A few of the Local Heroes and I joined in on the fun, and created a few boards of our own. Be sure to check out the show and see all the amazing boards created by some fantastic local artists.

First Friday May 4, 2012 at Screen Ink starting at 7:00 PM until 11:00

A shot of the board I created for the event titled “Gnarly”

However, make use of your time. Here are my top 5 things for you to consider with your book.

1. I want to see a portfolio of what you’ve actually created. I don’t want to hear of all the things your work was supposed to be. I can only critique what I’m seeing and not your imaginary portfolio.

2. Know what you want to do. Be confident. Do your homework. I want to see that you’ve put some thought into your career/future. So even if your work is something that wouldn’t be a good fit for my shop I can give you advice to where you would be a qualified candidate. It’s a pretty small community and I know people in a lot of shops. Those people know a lot of other people. I’m sure if you’ve got good work, we can guide you to a good destination.

3. “I don’t know” is not an answer. Understand your work. Every part of it. If I have a question about type or color or size, give me an answer. It doesn’t matter how weird or unexpected my question might be, you should be able to provide me with an informed rationale.

4. School projects should be exceptional. This is true for both big picture ideas and consumer focused design.

You will have plenty of time to design a boring cell phone ad when you’ve got a job. But can you keep it very consumer focused, and give it character? I’m not looking for a bunch of grunge filters and drop shadows. I’m looking for subtle touches of flair what will not be noticed by the consumer but upon closer observation by your peers prove that you are a skilled designer.

If your project is a big idea with an unlimited budget, then by all means, make the execution big. Why create a bunch of 11×17 posters and a trifold brochure to support a new product/service? Think of what you’re trying to communicate and execute at a big picture level. If I’m interviewing you for a job and I’m coming up with a better execution of your idea than what you created, then you missed an opportunity to impress me. Show up with a big picture idea that leaves me thinking “wow, that was cool. I would love to put ahead an idea like that.” Make me fall in love with your execution–not mine.

5. Get real work in your book. Everyone has student work. That shows me that you can be a student. It doesn’t show me that you can be a designer.

So there you go. Get busy getting good and I’ll see you in a few months.

This year, Local Hero was invited to the Gallup Entrepreneur Acceleration System. This program is centered around the idea of finding out the strengths of your employees, and putting them in the position where those strengths can flourish. My top 5 were: Woo (win others over), Communications, Strategic, Futuristic, and Positivity.

To sum up all these in one sentence, I like to talk to people about the strategic plans for the future very enthusiastically and in such a manner that its hard for others not to get excited. Anyone that has known me much more than a couple of minutes can probably tell you that this description is about as accurate as they come. What this means for me is that the most effective activity I can do to make my hours at my job count as much as possible is to attend networking events and meet new people, all the time. That is where I thrive and get energized. Now its not realistic to be at events all the time, I still have to incorporate meetings and follow-ups in to my day but at least I know what I want to focus on majority of the time. This information is invaluable for both an individual and a business.

The good news for you is that you do not have to go through the program to find out your top strengths. You can purchase the book Strengths Finder 2.0 here and get access to the same online quiz and the same report. Its a little bit of money and a little bit of time, but knowing your strengths is well worth the dollars you put down.

Peter Morris at Me, Myself & Design 2012. Photo courtesy of AIGA Nebraska

My presentation touched on a little bit of design and music’s similar purpose. They both communicate. Design is visual communication and music communicates via sound. Both have contrast, harmony, dominance, unity, repetition and balance.

I didn’t really think much of the similarities until a few years ago when I really sat down and listened to Prince‘s “Sign O’ the Times.” At many places the album was so dark and stark. With very minimal instrumentation. But he was able to convey so much information with such audio white space. It was a lot like design, if something doesn’t add to the design, it’s probably not needed. Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet” and Nine Inch Nails‘ “Downward Spiral” were so noisy and claustrophobic. They were loud and terrifying. Again, great use of sound to convey an emotion. The noise reminded me a lot of David Carson‘s work.

One of my favorite crossovers of design and music has to be Underworld. You can see why when you consider that Underworld is based around the some of the same key members of the design agency Tomato. Great experiments in design and music. Not everything they do is a commercial success, but their ability to pull from two directions and change from visual to audio with ease has really helped build both into internationally recognized brands. It became quite obvious with the music and design on 1991′s dubnobasswithmyheadman that these guys were pioneering new ground. They’ve continued to create new and exiting work and have no signs of slowing. Truly inspiring.

Thanks to AIGA for allowing me to talk about why I enjoy creating music so much. And giving me a chance to show off a little with a sneak preview of my upcoming music project.

It tastes like Squirt but is much better. They have this rack of cd’s by the checkout and I always like to take a gander. There are a few design gems mixed in amongst the thongs and beach parties. Here are a couple that I have grown to like.

-ptw

January 1st rolled around between now and then and although I have never been a fan of new year’s resolutions, I decided to give it a try this year. I decided that I would start reading again and I set a goal of finishing a book every two weeks. So far I have read the Hunger Games trilogy and re-read From Good to Great. In short, I have not hit my goal but I am reading more than I was in 2011 which was my reason for the goal in the first place.

When I was leaving work last Monday, I knew I was going to have some free time that night so I decided that Free Prize Inside was finally going home with me. I threw it in my bag, got some dinner on the drive and opened up to page one…

*begin inspirational music here*

I don’t know why I waited so long to start this book! I have not quite finished it yet, but this thing is amazing. It is such an easy read that once I started, I was through 100 pages before I took a break to glance at the clock.

One major point that I wanted to share from it is Godin’s concept of “Soft Innovation.” To quote him, he describes it as, “…a cool twist that doesn’t cost a fortune but that transforms the way people think about your product or service.” He goes on to give the example of the frequent flier miles program that was launched by American Airlines; it didn’t change the way the company operated much but it did change the loyalty of customers. They were still flying planes the way they always did, but customers were much more loyal than before. The point is, one small idea can completely revolutionize the way customers look at a company. The most empowering concept of the book though, might be the idea that soft innovation is the responsibility of every person in a company. I will go ahead and stop with that tiny bombshell and let you discover everything else on your own.

Read this book. I still have about 110 more pages to go but I plan on finishing it before the end of this week. If the last half of the book is as good as the first, I will dive right in and not even notice the minutes flying by.

NOTE: In the picture above, the smiley stress ball does not come with the book. I just thought it would be fitting to throw a little trinket in to the picture since the title is Free Prize Inside. The toy is mine and no one can have it, sorry…

I seem to be right on track to hit my goal. Some observations from the first 20 or so issues:

• If Stan Lee’s writing of how women think is any indication of what he thinks of women I’m seriously amazed that he ever got married. Any female character in the book constantly talks about how she wants to go shopping or wonders what a hunky hero looks like without a mask. They also get kidnapped a lot and used as “bait” for the male characters.
• One of the most brilliant things Stan Lee ever did was bring Captain America back from the grave.
• The on again, off again relationship with the Hulk was pretty much a waste of time.
• Things started getting good with Zemo, but the fact that his anger with Captain America was based around his inability to remove a mask that was stuck to his face with a super adhesive is laughable. Kang was a much better villain.
• The additon of Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver really helped get a greater diversity of skills on the team.
• Wonder Man’s origin should have played a bigger role in a larger plot. While he does come back in later issues, his relationship with Tony Stark and the Grim Reaper could have had a much larger impact on readers. I feel like this was a missed opportunity (but how was Lee to know this series would last more than 12 issues anyway).
• I’ve always disliked Giant Man. Huge guy that’s strong. Hulk was strong. Thor was strong. Giant Man just takes up space. On a side note, I watched the Avengers animated series with my daughter and their portrayal of Giant Man was so much better than these stories. The animated series focused the writing on his intellect and his character and he was far more likable.
• Kirby was not at his best, but certainly good. His trademark style, big, crazy colors, characters and settings certainly was put on display. He did a great job of bringing Stan Lee’s absurd inventions to life.
• The Avengers should have payed more attention to who they admitted into their ranks. Wonder Man–villain. Quicksilver–villan. Scarlet Witch–villan. Swordsman–villan. Hawkeye–villan. Even their butler Jarvis–villan (that comes later). And while most would eventually become heros, it still sets a bad precedence.
• Longer story arcs finally gave  to shine. Kang’s reappearance in 24-26 was the first solid story of the comic.
• I really admire Marvel’s efforts to keep continuity across all their books consistant. If a storyline was important in Thor or Captain America, those characters were unavailable for the Avengers. Much different than current Marvel that is more than happy with Spiderman or Wolverine being featured in five books a month.

I’m holding out as long as I can to get through Lee’s writing. I know the stories get better (especially with the introduction of Ultron and the Vision). So it’s just a matter of time. I’ll write more as I continue my journey.

UPDATE 3/13: Just thought I would give a small update on this topic. Since I posted this on the 8th, Dollar Shave Club has increased their Facebook following to over 14,000 and their YouTube views to over 3,000,000. This is absolutely crazy.

While you’re there check out the other top albums of fellow Local Hero designer Peter Worth, 50,000 Feet designer Kyle Meyer and Mr. Jarzynka himself.

A friend turned me on to This American Life podcast. This radio show has been airing since 95′ and has over 450 shows, but I am new to the whole podcast scene so pardon my naïveté. I generally listen to music when I work but it’s refreshing to have some change once in a while. The show is hosted by Ira Glass and produced by WBEZ Chicago. Each week the show is given a theme and related stories (acts) are told by Ira and guests. The show is extremely entertaining and is produced exceptionally well. Give it a listen, after all it’s free… or you can buy the iPhone app (chock full of extras) for $2.99 but it is worth every penny.

-ptw