I love the Papervision logo

CarSketch2.jpg 600×370 pixels (via ffffound)

We had a fantastic time tonight as Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo” performance tonight. The shows are always so amazing from an acrobatic standpoint, but tonight I was really captured by their showmanship. They are just brilliant at keeping the audience engaged through the entire show. In one act, a lot of fake snow had built up on the stage which needed to be swept up before the next act could come on. Instead of dimming the lights, or making the audience sit through two passes of floor brooms, they made a whole skit out of it–complete with rubber chickens falling from the sky to the stage (thus affording them another “free pass” at the fake snow). These guys are masters at engaging performances and we would all do well to take a cue from their brilliance.

So, you know that scene in “The Price is Right” where someone wins a brand new Ford Festiva and they go bonkers? Well…Chloe’s 4th Birthday Party from david conrad on Vimeo.

2/1/08

Chloe: Maybe if we have a boy baby we should name him Eny.
Kerri: Eny? Where did you hear that name?
Chloe: I just made it up. Isn’t it nice? I’m sure daddy will want our baby to be named Eny. I really hope we get twins.
Kerri: Twins would be a lot of work.
Chloe: Yeah. And we only have one crib. That’s a problem.
Kerri: And we would need two car seats.
Chloe: Maybe when we go out the dogs can baby sit them.
Kerri: That’s not how it works, the baby is going to stay with us all the time.
Chloe: I know, we can get another car seat from Target. I solved the problem! Lets get twins okay?

2/2/08

Things Chloe Loves…
Pancakes
Cupcakes
Chocolate cake
Cookies
Candy
Ice cream
The color pink

2/12/08

Chloe and Ava fight over whose turn it is to put an imaginary CD into an imaginary CD player. I end up having to take “it” away.

2/13/08

Kerri: So are you guys going to be good and work out all your problems
Chloe: Yes, if there is a problem I’ll say, “Me first and then you.”

2/18/08

Chloe: Hey mom, that neighbor of ours is looking a lot older.
Kerri: Yes, I think so too.
Chloe: Maybe she had a lot of birthdays. Like everyday, day after day after day.

2/19/08

Chloe: That lady and her girl are African American.
Ginny: Yes, they are.
Chloe: And Ava is a little African American too.
Ginny: No, Ava is Asian.
Ava: Yes, I’m Asian.
Chloe: And you’re a little bit African American.
Ginny: Well, no.
Chloe: Well, just a little bit?

2/22/08

Chloe talking to random Grandma at park with her Granddaughter…
Chloe: Excuse me. My Grandmas and my Grandpas are going to come to my birthday.
Random Grandma makes no comment.
Chloe: I just asked them when we went to Colorado and they said yes.
Random Grandma makes no comment.
Chloe: Isn’t that exciting?
Still no comment from Random Grandma.
Chloe: It is. It is exciting.
Pause
Chloe: My aunt Kimbo can’t come to my birthday. She’s going to Hawaii. I think she will mail me a present.

3/11/08

Kerri: Uh oh.
Chloe: What?
Kerri: Oh, the alarm is going off, it’s time to wake up.
Chloe: The alarm? Oh no, call 911!

3/15/08

Chloe trying on hand me down shoes that are too big
Chloe: Let’s see if they fit.
Kerri: Not quite, they are still a bit big.
Chloe: I’ll be right back.
Chloe returning: Now lets see if they fit.
Kerri: They are just a little too big.
Chloe: I’ll go eat another cheese puff and then measure again.
Kerri: Honey, food gives you energy and helps keep your body healthy but it’s not going to help you grow that fast.
Chloe: I’ll be right back, I’m going to go eat another cheese puff!

3/17/08

Kerri: Why are you chewing on your feet? Do we need to cut your toenails?
Chloe: No, I can bite them off, I’m really strong like that.

3/26/08

Chloe: Please! Please! Please Mama. I really want to! If a daughter wants something then the mama should do it. That’s the rule. You should say, ‘Absolutely!’ Mama.

4/5/08

Chloe: I’m not going to ever get married.
Me: Really, why not?
Chloe: I was thinking I’ll just stay here and live with you guys when I’m a grown up.

Sleep - Finally, originally uploaded by mdconrad.

after a 2 hour bout over bedtime, Chloe finally resolved herself to turning the light on, picking a book, and reading herself to sleep. This is how we found her when we came to be a few hours later. Now, HOW can you be mad at that?!

It’s so great to see people getting passionate and excited (in a positive way) about politics.

We received some information about a possible referral on our adoption process that we are starting to follow up on, somewhat cautiously as it is slightly outside of our pre-defined range of comfort, but no so far that we want to pass. It still feels like a terribly distant possibility and that makes it hard to simultaneously prepare for change and disappointment at once.

It certainly all comes to a head very quickly when there’s a chance of a match and I begin to realize the significance of what we’ve all signed up for in a very different way. That said, I sure hope it works out for us…

Over the many years I have worked as a designers I have had the fortune to come into contact with a lot of other designers’ processes. The thing about design and process is that, no matter how hard you try and streamline it, patten it, and make it efficient, it still boils down to what works for an individual person.

While we are a small studio at Design Commission, I’m constantly intrigued by how each designer in the studio has a very independent way of getting at the answer. I’ve noticed that some of the less-experienced designers are much more reliant on a process that comes as a result of formal education. It’s a lot more structured, which totally makes sense. It’s something that can be incorporated into a syllabus and replicated across a lot of students.

As designers begin to age and gain real-world experience, their approach seems to become more organic. Their tool sets shift to ones that work best for them. My business partner, Jay, can sit down in front of a blank Photoshop document and, in a matter of an hour or two, assemble what ultimately becomes a finished design–all without a potty break. That is what a good design process is capable of.

I find that I tend to float around a lot more from application to application to pen-and-paper and back to application. I’m a lot more interested in looking at other work samples or resources while, Jay, for comparison’s sake, seems to accumulate those points within his mind over time and pulls them out when needed.

The point of this all is to say that, as a design manager of sorts, there’s a great deal of importance on the balance between managing for efficiency and allowing each individual designer the time and space they need to apply their own process. This knowledge must come from time and experience with a group of people. It is just impossible for a designer to sit down at the start of a project and describe, in detail, the steps they will take to achieve success. Managers of the design process need to be aware of this and sensitive to its impact.

This awareness translates to a number of things but, ultimately, it’s about building room into the flow of a project, as well as the environment of the studio, so that each designer can work to their greatest potential. It is not the role of management to dictate these tools or the process by which they are used, but rather to establish a clear need and a desired outcome and then provide for the team as they need.

Design projects at our studio usually begin with a kick-of meeting of sorts, where the designer(s), developer(s), an account manager (usually myself) and the client all get together and talk. We discuss everything from the mundane scheduling details to conceptual frameworks and themes for the project.These meetings have a lot of purposes and, as much as I feel meetings can be a giant time suck, these ones usually tend to be pretty valuable. I use the word valuable instead of productive here because I don’t think there’s a lot of work accomplished during the meeting. What does happen in these meetings is a mixture of many intangible benefits.

To start off with, at a very basic level the kick-off ensures that we all understand the nature of the project in the same way. The problem with having dedicated project managers (PM) or account managers (AM) involved in design projects is that while the intermediary service they provide can reduce distraction for the rest of the team, the additional layer of communication they add often translates to miscommunications. It’s the child-hood game of Telephone all over agin. Many times, this miscommunication is at the onset of the project as goals, objectives, features and functionality are all being established in the name of defining a scope of work and budget. It’s impossible to involve the entire team in this process, especially if you plan on making any money on the project and a good PM will leave enough room in the project definition that things can shift a bit without jeopardizing its success. So, getting everyone together in the same room to talk about what’s been decided on is a little back-ass-wards, granted, but a reality of the process.

Secondly, these meetings establish a lot of the social dynamics of the project. Designer’s can see and hear the client and pick-up on nuances of the client. This helps everyone come to a better understanding of how we describe problems, relate issues or give praise. Also, if two team members are just not going to be compatible you can usually tell right-off-the-bat. If it’s tough to tell, they can probably work it out, but the few times I’ve been involved in project where two team members just didn’t see eye-to-eye it was pretty obvious from that first interaction. It then becomes the responsibility of the studio to reconfigure as need.

Finally, the kick-off meeting is a unique and valuable time to build enthusiasm for the project. Usually, these meetings are taking place right after contracts have been negotiated and signed. Money’s been discussed and often concessions have been made by both sides and so people are coming into the meeting with some minor battle scars. This hour or two meeting provides team members a great chance to heal the wounds and get everyone amped about the work ahead.This is, of course, easier said than done. It is, after all, work and no matter what designers entrpreneurs will tell you, they would rather be laying on the beach in Hawaii. But, by talking about potential and opportunity in the meeting, everyone has the chance to feel like they have contributed (important) and that there’s something to look forward to (again, important).In addition to these higher-level objectives for a successful kick-off, there are few best practices I’ve found:

1. Get everyone prepped. The odds of something going wrong during the meeting are greatly reduced if everyone knows how the project has been defined before hand.
2. Take lots and lots of notes. Write down everything–what was said, who said it, how it was responded too. So much of what will happen down the road will be dependent on this meeting and making sure it’s all documented will save you hours of pain.
3. Get those notes transcribed ASAP when the meeting is over. Wait an hour and you’ll forget 5% of what was said. Wait a day and you’ll forget 80%. Wait two days and you won’t bother transcribing at all. It may seem a little over-kill to walk out of a meeting and immediately start to transcribe those notes, but you’ll be hating it if you don’t.
4. Let designers be Designers. Designers are great at creating appropriate and focused experiences, but their real value in many situations is understanding a problem and finding a way to communicate it. Often times, people in the meetings walk in with pre-conceived notions of what this “thing” is going to be. As long as the designers are informed, they can provide recommendations to enhance the experience at a very high-level that will pay-off ten-fold.