December 2007

$10 or 10 minutes

December 31, 2007

A while back I posited that the best way to save money was to not spend it. As an extension of that, I’ve been considering a rule to “not sweat the small stuff”—namely, not worry about price differences less than...Continue reading...

Notes from What Happened to Kerouac?

December 21, 2007

About once a year I read my dog-eared copy of On the Road, and for a few days dream of road trips, ’50s cars, poetry readings and camping. The lifestyle expressed in Kerouac’s books is so unique yet so consistent,...Continue reading...

Design at Anthropologie

December 19, 2007

An absolutely amazing article about Anthropologie’s design process and how they run their company. I could quote the entire article, but below are a few of my favorites. Also don’t miss their incredible office design, evolved from Philadelphia’s abandoned Navy...Continue reading...

Notes from The Mystery of Picasso

This remarkable film shows the process of Picasso creating 20 different paintings, using a camera mounted behind the translucent canvas. You see his process of trying things out and discarding them, prototyping the work directly on the canvas. I’ve never...Continue reading...

Design by instinct

December 07, 2007

Trust your instinct, but get a good second opinion. Even if your instinct is correct, a good second opinion will validate that and give you the confidence to follow through on it, instead of second-guessing yourself and abandoning the idea....Continue reading...

Failure and flexibility

December 05, 2007

One thing I’m learning through my work with complex designs is that anytime you design a grand solution, especially a closed system, it’s going to fail as times change. That’s both a cautionary and instructive lesson. Immediate failure is disappointing,...Continue reading...

Notes from Comedian

December 04, 2007

This movie is about Jerry Seinfeld starting over. He threw away all his bits and went back to begging clubs for a short set, floundering on stage, trying to figure out how it all works. This is how comedians develop...Continue reading...

Violent and original in your work

December 02, 2007

I found a great quote that echoes the feeling with which I closed my last post: Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work. - Gustave Flaubert From Time Management...Continue reading...