“Designers are the ones best situated to figure out how a kit of parts can become something more — they’re the ones who can figure out the human interface for a vast chain. If they do their job right, the result — a working ecosystem — is a far better platform for innovation than an isolated product.”

This article in Fast Company, October 2012, Why Good Design Is Finally A Bottom Line Investment explains, with the broadest brushstrokes, how much Design and Design Thinking have changed in 40 years. When IBM CEO Thomas Watson Jr. first said  in 1973 that “good design is good business”, he was still talking about skilled craft in aesthetics. He wasn’t wrong, but I think he would be gobsmacked by where design is now headed.

The innate ability that allows designers to “think outside the box” and to blend deductive and inductive reasoning with abductive reasoning (that intuitive leap of faith that designers can take), is the skill that allows design thinkers to help organizations innovate. And when I say innovate, I don’t mean tweaking the sweetener in a soda, I mean creating entirely new ideas; disruptive ideas — ideas that can, potentially, break down the wicked problems we struggle with today.

How can we turn the giant tide of consumerism around before we destroy the planet? How are we going to pay for the health care of an aging boomer bubble with a young workforce far smaller than that aging population? Or, one of my personal missions, how can we convince the BC forest industry that creating and owning businesses that use and refine the resources they harvest could actually give them far greater profit margins, create jobs and improve the lives of everyone in the province.

There will always be design, and my fondest hope is that it will only ever be great design. But I see the mental toolkit available to designers as being much more far-reaching than beautiful posters, logos and chairs. There will be a new subset in the profession that will not simply have access to the C-suite. It will drive the innovation of business. It will be a profession armed with post-graduate degrees in design as well as business administration. It will look beyond the reliable algorithms of business success to new and better ways for us to manage our planet and to live in it more happily. That’s where I want to be.

There are so many opportunities to pay little or no money for design on the internet. I would equate it to getting a great deal on a gross of chlorine pucks — but you don’t own a pool. Great deal. Not useful. You can buy a logo for $99. It might make you happy, but it’s not going to help your business that much. But, hey…it was $99! If your business is just like all of your competitors’ businesses, you can just slap up your shingle with your $99 logo and let the chips fall where they may. Doesn’t make much difference. But, if you believe your business is truly unique — that you have some competitive advantage — then your logo should reflect that. It should reflect your pride and it shouldn’t just be a picture of what you do, but a representation of your passion in doing it. When you hire a professional designer to work with, you generally get someone with a whole lot of training who asks a lot of questions rather than doing whatever you ask them to do. That’s because they are good at what they do and they respect that you are good at what you do.

Serious businesses get this. They do pay properly for design because they know how valuable it is in building their brand equity. Not all serious businesses are big businesses either. They’re just businesses in it for the long haul.

Another issue with free stuff is sustainability, and this came up in Jessica and Jon’s talk with respect to buying typefaces — or not buying them, as is often the case. A well-designed typeface takes 12-18 months to be drawn, expanded to different weights and point sizes, etc. And this process is carried out by a designer who has 4-6 years of specialized schooling. The professional type design community is small. There are no faceless multinationals making nauseating piles of money on typefaces. So, if you’re not paying anyone for it, then the designer is working for free.

Now, I didn’t go into design because I was a talent with numbers, but I’m pretty sure you can’t get by very long without an income. So, if you don’t make money at what you’re doing, you won’t be able to continue to do it. So, that means fewer type designers, fewer decent typefaces, etc. For the $25 - $150 the majority of typefaces cost, they’re often a bargain at twice the price. Not quite free, but really, really good. When you pay for typefaces, you’re supporting the ongoing development of type for the future. You’re respecting the person who makes this their life’s work. And you’re respecting your own profession by supporting others within it.

Don’t undercut. Don’t work for free. Remember that what you do has value and respect the same in others.

I had coffee with an old friend today. Jeff Burnette is a force. He has been a glass artist for I don’t know how long, but I know it’s a really long time. He has worked in production glass in Mexico and has blown glass here in Vancouver for aeons. He is an “old hand”. Jeff has done it all in the glass business. But I am captivated by his combination of youthful enthusiasm combined with the wisdom one only gains through falling down, picking yourself up and doing it all over again.

When I first met him, he was in a group called V6 near Granville Island. It was a collective of talent that had everyone’s attention, including ours. We were planning a big project for a client and needed international design and art superstars to feature in a series of books and promotions. After an exhaustive search we found them all in Vancouver —  Martha Sturdy, John Fluevog, V6 (I’ll focus on Jeff) and Niels Bendsten. The project involved books, posters, invitations, and two stunning books.

It was a smash success…We toured 14 cities in North America, showing an exquisite film we made about all four artists/designers.

I have always been fascinated by Jeff and his work since then. Jeff’s “personal” work is his ray guns. You can see more of them here. He has had innumerable shows of his work and heaps of recognition.

Jeff continues to reinvent himself with time and the shifts in the world. He is leading a team of production glass artists right now as well as working on his personal projects and commissions. His work is beautiful. He cares about it. I recommend a look!

Ray Hrynkow, CGD, FGDC

Ray Hrynkow, FGDC, husband and partner of 36 years to Casey Hrynkow, FGDC, and alumnus of Emily Carr University of Art and Design lost a ferocious 6-year battle with pancreatic cancer on March 23, 2012 at 9:35 pm.  He was just 58 years old, and had so much more living to do. He was surrounded by a huge, loving family keeping a constant vigil by his bedside.

Ray was a guiding light and father to Cassandra, Peter and Peter’s wife Kristen. He was a loving son to Peter and Tillie as well as Sheila, big brother to David, Tricia, and Savannah and his “extended sibs” Paula , Libby, Monica, Kevin and Mark. He was “little brother” to Lova, Marilyn and Janyse. He was a beloved uncle to Alana, Ryan, Josh, Max, Kandace, Matt, Chris, Donna, Emile, Aaron, Rachel, Hayley, Lachlan, Sam, Elly, Ben, Michaela, Kathryn and Jacqueline. He was a central figure in a giant extended family who loved him to distraction.

Ray was a champion for design and design education in Canada. A recipient of over 200 national and international awards for design, Ray advocated for design and its role in Canadian business and culture. He was a leader in the profession in Canada. Ray knew that Canada was greater through the work of its communication designers. He spoke and wrote frequently about design’s role in growing our economy and cultural awareness. He was principal of Herrainco Brand Strategy and Design from 1986 until his death.

Of all the descriptors used by people that knew Ray, the words “gentle” and “gentlemen” are the most common. He was incredibly passionate and uncompromising, yet soft. He loved design, but he loved people, too. He took great joy championing a young student or graduate. Many new and spectacular careers were launched from Herrainco.

Ray became a Fellow of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada in 2011 in recognition of his profound influence on the British Columbia design community. His commitment to design, best professional practices and community support were major factors contributing to the sum of the GDC as a profession and as a Society as a whole. Ray loved promoting young designers. He respected their vision. He wanted them to be better than he ever was. In honour of that love, in late 2011 he created the Ray Hrynkow Scholarship to be awarded to a third year student in a four-year design degree program. The award will go to a candidate showing great promise as a “thinking” designer — one who demonstrates an understanding of sociology and anthropology in their work.

Ray loved communication design, design in general, and burgeoning talent in the field. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Thank you: Dr. Andrzej Buczkowski, our superstar surgeon angel, for your skill and compassion and giving us 6 years we didn’t think we had; the countless critical care and other nurses of VGH for getting us through a brutal recovery, Dr. Hagen Kennecke and his staff at the BC Cancer Agency for giving us hope and time; Nurse Vivian Allie for your sweet support; Dr. Janice Wright and everyone at Inspire Health who helped us see that we had control, the chemo team at BC Cancer Agency for your compassion and care; Dr. Pippa Hawley for your practical and straightforward approach to comfort; Dr. Stephen Lam for helping Ray breathe; our pharmacy team at Shoppers Drug Mart at 5 Road and Cambie who were like caring family; and, finally, our nurse, Alexis Hodgkins, Dr. Peter Quelch and the team of Richmond Home Care Nursing for keeping us going when the going got really, really tough.

A Celebration of Ray’s Life took place on Sunday, April 1 at 2:00 pm at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. You may watch the video here.

In lieu of flowers, we would greatly appreciate donations to the newly formed Ray Hrynkow Scholarship through the GDC.

Donate online
Click “Donate” at the GDC Store and click through to make your donation. When you receive your email receipt, reply to the email (info@gdc.net) to request that your donation be applied to the GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship fund.

By mail: Send your cheque (made out to GDC, with a note that it is for the GDC Foundation, Ray Hrynkow Scholarship fund) to:

GDC
Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E2

By phone: with your credit card,
call toll free 877-496-4453

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.

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.