the nonist by jmorrison

Cat speaks: I chose the nonist for 'Designers who Blog' due to the wide content range and wacky graphics which creates an exciting blend all topped up with j's wry twist of humour. When contacted, j replied "how did you even know i was a designer? that obvious?" Laughing (paraphrasing myself) I emailed back "how could one not know?" The nonist is truly a blog that stands out from the crowd (which is what these reviews are on about).

jmorrison speaks:

i am perhaps an unlikely candidate for doling out wisdom on the subject of design. for one thing the nonist is my first stab at web design (that age old story: boy meets hefty web reference books and they birth a website). i come from a strictly print background, but more than that, i have become increasingly disillusioned with design in general. looking around at the crush of visual information in new york, and the world at large, i can't help but wonder sometimes whether i'm part of "the problem." half the time i look at a design and think, yeah it's successful, attractive, satisfies all the clients needs, but who needs yet another (fill in the product blank). but then good design is better than the alternative isn't it?

that bit of taboo discussion aside as a designer i find having a personal blog is a very satisfying outlet exactly because it's so open ended. i can try things i might never get a chance to otherwise. i can indulge any unfashionable bit of noodling i see fit. overly decorative victorian-era headers? sure why not? i do occasionally blog about design, a bit of fawning here, a bit of criticism there, but by and large the blog cleaves closer to the heart of my creativity- curiosity. design is about problem solving, streamlining, finding answers, and thereby adding value. it's about brute commerce. a personal site is about taking apart, asking questions, complicating. it is a port in the storm of correct answers and dollar signs. for that alone it might be considered a "fine art." and for that i love it.

Jason Santa Maria - by Jason Santa Maria

Cat speaks: Ahh, the lovely blog of Jason Santa Maria. I often drool when I get a change to browse through what Jason offers up. As you wander through his site, do not take a miss on Jason's daily photos.

A bit of gossip - Jason Santa Maria just completed An Event Apart which is similar to his recent redesign of A List Apart. Ok, perhaps that's not the juicy gossip you were looking for ... so I'll end with a 'congrats' to Jason, who is soon due to be married.

Jason Santa Maria speaks:

Now that you have a blog, have you noticed a change in how you work and communicate?

I most certainly have. While I don't consider myself a great writer, I consider myself a much more competent writer after having a blog for a few years. Writing, and more so just being able to convey your thoughts and opinions, is an extremely important skill to nurture. You need to practice talking about your work and motivation for doing certain things in order to discuss things with clients.

Maintaining a blog has not only helped me to get better at writing, but has also helped give me a kick in the ass at times. I am driven to update it and keep it a regular piece of my work. It makes me want to design at times when I might not feel like it.

innocent.blogbus.com by Innocent Sin

Cat speaks: The blog of Innocent Sin is an exciting taste of the new talent knocking on our doors, and what talent it is. Innocent is looking for work and somehow I don't believe he'll have a problem. (more here for when I talk to Innocent).

Innocent Sin speaks:

Innocent is primarily a showcase for my work and was born out of a bit of a crisis. I was fortunate to have a friend offer me some free hosting space and I built my first homepage back in 2001. Then, in 2004, my friend closed her hosting service and I was out of luck. At the time, I didn’t have the extra funds for hosting my site. After a bit of a scramble, I realized blogging was the answer. Although I had toyed with blogs since 2002, it wasn’t until 2004 that I focused on my work and design in general.

Here is China, it can be tough to land an illustration job. Blogging has opened the window of opportunity, allowing me to easily display my work before a global audience.

As for the future of blogs, I believe the medium levels the playing field and gives everyone a chance to be seen. The trick is creating work that truly from the heart. When you do that, your work stands apart from the rest of the pack.

Design in Flight by Andy Arikawa

Cat speaks: Design in-flight is a serious design industry collaboration and the brain wave of Andy Arikawa. At DIF you will find thought provoking commentaries such as 'Does graphic design really make a difference?' and 'Designers as agents of change'. IMHO, if you only book mark several design blogs, I would advise this one to be one of them. The top one. Very nice.

Andy Arikawa speaks:

What started you into blogging?

I started blogging to provide myself with (1) a test bed for layout and design experimentation, and (2) a soapbox to talk about design topics that interested me.

In the specific case of Design In-Flight, the "group blog" seemed a fitting format for structuring contributed content from diverse authors while allowing reader feedback.

What advice would you give blogging designers?

Know your blog's purpose.

If it's a personal blog, don't worry about it making money, gaining recognition, or stagnating when you're really busy. If you put too many expectations on your personal blog, you're setting yourself up for failure. Keep it fun, keep it simple.

However, if your blog is a part of your business, the rules are a bit different. Here, timely, scheduled posts are important. Keep it on-topic, and reserve personal posts for your personal blog.

What do you feel is the future of blogs?

The content of blogs in nothing new. We've been doing similar things in other formats for years: home pages [content], BBS [comments], and mailing lists [notification, RSS]. What the blog format (and software) has allowed is convergence, where the communication tools of home pages, BBS, and mailing lists are rolled into one.

In the same way, software of the future will allow further covergence, and blogs will evolve as technology does. If a format or technology allows for easier communication, it will make its way into the blog. In the short term, I'd like to see the threaded comments capabilities of forums more easily integrated into blogs.

Can you recommend another blog you rate highly, which fits the criteria of 'designers who blog'?

Friend and frequent DiF collaborator Yasuhisa Hasegawa's COULD is one of my favorites. It's a Japanese-language only blog, but the design is insightful no matter what language you speak.

Andy Arikawa
Editor, Design In-Flight
editor at designinflight.com
http://designinflight.com

3am from kyoto by Stuart Lee

Cat speaks: The photography on this blog is so beautiful, so 'other world' so ... hard to describe. Ok, how about 'breathtaking'? The photos have 'mood' of another time (not ours) etched in a glowing india ink. Stuart will be photographer to watch in coming years. Talented his is, climb high he will.

Stuart Lee speaks:

What started you into blogging?
 
Well, I originally had a gallery only website from around 1997-98, which was around the same time I started getting into photography. (My previous passion being art, but at that time, I was finding less and less time to fulfill my goals in this area).
After looking at a few blogs last Summer (2004), I decided that blogging would give me a bit more impetus to actually get 'out there' I guess. My website at that time was stagnating a little, and it was also a major hassle to update it with new galleries (my fault :P).
 
Now you have a blog, have you noticed a change in how you work and communicate?
 
In some ways, yes. The obvious one being the fact that I feel a little guilty about not posting regularly, particularly when some people out there ,who have busier lives than I do, manage 3-4 posts per day, be it visual or textual. As far as actually taking photographs and creating images goes however, it is reading others' blogs, and particularly, critique posted on my own work, that has changed my actual approach.
 
To me, this critique is invaluable - especially the harsh variety  :)

Can you recommend another design blog you rate highly, one which fits the criteria of 'designers who blog'?
 
That's easy - I'd have to say Yuji Mori's 'Dacafe. Photograph.' (Mostly Japanese). I've been following this for around 3 years, and whilst I cannot read a great deal of the text, the visual presentation and drive behind it make this blog stand out miles above many others out there. (Note, for info., on the second page select the top left link for the more recent diary pages).
 
To really appreciate the passion behind this site, however, you should start off with the early photo galleries, and work towards the present time. It'll knock your socks off - however, a few cups of tea will be required as there are a lot of photos!

Bearskinrug by Kevin Cornell

Cat speaks: I lucked out when discovering Kevin's blog on the sidebar of Jason Santa Maria's. The illustrator in me went 'wow', the designer went 'my my', and my 'humour' settled in for the duration. Bearskinrug is beautifully designed, loads of fun, and very easy to amble around. On top on being an entertaining read, Kevin invites all to join in and share comments that are seen out in the open and to the right of his humorous illustrations. A community effort and an enjoyable one to boot.

Kevin Cornell speaks:

What started you into blogging?

Well... it was really the desire to interact with people. I really didn't have any greater intent than to write an amusing anecdote, and just have others chime in with their own. My goal was never to "tackle issues" or "report on technology" or "do research" or anything. Nowadays, my site has a bit more purpose to it — the weblog portion has become a great avenue for showing people the art that probably isn't good enough to sit in a portfolio, but is still worth sharing. But the goal is still the same - I just want to shoot the shit with people.

Now you have a blog, have you noticed a change in how you work and communicate?

Definitely. I'm about 300 times more concerned with the user experience and sensible functionality than I was on previous sites. I'd also have to admit that it's been a huge factor in improving my writing; I'll take much greater care in trying to organize and deliver my thoughts in their most effective grammatical form than I used to. However, I can't say it's helped my normal day-to-day communication skills; I still sound like a meathead idiot when I use the phone.

© Copyright 2005 Catherine (cat) Morley