Good Friday: Michael Osborne
There’s quite a bit to report with the book today. The last few outstanding files came in today from Mende Design, Margo Chase, Adam Larson and others.
After a quick chat with my editor, I headed over to Michael Osborne’s studio for an inspiring and thoughtful interview. Michael runs MOD, teaches at the Academy of Art* in San Francisco and is the founder of Joey’s Corner. Named for his son — Joseph Michael Osborne, who tragically passed at the age of 14 — Joey’s Corner is a nonprofit design studio that provides pro bono services to other nonprofit organizations. Michael’s is an uplifting story and one I’m touched and humbled to be able to share with you in the book.
The photo above is from our visit. We’re doing as much of our own photography as possible for the book (this is one of the outtakes). Here Michael is holding a photo of Joey and a sheet of stamps featuring the Joey’s Corner logo.
While I was there, I also had a chance to catch up with Joey’s Corner designer Katy McCauley. I know Katy from Project M (small world) and she was also the winner of our “guess how many entries” contest back in August. Speaking of Project M, I got a first look at Tim Belonax’s writeup of that inspiring program today as well.
Returning to the office, I reviewed divider page designs with Tim and our intern Reena. As you may remember from an earlier post, the chapter dividers feature a collage of represented projects. After a little exploration, we decided to stick to that plan, but we’re including alternate shots and details of the featured projects. It’s a subtle shift, but I think it will really help augment the book with both depth and intimacy. In addition to simply including additional shots of the projects, we’re often including images that reveal part of the process behind them.
Next I hopped on the phone for a chat with Mike Fretto of Rosa Loves to get a little more background for his case study. Mike’s just about the nicest guy you’ll ever talk to.
My 18-year old cousin popped in shortly afterward, putting an end to the day’s work. He’s visiting from the UK and planning a road trip from Atlanta back to San Francisco. I think I convinced him to volunteer at Pie Lab along the way.
I got in a little more writing this evening. It’s 10:22 now and I’m calling it a day. It was a jam-packed day capping a jam-packed week for the soon-to-be-retitled “Good Design Book.” Things are pretty exciting over here…
*Those of you in the Bay Area, Emily Pilloton kicks off her Design Revolution Roadshow with a street party at the Academy of Art on February 4. Everyone else can find a nearby stop by checking out the roadshow itinerary here.
I had the honor of taking a package design class with Michael Osborne at the Academy of Art and not only is he a great instructor but also a very witty person. I think it’s great what he’s doing through Joey’s Corner. Looking forward to reading about it in the book.