July 27, 2010
“I’ve never defined myself as a writer, or, God forbid, an author. I’m a person—someone who goes to work every morning, like the plumber or the television repairman, and who goes home at the end of the day to think about other things. I can’t imagine not going to work as long as I can. …
I try to refocus my frazzled writers on the process of writing, not the product. If the process is sound, the product will take care of itself. Recently I got a letter from a young woman writer who was back home in California after her annual visit. She said, ‘Your office is a sanctuary of craft amidst the hullabaloo of publishers, editors, and agents. You have no idea how liberating that is.’
It may seem perverse that I compare my writing to plumbing, an occupation not regarded as high-end. But to me all work is equally honorable, all crafts an astonishment when they are performed with skill and self-respect. Just as I go to work every day with my tools, which are words, the plumber arrives with his kit of wrenches and washers, and afterward the pipes have been so adroitly fitted together that they don’t leak. I don’t want any of my sentences to leak. The fact that someone can make water come out of a faucet on the 10th floor strikes me as a feat no less remarkable than the construction of a clear declarative sentence.”
Source: Life and Work by William Zinsser, Writer, Editor, Teacher
Via: The Casual Optimist
Labels: Work | Writing
June 30, 2010
“It’s a simple old fashioned trick of a daily list. Crossing tasks off feels good. Anything not completed gets bumped to the next day. Also iCal is a huge help. …
…it’s easy to overlook (the business basics) in the pursuit of creative excellence, but the simple rule is pay attention, it will get you in the end! …don’t neglect the nuts and bolts of business. It’s so boring but essential in allowing you to pursue your creative ideas. Also, don’t spend too much time poring over coffee table design books, nice as they are, looking for ideas to…
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Source: “Build” From Scratch by Behance Team
Labels: Work
May 17, 2010
“I live for projects. I tend to become completely enveloped in whatever I’m working on, and focus only on that. Consequently, I am the worst at multitasking. I have always liked to paint at night, pulling all nighters at least once a week in college. These days I try my best to keep a more reasonable/healthy schedule and work mostly during the day. I keep lists of ideas between a couple of sketchbooks as well as one on my computer calendar. When its time to work, I have a ritual of cleaning up my desks, choosing the appropriate playlist, and settling in with a cup of tea. I generally don’t work on artwork and business stuff (shipping, emails, etc.) on the same days… for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out. I’ve mostly painted with acrylics since college, but lately I’m really enjoying pastels and gouache. There is something very pure about the pigment of the pastels, and the gouache flows so smoothly.”
Source: Etsy Interview with Dana Ray, Artist and Illustrator
Labels: Work
April 15, 2010
The underlying problem is that design is a holistic discipline while data-analysis, applied dogmatically, is a reductive discipline. When the two coincide, serious friction can ensue. But far from vowing to never interact, these two disciplines need each other tremendously. The designer brings perspective that helps to organize experiential systems at all scales, while quantitative metrics are key for validating decisions. The problems arise when analysis is treated as the primary driver for invention—that’s like setting a measuring tape on a drafting table and expecting it to design spectacular architecture—rest assured, the genius is not in the tape. …
The interplay of all disciplines (engineering, design, research, marketing, sales, QA, product, legal, customer care, etc.) is where the magic happens. Metrics are an absolutely critical interface between disciplines, but when wielded and controlled by only one discipline they can greatly limit the potential of the others.
Tom Chi
Co-Writer and Co-Illustrator, OK/Cancel
Source: Bowman vs Google? Why Data and Design Need Each Other
Labels: Data | Work
February 12, 2010
The specialist vs. generalist debate has raged on, throughout many fields, for ages. I think it’s clear that there isn’t any answer to this debate, and that’s just fine, the debate has been and probably will continue to be an interesting one that doesn’t need, or have, an absolute answer. Having said that, I think what truly matters is a genuine interest and passion for what you’re doing, not so much the depth and breath of your skill set.
I know many successful generalists and more than a few successful specialists. But does it really matter one way or the other? Is it better to be specialized? Do you have to be specialized in order to advance your skills? Do generalists have more fun? I don’t think so. If there is an answer to these questions it’s likely the ever cliched ‘it depends.’
Depends on the person, the position, the organization, budgets, work load, team make up, et cetera.
The specialist vs. generalist argument really boils down to this: What really matters is your passion for your work, the rest is just a heaping pile of ‘it depends.’ …
Skills can be learned. Programming, design, writing, project management; all of these things can be practiced and developed. A true desire to succeed, passion for your work, a solid work ethic; these are harder to come by.
Bottom-line: if you’re willing to work hard, practice, learn and bring passion to the table every day you should do well, either as a specialist or as a generalist.
D. Keith Robinson
Designer
Source: Specialized Generalist
Via: Authentic Boredom
Labels: Work
January 30, 2010
“I usually view the world as a big laboratory. I try to identify with this. I try to move around the world as a voyager, as a sort of a sensor, a sensor device, that can understand where things are really changing.
Some people think of art as an aesthetical issue. I always think about art and about my work as a political issue. Whatever happens in my work is that at the very beginning, there is a political question. I think we’re always moved by something that happened in our childhood, and then we just find a way of…
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Source: The Maurice Lacroix Interviews with Monocle Magazine
Labels: Media | Work
January 29, 2010
“There’s two components to the interaction between my blogging and my work as a design strategist.
Firstly, to be able to blog, as you well know, one needs to be well-informed, particularly when I’m talking about developing trends and how they might apply to the car industry, so I end up doing enormous amounts of reading across many different topics and media types. In that lies the very essence of how blogging informs my design strategy work: to help clients make strategic decisions about future products, I must be able to inform them of emerging social and technological trends and…
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Source: Drew Smith – Designer Q&A by Raph Goldsworthy
Via: undrln
Labels: Blogging | Work
January 25, 2010
All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism—it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
Conan O’Brien
Television Host and Comedian
Source: Conan O'Brien quips about next career move: nudity
Via: @ellmcgirt
Labels: Work
