One Plus One Equals Three

Rick Poynor: Ipse Dixit'd at Speak Up

A somewhat fiery, juicy and involving post is at Speak Up on notable, eminent design writer Rick Poyner and the "shortcomings of Speak Up". I haven't have read the Print article concerned (I usually don't buy that magazine) {here it is online} – in a nutshell it relates to the supposed unpolished and unsophisticated nature of the writing on Speak Up and by extension, perhaps most design blogs in general.

So - picking up on the thread woven through that post and the comments at Speak Up, I'll add my 20 cents worth.

Poynor has a particular take on what blogs are perhaps meant to be. I must have missed the fine print when I signed up to start one:

"...blogs represent the great hope for a thriving new critical debate, a place where an ambitious upcoming generation of design writers can sharpen their critical skills and prose. I have made the same claim, or at least expressed the same hope, a few times myself."

"...a place where an ambitious upcoming generation of design writers can sharpen their critical skills and prose"? This is a prerequisite for a blog? My take on this particular design blog (my own): I'm a designer writing and collecting stuff that relates to design. I'm not a design writer writing about design. My writing may not be Writing – at times I feel something I've written vaguely approaches Writing, but that's not what I'm about. I'm not a serious essayist. What I am about is communicating something about design and it's place in the world from the perspective of someone who actively and professionally designs (and who likes to write). Hopefully readers of this blog find that interesting. I like to think of 1+1=3 as being more of a scrapbook of design-related material – with some interesting writing on board.

Three Things

Thing 1: I remember sitting in a meeting four years ago with a client discussing an annual report of theirs that I was working on at the time. "I wish we didn't have to print the bugger" they said. "We'd save a fortune on printing and save all those trees and energy... why can't people just read a bloody PDF or web site on screen?" Legally, Australian companies are obliged to print their annual report (even an abridged version) – most post it online as well and some make it an option for shareholders to receive a complete printed version if they wish.

If I mentioned the name of the above company you wouldn't believe me. It's quite an ironic statement given what they do. (I nearly fell off my seat at the time). But they're completely right: for this type of information, "read a bloody PDF on screen".

People tend to flick through annual reports (from my experience) then toss it in the (recycle) bin. Sorry trees.

Thing 2: We've just finished work on a prospectus for a new company that's launching. It was a mad completely insane rush to get it all done on time. The PDF of the prospectus has been available online for a week. Now I'm not sure if there is a legal reason for this, but many investors won't invest till they hold the printed prospectus in their hands. The prospectus will be held onto for a while, then it's tossed. Sorry trees. Not too sure why investors can't "read a bloody PDF on screen" either.

"Pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter to air, water, and land in both Canada and the US. Paper manufacturing is the third largest user of fossil fuels worldwide and the single largest user of water per pound." Source: Reach for Unbleached Foundation (see Design can Change).

Thing 3: Design Can Change.

Pleased Two Drop By Weekly

Two weekly-updated sites are highly recommended by 1+1=3. They're well-worth a visit: johnson banks' Thought for the week (see continuation) and the ABC's By Design.

A Catholic View: ABC's By Design
While I'm working (well, actually the night before, which is often when I'm working anyway – or posting to this blog) I often download podcasts of interesting radio programmes – and of course I tend to focus on design shows. I've listened to various shows from abroad, from all over the place – and I'm not just being parochial here, but one of the very best comes from dear old Aunty in Sydney. It's By Design hosted by Alan Saunders. It's design radio par excellence and its design coverage is wide-ranging indeed, covering quite unexpected design terrain.

By Design has discussed the following topics of late: the aesthetics of nursing homes, (enviro-friendly) tiny houses, designing fireworks displays, queer culture in public toilets, Amish house design, the design of memorial gardens in cemeteries, the world of online communities and they ran a primer on fonts. That's just a sampler of some of the recent programmes. They also built a house on Second Life – you're welcome to visit.

Most of the shows I've listened to from OS cover the usual suspects: the same old faces and names trotted out as you may see, hear and read about elsewhere. By Design covers a marvellously eclectic mix of design from many facets of the design spectrum. Nice work Aunty and Mr Saunders (who has one of the best radio voices going methinks).

The Blender, The Waffler, The Wannabe etc

The Blender
The Hidden Agenda
The Micro-manager
The Waffler
The Pet Peeved
The Wannabe
The Wet Blanket
The Crammer

I'm sure you've met them all. Visit Tom Fishbourne's Brand Camp (scroll down to see the first cartoon). Thanks Catherine Murphy.

Aus Designer Rock-osity

The Coroflot Annual Salary Survey is out and the data they have captured has been expressed via some graphic visualisations. One visualisation sees Australian designers listed at number six on a scale of 'rock-osity'. This particular scale of measurement records commodity value – if you, as a designer, are in demand – you're worth more – as rockstars are (hmm). The Rock-osity scale records a designer's worth in terms of relative salary. According to Coroflot, the top five countries in terms of degree of 'designer rock-osity' are: Hong Kong, India, USA, Brazil, Denmark with Australia at sixth position.

From our local context it's a little difficult to gauge how accurate all this is when the sample from Australia only numbered 51 people – but still, it's an interesting read. After interior designers, graphic designers appear to be the lowliest paid of all designers, whilst design managers are the highest paid. It looks like I'll also have to stop teasing my architect friends.

Design: Off the Radar

Australian Reader's Digest have released this year's annual trust survey. A representative sample of 1,502 Australians were polled on their perception of the most trustworthy professions and the most trusted brands, and for the first time were asked to rank the 'perceived trustworthiness' of one hundered well-known Australians.

Design didn't get a guernsey. Maybe 'design' isn't uppermost in people's minds when they think of professions. Maybe 'design' wasn't on the supplied list of professions (if a list was supplied). Maybe no-one knows or really cares about designers. Maybe we're on the list, but below psychics (number 27), real estate agents (28), car salesmen (29) – ouch! – and politicians (30). Double ouch!

I didn't get a degree (and then another one) and work long and hard helping people and organisations communicate better – only to get listed below psychics. (No offence to those spiritually gifted). My next presentation to a client will not involve discussion of strategy, emotional appeal and meeting deadlines but will consist of 'look into my eyes, look into my eyes'...

A Big Plus. A Little Minus.

The Big Plus
The State of Design Festival is part of a larger initiative by the Victorian (Australia) Government to promote design to organisations, the business community and the general public. Hopefully it will help build community amongst the design industry, design educators and related professional fields and educate potential design students and the general public about what 'this mysterious thing called design is'. Festival Director Kathy Demos and The Bracks Government should be congratulated for developing the event that will really help credential design as being a significant professional activity, a great tool for business and organisations and a cultural presence worthy of investigation and discussion.1