Renee Rupcich is the assistant art director of Men’s Vogue. Though her career has focused on graphic design and publishing (she was also senior designer at fashion/design magazine Surface), she also studied photography and worked as an assistant in photography studios in San Francisco. Lately Renee has cultivated an interest in handcrafts and knitting as well as in socially and environmentally responsible design, and she contributes to the online community DESIGN 21: Social Design Network. (more…)

Design is a commodity

A few years back I attended a design management seminar in San Francisco. The seminar was held on a refurbished ferry-boat docked at Pier 3 and featured a notable design speaker. The view of the bay was fantastic, and the information presented at the session was compelling. But as I look back, the most remarkable thing about that seminar was lunch.

I had the good fortune to be seated at the same table as the speaker. Others at the table included business owners and designers from a wide variety of areas, all looking to harness the power of design. Our conversation ran the gamut from design leadership, research, ethnography and our own personal design war stories. I tried to think of an insightful question to ask the speaker, but the best I could come up with was, “So, do you have any designers on your staff?” Jeez, could I have asked a more banal question? But his answer left me speechless. “No.” he responded off-handedly, “Design is a commodity.” (more…)

George Lois in his New York apartment

When MoMA opened its current exhibition of George Lois’ Esquire covers last spring, the legendary ad man (”I want my MTV”, anyone?) enjoyed a second wave of fame and acclaim. As a new generation discovered the powerful and provocative images he created for Esquire between 1962-1972, even the supremely confident Lois was a little taken back by the response: “In the first month of the show, my web site got 1 million 700 000 hits. Who would have imagined that a graphic design show would have that kind of impact?” he says. But maybe it’s not surprising at all. In today’s climate of impossibly bland magazine art, Lois’ fearless statements offer a refreshing reminder that success does not always equal pandering. “I do stuff that punch you in the mouth sometimes,” he says. However, the fact that his 40-year-old covers are still considered so radical is also a little discouraging. How come not much else has happened since then? To ponder that question, and to revisit the stories behind his most iconic pictures, we sat down with the irrepressibly charming and outspoken 77-year-old native New Yorker in the beautiful West Village apartment he’s lived in for the past four decades. (more…)

On June 3rd, New York’s first ever Internet Week kicks off. The event is a promotional, social and educational effort that is based on the same model of openness and diversity as the Internet itself. Anyone can register an event and practically anything goes in terms of topics or theme. The week is topped off with the celebration of the Webby Awards, the popular and glamorous awards ceremony for excellent online achievements. We wanted to learn more about the people behind this initiative and decided to catch up with David-Michel Davies (no it’s not a typo, he’s half French), Executive Director of IADAS (International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences), the organization behind both the Internet Week and the Webby’s. (more…)

In recent years, Yves Béhar has emerged as one of the most important industrial designers on the contemporary scene. Through his San Francisco-based design and branding company fuseproject, the Swiss-born Béhar has shown that a futuristic, hi-tech approach to design can be deeply humane. The fluid forms and innovative function of his products are impressive enough, but it’s Béhar’s interest in the human experience and positive social change that give his objects real meaning. In this interview, Béhar chats with Kevin Kelly about his recent work for the safe sex campaign NYC Condom and other acclaimed projects, and shares his vision for how design can help shape our future. (more…)

Nicholas Felton is a freelance graphic designer living and working in New York City. His editorial works have appeared in PRINT, Wired, Good, Metropolis and numerous other big name publications. And his personal annual reports are a certified internet phenomenon. The reports can be found on his personal site, feltron.com, and they’re really worth checking out. Nicholas also maintains a professional site associated with his studio, megafone.

In this interview, Nicholas expounds upon both his personal and professional work. He also offers advice to upcoming freelancers, and shares his thoughts on humor’s role in design. Thanks again to Nicholas for chatting with us.

How do projects like the Feltron Annual Reports and Hello China, Goodbye Nepal relate to your professional pieces? Do you use your personal projects to test ideas and designs?

Well I’d like to think that I’m constantly testing new ideas and designs, whether it be for personal or professional assignments, but with the personal projects the luxury is that I get to be the “decider” as well as the “maker”. What is really important about these projects is that they showcase my strengths, which I hope stirs up assignments which are a natural fit for my interests & abilities.

You’ve produced editorial artwork for several magazines, including PRINT, Metropolis and Wired. How are those projects different from say, designing a logo or a typeface?

In a lot of ways, they’re actually very similar. I approach every project systematically, and develop a set of rules that will help me make something consistent and interesting. With a typeface I’m considering all the angles, lines and transitions which will create a kit of guiding principles that direct every decision. The same is true in a logotype or a diagram or a publication, I try to develop a system that is robust and interesting enough to carry all the parts of the design in a successful manner.

The Obsessives layout for Print Magazine ldescribes a week of consumption through metrics including food, drink, utilities, media and more.

As a freelance illustrator and designer whose enjoyed quite a bit of success, what advice do you have for others who are hoping to follow a similar career path?

You have to stay busy. If you’ve got a day job and you’re not doing freelance or personal projects at night, you’re not doing enough. If you’re working for yourself, and not working on the weekends, then you’re basically standing still. Experience and a solid body of work takes time to accumulate, and there’s only one way to get there.

Infographic for Metropolis displaying all of the LEED certified buildings in the United States and throughout the world.

You seem to like working with charts, graphs, maps and the like. What is it about those things that you find visually interesting?

I do love working with information graphics. They are these remarkable constructions that can be widely understood and, at the same time, rapidly communicate reams of information.

How did you get to where you are now? What did you study in school? Have you always been a freelancer? What skills have served you best?

I studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduation, I worked for a few years in advertising, learning some valuable lessons about branding and marketing that the typography classes in school didn’t prepare me for. Eventually I built a small portfolio of my own work and began collecting enough clients to support my practice. In hindsight, my advertising years were (more…)

Jacqueline Khiu, DESIGN 21: Social Design Network.

Jacqueline Khiu is the design and content manager for DESIGN 21: Social Design Network. DESIGN 21 is an online community and competition site that explores social consciousness through design. It is a collaborative project undertaken by the global design and merchandise company Felissimo and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Before joining DESIGN 21, Jacqueline was the design editor of Surface magazine and also the editor of both the Australian design and architecture publication Monument and the lifestyle magazine Australian Style. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on a range of subjects including the ability of design to affect global change. Her opinions are both well-informed and interesting, and I thank her for sharing her time with us.

NoD: DESIGN21 is a Social Design Network that inspires social activism by connecting people and organizations that are interested in improving the global community in which we live. Can you please describe how you facilitate the connections that help bring about that end? Is it simply the important matter of creating the context for productive dialogue or is there something more tangible that is happening at Design21?

Jacqueline: DESIGN 21 is an online platform that sets the stage for interaction between designers and non-profits primarily, but really any socially conscious individuals and organizations who are interested in the notion of “better design for the greater good.” People and organizations are welcome to join for free, create a profile and talk to each other. Beyond discussion, we give non-profits (who are, in a sense, the focus of the community) the ability to post specific “needs” to the site. Through a wish list function in their blog they can seek out designers or volunteers for projects or activities - and from the activity we’ve seen this seems to be working quite well. (more…)

Khoi Vinh is the Design Director of NYTimes.com, where he and his design team seek to communicate the prestige of The New York Times via an innovative online user experience. Khoi has his own blog, Subtraction.com, and also recently launched his dog’s blog, Misterpresident.org. Before joining NYTimes.com, Khoi worked with other high-end clients, including HBO and the Smithsonian, through his design firm, Behavior LLC.

In this interview, Khoi takes us behind the scenes at NYTimes.com. He also tells us which skills and sensibilities are, in his opinion, most important for today’s web designer.

Khoi Vinh, from his website Subtraction.com

Q: Please tell us about what you do at NYTimes.com. For example, how is working for an in-house design department different from working for, or in your case founding, a design studio? What are the pros and cons of each environment?

A: Working in house is much more about building long-term relationships and developing a broad understanding of the larger context and the way design figures into the business. (more…)

Ilise Benun

Ilise Benun thinks self-promotion is like exercise: it’s something that should be done everyday for a healthy financial future, but that we almost always find excuses to avoid. As a top marketing strategist in the creative world, Ilise teaches people like you to promote themselves and their business in her own consulting firm, Marketing Mentor, as well as in her blog, newsletter, and numerous speaking events. She’s also the author of five books and various articles featured in magazines like Inc., HOW, Nation’s Business, Self, Essence, and Working Woman. Notes catches up with her here after the release of her most recent book, The Art of Self Promotion, the compilation of twelve years of advice and wisdom from her eponymously named site.

Q: Sometimes marketing seems contrary to the goal of visual communication (in this mindset, high impact work is the best tool for attracting new business, and promotion is merely extraneous effort). Why doesn’t good work just ‘speak for itself’?

Ilise: Good work does sometimes speak for itself, but the point I would make is that it’s not nearly enough. It’s unrealistic (and often wishful thinking) to believe, as many artists do, that one’s work would speak for itself. That’s putting the cart before the horse. People have to know about the work—hear about it, see it somewhere—in order for it to “speak for itself.” Marketing is everything you do to get the work in front of the people (your target market) who will appreciate it so that it can speak for itself. (more…)

Jean Perwin

Jean Perwin is a Miami based attorney who specializes in Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment and General Corporate Law. She is most recently a recurring author for Notes on Design, and has a just launched a new series of informational posts to answer all your burning trademark/copyright questions. For those unfamiliar with the genius of Jean, we asked her ten questions ranging from the widest-held copyright hooey to the reason she likes working with people like you. (more…)