The Good Design Book

Good Friday: Good Company

We spent a couple of afternoons this week sorting all the work into their respective chapters, identifying some holes, and sending out requests for a few additional projects. While by no means a complete list (we’ll release a final list once the content has been approved by our editor), here are some of the designers and projects you can expect to find in the book.

In no particular order:

• The Decoder Ring Design Concern
• Rise & Shine Studio
• TED
• Fabrica
• Hybrid Design
• Project H
• Project M
• David Garcia
• Tomorrow Partners
• Another Limited Rebellion
• Volume, Inc.
• Student projects from MICA, CCA, Academy of Art University, Emily Carr, Art Center, and others
• The California Academy of Sciences
• Pentagram
• Stefan Sagmeister
• Adams Morioka
• UnderConsideration
• Winterhouse Institute
• Adam Larson
• Laurie Rosenwald
• Geoff Wagner
• Drew Marshall
• Modern Dog
• Borja Martinez
• Stefan Sagmeister
• Mike Fretto
• Paprika
• Randy J. Hunt
• Jon Sueda
• Jason Munn
• Ann Willoughby
• Bob Aufuldish
• Karlssonwilker
• Celery
• Nessim Higson
• Lance Armstrong Foundation
• Samata Mason
• NOON
• Firebelly Design
• Little Jacket, Inc.
• and more…

September Update

Sorry for the longer-than-usual period(s) of silence. The Good Friday updates have ended up being more bi-weekly than weekly of late, for a number of reasons. The last few Fridays I’ve been out of town or at least out of the office, but in general the book has taken a bit of a back seat to some of the other projects going on in the studio.

BUT

Today we reviewed the twenty or so entries and tomorrow we’ll finish organizing everything into their respective categories. Look for a breakdown of the entries and selected work this Friday. It’s not going to be a comprehensive list of all the included designers but it should give you some idea of the makeup of the book. We’ll be contacting some of you for additional information early next week.

Thanks for your patience. More to come (soon).

Good Friday: Good things come to those who wait

Okay. Clearly I missed posting anything last Friday, and if you follow the site at all you’ll have noticed that I haven’t tweeted a damn thing in over a week either. Sorry about that.

Here’s where things stand:

First: We have just about the right amount of good (no pun intended) content. Honestly, I was hoping for and expecting more submissions, but what we did receive were largely top-notch. Early next week we’ll be laying it all out one more time, making some final cuts (sorry!) and filling in some holes. While individually all the work we’ve picked is great, collectively we want to make sure its sufficient to tell all the right stories.

Second: We have design feedback and it looks like we’ll be going with Direction B. Our Art Director at HOW, Grace, had some very helpful and insightful feedback. I’m going to post it all here for you to see (once I have her permission to do so).

Third: I’m trying to lock down one more essayist and then we’ll announce the lot of them. I’m really excited about the lineup.

Fourth: School is back in session, so over the next few weeks we’ll be soliciting content from instructors and students for the teaching section of the book. If you have any suggestions, send them my way please.

I’ll try to be more on top of the postings going forward. Last week I was prepping my syllabus, finishing up a few key jobs in the studio and pitching a couple of very exciting new clients (I also wrote a Good Design related article for Core 77 which will launch next week. Be sure to check it out).

Balancing school and work and the book (not to mention family) is a tricky business, and the book took a bit of a back seat for a week. Expect more regular and substantive postings in the weeks ahead.

Good Friday: Judging

It’s not really fair to call the process of evaluating work “judging.” Yes, we are discerning, but it’s not a contest and we’re not weighing the merits of one submission against another. Rather, we are seeking a diverse collection of projects that help describe a greater narrative. This is how we went about it:

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And the winner is…

We received 428 entries prior to the August 14 midnight deadline, meaning Katy McCauley was closest with her guess of 432. Katy, send us your address and six months or so from now you’ll get an advance copy of the book.

Everyone else, thanks for your participation. Anyone who posts on the blog will be entered in a random drawing for some other goodies associated with the book — and we’ll have another contest soon.

Good Friday: The Deadline

I’m out of town today, writing this from the quasi-solitude of a beachside house in Bodega Bay, California. It’s a working getaway and a quiet place to think and write and read. Sort of. Honestly though, I miss being at the office, especially today. For the past few days it seems like the doorbell is constantly ringing — first FedEx, then UPS, then DHL, then the regular mail carrier, then the late FedEx, then the late UPS, all interspersed with the occasional courier. I know Ethan also fielded a few phone calls from designers trying to coordinate an extension. As of a little before midnight yesterday I’d responded to 44 emails inquiring along similar lines. If experience is any lesson, today will only be more intense.

That brings us to the concept of the deadline. At least in the design industry, every competition has three deadlines: The promoted deadline, the extended deadline, and the real deadline. The advertised deadline is the one most people meet. Procrastinators can generally rely on that date being extended the day of the “official” cutoff expires. The real deadline is usually the day before the judging (depending on who, how persuasive or how charming you are).

If you’re interested, the word deadline has roots in the American Civil War. Prisoners of war were held in camps or stockades, not all of which had fences. In their place, a dirt line was physically inscribed around the perimeter. Prisoners were instructed to stay within that line or they would be shot (as in dead) — a slightly more effective deterrent than our modern-day concept of the deadline.

Win an Advance Copy of the Book

To encourage participation/comment on the blog, we’ll be running a few contests/raffles/giveaways over the next few months as we write the book. The first one is easy and silly. With the deadline closing tomorrow we’ll soon begin logging , reviewing and categorizing all the submissions. We have a running bet in the office as to how many we’ll receive; I though it might be fun to extend that bet to you as well.

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One for the boys

Last Friday I posted about our need to include more women designers in the book. Since then I’ve heard from several of design’s leading ladies and I’m really excited to see what comes in this week.

Over the weekend I also received emails from a number of male designers that I am equally excited about. Aaron Draplin, Mick Hodgson, Sean Adams, Jason Munn, Frank Chimero, Bill Drenttel, Brian Jones, Joel Templin, and many other wrote in with a heads up that they’ll be submitting work. Meanwhile, entries have been arriving from Singapore, New Zealand, Venezuela, the UK and all over the U.S. We’re going to have a big task ahead of us as we sort through all the submissions, but I think it bodes well for the overall quality of the book.

If you’re reading this and haven’t submitted anything yet, you still have a few days left to do so. Do it.

Good Friday: Ladies and Gentleman

Today was a good day.

With one week left before the extended deadline closes, today we sent out an email blast reminder to our network of designer, friends and colleagues from whom we have not yet received work, encouraging them to contribute. I also sent out personal emails to about 25 women designers I know personally, urging them to send in work. For some reason we’re pretty light on representing women here, and I decided it was important to take a proactive step to address that. I spent much of the day fielding replies from the likes of Cinthia Wen, Melanie Doherty, Margo Chase, Ann Willoughby, Sharon Werner and others. I heard back from most of them and I’m much more encouraged now. I expect some really amazing work to roll in next week. I may even give you all a sneak peek when it does.

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Deadline in One Week

Just a reminder that the extended deadline closes in 7 days.

That’s Friday, August 14

We have a lot of submissions from all over the world — many from firms we recognize but lots of newcomers too. We’re still looking for great work to include. Why not take a moment today to get your entries together and send them in? It’s free and  it will make a difference.

I’m particularly interested in submissions from women designers and/or women run firms. So far the submissions look to favor men about 5 to 1 (!), and I know that’s not the complexion of the profession…