ml haynes design

Grace Coddington, Creative Director and visionary of American Vogue, spoke with The Times recently about working at the iconoclastic fashion and culture magazine, her life and pursuit of her creative vision. A reluctant hero of this year’s documentary, “The September Issue,” Coddington embodies the always-on perfectionist and never-satisfied creative — a woman struggling to tell a relevant and rich, visual and visceral story in the context of vanity, ephemera and the superficial.

Art directors would be well served — and schooled — to study the photo shoots, spreads and narratives created by this brave and bold woman. The attention to detail and pursuit of the perfect shot make for incredible lessons in meticulous design and style. As the photo above illuminates she is truly in tune with the popular culture (yes, that is Lady Gaga), myth and fable, composition and lighting and capable of creating a scene of depth and meaning beyond a simple showcase of labels and luxe.

If you have yet to see the movie, I highly recommend “The September Issue” and if you’re unfamiliar with Grace Coddington’s work, pick up an issue of Vogue next time you’re in purchase range. Buy it, bookmark it, tear it up and study the photo spreads as if they were from a well-informed text book on seeing and storytelling. Teachers are out there, we simply need to open up to them from whichever direction they might come from.

Finally got the call and couldn’t be more excited. As allowed, I’ll use this forum to post my experience putting my superpowers to use for good.

Check out this fantastic organization, The Taproot Foundation. Think about joining me and many others who will do it pro bono.

A recent project put me, once again, into a mobile frame of mind. The design challenges that come with a mobile initiative can be daunting, but the opportunities to rethink everything from audience to content to usability can be a great “reset” for a designer/developer. I warmed up with a swift reading of Cameron Moll’s Mobile Web Design.

Moll makes an especially good point when referencing context, the “circumstances and conditions that surround a place, thing, or event.” While content and component (mobile device used) are important, it’s the context, the situation in which the user finds him/herself, and our attention to this detail that I think makes all the difference in an effective mobile web solution. I recommend this read to anyone designing in this space. I also recommend checking out these resources as well. Enjoy!

The Mobile Context by C. Enrique Ortiz

Mobilize, Don’t Miniaturize by Barbara Ballard

Global Authoring Practices for the Mobile Web by Luca Passani

Mobile Web Design: The Series by Cameron Moll

Resources for designing and building mobile apps and sites from Design For Mobile

Mobile Web Developer’s Guide from mobiForge

While friends and family might disagree, I have to say that all the “stuff” that I collect could be catalogued under the heading “Design Inspiration.” From the 1975 Sanrio Kitty Pencil Eraser to the torn out pages of the latest Surfer magazine, seeing something worth keeping, then keeping it within arm’s length is a work habit that I’ve polished to a professional sheen. My latest enabler is none other than Flickr, particularly the Webdesign Inspiration group.

I can’t imagine that I’ll stop collecting the tangibles that make their way across my desk and through my life, but the ability to grab and gather within this online space is such a relief. No more hunting for that old bookmark. No more searching through folders of JPGs and PNGs. No more clicking through only to find that the owner of that amazing site has either changed it completely or altogether disappeared. There’s simply no inspiration in a 404 error.

My plan is to be a good group member and post to this group. Then I think I’ll start scanning some of these bits and pieces — surf print tearouts and scraps first, as I’m on a surf kick these days — and start my own “cloud” catalog on Flickr. I can keep my “stuff,” clear my space and have access to it nearly anywhere I go. Now that’s inspiring!

Sure, I’d seen the rumblings ’round the blogs and design sites. Read the rants of typophiles and fans of all things Swiss Modern. But this morning the discourse was taken to another elevation when I read this.

You know you’ve tapped into something when the New York Times weighs in. Either that or it’s a very slow news day at The Arts desk.

Go ahead. Google “Ikea” and “Verdana.” Then prepare to search through more than one million results, with everything from Flickr pages photodocumenting the grave deed to an “anti-Verdana” petition. Ironically, the latter came up on my screen in, wait for it… Verdana.

I’m going to go out on a limb and disagree with Marius, this particular petition’s author, and a league of fellow designers here. As a hybrid creative — comfortably positioned in both print and pixels — I’m challenged by designers and art directors who are so enamored of a typeface (and Futura plays a part quite often, coincidentally) that they refuse to see the limitations or liabilities within their design choices. I also understand what may well be the business driver behind the Ikea decision as well as others we see coming, seemingly, from boardrooms instead of studios.

I’ll be honest: Futura is a poor type choice for online. The modern curves and equally weighted lines that make this a classic face are nearly impossible to render on-screen. Readability is sacrificed and, counter to a designers intent, so is the very quality of the face. Just doesn’t work.

And as far as making a sound business decision, I’m of the mind that Ikea’s simply preparing a phase-out of their print catalog and migrating this sales material to its web-based sibling. The move might have been clumsy — pairing their logotype with the new-faced “2010″ on the catalog cover made me shake my designer head — but it was not the end of the world as so many have suggested. I wonder if those same designers would be in such an uproar about brand consistency across platforms if the company had made another decision altogether.

At the end of the day most consumers, and Ikea brand enthusiasts, won’t notice the change. Before the hub-bub would any of us really noticed?

[added 19 SEP 09]

This landed in my inbox today — Ikea chooses an ugly font — from Gerry McGovern. I’ve received his newsletter, New Thinking, for years and find that he’s always got something insightful and useful to share. This piece was particularly fitting and his perspective on the “why” of Ikea’s decision is spot-on, in my opinion.

Having just re-wrapped my own online porfolio, I gave it one more go to make certain I’d left no template unturned. Today I discovered a few resources that would have come in handy last month (and the month preceding, if I’m truly honest). Thought I’d share.

Enjoy!

Creating A Successful Online Portfolio
The “less is more” message here cannot be stressed enough. I make it a point to stress this to the designers I work with and advise. Taking that medicine myself — not always easy.

48 Trendy and Fresh Web Interfaces from Deviantart
If it’s coming from deviantArt, you know it’s fresh. Always nice to have a choice sampling in one place.

deviantArt site
A great source for inspiration and amazing example of creating online community with purpose and passion.