He’s not a wimp. In fact, anything but. He’ll out-lift you, even though he only weighs 140 pounds. He’ll out-run you, even though he’s in his early 70s. And, he’ll burn you out of the sauna, if you care to test him. (I don’t recommend trying this.) Even so, the RIU brand took my dad down.

My folks visited RIU Emerald Bay in April. From all accounts, it’s a beautiful resort. Nevertheless, their vacation got cut short — due to bad design. Mom and Dad were making their way down from the lobby, when Dad took the last step on…

Over the past three years, almost everything changed at smashLAB. In future posts, I’ll tell you more about that. Today, though, I’ll share a simple approach we implemented in the way we sell our services. Through this, we transformed our studio’s sales requirements, client relationships, and financial outlook.

The way we used to do it

For our first ~12 years, we framed our work in terms of projects. When a new client came to us, we asked what they wanted, and determined a reasonable sum for that thing. We typically based the price on how much labor the last similar…

My dad’s family comes from a small community (pop 350) in Finland, called Yppari. Since 1832, Karjaluotos have lived in the area, and while many have moved abroad, a handful remain. I’ve visited a few times—not as many as I’d like—over the years, and was able to meet my grandparents and a number of their siblings before they passed.

Amongst the most interesting of the lot was my dad’s aunt Raakkeli. She was already old when I met her—likely well into her 70s—but she still seemed to be a firecracker. One of the hobbies she and her husband shared was…

The first time I painted on canvas, I worked my little painting for weeks. It wasn’t a great piece—first ones rarely ever are—but I was proud of the project. Upon deciding the painting was complete, my teacher suggested I add a light layer of varnish to protect the painting.

When I did, the image seemed to come to life. The varnish added vibrancy to the colors, and made the painting shiny and complete. Even then, I recognized that this layer acted mostly as a cheap trick—but I was no less enamored with how much this treatment amplified my work.

At…

Open a design annual from 15–20 years ago, and you see how quickly design dates. The ‘90s are particularly notable for this: The tiny text, distressed textures, and random approaches that once looked progressive now seem contrived and awkward. (Design historians may look back upon that time as little more than an embarrassing footnote.) Sadly, in visiting the sites of some of these same designers, you find that little has changed since then. Much like that cautionary tale of the high-school quarterback and prom queen, some seem determined to bask in the warm glow of past glories.

I see this…