“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

The Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington turns 61 years old this year. That’s an incredible amount of history and heritage, especially for a city of transients like DC. If you haven’t already, take a look at our history.

What you might already know is that, since the 50’s, ADCMW has put on a great variety of events and competitions for the local creative community. But have you ever wondered who makes this all happen?

The ADCMW Board of Directors comprises a group of passionate creatives who volunteer their time to organize events and work behind the scenes ensuring that DC creatives have the opportunity to network, compete, and hear great presentations from some of the most famous faces in design.

I’m just finishing up my first term as VP of Publications and am looking forward to being involved with ADCMW for a long time to come. Serving on the Board has been an eye-opening experience when it comes to understanding how much planning and effort it takes to to organize a successful event. I’ve gained a huge appreciation for the Club’s role in our community and have worked — and become friends with — some of the most talented creatives around.

But don’t just take it from me…

Eric Stewart, Acting President:
Being on the ADCMW Board of Directors gives me benefits I couldn’t get anywhere else. It’s connecting with other professionals and building friendships, and keeping my finger on the pulse of the constantly evolving design community. It’s a lot of fun and a sense of accomplishment; working as a team, we’re able to create programs and events that none of us as individuals could. It’s a chance to learn and grow, and it’s rare that I come away from a challenge without gaining a new skill or understanding. It’s also an opportunity to interact with a variety of unique professionals who inspire me with their creativity, wit, business savvy, and dedication to their field. Most of all, it’s an honor to feel that I can give back to a design community that has been very welcoming and generous to me over the years.

Vernon Dunning, Website Chair:
What the ADCMW represents to me is energy, passion, and sharing. I may be biased, but there’s no community of professionals I’m aware of who are more passionate about the work they do and their quest for new and exciting ideas. Over my many years of watching the DC creative scene evolve, I’m constantly amazed at the energy and willingness to share among all those involved. The ADCMW has been a dynamic part of that evolution. Over the years, the Club’s focus has stayed true to its mission to provide meaningful programs, champion education efforts for young creatives, and sponsor two of the most prestigious (and sought after) awards competitions—The Annual Show and The Real Show. The ADCMW is a mirror of the DC creative community at any given point in its history because the Board of Directors is made up of practicing volunteers who are excited about giving back to their peers. For me it’s this passion, sharing, and energy that evolve with each new year that keep the club relevant and a tremendous value for its members.

Samantha Warren, Marketing Chair:
For me, ADCMW laid the foundation of the importance of community in the creative industry when I was first introduced to the Club as a student at JMU. The promotion of local talent and the diversity of creative professions is symbolic of the larger creative ecosystem that exists in the DC communications industry. Few of us check our work at the door when we leave the office; we aren’t just creative professionals but we also live creative lifestyles. ADCMW is about harnessing that passion to enrich our local community and finding new ways to be inspired about what we spend our professional lives doing as creatives.

Nick Whitmoyer, Treasurer:
ADCMW has been a great source of design inspiration to me for several years now. Seeing renowned design professionals like Steven Heller, Chip Kidd, Paula Scher, and Kyle Cooper — along with meeting and mingling with some of the great local creatives — has been an invaluable experience. At one point, it just became clear to me that I needed to give back and lend a helping hand as appreciation to everything it has done for me.

Jessica Eldredge, Membership Chair:
I joined ADCMW in an effort to connect with other creatives and reach outside my comfort zone of web design. Although I’m a relatively new member, I’ve already been amazed by the diversity and experience of the Club membership. It’s served as a great resource to find creative services in DC, learn new skills, and meet inspiring people.

Selena Robleto, VP Programs:
Being on the ADCMW Board has given me the opportunity to become part of the community of local creatives. In a city with such great talent, this has been a great way to become a part of it. It has been a source of motivation and inspiration that encourages me to be a better professional. And as much as I feel like I get out of meeting new people, hearing about the latest in the community, and rubbing elbows with some of the greatest rockstars in the industry, I also feel like I am making a contribution and that I am playing my part in giving back to a group that has been so embracing of its members.

Mae Coughlan, Secretary:
My experience with ADCMW has been a series of pleasant surprises from the start — from joining the board and volunteering, to attending events and socializing, I could not have asked for a more welcoming group of people. The generosity I have personally experienced has been a great inspiration to me and has moved me to give back to the design community whenever possible. It has also proven how strong the community can be when its members work together towards common goals. And the benefits of involvement can be invaluable — support, encouragement, growth (professional and personal), and friendship are just a few of the things I’ve been lucky enough to take away from my experience, and I hope for continued opportunities to offer them in return.

So, why should you care? (Right! As if you don’t already!)

Because we’re going to hang out at Blackfinn in DC from 6:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, July 13, and you should join us. And because we’re looking for a few good people to keep the ADCMW Board populated with dynamic individuals who want to help the DC creative community continue to flourish.

Come out and tell us what ADCMW means to you.

Register for the Happy Hour here.

Rich Roat, co-founder of House Industries, shared his love for typography, the history behind House Industries, and the design process for several of their most popular type collections. On top of all that, he shared some of the new alphabet projects that we can expect to see in the very near future!

A big thanks to House Industries for letting us borrow Rich for the evening, Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA) for providing their campus, Digi-Link for printing the event poster, and also a special thanks to our programs committee (Jessica Avison Eldredge and Selena Robleto) for bringing everything together.

Photo of Nationals Stadium by Nick Whitmoyer

The start of Spring, for me, isn’t the official date on the calendar, or the day I’m able to walk outside donning a fresh pedi and flip flops, but the day I get to sit in the sun with an italian sausage, draft beer, and watch nine innings of baseball. And on Saturday, April 3, during an exhibition game at Nationals Stadium against my home team, the Red Sox, Spring began.

Loving baseball and being a part of Red Sox Nation was unavoidable, growing up in the South Shore of Massachusetts. There’s not a memory of my summers that doesn’t include the sound of a game on a tv in the background, or a trip to Fenway on the itinerary. Aside from the constant reminder of the 1986 Halloween party that was ruined by Bill Buckner’s 1st base error thus developing my passion for the sport and my team, the little designer in me was also enamored by the branding of it all.

Every sports team has it’s own brand and the fans eat it up. What starts as a child with local business branded softball teams (I played catcher for Video Voice) and moves into highschool football rivalries (The Marshfield Rams green and white slayed the Duxbury Dragons green and white), develops into an inate need to be affiliated with something. The bold color schemes, typographic logo treatments, and loveable furry mascots… they flood stadiums and fuel rivalries. And behind every brand is a designer that thinks up.

Designer Todd Radom, who spoke at AIGA DC’s Good Design is Smart Business event in 2006, discussed how he went about developing the identity system for DC’s return to baseball with the Washington Nationals. His insight was particularly fascinating because most baseball teams have been around since the 1800s. Team logos and colors, decided on by men with mutton chops and wearing bowler hats, were developed solely to differentiate teams on the field during play, only later to be applied to what is now part of our baseball experience.

Todd was faced with a much broader creative brief. In 2005, a baseball team brand needed to include usage on uniforms, as well as stadium signage, baseball caps, fan gear, bobble heads, television, ticket stubs, pennants, advertising, and a Web site. With these things in mind, he created the main Washington Nationals logo, but he also came up with 2 secondary logos: a scripted W, seen on the players hats, and the DC lock-up found on the away uniform sleeves.

I think much of Todd Radom’s designs on their own are boring and expected. It’s like he plugs a formula into his computer before he starts working because his identities are all consistently filled with clip art illustrations, banners and outlined type. However, when actualized and plastered throughout a stadium as the logo was intended, it really is quite amazing. Even in Nationals Stadium, where the majority of attendees are not rooting for the home team, the representation of the brand in a sea of red, white and blue is enough to make anyone smile.

Photo of RFK Stadium's 'Grand Reopening' on July 21, 2006 by Scott Ableman

Sure the Nationals W is reminiscent of the Walgreens W, but it’s friendly and bold at the same time. And the DC lock-up has a totally different feel, similar to the classic lock-up of the Yankees NY without the history. Then there’s the abounding FIVE mascots, as if everyone in the head office picked their favorite and had an over-sized head made. All of it’s different, but all of it somehow works, reminding me that building a baseball team brand is contrary to building the brand of a business. The rules are different, but the appreciation is just the same.

Now if only Strasburg would be allowed up to pitch for the majors and short stop Ian Desmond could stop making an error during every inning…maybe, just maybe, the Nats could win some games (as long as they’re not playing the Red Sox) and get some more fans in this town. Then the brand would really sing.

“The mantra that I like to keep in the back of my head is ‘Wake Up and Live,’” says Erik Dreyer, the art director at Bethesda-based advertising and PR firm August, Lang, & Husak (ALH). “It was on a Bob Marley t-shirt I had when I was a kid. It helps me keep perspective on what’s important.”

And what’s important to Dreyer these days is planning his wedding with his fiancée Lauren, chairing the education group within a young professionals advertising organization called Ad 2 DC, and directing the creative endeavors of ALH. He says he approaches his contributions to these efforts and more “with the easygoing, free-spirited attitude that I snatched up in Cali.”

Dreyer is a Los Angeles native — the first member of his family to be born outside of Norway — who spent his formative years in Texas.

“My mom, Berit, was very crafty, and I enjoyed the heck out of solving problems with her and her tool chest of hot glue, paints, and imagination. My dad, Hans, was more of a fine artist. He painted here and there and, as I grew up, I learned that most of the art we had in the house was his.”

His future career path started to crystallize in high school, when he found himself spending more time in art class than any other place. From there, he moved onto the University of Texas, where he honed his graphic design skills when not otherwise building a relationship with his wife-to-be.

“Really, it wasn’t until my first set of pre-med classes in college that I started to yearn for the atmosphere of that art class again, and I said to myself, ‘I gotta get out of here.’”

Coincidentally, that same thought crossed his mind after graduating from UT’s Texas Creative Program and starting his job search targeting large agencies in Dallas.

“The pay would have been good and staying in Texas was ideal, but I would have been designing coupons and cereal box sides … and that was just not going to cut it. So, I hopped on a plane to DC and took a job at an agency where I was going to have my hand in as many different projects as possible.”

Now, three years later, he’s been creating designs for clients of all shapes and sizes spanning varied media, and he’s realized that “jumping in feet first” is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

“I was very intimidated by the creative world [while in Texas] and would always sell myself short. I didn’t show my work around to many people, and I didn’t participate in the creative community back in Austin. The problem was that I thought I had to be great immediately, and that was (is) too much pressure to shoulder so early on in a career. I know now (or at least am trying to learn) that it is a process, and we all go through the process at our own pace. This is what I am trying to help other students realize by being the Ad 2 DC Education Chair.”

Shifting his mindset to enjoy the process more has been an evolution for Dreyer, who said he expects someday to expand his career into other countries. Until then, he’s letting the daily life lessons help to pave his personal and professional path, and he’s hoping to be able to influence other creatives the way that he’s been influenced in his life.

“My brother, Hans, taught me to go through life with a smile on my face and belly full of laughs. My art teacher, Ms. McCalmon, (I should call her Georgia, as she has asked me to, but I still remember her as Ms. McCalmon) opened up the world of art to me and was the first person to recognize that I seemed to have a never ending supply of ideas. My fiancée Lauren has influenced me in more ways than I can acknowledge or even recognize. I am sure that anything positive in my life can be traced back to her in some way or another.”

But, his influences haven’t always been so, well, human.

“I’ve been influenced the Internet. Man, have you been on that thing? At the very least, it provides me with more and more motivation to better my creative endeavors.”

And when the economic downturn hit last year, Dreyer immediately upped his creative work in other areas of his life, like decorating his condo and planning the upcoming wedding, which he wants to be remembered by his bride and guests as “one of the best experiences ever.”

He’s also been able to find creative outlets in the DC vibe itself.

“I think what the DC creative community is not has been the biggest influence. We aren’t L.A., New York City, or Chicago, but it’s great to strive to produce work on the same level. You have to learn more things on your own that way, which is good for the long haul.”

And as for Dreyer over the long haul?

“I tell myself to ‘enjoy the ride.’ I am not one to regret much (though NASDAQ: GOOG would have been a great decision). I feel like things can be learned from both good and bad decisions, so if you keep your eyes open — and don’t make the same mistakes twice — you’ll be good to go.”

See some of Dreyer’s work online at http://www.theerikdreyeridea.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.

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.

BRITT IRICK

Britt Irick is a senior illustration student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He was a self-taught animator throughout high school who learned to paint and switched to illustration. Influenced heavily by Saturday morning cartoons and a long shopping list of comic-book artists, he uses many different media, both traditional and digital. In his work he uses bright colors, a sense of humor and a little bit of weirdness for a unique look.

For the past four years he has taught film and animation at a summer camp in Arlington, VA while doing illustration and painting projects on the side, including a 310 sq. ft. mural, portraits and event posters. Summer 2009 he spent in an internship with the Non-profit, Safe Kids Worldwide, doing pamphlet and spot illustrations. Currently he is working on an animated short, and is halfway through writing and illustrating a children’s book. After he graduates in June 2010 with a BFA in Illustration he plans to get into poster and character design and book illustration but is open to just about anything so long as he has a pot of coffee and a pencil. You can view at his sketch/art blog at ttribit.blogspot.com.

GLENN LUCAS

As a youngster, Glenn took to drawing like many kids but soon found it to be an obsession, doodling on everything from desks, to notebooks, to other kids. He graduated from Central Michigan University where he majored in graphic design, minored in advertising and more importantly was introduced to the Mac computer.

Glenn cut his graphics chops at a service bureau in Rockville, MD where he learned the craft of imaging, layout and design, 2D, 3D, and Cel animation. In 1996 he and a partner formed a company called Highwire Studios which specialized in interactive and animation projects. In 2001 Glenn joined Erickson Barnett, a marketing agency in Reston, VA where he split most of his time between project management and Flash development.

After EB went the way of the Dodo in 2009, Mr. Lucas, as he is affectionately known to his children, has taken on a short-term contract with Tandberg. He continues to take on the occasional freelance projects as interest and time allow. In his spare time (hah, hah) he enjoys noodling on the bass, fooling with his t-shirt designs, frittering on the web, and spending time with his family. You can view more about Glenn at www.gelucas.com.

CHRISTA SMITH

Christa Smith studied visual communication at The University of Kansas on a four year portfolio scholarship where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She began her career in Los Angeles working as a package designer. She later opened her own graphic design and illustration business and transitioned into doing illustration full-time. Christa’s illustrations are nature rich, evocotive images created on scratchboard inspired by her love of carving sgraffito-style on pottery.

She works on black scratchboard as well as in color on white scratchboard using watercolor mediums and india ink. She creates illustrations for packaging, magazines and publishers from her studio on historic Duke of Gloucester Street in the Colonial area of Williamsburg, Virginia. Christa gives scratchboard workshops and is a member of the AIGA, SCBWI, and Illustrators Club. Her website is christasmithillustration.tumblr.com.