Help Us Fund Our 2nd Project

To launch our new project, we’re fund raising on Kickstarter.com. We have set a funding goal of $5000 and 45 days to reach that goal.

For everyone who donates, we will give you an exclusive gift. Kickstarter has a unique system in that if we don’t make my goal your account does not get debuted. So PLEASE help us reach our goal and host an awesome poster competition.

Details about The Say Something Poster Project

The Say Something Poster Project is a poster design competition and gallery show created to give individuals an opportunity to use poster design to say something that will inspire, motivate or educate teenage kids.

The top 10 posters from the competition will be donated to The Home for Little Wanderers, a non-profit children’s home and family service agency located throughout Eastern Massachusetts, USA.

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Check out some screen grabs from a video shoot we did at The Home for Little Wanderers. We’re getting ready to launch our second project and I won’t give too much away but it involves kids and design. Details soon.

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The reason I chose Frank Chimero’s interview (#110) for our Interview of the Week is quite simple: It goes straight to the heart of what really matters… in life. By the time you get to the end you’ll see what I mean.

Interview #110 with Frank Chimero Question #1:

[DesignIsMyThing] Where are you from and what do you do?

[Frank Chimero] I’m from New York and Missouri. I now design, illustrate, think, teach and live in Portland, Oregon.

Interview #110 with Frank Chimero Question #2:

[DIMT] Are there any inside jokes or personal experiences captured in any of your illustrations? In other words, something that has greater meaning for you but the world would not recognize?

[FC] I have a habit of putting friend’s silhouettes in my work. It’s a nice little way of saying thank you to the people who are important to me. And, it helps me care about the work and form stronger personal connections to the task at hand. (Sometimes it’s hard to get into an illustration about supply chains.)

Interview #110 with Frank Chimero Question #3:

[DIMT] How do you know when its time to step back and unplug from an assignment. Or are you the type to keep going until your satisfied?

[FC] Usually the assignments have such short deadlines, there isn’t much time to bust an axle and over think an assignment. Each job leads into the next, and momentum begets more momentum.

Interview #110 with Frank Chimero Question #4:

[DIMT] Can you share one bit of advice about life that also applies to design?

[FC] Care intensely

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One of the comments I keep getting about our interview project is that it’s not easily search-able. Actually, archive-able is a better way of putting it. Of course one option is to double post them on my website but that has proven to be too much work for me right now.

So, the solution I’ve come up with is a Post of the Week. To kick it off, we’re featuring Doug Bartow’s interview (#108). Doug has built a phenomenal career in design with many lessons to share.

Interview #108 with Doug Bartow Question #1:

[DIMT] Where are you from and what do you do?

[DB] I was born in Syracuse, NY and currently reside in Troy, NY. I was formerly Director of Design at MASS MoCA from 1995-2003, and have been Design Director and Principal at id29 since 2003.

Interview #108 with Doug Bartow Question #2:

[DIMT] Have you every worked for free; in other words, provided pro bono design services. If so, when and why?

[DB] There’s an important difference between pro bono design work and “working for free.” I always have non-commissioned projects in progress, whether it’s for our Upstate NY AIGA chapter, or the local soccer club or library. Those projects tend to pay out in ways other than traditional compensation. “Working for free,” or doing speculative work for clients that should be paying for professional design, is a hot topic in our community right now. I’m a firm believer that spec work should be avoided, as it tends to devalue designers, and the design process as a whole.

Interview #108 with Doug Bartow Question #3:

[DIMT] Thinking back, can you remember a job or client that gave id29 its footing?

[DB] When you quit your jobs and start an agency without any clients, you tend to call everyone in your rolodex and ask for work. Fortunately, and old friend at Grandoe, the last remaining glove maker in Gloversville, NY, came through for us in a big way right out of the gate in 2003. We did a comprehensive rebranding of their sport glove division that saw a 200% increase in their sell-in the following season. Unfortunately, our friend eventually left the company and the visual assets we developed were marginalized.

Interview #108 with Doug Bartow Question #4:

[DIMT] Looking forward at where you see id29 in the future, who would you pick as a mentor (for their experience and insights) to help take your company to the next level?

[DB] That’s a good question. We’re a boutique agency that leads with design and creative in an area without a lot of other boutique agencies. This can be a blessing, and sometimes a curse—although today’s technology allows us to work globally from anywhere. I would have to look outside our area to find the experience and insight needed to help id29 move forward. Success for us has always been about doing successful work for successful clients—and not so much about expansive growth and gross billings.

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For hitting the halfway mark of your first project we decided to do something special. To celebrate, we approached graphic designer Ryan Frease to get his interpretation of our work.

What emerged is a redesign of our Facebook profile picture, as well as  new imagery for our website homepage.

The whole process was an absolute blast. However I must confess, in the beginning I was pretty adamant about having a face-to-face meeting to kick off the project. But Ryan, being a seasoned professional at Alphabet Arm (with clients all over the US), assured me this wasn’t necessary.

The collabo lasted a month and a half with only one hiccup due to flooding in Ryan’s basement. Otherwise, smooth sailing.

To show our appreciation, from now on, we will refer to Ryan Frease as Young Frezzy!

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I love the power of human power! These guys are a great example of a green business with a triple bottom line.

And what’s amazing is they also provide a gentle nudge to the rest of us with a reminder that we can all do a little something to help save our planet.

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