A nice little article from Smashing Magazine on infographics and data visualization which bears a read, especially for my students.
Smashing Magazine. October 14, 2011.
A nice little article from Smashing Magazine on infographics and data visualization which bears a read, especially for my students.
Smashing Magazine. October 14, 2011.
Here’s a quick follow up to my corresponding blog post Making Hay in a Hailstorm, written almost two years ago at the height (no, make that the craggy depths) of the horrible recession we are now seeing the other side of.
The sun is shining everybody’s busy. That means EVERYBODY. Our clients are busy. We’re busy. Our colleagues are busy. Our suppliers are busy. It’s a mad, mad rush to make up for lost time. In the last two years, we have become accustomed to contacting a colleague or supplier and getting an instant “yes, when do you want it?”. We got spoiled. And guess what? So did our clients. Now, we’re all having to be patient and plan further out.
The dark side of not spending when everyone else is not spending is that it builds pent up demand. When you finally spring the genie from the bottle, it’s like a shoe sale at Macy’s. And that is just what has happened. Everybody wants everything, right now. So, at the risk of coming across like a whiny Cassandra, I shall remind us all that bucking the trend and making hay in a hailstorm is not a bad idea.
Mark Busse, former president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, BC Chapter and principal of Industrial Brand in Vancouver has written a very clear and compelling explanation of why RFPs are a flawed process when used to procure professional design services. You can read it here. The bottom line is that design cannot be commodified. It is customized and the choice of providers runs from professionals with decades of experience to self-taught desktop publishers. How do you know the difference and what does it mean to your company? Mark’s Tips for Evaluating a Design Firm are worth republishing here:


We have worked with Ian since the 1980s. He was just a young boy starting out back then…. Ian has written much of our most notable work, all of the Bravo campaign as well as the highly successful Luna Pizza and Beer books. He’s definitely a brain worth picking.
Who are you?
Professionally, a grizzled freelance writer/producer/creative guy.
Personally, a husband, father, brother, parent wrangler, uncle and friend.
What do you do?
I write anything and everything for anyone and everyone. Discount store flyers to national multimedia campaigns. I write websites, product labels, ads, corporate positioning, TV and radio spots, annual reports, newsletters, corporate videos and weaselly micetype disclaimers. I’ve written medical manuals for colorectal procedures and funny TV spots for airlines. Because I consider myself a craftsman, no job is too small – it just needs to be fundamentally interesting. (Thus the colorectal job.)
Why do you do it?
I love the creative process, exchanging and growing ideas with others.
But mostly, I do it for money.
Where do you do it?
I had an office in Yaletown for years, but now I hang my hairpiece in White Rock.
When do you do it?
Officially, I’m at my desk by about 7 AM, Monday to Friday.
Unofficially, I’m always thinking.


Who are you?
I am an immigrant who has gone through the settlement process on more than one occasion. I was born in Paraguay, the daughter of Viennese parents who, at the time of the Anschluss in 1938, seeing the writing in the wall for the Jews there, left that centre of high culture and modernism for the jungles of Southern Paraguay. Several years later, the family moved to Buenos Aires. When I became a young adult I immigrated to and settled in Israel, drawn to the country by the strong belief of the right of the Jewish people to a land of our own, hopefully a free and secure one. My next move was to Canada, following the footsteps of my Canadian partner and our young children.
What do you do?
I work for MOSAIC, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting immigrants and refugees with their settlement and integration needs. Through a variety of programs and services, MOSAIC gives its clients the tools necessary to participate fully in Canadian society. Since its inception over 35 years ago, MOSAIC has become one of the Lower Mainland’s largest immigrant-serving organizations.
At MOSAIC, I work for the Interpretation and Translation Services. My position is Production Manager of the Translations Department. Besides holding a degree in Economics with a major in Business Management, I have an extensive background in language-based work environments, retail service and business planning. Over the last 20 years, I have worked with freelance contractors from a dizzying array of cultural backgrounds.
I am an experienced user of database, word-processing, graphics and formatting software, I also have a keen understanding of cross-platform needs and capabilities, publishing, and communications. For many years I have been serving as the webmaster of our organization and lately I have become even more deeply immersed in all aspects of Social Media and its impact on our agency.
Why do you do it?
I am a keen learner. IT and Social Media fascinate me. The rapid pace of technological advance keeps me engaged and on my toes. The salutary result is that despite the advancing years I still feel young.
Where do you do it?
I am still working at MOSAIC. MOSAIC is to me more than a place of employment. It is an organization that I respect, value and admire. MOSAIC gave me and many others like me an opportunity at a time when our lack of Canadian experience made us less than attractive in the employment market. During my earlier years here I saw the Interpretations Department bloom and explode with unprecedented success. In my capacity as the Manager of the Translations Department I observed the same thing happening again. With the hard work of our team we managed to turn two startups from volunteer outfits to viable fee for services entities, productive in their own rights and important to MOSAIC as a whole.
When do you do it?
Today I do it on a part time basis. The pressures of the managerial position I held in the past require the energy of a younger person. I enjoy the work. I am proud to be associated with an organization like MOSAIC. I could not do without the stimulus, the warmth of my contacts, and the opportunity to continue being productive.

We talk a lot about storytelling in brand communications at Herrainco. We like finding and shedding light on our clients’ stories. In a world packed to the gunwales with more choice than you could ever possibly sample, it’s the brands we love that make it. And they don’t have to be big brands. Dave Ansett of Truly Deeply, a branding firm in Melbourne, Australia wrote a lovely little piece today called The Power of Personality in Brand Communications. You can read it here. It’s a great little read and illustrates so well that any brand can be loved, Truly and Deeply!


Cari wrangles design at the ever growing and changing Emily Carr University. It’s a challenge and she bears up well.
Who are you?
I am a designer, creator, planner and adventurer. I’m an eternal student. I love the outdoors.
What do you do?
I try to have a balanced life - work inside, play outside. I race sailboats, hike, ski and travel to far-flung corners of the earth. When travel isn’t an option I explore new territories at home. Right now I’m delving into the fascinating world of stereoscopic 3D.
Why do you do it?
In my work world, I always have fun, interesting projects on the go! Emily Carr is an endless realm of opportunity. They encourage pushing creative boundaries like no studio I’ve ever worked in. I love being surrounded by raw creative talent - It’s invigorating. In life in general, I love adventure, meeting new people and exploring new territory - it’s why I’ve spent so much time travelling the globe.
Where do you do it?
Vancouver is home, though I grew up on the prairies, I don’t think I could live away from the sea now. I’m lucky to work at Granville Island - it’s teeming with artisans and craftsmen of all sorts.
When do you do it?
You’d think a university would be quieter in the summer but it’s not the case, I’m busy year-round. I save up chunks of time for when I need a breather. Last year I escaped the last of winter by jetting off to Central America for 3 weeks. Bliss!
Forgive me while I lead into this with my meandering thinking process and how I ended up on typography and semiotics.
It was the Ides of March yesterday. That led me to the coup on Caesar and his often quoted last words “Et tu, Brute?”. I drifted further to Latin and how much I remembered from the more cloistered days, before Pope Paul VI changed so much about the Catholic Church, including using Latin in Mass. Then I started seeing the words in type and realized how tightly correlated certain things are with certain typefaces. Are you still with me?
I had to get out of bed before dawn to set the Latin phrase, Pax Vobiscum or “Peace be with you”, in a couple of typefaces I thought were what I remembered and then threw in one I knew was wrong, just to see it in comparison.

I’ll leave it to you to decide which one you think looks more like the Catholic Missal, if you even know what that was (our little books we carried to Church every Sunday — and for many of us every day — that had the words to every Mass and its readings).
My drift here is that there are collective memories about things like type, a vox populi, if you will. Those memories contribute to the semiotics of type. If you look at the examples above — all serif typefaces — you can see very clear differences and, if you are part of the collective Catholic consciousness, or perhaps even other Christian faiths, only one or two of these actually look right.
And, while I’m at it, you should note that they are all set in 60 point type. Yep, they’re all the same size. So if you ever decide to tell your designer that they MUST use a certain point size because some hack told you that things must always be set in a certain size, think again. It depends on the typeface. And the typeface always tells a story.
Pax vobiscum.
Casey Hrynkow is a partner in Herrainco Brand Strategy+ Design Inc. a design firm based in Vancouver British Columbia