Utopia Planitia

Blog

  • Change of evitcepsreP

    A couple of days ago I flew to Kansas City… to bring back dinner (from Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque). If you know me well, you know I actually live in Dallas.

    It was officially the furthest I’ve been for a meal, but the point of this story is not Kansas City Barbecue or my adventures. It’s about design. And my escapade was good for me creatively as much as it was a boon for my taste buds.

    I changed my perspective.

    When I struggle with a design problem, a lot of times I need to change my point of attack. And getting away from the problem for a bit can often shake things loose upstairs and refresh my thinking so when I come back to the task at hand, I have fresh ideas. Flying to Kansas City removed me from my daily routine and I saw new things, smelled new things, experienced new people, and had to do things I don’t normally do.

    Granted, you don’t have to travel, it can be as simple as getting away from the problem and walking around the block. No matter what it is, if you’re stuck, change your perspective. Though every once in a while a grand “purge” is necessary. Get out of your element. While you’re there, look around and do new things: you’ll recharge your creativity and when you return to the work you left you just might have a fresh idea that wasn’t there before.

  • Design and Maxi Pads

    Design is as much about empathy as it is about selling products. I think that’s my favorite part about what I do for a living. Like actors, designers must place themselves into a character when working to solve a communication design problem. By understanding the end-user (for lack of a better way to say it) designers can speak visually in an appropriate way.

    Take maxi pads as an example, the end-user and as a result, the packaging must look very different from what a box of nails might look like. The words, textures, colors, image choices, photography, and type choices must be specific to the maxi pad user, or else the design will be speaking in a language they won’t understand. Of course, what a maxi pad package must look like is debatable. It depends on what kind of user you’re talking to. But the core of the problem is the same – speaking visually with a focused tone is essential.