Fleeing the Coop, Part 3
Leaving the corporate design world behind
PART THREE
Magical Thinking.
I remember being a teenager growing up in small-town Canada and all the things that made me excited about the future (which included the fantasy-now-reality of living in New York). Early influences on me were Patrick Nagel, Egon Schiele, and television shows like The New Music, Fashion Television, and of course MTV. I couldn’t wait to get to the city and express who I really was, like so many kids.
Early in my career I’d obsess over print magazines like The Face, Details, Raygun, and Wallpaper, eventually turning to GQ, Esquire, Fast Company, New York and Monocle as bibles for superior design and storytelling. And of course the legendary Saul Bass and early motion graphics work of Imaginary Forces helped stoke the fires of creativity and ambition that’s led me to this point in my career.
But what about now?
In last week’s New York magazine I read about uber-millenial Maryellis Bunn, the founder and creative director of The Museum of Ice Cream, a candy-themed installation of multiple rooms described by the author as a “haunted house for digital natives.” As I read about her vision to become the next Walt Disney, envisioning city blocks of fantasy, color, design and most importantly, creative ideas, I thought to myself “wow, that’s really awesome and inspiring.”
I also thought about the fact she is 25 and believes she can do anything (I thought for sure I’d be a rock star by the age of 30).
Never before has design been embraced as an essential part of business and culture, so it’s easy to find all kinds of stuff that will make you feel like an excited teenager again. You just have to remember to keep your head up and pay attention.
Here’s what I’m looking at:
— The National’s new album branding (and music)
— Gather Journal, both in print and online
— It’s Nice That, championing the most exciting design happening in the world today
— UI Movement exciting examples of what’s possible with UI Design
— A Brief History of Goth, a animated primer from Pitchfork
— Young Guns, recognizing the most innovative creatives in the world under the age of 30.
At Lumenary, we have the opportunity to shape visual culture by working with clients as diverse as cryptocurrency, fintech, healthcare, luxury fashion, non-profit, and hospitality. I get to use the most innovative digital tools to produce work for both print and digital channels, and the tools just keep evolving and getting better.
What’s really cool is adding “magic” to digital products through smart interactions, beautiful typography and simple UI details. (see UI Movement, above). In the past I avoided doing a lot of digital work because I felt so handcuffed by coding limitations and clunky designer tools like Dreamweaver — but not anymore.
There really is “a whole new world” out there. Go out and find it.
