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.
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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.
One of the regular features here on FullBleed is our “Three Questions” article. Throughout the year, we hand the microphone over to our fellow ADCMW members to answer questions that plague the creative community. We’ve recently switched the format of “Three” from asking three questions over the course of a month, to asking three chosen creatives a single question every month. Got all that?
For each article we also spotlight a featured illustrator who is assigned the vague task of “representing the number three in some shape, as obvious or abstract as you want”. Being the end of the year, it’s a good time to gather up all their creativity and to learn a little more about 2009’s featured “Three” illustrators.
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How many kids do I have? 0
How many kids’ books do I have on my bookshelf? At least 10
How many kids’ books do I have on my Amazon Wishlist? More than 50
Why do you ask? Because I wish I could bottle up a child’s creativity and imagination and sprinkle it in my coffee when I’m feeling bitter and blah. Because children’s books are magical and inspiring and short. Because I have relatives and friends with kids who are constantly having birthdays. Because children and their parents should read more and watch TV less. Because books are the most awesomest gifts to give and receive.
Below is my attempt to narrow down my list of favorite children’s books to just those with a creative element. Whether it be animals made of fonts, a penguin in search of new colors, or a classic story retold with fabulous illustrations, these books will dazzle and amaze you and a child in your life.
The democratizing nature of the Internet has redrawn the competitive landscape of everything from music distribution to telephone service to the creative process. Even Joe the Plumber can pick up some nice, decorative swag for his van.
While the creative process stands in stark contrast to music distribution and other industries, we do find online services spreading the playing field, increasing competition, and lowering fees … and in the case of spec, lowering fees to zero with the possibility of compensation. While spec threatens the value of design, I think it is the core *idea* of design that faces greater danger. The rise of DIY and “every man design” are re-imagining what design means in the minds of our clients. No research. No process. Just tweak a Bezier here, push a pixel there. Kern some type? We can only hope.
The unveiling of the new Art Directors Club logo has the design blogs abuzz…with mostly negative comments. “Uninspired,” “generic,” and “dated,” are just a few of the pejoratives being tossed around. (I know what you’re thinking: “Hey, didn’t ADCMW just re-do its logo several years ago? Can’t you guys make up your minds?”)
Wait a second! The club in question is the Art Directors Club in New York City (or ADC Global as they sometimes call themselves). The problem is, many people are confused by the similarity in the names, especially if they didn’t even know that there was an Art Directors Club in New York. In fact, during my time as ADCMW president, I would occasionally refer to the club in New York as “ADC National,” incurring dirty looks from the ADCMW Director — who happens to be my wife. She was right and I should have known better. Unlike the AIGA — a national organization with chapters around the country — the various art directors clubs from Denver to Connecticut to Northwestern Arkansas are not related to one another apart from the shared name. I can’t speak for the other ADCs around the country, but ADCMW is fiercely independent and proud to be going it alone.
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Featured Illustrator: Christa Smith
Fall is a great time for meditation and reflection on what went well this past year. For this month’s “Three” our selected ADCMW members share with us: “What was your favorite project ever?”
Since graduating from McGill University in Montreal, Claire Manibog has been working as a philanthropic advisor — and she loves it.
“Basically, I help people like Bill Gates make smart choices when they donate their wealth to charity. I work with an incredible team of smart, young people and their energy, optimism, and brains keep me motivated every day.”
Though, Claire doesn’t seem to be short on motivation.
Illustration courtesy Mal Jones
Hey, you! Are you ready for some exercise? Step away from that color palette you’ve been over thinking, that CSS code you’ve pored over 12 times already, or the proposal your boss is bugging you about, and give me 30. Thirty seconds that is, in Brugger’s Relief. 1, 2, 3 … Oh, wait. You don’t know what Brugger’s Postural Relief Exercise is, do you?
Seeing as you are reading this article within the confines of FullBleed, I will make an educated guess that you are a designer, and that one frequently overlooked element in your job description (as said designer) is that you sit in your chair, all day and every day, with client meetings and coffee refills being the only exceptions.
This means, my friend, that you are a chair athlete.
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Featured Illustrator: Glenn Lucas
This month’s last “Three” question comes from the archive of the ADCMW Creatives listserv. Check out what several local creatives had to say, then share your own insight via the comments below!
I’m helping a friend get her home office up and running, and was wondering if we could get some advice on design software. Especially font management and older versions of CS.
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