The Good Design Book

Good Friday: Hiccups

Sometime last Friday our servers crashed. Like, all of them. No email, no website, no Good Design Book blog, nothing. In all four websites, three blogs and eight email accounts were offline until late yesterday. Needless to say, we’ve been scrambling to recover.

Now for some good news!

Alice Bybee sent us her essay late last week, John Bielenberg turned in his “And Now for the Bad News” foreword and we now are the proud possessors of all but one Grant of Rights form (every image we publish must be accompanied by a signed written agreement allowing us the right to reproduce the project or photograph in the book).

I hear word from Brian Collins that he expects to finish his essay over the weekend and we expect the others next week as well.

Now if I can just get off my ass and finish up my writing we might actually have a book on our hands!

Oh, and I’ve saved the very best news for last. We have officially secured our sixth and final essayist. LA’s number on pedestrian and all gelato connoisseur Alissa Walker will be writing for the Reacting section. Alissa writes for GOOD Magazine, Fast Company, and on her own blog Gelatobaby. I really couldn’t be more thrilled to have her as the final member of this special family that has become The Good Design Book.

Right now I’m dashing out to the Celery happy hour (not just to party on a Friday night, but also to take a photo of Brian Dougherty for the book).

Good Friday: Pieces

This week the book has been all about pieces. Every photo needs a grant of rights form that gives us permission to publish it. Most we have, some we’re missing. Some photos are too low res to print, so we’re asking for new ones or (more likely) just shooing the work ourselves. There are captions to write (lots of captions to write) and essays from contributors to secure. So, we’re gathering up all those little pieces.

For the first few hours of every day I email, call and IM people, gently hounding them for their work, words or paperwork. I’m sure I’ve become a nuisance, but in the process I’ve become friends with many of the contributors. PIctured above: my Good Design Book to-do list for the week.

If you’re wondering, it’s totally crumpled because my one-year-old got his hands on it for about 10 seconds.

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.

Good Friday: Essayists

So, I’m finally able to share with you who our contributing essayists are for the book. I’m really excited about their diverse perspectives and what they will mean to the book and the work.

As I’ve already reported, John Bielenberg is writing the foreword. You can always count on John for an oblique perspective.

Each of the six sections is also anchored by an essay:

• Teaching (How are critical causes being addressed in design education?) Essay by Allan Chochinov
• Seeking (How can design thinking pro actively identify and address social, cultural and political issues?) Essay by Brian Collins
• Organizing (How does design help spread the word, make people care, and motivate them toward action?) Aaris Sherin
• Supporting (Work that supports an existing cause/non-profit) Essay by Kate Andrews
• Reacting (What is the designer’s creative response to the human condition?) This one I still need to confirm, hang tight…
• Celebrating (Work that celebrates the arts or achievement, contribution or service to a cause. Sometimes good design is, itself, good design.) Essay by Alice Bybee

In addition we have interviews with Emily Pilloton, Michael Osborne, Randy J. Hunt, Brian Dougherty and others.

We also just confirmed to day that Ric Grefe will be contributing some written perspective, along with a few others that still need to be locked down, so I shouldn’t jinx anything by mentioning them here.

I’m very excited and extremely pleased to have the support and contribution of these remarkable leaders and thinkers. Their thoughts and perspective will certainly be a critical force in elevating the relevance and thoughtfulness of the 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…

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:

Continue reading…

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.

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.

Continue reading…

Good Friday: Gray Areas

This week has been about gray areas — those indeterminate territories of understanding, delineation and judgement. The design directions are in the hands of the publisher (who is out of the office for another 10 days or so) so we’re in a holding pattern there. The submission deadline has been extended another two weeks (until the 14th) and though entries continue to arrive we’re still not opening them — leaving us in a hazy gray area of curiosity as we ponder the contents of the growing pile of boxes envelopes and tubes in the corner of the office.

The biggest gray area remains how to decide what makes the cut. This week especially I’ve been fielding inquiries from interested designers, curious to know if their work qualifies as “good.” These include for-profit projects that nonetheless promote a social message, works of industrial (as opposed to purely graphic) design, environments, naming and branding, etc. There is no clear cut answer as to what makes a project “good” and its been the topic of some discussion in the office. If I make a T-shirt with a social message and sell it for a profit, is that good design? If I design a system that encourages people to modify their behavior and attitude toward the indigent, but there’s no tangible deliverable, is that good design? If I do well-compensated work for a non profit that pays its Executive Director a quarter million dollars a year, is that good design?

Continue reading…