re so attached to something. But again, that’s the gig.

Designers learn over their career to have pretty thick skins or else they have to find lower profile work, but few have an entire city analyzing their work WITH multiple avenues to voice their opinions — how was the first week following the redesign both personally and professionally?

Professionally, it was all-consuming and a real rollercoaster. Totally exciting, but really hard. I tried to strap myself in before the launch, but you’re never totally prepared. If I had thought about the fact that the entire city was analyzing my work, I would’ve become paralyzed. I had to stay in the moment with the work and hit the deadline, one way or another. It had to happen. We were committed on the advertising end. There was a group of people behind me, though. All the decisions that go into a redesign don’t get made by one person. So we all share the positive and the negative. But it was hard being the design face of the redesign because it elicited a very strong response in our world. Good and bad, it was strong and that hit home how much our readers care about this magazine. I do, too…very much. Like it or not, a lot of me is in it.

I’ll also say that I’ve developed a thick skin in my career. I don’t shy away from a challenge, and have typically been an agent of change. I was the first sports designer at the Boston Globe and helped create the genre of sports design. Being a young woman in the sports department of a paper in a town that is so intensely passionate about their teams…that built up some callouses. I was an art director at TIME magazine for seven years…that forms a thick skin. And when I came here, I was leading a newly formed visual department at a place that is historically word-driven. You can never be totally prepared for the feedback, but I’ve seen challenge before, personally and professionally.

The trick is to not let the professional filter too far into the personal. I don’t know how well I did at that. You’ll have to ask my husband and son. I have a wonderfully supportive and loving family, and that really helped. There inevitably are periods of self-doubt when you do something this public. But you have to remember, the response is not personal.

Now, you have a lot of ‘design’ to do each day/evening — how has the staff kept it within the same schedule? How many people work on the design of the paper and magazine?

There is more design and photo research in the magazine, now. I’ve been the art director, and I pulled in a deputy from my staff. Her name is Beth Broadwater, and she’s totally amazing. We’re really in sync — we can finish each other’s thoughts — and that has made a huge difference. She’s been a great partner in helping to shape the magazine’s identity. Our assistant photo editor moved over to the paper. Some of those duties have shifted to our editorial assistant (who rocks) and more to our design production coordinator (who also rocks). Evan, the photo editor, has also absorbed more…she’s hanging in there. I’ve been identifying inefficiencies and have been working really hard at streamlining a lot of the production and how we do it.

On the paper side, I have two senior art directors and about 15 art directors and designers whom I oversee. I’m in charge of the Magazine, Style (Sunday and daily), Food, Local Living, Weekend, Outlook, Health&Science and Travel.

How does it feel to be a part of redesigning such an important historical publication that will forever be a part of our local and national fabric?

Well, that’s just an overwhelming question… You’re leading me! It’s an honor. Redesigns ebb and flow. As Roger Black said when we started the newspaper redesign, this will be a process — not an event. The magazine will continue to evolve as its needs and the landscape change. I’m honored to be part of that process.

Photo by Pat Padua

I should tell you up-front that this is not a Snowmageddon story or a tale of Washington’s winter woes of 2010. No, it’s nothing like that. In fact, the story starts about five years ago when DC winters produced a few dustings of snow each year, and the stretch of non-federal holidays from President’s Day to Memorial Day was what we feared most in the mid-winter months before the approaching Spring. And, come to think of it, it hasn’t got much to do with the weather at all.

It’s about connections. And, of course, I am referring to the Butterfly Effect; a metaphor encapsulating the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely, that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce— Wait a second. There’s an easier way…

Just as the story in the film “Juno” “all started with a chair,” this one quite literally started with a pair of earmuffs. No, nobody got pregnant. But I did get a job — for a while.

DC is a small city. The longer you live here, the smaller it gets. I guess that’s true no matter we live. We meet and interact with people every day and sometimes those interactions and connections trigger an odd series of events. I started taking the bus to work on a regular basis after moving to Bethesda in 2003. I picked it up directly behind my apartment building, and it dropped me off on K St. just a block from my office. It couldn’t have been easier. And the route down MacArthur Boulevard through the Palisades neighbor of DC was just off the beaten path enough that I actually enjoyed the commute.

And when you take the same route at pretty much the same time five days a week, eventually you might even become friendly with a few of the regular passengers.

I enjoyed that part of it, too. Just ask any of my “bus friends.”

But Washingtonians know that striking up a random conversation with a fellow commuter is not always welcome. You need a reason.

This is what happened when one fellow D5 rider (Mr. A.) dropped his earmuffs as he exited one night, and I happened to pick them up.

The earmuff exchange became my reason and eventually led to the fully established bus-friendship with Mr. A. Then, a short time later, he was looking for someone to fill a vacant position in his firm and asked if I knew of anyone — which I did. I gave his card to my friend and co-worker, Ms. B., whom I knew was looking. And, not surprisingly, she got the job!

Once comfortable in the position, she recruited Mr. C. from the association from whence she came. (OK, sure, my meddling was creating a minor exodus from the association but, hey, when you need to move on you move on. But I digress.)

Fast forward a couple years when Ms. B. left the firm; Mr. C. then called upon his friend and former colleague Mr. D. to take her place. Mr. D. also happened to be a friend and former colleague of mine. (Foreshadowing!)

During this time, I was laid off from the association. I spent most of 2008 consulting and getting some short-term freelance contracts and, luckily, stayed very busy. Then, just as a current contract of mine was ending back in January 2009, I got an email from Mr. D., who was looking for a freelancer. I started working with him two weeks later.

And, after a few months and a little reorganizing, I was hired full-time. Connection complete!

Now, as 2010 begins, I’m cherishing the connections that will help me grow in new directions while, at the same time, allowing me to help others find new opportunities, too.

And, yes, I recognize that the Earmuff Effect has changed dramatically. In 2003, the only example of “social media” was when you let your friend borrow your iPod. Now we are Linked and we Follow and we Friend. Nouns have become verbs — that alone is enough to make my head spin.

But as much as the Internet is really helping to expand communities and help people find jobs, I say let’s never lose sight of the tremendous potential that personal connections can bring.

This winter is certainly trying the patience of each and everyone in Washington, so I’m not going to recommend striking up that random conversation just yet. But the snow will melt, and the commutes will get easier — and that will make us all feel a little friendlier.

Until then, we could just blame the butterfly.

Featured Illustrator: Chris Bishop

I’m sure you’ve noticed, but it’s a new year. A shiny new decade even. Publications love this sort of thing as we can hem and haw about the past ad nauseum. But we at FullBleed officially relinquish this power and put it into your hands. Tell us about your decade! We asked the following question to three randomly selected ADCMW members:

What are you doing now that is different than what you were doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was using Quark and Freehand… Today it’s InDesign and Illustrator.
Ten years ago I was using spray mount… Today it’s PDFs.
Ten years ago I worked for an agency… Today I am the agency.
Ten years ago I designed for local clients… Today my clients are global.

What hasn’t changed… I still love design… the process, the challenges and the solutions.

Ten years ago to the day I was a 16 year old high school jock serving slices of pizza pie on the weekends to earn a few bucks for those ever so important movie dates with the ladies. You know, the one’s where the two of you share a back seat while catching sly peeks from mom in the rear view mirror. I eventually moved on to Longwood University where I earned a degree in Graphic Design, a passion of mine throughout my life, still coming home on breaks to work in the restaurant. I graduated just over a year ago, applying for job after job, submitting resume after resume and making phone call after phone call before finally, just two days ago being offered a management position in the same old restaurant that I’ve worked in since those old high school days! I’ve been offered the perfect position, incorporating my passion for graphic design in my newly designed menu and finer touches in the restaurant while serving good food to good people right in my home town. I couldn’t be happier!

Working for the corporate world, we tend to create designs that reflect the general mood in the marketplace and stock markets. Ten years ago, talk was of Y2K, the dot-com mania and big mergers—it was an optimistic view of the future and people were generally satisfied with the way things were going. We were producing beautiful print pieces with inventive designs and strategic messages. Today, corporations have retreated and are in survivor mode. Although positive signs have been reported in the media, most businesses seem to expect things to recover very slowly from the recent downturn. Everyone is being very cautious about what they say and how they are spending their communications dollars. Corporate communications now reflect a quiet, subdued tone, both in message and overall look and feel. There even seems to be a reluctance for meaningful online communications to stakeholders. Will we return to the elaborate print pieces and bold corporate statements of the not-to-distant past? Check back in 2020.

Where were you ten years ago? Let us know in the comments!

It’s resolution time, friends, and whether you’re a chronic breaker or never maker, 2010 is a whole new ball game. I realize that we’re 3 weeks in to the new decade but it’s never too late to make your annual vow to self improve.

All too often we make resolutions in order to change a life style or habit that is considered socially unacceptable. There’s the go-to resolution of quitting smoking, something my husband and I did on New Years in 2007 only to go back to smoking in October the very same year. Or working out more, which often ends up in an expensive yearly gym membership that you only go to in the first month.

I make a resolution every year. Some I’ve kept, some I’ve almost entirely blown off. Though statistics show that only 40-45% of people make New Year’s resolutions and 46% of those same people actually keep them, people who do make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their life goals than people who don’t. Think about it.

You have a choice, do you commit to doing all those things you “should” be doing (flossing more, eating right, sleeping regularly, drinking less, stopping smoking, eating in more) or do you choose some fun resolutions, like the AARP’s 10 fun New Years Resolutions that focus on healthy, or better, living. More specific resolutions that focus on bettering your every day are digestible bites of the broad categories like “lose weight” or “work less.” The smaller goals lessen the pressure, but still get you to the same goal. Here are some ideas.

PROBLEM: Your night life needs a make-over.
RESOLUTION: Go see a band you’ve never heard of once a month.

This was a successful resolution a friend and I made in 2003. We made a promise to see one band a month that we’d never heard of in order to change up our regular routine, meet different people and be introduced to new music. These new shows, paired with the shows of bands we had heard of, lead to a very expensive year, but opened my eyes to bands like the Long Winters, Minus the Bear, Rhett Miller, Pinback, and Spoon. We saw some surprisingly amazing shows that year, as well as some pretty terrible shows, but ultimately deemed our annual promise a success. My only regret is that we didn’t document our year with a mix tape because we both have terrible memories.

Bonus: This resolution taught me to never say no to a band I’ve never heard of. In fact, live shows with no expectation ALWAYS win over those you’ve been dying to see and, particularly when you’re having an off week, a random band on a random night can be an attitude game changer.

PROBLEM: You’re bored with DC

RESOLUTION: Pick 12 museums and dedicate each month to going to a different one.

I absolutely HATE it when people say there’s nothing to do in DC. Our fair city is filled with free entertainment, historical enlightenment, and other activities people travel from all over the world to visit. Sure we’re no Manhattan, but I’m proud of that fact. Where else is there 2 miles of free museums off a centrally located, metro accessible park? We owe it to this city to give it an honest chance, and not just when out-of-towners come to visit or during cherry blossom season. You need to experience the city during all of its conditions to truly appreciate where you live.

Suggestions: Don’t wait for weekends and vacations because that’s when all the tourists come out. See if you can work in a half-day from work once in a while to remember why DC is our nation’s capital.

PROBLEM: You’re a lazy bum.
RESOLUTION: Choose fun, effortless activities that allow you to move more.

This solution is very personal to one’s ability to incorporate activity into their individual lives. I can’t tell you what is manageable for you, but here are a couple thought starters of simple actions that can be applied to your daily life:

Daily Walk breaks. Maybe you eat lunch at your desk and have a very busy after-work social life (like me). Consider making some of your afternoon brainstorms mobile. Some of my best ideas come rounding Logan Circle on foot. You’d be surprised at how many of your co-workers would appreciate a moment away from under the florescent lights. Just don’t forget your sketchbook.

Another option, if you buy lunch, is to try walking a little further to get your healthy meal and take the long way back. You know as soon as you get back to your desk, it’s over for the remainder of the day.

Get some non-internet reliant hobbies We’re all slaves of the online: likely sit behind a computer all day and blog about it at night. Try taking a weekly dance class or hit the bike trails on the weekends. This is for those people who, like me, need to trick themselves into a workout in order to actually go. I’m much more likely to attend a weekly dance class than those daily gym trips I always find excuses to blow off. And our bike-friendly city is so accessible you could just pop a basket on your bike and ride across the river for groceries. Or take a lovely ride through the cute neighborhoods in Bethesda and look inside the houses you’ll never own. Leisure bike cruising can still make your thighs burn.

PROBLEM: You hate your job.
RESOLUTION: Get yourself out there: apply for 1 new job a week, minimum.

Before I get into this resolution please note (ahem, my team at FH) that I love my job and this is purely a suggestion based on the economy and the many people I know feeling stuck in their current situation.

With the economy in it’s current state, I’m having lots of conversations with friends who are staying at jobs because they feel secure, when, in reality, no one is truly safe from a surprise lay-off. While an annual salary is financially the way to go, if you hate your job and are just staying there for a paycheck, no one wins.

I’ve watched friends get laid off over the past couple years and, while initially it was an incredible shock, every single friend is ultimately happier with their new working situation. Lay-offs give people the opportunity to seek out that which they truly desire. Maybe you’ve been producing magazines for the past 15 years, but what you’d really love to do is design books for children: do it. Don’t let the current economy determine your career fate.

Dedicate this year to understanding what you really love doing. Start a blog, explore what’s happening in our industry or others you’re interested in moving to, get your work online (if you haven’t already), and vow to apply to 1 job a week until you have an offer.

This is obviously a monster bite for a resolution, but if you take it monthly it becomes easier to digest. January = Blog, February = Exploring our industry, March = Portfolio Web site, and April begins the weekly application process.

Please note: this is by no means a proven process for getting a new job. This resolution is merely meant as a motivator for those of you who are unhappy and overwhelmed. Nothing will change unless you activate.

PROBLEM: You’re too self-involved.
RESOLUTION: Get over yourself and volunteer one weekend a month.

For a current client of mine, I’ve been researching altruistic opportunities for them to sponsor and associate with their brand. Through focus research, we’re finding that their consumers like to volunteer, but don’t want to waste a lot of precious time finding the perfect experience that’s going to benefit from their skill level. There are several volunteer search sites out there: Volunteer Match, AARP’s Create the Good, One Brick, to name a few with presence in DC, that offer organizations the ability to post opportunities and give us the ability to search for the ones that suit our skills and areas most convenient to our daily lives.

Monday was Martin Luther King Day and, for those of us that had a day-off, we were able to participate in the MLK Day of Service, a fantastic effort that invites people to help out in a variety of organized events around the city. The best part about this day is the uber-organized process that enables each participant to walk away with the feeling that they truly helped out.

In an effort to make that feeling last through the remainder of 2010, I suggest you dedicate one weekend day a month to a new organization. Opportunities range from environmental clean-ups or cooking meals for people living with HIV/AIDS in DC allow you to experience different areas in your community that can benefit from your time.

In conclusion: That’s a top 5 of my suggested resolutions to fulfill a void, explore alternatives, and just better your life in 2010.

Photo credits:

1. My 2010 Resolutions
2. Derek Trucks Band Live at the National Harbor
3. National Portrait Gallery: Portraiture NOW Exhibit
4. H Street Bike Ride with My Husband
5. Dilbert Comic
6. Fleishman-Hillard Volunteer Outing at Food & Friends

For Mort Cohen (http://www.mortoons.com), what started as some childhood doodles blossomed into a part-time career as a cartoonist. To kick off the New Year, we asked Mort to tell the story of how he turned his passion into a lifelong profession.

Why comics?

As a kid, I followed newspaper comics religiously. Additionally, I enjoyed magazines that contained cartoons—I still do. During these formative years, my favorite cartoonists included the great Al Capp, Rube Goldberg, Virgil Partch, and Milton Caniff, among a host of others. You may or may not be familiar with these names, but I assure you that each was an accomplished artist in addition to being a great cartoonist. With them as my guide, I doodled copiously through high school and college, which explains why I graduated magma cum average.

When did comics become more than just doodling?

My actual cartooning skills weren’t revealed and honed until after I was commissioned into the U.S. Army. All it took was a simple error: During a map-reading exercise, an instructor’s mistake caused my class of more than a hundred lieutenants to become lost. Bingo! My cartooning career was begun. From there, I generally drew about daily situations or just vented my frustrations at the “Army way,” and posted my oblique views on the first available bulletin board. These little tidbits–with a great deal of luck and a good friend–eventually landed me a position at a real newspaper.

My first published work, a panel called “Lieutenant Frisby,” appeared in the Mountaineer newspaper, a civilian publication at Fort Carson, Colo. Although no remuneration was involved, the experience of being published on a regular basis and knowing that an entire military post was reading my drawings became a defining moment for me in my cartooning career. Unfortunately, it was to be short-lived; as is the nature of the Army, I was required to move on after just a year, and I left one of the best positions I ever had, even though it was only part-time. The experience I gained there was worth more than any monetary compensation I could have received. In a short time, I learned about formatting, meeting publication deadlines, and the significance of the editing process–all through practical application. I continued to draw at each unit to which I was assigned, posting my cartoons wherever I could, and I eventually drew caricatures that were presented as gifts to departing personnel.

Lessons learned?

Early in my cartooning career I learned that every cartoon produces one of three reactions: amusement, displeasure, or indifference. Of the three, I least prefer indifference. That indicates to me the cartoon lacks spirit and character. Displeasure, however, has its own problems that can cause a cartoonist considerable trouble, particularly when it’s the boss that’s displeasured; I know–I’ve been there.

Drawing cartoons is a ton of fun. Getting them published is another story. Submitting cartoons for publication, especially syndication, is so complicated and time-consuming that books have been devoted to the subject. Additionally, there are so many exceptionally talented cartoonists that competition is intense and marketing is especially important. Rejection is an integral part of the business, requiring determination and persistence. Unfortunately, I’m a lazy dolt and I’ve never felt proficient in the area of marketing, so I haven’t pursued it to the level it deserves. This is why so few people are familiar with my work. I’m also self-taught and have had to learn the basics of drawing on the fly, so to speak. For this reason, I’ve hesitated to promote my work to any great degree and have even held back at competing for work with short deadlines and very exacting requirements. I prefer to rely on referrals–people coming to me and describing in broad terms what they would like me to cartoon. I still manage to get published but certainly not in the volume I would like–my bad. I’ve drawn for specialty magazines, newsletters, professional journals, and business bulletins. I’ve also done originals for framing and display in children’s rooms, game rooms, and offices.

Now?

I currently draw both general and editorial cartoons. The demand from clients falls to general humor, but I enjoy editorial cartoons for the opportunity they offer to comment on a host of social and public issues. Editorial cartoons require considerable research to keep up with what’s happening in the world politically. I generally scan through five to seven newspapers daily, both national and international, to determine what editorial writers are thinking and to glean ideas from their opinions. For either category, however, I’ve found that developing an idea is seldom easy. I try to approach it through a critical analysis of what I want to depict as it relates to what is happening around me. So, the better part of my time is spent in visualizing through notes and sketches (my earlier doodling did come in handy). Eventually a note, a passing thought, or a sketch will result in a drawing.

How has cartooning changed in your lifetime?

When I started out, cartooning was strictly a pencil and paper affair, and the product was photographed, reduced or enlarged, and mailed or delivered to a client. The personal computer and the internet have brought about cosmic changes in the way cartoons are produced from beginning-to-end. They’ve essentially transformed a slow, tedious, laborious process to a speedy, tedious, laborious process. While pencil-and-paper are still part of the process, they’re no longer essential. Many cartoonists have replaced them with the graphic tablet, drawing directly on the computer. I prefer to start the old fashioned way, so I have a physical record of my efforts. Once I have the cartoon inked, I scan it into PhotoShop, where I enhance the image with color. This allows me to have both a physical and an electronic record of my drawings, and I can rush it off to a client immediately.

Indeed, the internet has streamlined the whole process. On the other hand, this super-great transition has not been without its problems for me. I didn’t grow up with a PC–there was no such thing when I began to cartoon, so the move from a simple pencil rendering to electronic media was light years ahead of me and involved a very steep learning curve. There were very few classes, virtually none that I could afford, and the reference material was generally written by technical people with a language unto themselves. The “Dummies” books helped somewhat, but even they sometimes required an interpreter for a non-techie like me. I have to admit, though, the internet is a fantastic tool. It took me the better part of two years, however, to figure out how to apply the small portion of Photoshop that I use–and that almost drove me to drink. Ah well, whatever doesn’t kill you is said to make you a better person.

What keeps you cartooning?

People often ask what inspires me and how I get ideas. My guess is that I’m inspired by humor in general. I believe humor exists in virtually every facet of life, including the sad parts; finding it takes a keen eye, a somewhat oblique outlook, and a willingness to take the establishment to task. The creative process is also inspiring. Thinking about something funny is one thing, but developing a kernel of thought into a graphic representation that causes an emotion in others is absolutely electric. As for the idea–that little kernel of thought–I’m not sure where it comes from. Sometimes as I sit with a sketchpad, either at my drawing table or in a coffee shop, my hand will start moving as if by magic. Other times, a phrase or sentence in a magazine or newspaper will call up a cartoon. There are yet other times that I just stare at a blank pad of paper until blood runs out of my ears.

I’ve been cartooning for a rather long time now–the number of years is depressing, but the process has been the most stimulating and enjoyable I’ve ever experienced. If I had to give advice to someone entering the field, especially with little art experience, I would say definitely attend a reputable art school. There exist some people with natural art ability, but even they need to be taught the essentials of drawing. Cartoons are not just stick figures with a funny gag line; they should also be good art. I’ve learned from hard experience that it takes a lot longer to draw by guess than by knowledge. History is essential to every endeavor in which we engage, and cartooning is no exception. Anyone entering the field should study the history of cartooning to know where it came from and what it’s all about. To those who would like to draw editorial cartoons, talk to editorial cartoonists. Make your cartoons trenchant and thought provoking, insert your own point of view, and above all, make them humorous–go for the laugh.

Finally, if you’re going to cartoon at all, enjoy it. Get excited! Be bizarre (your cartoons, that is)! Above all, make people laugh!

As for me, I’ll just continue to cartoon happily along, and maybe I’ll be discovered and become famous. Oh, if anyone needs a cartoon, contact me, I’d be happy to consider it.

You can check out more of Mort’s editorial work online at http://www.mortoons.com.

Photo courtesy Sean McCormick

Russell Heimlich is a lefty. And an only child. And he knows a thing or two about computers.

“My parents really wanted me to be good at computers, so there has been a computer in our house for as long as I can remember. My first computer was a Commodore 64; my parents wrote DOS commands so I could play games,” he said. “As we upgraded computers I learned more and more about them. My dad worked for the government, and he once took me in so I could use Gopher, a pre-Internet computer network.”

But this 24-year-old Marylander wasn’t ONLY into computers. While growing up in Columbia, and particularly in middle school, he started skateboarding with a group of friends. Which led to getting a video camera to film their tricks … which led to video editing … (wait a sec) …

“Of course, after you have a bunch of footage, you need to have a website where you can show it off. This was how I got into web editing. I learned web design like most people did in the late 90’s: by creating a Geocities site (which still can be viewed in its later version).”

When Russell moved beyond middle school and found himself a sophomore, he met his now-fiancee.

“The single most important moment of my life was when I walked around the corner in high school and bumped into my future wife. She has had an enormous impact on everything I do. I find it interesting how everything builds into who I am today.”

They’ve been together for almost nine years. When they get married in May 2010 at the Strathmore Music Center in Rockville, they’ll be bringing down the house. (Get it?)

Now, after spending a few years as a web developer at U.S. News & World Report, he’s working at the Pew Research Center as their sole, in-house web developer.

“I support the various research projects with whatever they need help with web-wise. I’m also going to implement a new CMS that will make it easier for the projects to update and manage content on their own without having to go through me.”

Russell is considering how life will look for him in the future, whether he’s working for someone else or for himself. Regardless, he wants to be using the latest web technologies to help communicate ideas, and he’s not particularly worried about how he’ll get there.

“Things have a quirky way of just falling into place, and as much as you think you can control everything, you just can’t. You have to trust that everything will work out. Even when it doesn’t, it will be OK. There are very few choices that you can’t later correct.”

He said that his biggest influence has been the sea of information shared online about new techniques and tricks. Whenever he had a problem, he would go online to find the answer. For example, he learned HTML by reading articles on A List Apart, viewing source code, and following the blogs of other web developers. It’s also the web that’s influenced his more recent explorations in photography.

“Everything I know about photography I mostly gathered from scouring online message boards that would offer critiques of images. I’ve also been posting my own photos to deviantart.com and receiving feedback.”

Part of Russell’s commitment to the knowledge-sharing mentality of the web can be observed in his participation within the DC tech community events.

“I absolutely love the DC tech community for all of the free events and camps that are offered,” he said. “I remember coming to the first Refresh DC meet-up when I was visiting home from Philadelphia, where I went to school. It was amazing to see so many like-minded web workers come together to discuss issues related to our industry. Also, I think DC BarCamps are the best places to meet local web geeks. I’ve written about each one on my blog and took pictures at them, too.”

Russell said that, throughout his education and career so far, he has learned that under-promising and over-delivering is a great formula for success. And, when it comes down to it:

“I’ve learned you can’t do better than your best. So, plain and simple, always do your best.”