i'm a hipster. pardon me while i cope.

yah. i'm still coming to terms with my hipster-dom. trying to understand it all O_O
hahahah.

anywho, a good friend of mine shared this with me (he is a hipster, too *pound*). it's of another hipster (graphic designer/illustrator) talking about what he does, why he does it, and some other insights. there are a bunch of other speakers on the website as well that are informative. take a peek.

Geoff McFetridge lecture:
http://www.dolectures.com/speakers/speakers-2009/geoff-mcfetridge

website:
http://www.dolectures.com/speakers/

fritz klaetke's 10 rules to live/design by

this was from when i was a silly sophomore, fritz klaetke, a boston-based graphic designer came to give the first lecture ever at our art + design department. all of it still rings true, but i couldn't really have known until years of school and work experience. so here they are:

FRITZ KLAETKE'S 10 RULES TO LIVE/DESIGN BY (03.16.05):

1. you can't turn it off; design even in your dreams

2. a good designer can create anything from a spoon to a car.

3. you need input to give output. be interested and invested in your projects. experience the world with a visual thirst. read books, magazines, visit galleries, etc.

4. remember the form/content equation: if form > content then audience is jipped; if form < content then no audience interest.

5. tell why you did what you did. don't just say you did it because you liked it.

6. God is in the details. the details hold the lifeforce.

7. know when to help someone whose car is stuck in the snow. demonstrate that you're doing what you can. (note: i'm still kinda unsure what this means. but what i get from it is that you can't always help your clients when they're stubborn or otherwise just plain difficult. know when to say no.)

8. good people, good project, good money; you need at least two out of the three.

9. deal with the decision maker. go straight to the authority to get answers.

10. you don't ask the doctor for three options. just offer the best solution to your client, otherwise they might pick the worst option. (note: i've actually seen that happen, haha)

11. trust your gut. make your own rules.

principles are principles for a reason

john kane on graphic designers:

we're actually little nerds going around solving problems.

written on my principles of design syllabus, 2004
and always remember:

.content dictates form
.less is more
.God is in the details

on graphic designers and moving out

i'm moving out of my boston apartment next week, so i've been doing my best to throw stuff out, clean up, and pack my belongings. i think being a graphic designer entitles me to being a pack rat, which is a good and bad thing. i keep A LOT of things around -- fliers i pick off the street, product packaging, lame doodles, ticket stubs, dollar store toys, vintage publications, candy wrappers, neck ties, etc.. everything can be used as a reference, whether it's some kind of tutorial or cultural reference or metaphor or a bad example of what not to do; or as material itself (i can't get rid of my foam core!!). good ideas and little hints that can help you along the way potentially live in this debris. you have no idea how painful it was to throw out a lot of my trade magazines. ughh.

but i did it. *sniff*

one of my design professors actually rents storage space to house her growing collection of crap that she won't part with. among a bajillion other things, she collects broken things and fasteners, things that keep things together. she explained that she liked the dichotomy. i can't imagine having more space to hoard things that were neat only to me. but at the same time, i'd love to if i could. it'd spare me from this emotional and mental anguish from parting with my crap that i so fervently accumulated. alors, it's important for me to move on, in life and in visual style. yeah, that's the post-modern spirit! and sifting through and picking out what is really cool and worth keeping just reinforces what i value in design already.

but don't even get me started with books. why do art and design books have to be so fricking heavy and oversized? moving is hard. i can only imagine what it'll be like later in the future -- more difficult.