hazel

The Fringe Benefits of Quitting from Liz Danzico’s talk at Webstock 2014

The principle of affordable loss: So long as the loss is tolerable, keep going.

“In entrepreneurship, in side projects, in relationships, don’t be guided by the thought of how awesome the rewards might be if you were astoundingly successful at any given next step. Instead ask how big the loss would be if you failed. As long as it’s enjoyable, or even just tolerable, then keep going, take the next step then see what happens.”

Made with Code is an initiative launched by Google to champion creativity, girls, and code.

The movement is designed to do three things: To inspire girls by celebrating women and girls who are using code to do great things; to engage girls to try coding through introductory projects and resources; and to sustain their interest by creating alliances and community around girls and coding.

Google is also collaborating with Code School to allow thousands of women and minorities everywhere to expand their skills. Through this online application you can get a free 3-month subscription to Code School. This opportunity is available to all traditionally underrepresented groups in technology (including, but not limited to, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, persons with disabilities, women and veterans).

When I want to find out more about my own work, I ask a question. When someone asks me to look at their work, I ask a question. It’s a silly thing to say, but it took me years to do that.

It’s silly because it’s probably obvious to you, or to anyone who’s thought about it for a moment: If you want to get a better understanding of something, asking a question is infinitely more useful than making a statement.

It took me years to get there because I fell into the same trap many young designers do when in a critique—I tried to participate by offering answers.

Answers are appealing, of course, as is the idea of a charismatic leader who has pockets full of them. But of all the work I’ve done, the projects I consider most successful were accomplished by teamwork. Answers shouldn’t come from one single person, no matter how skilled they may be. Instead, they come as a result of discussion among peers.

Here was a fun DIY project I helped out with at Auggie back in November 2013. Robot March is one of their more popular prints, so we thought it would be cool to let kids print and color in their own robot creations. My sister, mariahmakes did an awesome job with a set of her own, so we did a mini photoshoot on her desk (using a folded yellow duo-tang as a backdrop). Filing this under "things I do at work that don't feel like work."

A few days ago, I launched this website for Alexandra Votsis, a Toronto fashion photographer currently studying and working in Florence. Much of the focus was in making it easy for her to upload, edit, and organize the photos herself, as well as creating a layout that presented them in a way that worked on most mobile devices. 

Since you guys liked it so much, I made my little drawing into desktop/mobile wallpapers in a few fun colors! Y'know, just for those days you need to remind yourself that you're great. From the wise words of ~Arabelle~

♡ DOWNLOAD ♡

“DIY is DESIGN IT YOURSELF. It's absolutely NO FEAR. If you can't fucking do it, LEARN HOW. You have to go out there and make it happen. You have to bullshit your way to any situation you can. If you don't know how to design a house, it doesn't matter. You know what to do. It's inside of you.”

A little something I made for a design challenge at school. It probably would've been quicker to use a pre-made geometric font but it would never have been as fun to make.

By Michele Brautnick on April 15, 2011

For the past few weeks I’ve been tidying up my office at the end of every day just in case I don’t come back for another 10 weeks. Some might call it nesting. I call it being considerate of my colleagues who might need to sift through my things while I’m away on maternity leave.

During one of these nightly purges I ran across a “keepsake”– a 15-year old copy of a destroyed, then restored, Post-it note from one of my college professors. Destroyed out of anger and likely embarrassment, then restored after I realized, “Shit. She might be right.”

This tough-love note has tagged along with me from job to job, and has lived on my bookshelves for the last 11 years at Peopledesign. And whenever we have an office-cleaning day I find it, read it, make a fresh copy, and tuck it back into my keeper file. And then I quietly say thanks to that professor who didn’t worry about hurting my feelings.

Shortly after the most recent unearthing of the “keepsake”, this HOW article was yammered by Gina, along with the following comment: “Will someone write a better ‘Things Young Designer’s Need to Know.’ I’m sick of seeing things like ‘make mistakes’ and ‘be yourself’. What about, ‘there is such a thing as bad rags’.”

I happen to agree with much of what the folks at id29 have written. But if I read between the lines of Gina’s comment, what I’m really hearing is the desire for a give-it-to-me straight approach to mentoring. And given my attachment to a raggedy college-era Post-it note, it seems obvious that I agree with her. This can be an effective method. So I’ve asked for help from the rest of my Peopledesign cronies to create our own list of words-to-the-wise. After all, they’re the ones that have taken their time to nudge, shape, and lovingly bully me into being a better designer, so who better to ask? Here goes:

Forget about what you did at school. It doesn’t matter.

Come up with great ideas and learn how to realize them.

Attitude is everything.

Get out of your own way.

Exist to make your employers’ lives easier, not harder.

Don’t be ruled by the grid. (See #12. I never said we always agree.)

Always sketch the boss’s idea first before moving onto your own.

Great projects won’t be handed to you – make your projects great.

Every project is an opportunity to learn something.

Stay fresh – if you’re on auto pilot, get into another field (you’ll be happier).

Learn what it was like to design not using a computer.

Learning to use grids effectively can make your life easier and your design better.

Art may be your muse, but business is your friend.

Don’t try to be original, try to be really great.

Make friends with copywriters.

Be punctual.

If you have free time ask if there’s something you could be helping with. If there isn’t anything, clean.

Don’t rule out an idea without trying it first.

Don’t edit your sketches before reviewing with your design lead. Edit together.

Work is not personal.

Art is personal expression. Design is solving business problems.

Anticipate next steps.

You don’t know it all, so don’t pretend to. Truth is, we don’t know it all either.

Admit your weaknesses. But being a team-player better not be one of them.

Be comfortable being part of a support system. Prove your worth and you’ll be recognized for your contributions and awarded with more responsibility.

Be reliable.

Have an opinion. And be open to other people’s opinions.

Explore, explore, explore. Edit later.

Practice articulating your thoughts. If the execution is weak, a good idea could be cut if you’re unable to explain your approach.

Earlier this year I was tasked with overhauling the website for The Newspaper which is run by students at the University of Toronto. While their developer hasn't finished with it yet, you can now take a peek at how it's progressing.

Designing content-heavy sites is always tough. How do you present lots of information without cluttering up the page? This was the question I kept in mind throughout the months I worked on each revision of the site.