Daily Brad, the blog

It seems that my post about IKEA, including the Okland construction logo was quite popular with the search engines, and many of you come across it by typing “IKEA Utah” into Google. So I just wanted to share in the excitement about being the first state in the Mountain West to get one, by linking to their press release on it’s opening date (less than a month away). Here’s a snippit:

DRAPER, UT, March 6, 2007 – IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that its future Draper, UT store will open at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, May 23, 2007. IKEA Draper will be the Swedish company’s first store and restaurant destination in the Mountain West and 30th in the U.S. (In the meantime, customers can shop online at www.IKEA-USA.com, or at stores in Tempe, AZ; Covina, CA and West Sacramento, CA.)
“Due to the progress made during the fall and the snowy winter, we are confident the remaining construction milestones and interior build-up process will be complete by late May,” noted Paul Janzen, store manager of the future IKEA Draper. Janzen added, “now our primary objective is to continue hiring and training the nearly 350 Utahns who will be joining the IKEA coworker family before we open.”

After being an in-house Creative Director for two tech companies, I went independent (freelance) in late November 2006. Since then, three potential full-time job descriptions have been sent to me by former co-workers or friends in attempts to lure me back into the “official” working world. But what was curious to me, and prompted me to want to write this post, is that every single job was looking for a graphic designer who was well-versed in design AND who had was proficient in various programming languages.

Do these people exist?

I’ve always been under the notion that there is some basis for the whole right brain vs. left-brain thing. The theory states that left-brain dominant people are more logical and analytic, while those who are right brained dominant were more artistic, creative and spontaneous. It seems that most people are born with a hemisphere dominance that may or may not have anything to do with what hand they choose to write with. While I write primarily with my left hand (corresponding to the right brain), I am ambidextrous in many tasks perhaps if only by necessity.

When it comes to design, I consider myself a Graphic Design General Practitioner (to use a comparison to medicine). I’ve not specialized in anything in particular, but my skill-set crosses many different realms of design including those that move into the technical (ie. UI design) and the creative (ie. logo design). I make every effort to read and study about the latest trends in graphic design and further my skills as a graphic designer. I enhance this knowledge by picking up tid-bits from other professionals such as engineers, marketers and public relations professionals. I’m always scanning magazines, the web, television and pretty much everything for good ideas and ingenious methods of presenting messaging through pictures, colors and text. But somewhere along the way, it seems that most employers expected me to be proficient in PHP, ASP, MySQL, CSS controls and have experience in HTML, XML, Javascript and ActiveX. (Not to mention the extensive Flash knowledge that most job requirements seem to have.)

So what happened to being a really talented graphic designer?

Perhaps budgets are crunched, times are tight, and companies are seeking just “average” design from a do-it-all graphic designer. The “just get it done” approach has seemed to be pervasive in most web-based environments I’ve been a party to lately. But how much programming knowledge should a designer be expected to have? Can we get by in just understanding how to design for these mediums (programming languages) or do we need to know how to engineer them ourselves as well?

My thought today: Can you tell what’s on someone’s mind by what they’ve been bookmarking? See if you can figure out what I’ve been thinking about by looking at a dozen of my most recent bookmarks:

1. Flipper Nation
   I’m a huge fan of anything HGTV, and recently I’ve also been watching a lot of shows about Filpping Houses. I ran across this link, a parody of couple of guys who flip houses. Not only did I get a good laugh, but I also thought they did an excellent job of integrating Web 2.0 concepts into the promotion of their website. I thought if I had a chance, I might blog about some of their comical “rules to real estate” in my some-what always-neglected Utah Real Estate Blog
2. Graphic Design USA Logo Trends 2005
   Since I’ve been getting quite a few clicks on my graphic design trends category, I thought I’d do some more research and found this link. I thought it halarious what they called some types of logos such as “wicker balls”, “weaves”, and “puffies”. I’ve been noticing a lot of “transparencies” in recent design annuals and wanted to blog about it being a trend.
3. Does chocolate really give you pimples?
   No, I’m not really worried about pimples, but ran across this article in looking for interesting items for my Tweet Sweet blog about misconceptions of chocolate. I ended up blogging about Does Chocolate Spoil instead.
4. Icon Advertising Museum
   I’ve had several posts bouncing around in my head about Advertising icons or “company mascots” as I call them. I also wanted to refer Jeff Fisher to this link when I posted a response to his Michelin Man post (since he mentioned he was a fan of advertising characters), but I forgot.
5. Logo Lounge
   For $100 annually you can have access to over 41,740 logos that have been uploaded and cataloged by Logo Lounge members. Members can also upload their own logo designs and they’ll be entered in their logo competition where winners are published. It’s always nice to have logo books around when brainstorming for a new brand, but it’s even more nice to have a logo book with my logo inside. (Jeff Fisher is my hero when it comes to getting published)
6. doba.com - Education Page
   After running across their co-founder’s blog, AND seeing a couple billboards saying “need products to sell”, AND finding a product that was on their website that would work great for Therty Brand, I decided I should probably learn more. Doba provides product sourcing services for small businesses and entrepreneurs, in case you were wondering.
7. The Gardo House: A History of the Mansion and Its Occupants
   In a random search for historical houses of Salt Lake City, I found one who’s appearance intreaged me, and I wanted to know more about it. Starting with my search of “Amelia’s Palace”, I ended up finding this link. I was sad to find out that this amazing piece of architecture originally built for Brigham Young was torn down in 1921. But what an amazing history - well worth the read.
8. The Portland Business Journal - The Oscar goes to…
   After visiting a Moonstruck Cafe in Portland Oregon and blogging about their amazing chocolates, I tried to figure out if their familiar logo had won awards. I learned that it was purchased by Sally and Dave Bany, former executives for Columbia Sportsware company, in 2001. They took their experience and applied it to chocolate with the intentions of positioning it to grow into a national, premium chocolate brand.
9. Feedburner
   What in the world is Feedburner and why have I been running across it so much lately? It looks like something I should learn more about, so I bookmarked it. Do you use it? Perhaps you could fill me in.
10. is this your name?
    A bit of a goofy site that allows you to enter your name and see various stats about it. Since I recently discovered that I’m an egosurfer, this site really appealed to me.
11. seomoz.org - Long List of Link Searches
    I scanned this article about SEO inside information, and bookmarked it to come back for later. As a website designer, I’m always interested in expanding my arsenal of information about SEO.
12. Ironic Sans - Idea: Pre-pixelated clothes for Reality TV shows
    Have you ever watched reality television and saw someone that was wearing a t-shirt with a pixelated logo? Here’s the idea for David’s pre-pixelated line of clothing. I found some of the comments prett comical.

Since this is my last post before the Christmas Holidays, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Christmas!

Dock Porn

Originally uploaded by The Iconfactory.

So I was browsing the blog of my favorite icon geniuses, the iconfactory, and ran across a posting that read

Our Chief Typist, quite by accident, discovered that the icons in his dock spelled out ”$eXy” and wondered what other words he could make from all the various app icons on his HD.

so I went over and checked out the flickr page they created to add more of these little jewels. There’s only 20 there right now, but you’re welcome to add your own.

I’ve never been much of a gadget person, nor have I been one who likes to chat, but for goodness sakes it’s nice to hear that I’m not alone. In a recent survey of 1,013 adults and 500 teens conducted online by Knowledge Networks from Nov. 30-Dec. 4., it was discovered that teens use Instant Message or “IM” twice as much as adults.

(more…)

So you know you’ve got a little bit of perfectionism in you when something like this bugs you. But no matter how I try to find the time to fix it, it just isn’t high on the list on priorities. So I thought I’d take a picture and see if anyone felt heavenly about their cord situation as well.

Welcome to Cord Heaven:

Believe it or not, I use to have this all organized with my previous desk. I had purchased a cord trunking cage from IKEA that screwed to the bottom of my desk and held everything in place. I only had a problem once which resulted in a massive shut off as a result of my organization (my dog bumped the trunk cage, an adapter smashed the “off” switch for the surge protector and everything turned off in an instant).

But the cable trunking cage doesn’t work on my new desk - a big fancy drawer and cabinet paradise that says “I must be a professional now”. I even have a dedicated cabinet for my CPU, but my cords aren’t long enough to reach the monitor from it. So it sits on the floor where I kick it a couple times a day.

Does anyone else have a little cord heaven in their home or office? I’d love to see a picture. (send to imcre8tive[at]yahoo.com) or send me the flickr link. If I get enough pictures, I’ll make a blog post - and the winner will get a cord trunking cage from IKEA! All wrapped up for the holidays. This handy little item will be yours. (Design and Quality of IKEA of Sweden, Made in People’s Republic of China).

Oh and suggestions to fix this are welcome (but of course).

I recieved a letter in the mail today from Sprint (or looked like it was from Sprint with the logo, colors and all - I’m always the skeptic of scams) that offered to buy my phone back. Since I recently switched from Sprint to Verizon Wireless (Sprint’s coverage SUCKS in the Western U.S. even though they have great clarity and fewer dropped calls, while Verizon’s service has tons of coverage but lots of dropped calls and shotty reception) my old phone was just sitting around in a pile of stuff to take to Good Will.

The letter says “Your Equipment Has Changed”, and they’d offer me $25 for my old phone. Include a postage paid envelope and says that cosmetic damage is alright. Some of my first thoughts included “is this really from Sprint?” and “what about personal information that is stored on the phone?” and “Why in the world would they want my old phone?”

So I figured I didn’t care about the info on the phone - probably just a few numbers for this person or that, and even if it wasn’t from Sprint - the shipping was free. And I visited the Sprint Website, and they really do have a buyback offer where they answer all the reasons to give back:

Why should you donate your used wireless phone to Sprint Project Connect?

• It’s great to be green. Donating your phone helps to protect our environment. Handsets are refurbished and resold or recycled to create other useful products like automotive bumpers or battery packs.
• It clears out your clutter. It’s one more reason to clean out your junk drawer.
• It turns trash into treasure. Donating your old wireless phone will help raise funds to support K-12 education programs.
• It’s easy. Print a free, postage-paid shipping label and mail us your phone.

In these days where never-ending (seemingly disposable) small electronic devices are filling up our landfills as we lust after the latest and greatest gadget, it’s nice to see that someone cares where our old gadget goes. Kudos to Sprint! (Now only if they’d increase their coverage area!)

I ran across one of my old sketch books that I filled up with ideas and daily sketches, and noticed a couple quotes that I had written in the front. These are some of my favorite quotes about life, creativity, and design. Enjoy!

Carve and Paint LIFE!

“It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look. To affect the quality of the day–that is the highest of arts.”

Henry David Thoreau

Understanding the Human Experience = Good Design

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experience they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences that other people.

“Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design he/she will have.”

Steve Jobs
Co-Founder, Apple Computers
Wired Magazine, Feb 1996, pg 163

Jumpstart Your Creativity

“In a study that compared creative people who burn out versus those who continue creating, the chief difference was that the latter were constantly exposing themselves to new knowledge or techniques - in effect, giving them a fresh start.”

Mens Journal
August 1995, pg 86

And this one, that no matter how many times I read it, always makes me laugh:

The Yellow Bedroom?

“I had a special yellow bedroom at Graceland with a fur bed, and I had to climb up steps to get into it. Even the steps were covered in fur. Black and white fur. Totally wrong, in that yellow room, It’s gaudy.”

Lisa Marie Presley

I commute to work - many of us do it, and many of us do it in Utah. We daily get to drive up and down the singular artery that is I-15. Well tonight, on my way home, I had a big jacked-up truck weaving and swerving around me trying to get one or two car-lengths in front of me in the heavy traffic. And then an idea/question came to my mind:

Would Web 2.0 work on idiot drivers?
Now many of us take advantage of Web 2.0 features through feedback and comments on our favorite restaurant or place of travel. We count on the masses of people to make our online experience better for us. (One of the definitions used for Web 2.0) But what about driving? Could these comment and feedback features improve our daily commutes?

What if you could go online to the DMV and log the license plate number of that guy that cut you off, or was speeding far above the speed limit? What if the UHP (Utah Highway Patrol) could use this information as part of someone’s record in determining if they would get a citation or just a warning? Now that’s where the collective would have more power.

Where else do Web 2.0 features integrate into real life?

So I come home tonight and visit my mailbox. What do I find under my 1 letter, and 1 bill? That’s right, a stack of junk mail. “Have you seen me?” shows a face of a missing child on one side of the card, sponsored by a happy steam cleaner pictured on the back. Attention Ladies! Yells a bright pink flyer that calls me Contours Express to get my thighs whipped into shape. Lower in the stack is typical fare from Capital One with a big stamped “CONFIRMED OFFER” on the front. (I guess better than their most recent ones which told me “DO NOT DISCARD” in giant letters) And what’s next? You got it, my weekly supply of newspaper-based ads that I never read, that should come in the newspaper I don’t wish to describe to. (Including pizza offers I get when I call, and deals I’ll get if I decided to come in the store).

Thank goodness the city I live in recycles, because my recycle bin fills up very fast nearly entirely with crap direct mail. Where in the world is the spam filter for my mailbox? But that’s not my point. There’s this little voice inside my head that as a graphic designer says, “why are you throwing this away?” What is this voice you say? It’s the voice of someone learning from user experience.

How many of you have had to design something that you knew was unappealing? How many times have you had to make the logo bigger because the boss said so? I remember one of my first task as an intern for Salt Lake Magazine was to design a postage-paid reply card. You know the one - those pesky little pieces of paper they blow-into every 50th page that fall out when you read them in the airport. I remember laughing to myself when designing it - “I hate these things” I thought. But still, as an intern, I designed the best damn postage-paid reply card possible. It even felt worthy to put in my portfolio at the time.

I remember at one of the first businesses I started, we sent direct mail to stir up new business. The piece I designed was great fun, and yet it got pretty typical direct response numbers (even with a poor mailing list). And yet, I was proud of the design. When I first launched the Brad McCall, designer brand, I sent direct mail to introduce my new status as a freelancer and to show my new portfolio website. It was wildly successful by direct mail standards, and also a fun experience.

So we’ve all had to design it, and perhaps we’ll have to design much more. So I guess it’s all up to us to learn from those who try to sell something to us. What makes one piece appealing (Nissan sent me a GREAT one, as well as Infinity), and another trash? Understanding your own user experience with direct mail will help you design those pesky little projects that don’t seem so appealing.