On this date ten years ago, I reflected on the first decade of my career as a designer, a professional milestone not unlike reaching a scenic overlook on a steep mountain climb or a mile marker on a rocky long-distance trek. As I looked back over the years and wrote each lesson, I conjured up …
Tag: design
Design’s Dueling Dualities
Design is in a continuous state of flux. The more design evolves, the wider the pendulum swings between polarities: tradition versus modernity, old-school versus cutting-edge, slow-and-steady versus quick-and-dirty. So much design chatter today is like a perpetual tug-of-war, with fierce advocates, clever arguments, and strong emotions on both sides. The dualities below have become all-too-familiar. Some are in direct opposition, while …
Revisiting My Undergrad Honors Thesis
In April of 1999, after about a year and a half of research, writing, and designing, I defended my undergraduate Honors thesis on information design. Eighteen years have passed, and I’m finally sharing it publicly. But my story here isn’t about the content or the details (see the PDF below). It’s about the experience and the lessons …
Mirror, M1rr0r
Data visualization is no longer news. We’re well past talking about the “tsunami of data crashing upon our shores” and the staggering zettabytes and yottabytes of data we’re capable of generating. Everybody knows we’re visual creatures and that visualizations are like an express lane for information to get into our heads. We get it. There is no longer the need for …
Make Crappy Drawings
I am a slow thinker, so I need to draw to make sure I am keeping track of everything. I draw to see what’s in my head and what people tell me, so more often than not, I’m drawing in a meeting at the flipchart or whiteboard, during a conversation, or at least once or …
A Life Less Designed
“What the hell am I doing?” I ask myself on a Sunday morning, half-covered in grass clippings. The weather is warm and immaculate, ideal for a hike or picnic or lazy stroll through town. Instead, here I am clutching my Sears Craftsman line trimmer, dutifully mowing my overgrown lawn. There are blisters forming on my rawhide-gloved …