FullBleed

The Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington is proud to have six, nationally-known design professionals judging the 60th Annual Show. Meet them all on March 20.

Doug Bartow

Doug Bartow — principal and design director at Troy, NY-based id29 — began flirting with design and typography at any early age. In grade school, he was drawing fraktur letterforms on his notebooks while his classmates were doodling KISS and Van Halen logos.

His passion for typography was fully ignited while in the BFA program at the SUNY New Paltz. Professor Muneera Spence, who studied under Paul Rand, gave her students a rigorous introduction to typography using only five typefaces. This training imparted Doug with a strong confidence to take typographical risks and further explore their abilities.

While he is an enthusiast of type, that’s not to say a typeface doesn’t rub him the wrong way on occasion.

“As far as faces I’d like to see less of: Trajan. It’s beautifully drawn, but so ubiquitous. I can rarely go a day without seeing it used in one form or another.”

As a man familiar with the state of type, Doug knows what he wants to see from up-and-coming designers.

“I see too many typefaces in the work of young designers, many of which are poorly drawn or freely downloaded off the Internet. Show me you can communicate beautifully using only three weights of Univers. I’ll be much more impressed.”

Doug, like many of us, is navigating his first recession as a working professional, but he and his design firm are staying firmly grounded while remaining optimistic. He points out that in a recession, the same rules apply as in a boom: designers must intently listen to clients, perform the necessary research, and produce outstanding work. He also believes that in a down economy, clients can’t afford to forgo going out on a creative limb.

“Common sense would dictate that clients will get more conservative in tough times,” he said. “I would argue now is the time to differentiate yourselves from your competitors—using good design and smart strategy to rise above the din.”

Doug will be looking for good design and smart strategy at the Annual Show. He’s sure to bring his unwavering enthusiasm for new design to this position.

“I love looking at and discussing current design work. Meeting other designers never gets old,” he said. “If you’re someone interested in the state of design and advertising in DC, this show will feature the best of 2008.”

What kind of work is he hoping to miss?

“Anything that uses Trajan.”

Kate Bingaman-Burt

What types of quotidian things have you spent your hard-earned dough on today? Deodorant? A trashy magazine? An overpriced salad from a fast-feeder masquerading as a white-collar eatery?

If you’re like most people, you forget about your insignificant purchases shortly after having made them. Kate Bingaman-Burt immortalizes hers in a project called “Obsessive Consumptive.” Since 2002, she has been chronicling one item she purchases each day by either photographing or hand-drawing it. Plus, she hand draws all of her credit-card statements until they are paid off. In 2010, Princeton Architectural Press will publish a book filled with these daily drawings.

“I like to celebrate the mundane and draw the Coke I purchased at the gas station … scanning it and then uploading it to my web site,” Kate said.

Displaying your purchases on your sleeve can have a downside though.

“People email me and tell me that I eat too much Taco Bell, so I suppose that is kind of embarrassing.”

Kate’s creativity stretches much further than just “Obsessive Consumptive.” She’s a modern Renaissance woman of craftiness and has honed her talents in making everything from ‘zines (hers is called What Did You Buy Today?) and buttons to photographs and dresses.

And for those asking if blogs killed ‘zines, Kate would beg to differ. For her, blogs are what ignited her interest in ‘zines.

“I came to making ‘zines pretty late. I had made artist books for awhile, but I didn’t make my first ‘zine edition until 2006, and that grew out of wanting to share my daily drawings in a more personal way rather than posting them on my blog,” she said. “The ‘zine’s tactile element was another element that the blog just couldn’t convey.”

As Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University, she finds that ‘zining folds in neatly to the academic life. The DIY aesthetic of the ‘zine lends itself well to empowering students to exhibit their self-expression.

“I love giving workshops to students and watching them realize that they love making a book. I love it even more when they make multiples of the book and are able to share them with others.”

When asked what she believes is currently being overdone in design, she responded, “Hand-drawn typography. Ironic, since I love it and that is what I spend a lot of my time doing personally and professionally, but I am worried that we are hitting a saturation point.”

Art Chantry

Art Chantry’s gig poster work has been exhibited at the Louvre, designed for Nirvana, and presented to Oakley as a shattered safety glass pattern on their products’ lenses. Throughout the past three decades, he has displayed everywhere from urban streets to the Smithsonian Institute.

Arguably, this Tacoma native has had an enviable and illustrious career.

Despite having a Bronze Lion from Cannes and hundreds of other awards on his metaphorical mantle, his first foray into gig poster designing was less than a success.

“It was around 1974 … for some Canadian folk rock band touring down South into Washington state, playing at a local college coffee house. It was dreadful looking. I tried to draw it like Jack Kirby would draw The Hulk. It sucked.”

Art has a self-professed interest in sub-cultural styles from the past, and has come to be known for his old-school, lo-fi designing methods. He sees new technology as a catalyst for watering down art, and consequently also been described as a Luddite — a misnomer, he said.

“It’s fun to be called a Luddite, But I’m not. I’m an archaeologist exploring human culture,” he said. “People call me a Luddite because I think computers suck as a design and/or print-production tool. But, when you think through a machine, you tend to see the world in absolutes (off/on). That can make a person stupid.”

That’s not to say that design — especially gig poster design — doesn’t still get him excited. In fact, Art believes the gig poster has single-handedly saved American illustration, arguing that revered gig poster designers are always mentioned in magazines and design publications.

Yet, with all this talk about gig posters, his present projects are more of the design, lettering, and illustration variety — including logos, of which he’s created more than 1,000.

“The trick to doing a logo, probably the single most difficult project a designer can do, is listening and asking questions,” he said. “You have to take a stranger’s entire career — his history, his philosophy, his competition, his dreams — and reduce it to a black-and-white squiggle about the size of a tack head. It’s extremely hard to do well.”

If you thought Art was content with a 35-year career that includes shaping the visual aesthetic of grunge among his many other accolades, you haven’t seen anything yet. He’s still bursting with ideas.

“It’s like I developed a ‘muscle’ that just does it for me. I wish I had more clients just so I could use more of the ideas I come up with.”

Ian Coyle

by Stephanie Hay

Ian Coyle cut his teeth on interactive design far from Denver — where his company, Superheroes, Inc. — is based.

“I started in Italy, in 1997, making websites for small Italian companies that had never even heard of the World Wide Web, as it was called. My first web site was for an Italian concrete mixer manufacturer. The next … a water treatment facility outside of Vicenza,” he said.  “But the proudest moment of my budding career occurred when I made a web site with animated gifs for an Italian Grappa distillery. Ah, the days of Windows 3.11 and Mosaic. ”

Ian, who co-founded FL2 in 2001 before starting Superheroes, Inc. in 2007, has since worked with more web-embracing brands like Hewlett-Packard,  Sun Microsystems, Westin Resorts, and Sims Snowboards.  He has been featured in national and international publications, recognized at multiple award shows, and spoken actively at various design events globally.  But, his growth as a designer has been influenced by media outside the digital space, too; in fact,  he branched out into letterpress, opening a printing studio.

“Today, my interactive design is more influenced by print then web. While I have always been focused on progressive user experience, I find myself more dedicated to the beauty in simplicity and the functional.”

He’ll be looking for that simple, functional beauty when he judges the upcoming Annual Show.

“It’s always an honor to judge an Annual Show, especially in a market like D.C., where a lot of talent resides. You have a responsibility (and opportunity) to set the standard for the next year and to celebrate the current entrants’ hard work. ”

He’s hoping to see well-executed designs, good typography, clear hierarchies, and well-executed programming that are focused on a relevant user experience rather than gratuitous features or design elements that impede progressive interaction.  And how does he gauge that?

“From a tactical standpoint, interactive judging is easier because you can view the pieces from anywhere; but, conversely, it prohibits true judge collaboration,” he said.  “[It] has more to consider then its final design; user experience, interaction, technical skills, integration and implementation are all key elements that might render a great design unusable or a simple design exceptional.”

His recommendation to entrants who are hoping their work will be considered exceptional is simple:

“Submit only your best work you are most proud of. Represent yourself and your city.”

Leslie Jensen-Inman

by Stephanie Hay

Leslie Jensen-Inman is judging the Annual Show because she believes that rewarding and showcasing relevant work is important. And, as an assistant professor who teaches a mix of art, design, business, and technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she gives people the tools and knowledge to be the next generation of award-winning designers.

Leslie — who is also president of MORE and an active member of several organizations including the Web Standards Project, the Education Task Force, and the World Organization of Webmasters – described how a work’s relevance can be judged differently depending upon its medium.

“When a print piece is completed, it is completed. When an interactive piece is completed, it really isn’t. There are always new technologies and web browsers that may change the way the ‘completed’ piece is experienced. Depending on how entries are entered and viewed, technology becomes a factor.”

She’ll also be looking for thought-out work — with hierarchy, strong typography, and solid color choices — that is appropriate for stated target audiences.

“I’d advise entrants to submit work they are proud of; work that solves a particular challenge, goes beyond the obvious, and isn’t cookie cutter.”

What isn’t she looking for?

“Any web site that plays music automatically. That drives me crazy.”

That’s not to say she doesn’t appreciate full exploration of media; after all, she started her career as a print designer with a background in video and film.

“My design and processes have evolved over the years. I spend a lot more time listening to what my clients have to say (and what they omit). I also understand my creative process better. I have learned (and accepted) my creative rhythms and have gotten pretty good at creating a schedule that works with them rather than against them. I listen to my instincts. I second-guess myself less. I know that some people will love what I create, and some people will not. This is the life of a creative, and I embrace all of the feedback (even if I don’t agree with all of it).”

Embracing feedback means learning from it; a notion Leslie was introduced to in seventh grade when she made an ocean using blue, green, and purple watercolors.

“My art teacher admonished me and told me the ocean was only blue, that it was not any other colors. I had traveled to different oceans and knew that each had their own unique set of colors. I knew that feedback was very wrong,” she said. “My teacher’s comment pushed me to show the teacher (and myself) that I could be a successful artist. I learned that I am the kind of person who takes a negative comment and turns it around to be a personal challenge.”

Since then, she’s been careful to provide constructive feedback and criticism to her students and designers. But, it’s not all about the feedback, of course:

“I also learned that I would need to be able to be more persuasive when presenting my work.”

Dan Mall

by Stephanie Hay

When Dan Mall isn’t leading the next award-winning design at Happy Cog, where he serves as interactive director, then he might be contributing as a technical editor for A List Apart … or maybe giving a workshop … or speaking to a large group … or teaching web and graphic design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

You get the picture.

This designer and developer has made his career “playing matchmaker between engaging art direction and intuitive interaction design” for clients small and large, and he’ll be looking for that same intersection of art and function when he serves as an interactive judge at the upcoming Annual Show.

“Despite a handful of outstanding pieces, interactive work is largely uninspired,” Dan said. “I hope that by promoting and highlighting great work, it’ll raise the standard across the medium.”

To that end, he’s hoping to see entrants taking risks and avoiding the cliché. But one of the most basic hurdles in meeting that challenge is: Does it work?

“While interactive work should be aesthetically appropriate, there’s also the idea of pass/fail associated with it; it just has to work. If an element doesn’t work, it immediately fails one of its fundamental requirements. Conversely, if it works, that’s already a huge win.”

Making it work also entails thinking about how users will engage with it and become loyal fans if it’s an enjoyable experience for them. Inspiration to find that enjoyment can come from anything in life.

“More and more, we’re seeing interactive work emulate real life. Devices like the iPhone allow you to push, pull, slide, and pinch data in a way that makes you believe that there’s something tactile in front of you. My work has been moving toward thinking about how to get people to believe they’re using an interface as opposed to using a device that controls that interface.”

So, given Dan’s commitment to participating in shifting the way interactive design is experienced, perhaps it’s no surprise that he’s looking for work at the annual show that … well … surprises him.

“The best piece of feedback I received was, ‘Wow, I never saw it that way.’ For me, the opportunity to present an experience to people in a way that was new and appealing to them is wholly gratifying.”