In need of advice? Just want to sound off? Opening this volume is like grabbing lunch with a fellow designer to commiserate or celebrate and to learn the ins and outs of design. Good habits are found in every part of the design process, from promoting yourself well in order to land the client, to working with that client, to achieving the desired results on press.
365 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers reveals solutions from a wide range of freelance designers whose years of experience have helped them find not only the most creative solutions for their clients' design needs, but also the most successful solutions. With a rich compilation of material from previous publications by the authors, this book also focuses on the daily habits that inspire these designers to stay creative and business strategies to be successful when working on your own.
In its pages, noteworthy designers, both past and present, working in fields ranging from graphic design, fashion, architecture, typography, and industrial design sound off on every topic, ranging from deadlines, inspiration, competition, rules, respect, education, and handling criticism-all with a certain amount of irreverence. Their thoughts are boiled down into succinct, quotable quotes and one-liners that exemplify their character and demonstrate their philosophy on the world around them. Enjoy reading thought bites from everyone from Art Chantry, Margo Chase, Ed Fella, John C. Jay, Hideki Nakajima, Stefan Sagmeister, and Rudy VanderLans. The insights of these top designers will help guide other designers in both approach and execution of designs that succeed for their clients.
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Steve Gordon Jr. has experience ranging from Fortune 1000 in-house design at internationally recognized Fortune 1000 companies, agency, and studio work to work as an independent designer and creative consultant. He frequently lectures on how small studios/freelance designers can stay competitive in the design field at conferences such as the HOW Conference.
Joshua Berger is a founder and creative director of Plazm. Berger received the Gold Medal at the Leipzig Bookfair for his collaboration with John C. Jay on the book Soul of the Game. His most recent projects include the art direction and design of ESPN's Ultimate Highlight Reel and development of the web site www.anti-war.us, dedicated to distribution of anti-war graphics to activists globally.
Laurel Saville is a freelance writer whose essays, feature pieces, and short stories have been featured in Step Inside Design magazine, House Beautiful Home Remodeling, and Decorating, Seven Days, and Ellipses. She lives in Albany, New York. www.laurelsaville.com
Sarah Dougher is a composer, writer, musician and educator living in Portland, Oregon. Sarah teaches at Portland State University in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies department, and her academic interests focus around gender and popular music, and issues related to homeless youth and food security.
John C. Jay rarely participates in design conferences in Japan; rather, he concentrates his professional development on speaking with small groups or doing internal presentations for clients. In addition, he works with Illustration magazine to develop and encourage young talent. “I’m very involved with them in encouraging young artists... They did a call for entries for young artists in Japan. I wrote a brief, and the first thing they said to me was, ‘Your client is Nike—why don’t you do something like designing a new sneaker, a new Nike shoe?’ I’m not here to train them for a career; I’m here to motivate them to think about the world in a way that perhaps they haven’t before. One of the outlets is self-expression—to answer the question, why be an artist? And so I said in my brief, ‘God—whichever one you believe in—has given us the ability to have emotions and to express those emotions. You have been blessed with another ability, which is a physical ability of some kind of artistic skill with which to express ideas. Express to me the most powerful emotion that you are feeling at the moment. Don’t make it about trendiness and style. Don’t worry if it is a cool technique. Don’t worry about whether it is something that your teacher or employer said you couldn’t do. Don’t worry if it is a thing that doesn’t sell. Just forget all that and express the most powerful emotion in your body right now.’”
For the special competition, “expressing your emotions,” the magazine received more than 500 entries. Jay spent hours looking through and judging them; he then made a presentation of the 15 that he chose, and they were featured in the magazine. Hiroyuki Yoda, whose work is featured here, was chosen by Jay as the first place winner. This contribution to the creative lives of the young artists of Japan is essential to the work Jay performs as a creative director. Through this project, he networks with a publication and lends his talents to their creative direction. He also stays in touch with Japan’s nascent emerging talent.
Laurel Saville is an award-winning author of numerous books, articles, essays, and short fiction. Her work has appeared in the LA Times Magazine, The Bark, NYTimes.com, The Bennington Review, Ellipses, House Beautiful, POL/Oxygen, Room, Seven Days, and other publications. She holds an MFA from The Bennington Writer's Seminars and lives and writes near Seattle. She is also a corporate communications consultant, and has taught at the College of St. Rose and Western Connecticut State University.
"Unraveling Anne," won the memoir category of the Indie Book Awards and was a runner-up to the Grand Prize winner at the Hollywood Book Festival. www.UnravelingAnne.com
Laurel's professional site, where you can find a variety of writing samples, is www.LaurelSaville.com.
