Stefan at his favorite spot in the studio

Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister specializes in the unexpected. He is known for idiosyncratic and humorous work that always gives you the slight jolt of seeing something completely new. When it comes to his workspace, however, Stefan is a creature of habit. He has been living and working out of the same 700 sq feet duplex for the past 15 years. Sagmeister Inc. is located on the top floor of a respectable but not particularly fancy residential building on the border of the upscale shopping and nightlife area Meatpacking District in New York. While the space is low in square footage it’s big on light, air and scenery. The floor to ceiling windows open up to an impressive view of downtown Manhattan, making the apartment feel a little bit like an aquarium in the sky.

We were curious about why Stefan is so attached to this space and why he insists on staying there. So we paid him a visit to find out. (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…)

Matthew Richmond?

If you go by The Chopping Block’s website, Matthew Richmond is Assistant to the Aide of the Scout Leader. But we know him better as partner and creative director of one of the most innovative graphic and interactive design studios around. The Chopping Block is well known for cutting-edge aesthetics blended with tons of tech trickery when working with clients like They Might Be Giants, Rachel Ray, and Nickelodeon. Matthew Richmond gives us a sneak peek at how the firm assembles their incredible concepts… (more…)

Josh Chen

We met San Francisco-based Graphic Designer Josh Chen at the HOW design conference, where he made a presentation about using handwork in graphic design. Josh is the founder of Chen Design Associates, and has over twenty years of experience in design, broadcasting, journalism and music. Named one of the “50 People to Watch” by GraphicDesignUSA, Josh is also the author of three design books and numerous articles for HOW magazine. He recently released a book entitled Fingerprint: The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design.

Fingerprint:The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design

The book showcases projects from an impressive roster of designers, using handwork techniques that range from lettering, illustration, mixed media and surface embellishments, to printing methods such as letterpress and silk screening. It is an inspiration and a call-to-arms for all designers to step back from the computer and reconnect with our repertoire of non-digital tools, especially the brain. Josh and his team of designers shared with us their collective thoughts and philosophies about handmade design. Afterwards, Josh mentioned he was struck by the synchronicities in his team members’ approaches. “Personally,” he said, “this reminds me again what a special group of talented, intelligent designers I get to work with day in and day out, and how thankful I am to have them be part of the CDA team. I wouldn’t be able to do half the things we’ve done as a design studio without these guys.”

CDA team members who participated in this interview include:

Josh Chen, Principal & Creative Director, Chen Design Associates

Max Spector, Senior Designer

Jennifer Tolo Pierce, Senior Designer

Kathrin Blatter, Designer

Shadi Kashefizadeh, Junior Designer

Q. Your presentation at the HOW design conference was called “Perfect Imperfection: The Art of the Handmade in Design.” Do you think adding handmade elements to design connects the process more with art, rather than feeling like a strictly commercial endeavor?

Josh Chen: I guess it’s not so much just a connection to art that’s the most important thing to me, as it is how it adds to the human connection that we all are craving for. After all, the basic motivation behind all the work we do as designers is to communicate an idea, a thought, or a message from sender to receiver. That might be accomplished completely with computer-generated art, or it might be completely handmade, or somewhere in between. I cringe when designers come up to me and ask whether handmade is the new “trend.” When they ask that, my assumption is they are just concerned about aesthetics once again. Isn’t the challenge we already face as designers, in order to be taken seriously by clients, to show that design is about more than just aesthetics? (more…)

Brian Edlefson

Brian Edlefson strives for more graphic thought and less visual clutter. As a lead designer in Whirlpool Corporation’s multi-disciplinary Global Consumer Design studio, Edlefson is responsible for infusing household brands like Whirlpool, Maytag, Kenmore, and Amana with smart graphic design strategies. Prior to moving to Michigan, Brian developed design solutions at Target, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Herman Miller, and McDougal-Littell Publishing. He earned his BFA from Western Michigan University (1996), studied color in Bali, Indonesia with Ohio University (2000), and achieved an MFA from Yale University (2005). Edlefson’s work has been recognized in many national and international creative competitions (New York Art Director’s Club, Communication Arts, Creativity, Graphis, HOW, Print, STEP Inside Design) and chosen for inclusion in the National Design Archive at the Library of Congress. Recently, Brian was a featured speaker at the 2007 HOW Design Conference in Atlanta.

A limited edition poster commemorating Charles and Ray Eames. 24×36in, hexachrome offset

I’m curious about your current position at Whirlpool. What are you doing now that you’ve left Target? I heard you’re no longer in Minneapolis- is that true?

Brian: Yes, I left Target and Minneapolis to accept a position with Whirlpool. Although I love Minneapolis-and my time at Target was rewarding-this new role offered the unique opportunity to help lead a multidisciplinary design team. It has been a very natural professional evolution. My most rewarding design experiences have involved collaborations with colleagues outside typical graphic design practices: architects and interior designers at Herman Miller, curators and historians at MoMA, marketing strategists and interior architects at Target, and now consumer product designers at Whirlpool. My current role also builds on my interest in defining and differentiating a collection of brands. Whirlpool is a big, global company with many household brand names (Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, Kitchen Aid, Jenn-Air, Magic Chef, etc.). Making compelling design solutions-in collaboration with product designers—on a collection of ‘un-sexy’ products—offers a lot of challenges. In some ways it is different than Target because the ‘bullseye’ caché is almost universally appealing. Target uses design as a powerful marketing tool-whereas Whirlpool uses design to make tedious tasks like laundry and food preparation more pleasurable, easier. (more…)

Luke Wroblewski

Luke Wroblewski is a Web strategist, designer, and author. He is currently Senior Principal of Product Ideation & Design at Yahoo! Inc. and Principal of LukeW Interface Designs, a product strategy and design consultancy he founded in 1996. Luke has authored a book on Web interface design principles entitled Site-Seeing: A Visual Approach to Web Usability, as well as numerous articles on design methodologies, strategies and applications. He is also frequent presenter on topics related to Web strategy and design, and a former member of the board of directors of the Interaction Design Association. Here, the hardest working man in web design shares his insight into the most important topics in the field today… (more…)