A design call to arms

UPDATE: Based on the response I've received today, I've launched DesignCallToArms.com to organize like-minded designers in creating highly shareable content about gun violence in America.

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Last night, I listened to the president talk after yet another mass shooting in a school in America. He issued a call to arms to the American people to DO SOMETHING about the continued gun violence and mass shootings because he can't do it alone. We can't sit idly by while one group of Americans defends their rights to carry guns, while NO ONE defends the rights of the countless victims. As I listened to the reports and watched the reactions of my friends on social media, my friend Kari said something that really hit home:

You know, I appreciate that you have a right to have a gun. But what about MY right to not get gunned down in a movie theater? What about my nephew's right to go to school without fear of being shot? Why are the rights of those who don't want to live in fear of some trigger happy maniac somehow discounted against the almighty gun lobby?

The president called on the media to showcase to the American public the scale of this continuing national tragedy. And for a few hours I was hopeful until I saw reports like this from Vox trickle in. Their heart was in the right place, the statistics were correct, but the designer in me looked at that "chart" and gasped. This is NOT the right format to showcase the scale of these numbers. And it hit me... I can help.

I'd like to issue a design call to arms to all my fellow designers... please help me showcase the scale of the problem. Bring the numbers to life in anyway possible to showcase to all Americans how much they need to get involved and ensure that their voice is being expressed through their elected officials. President Obama was right last night, we won't ever stop this violence unless all Americans; liberals, conservatives, independents, responsible gun owners, et al. speak up.

DesignCallToArms.com

So please, help me take the statistics available to us and make them VISIBLE. I'm gathering all the statistics and news articles I can find that showcase the supposed "scale" of the ongoing cycle of violence. I'll continue to amend this post and add every trustworthy source I can to help us report the numbers in a visually engaging way.

Sources & Statistics:
U.S. Dept of Justice - Firearm Violence Report 1993-2011

Bureau of Justice Statistics

The Reinvention of Normal

"... and just doing things, even if they are completely ridiculous sometimes. So what, let's do the ridiculous. And by doing the ridiculous something else might come of it."

Taking it to extremes

Sometimes a little extra effort can go a long way. I rather like when designers unnecessarily take things to extremes. It shows a level of passion and dedication to their craft.

Case in point:

Fairgoods is giving away a free font by Laura Worthington called Milkshake. Rather than some easy "the lazy fox jumped over..." poster, they created this:

From iPhone to vector in 20 seconds?

Apparently I haven't been paying a lot of attention when Adobe's Creative Cloud forces me to upgrade and provides me with new apps and features. Wow, I am impressed with the new mobile version of creative cloud (said with NO irony). Above is a quick example I created of Adobe Shape CC... using any photo on your iphone or ipad you can trace and create editable vector graphics that you access *IN* Illustrator or Photoshop. For the first time I am starting to see the potential to design/work on mobile devices and feel like my devices can now feed into my regular desktop workflow.

And Shape CC is just the tip of the iceberg. Time to install a few more of these new mobile Creative Cloud apps and get to work...

#lovemyjob

It's been nearly a year since I hung out my own shingle and walked away from the agency I helped to build. There isn't a single day that I regret that decision. In fact I wish I'd had the heart to make the jump sooner.

As I read this article on Medium today from Liz Taylor I stopped to ponder how many unhappy people I've encountered in the creative world over the past 20 years. The complainers and Debbie Downers *are* the ones who kill our creative brain cells. I don't want to say that I wholly associate that kind of attitude with "agency life" but part of me hasn't been able to separate the toxic or negative people I've encountered yet from the physical places.

“We concept. We imagine. We build. We laugh.

We read. We write. We draw. We tinker.

We discuss movies, books, music, art, technology.

We work with directors, developers, artists, designers, photographers.

We travel to pretty amazing places and stay in posh hotels.

We. Get. Paid. To. Do. This.

A client recently started a meeting by telling us, his agency team, that we were the highlight of his day. I don’t know about any of you but that makes me happy.”

— Liz Taylor

Either way if you are a creative or just want to understand how we work, this is a great article on how we should stay positive and reflect on just how lucky we are to make those dreams of paste eating kids into employment.

Magic Hour

Succulants sucking the life from a discarded collander on the side of a junk pile.

Sometimes a weekend in a new place with a camera in hand leads to some creative inspiration for the week ahead. Around 6pm on Saturday evening I was sitting in the shade under a tree enjoying the fresh air and breeze when I looked up and the light had changed. It became the magic hour, the time of day the light takes on just the right warmth and strength to make the world seem a'glow through the camera lens and cast perfect shadows. The light was dancing.

When the light comes, you've got to be prepared to take advantage of it.

Love What You Do.

It's a fantastic feeling to work on projects that are inspiring, fun and creative. I wouldn't trade my craft for anything right now. It feels a bit braggy but it's been many years since I've felt as creatively fulfilled as I have over the past few months.

It's worth jumping off a cliff to follow your passion.