Archive for setembro, 2010

The last two weeks were pretty awesome here at Ologia. I was invited to go to Herron School of Arts and Design, my alma mater, on September 15th to do a presentation about Ologia and my trajectory as a former design student who went on to take on a role as an entrepreneur and as a “design thinker” in Brazil.

I was invited by Christopher Vice, the man who’s had more influence in my professional life than anyone I can think of. He’s been a quiet and extremely effective designer, educator and design intellectual who, as the head of the Design program at Herron, has given me the chance to forever look at Design through a more refined, transforming and responsible lens.

I made a presentation to Herron’s current VC seniors and students who are part of very special MFA program, which is focused on Design Thinking and Design Leadership.

I had the chance to present what Leo and I have been doing here at Ologia, the kind of projects we’re taking on, as well as the challenges of being a part of a pretty new group of professionals here in Brazil who have seriously taken on the responsibility of introducing the design thinking methodology to the business and social, non-governmental environment.

It was an absolute pleasure going back to Herron, a place that still feels so much like home. Looking at those students was like looking at myself 5 years ago, when most of my days were spent inside the studio, reading, researching, designing, eating stuff off of vending machines, leaving school late at night. When I remember those days, which were so amazingly difficult and full of work, all I can think of is how I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Christopher – You absolutely amaze me. Congratulations on the beautiful job you have done with our school. It’s such a work of love, and it’s noticeable on the smallest things around the studios and the hallways. Christopher and Marcia – a sincere thank you to both of you for showing me back then that being a designer could be such a fulfilling role. I love every second of it.

Herron students who I got to talk to that day – thank you for being there, for being enthusiastic and for reminding me how good it was when I was in your shoes. Enjoy your time there as much as you can. We’re all very lucky to have been part of that place.

Aqui na Ologia a gente recebe muitos e-mails e adora receber visitas de estudantes de Design que se interessam por temas além do design gráfico. Um pessoal jovem, bacana, curioso tanto por todo o contexto social em torno do design quanto pela disciplina em si. Eles são a minha luz no fim do túnel e me dão um certo alento por saber que existe uma pequena mas valiosa parcela de graduandos saindo das instituição de ensino com perfis bem mais interessantes.

O Frank Chimero postou no blog dele uma lista de conselhos para estudantes de design. Selecionei aqui alguns, que estão em inglês. (Aqui vai um conselho meu: aprendam outras linguas. Pelo menos uma além da sua nativa. Viaje. Conhecimento é a matéria prima bruta do designer. E um dos poucos casos onde mais é realmente mais. A sua principal ferramenta de trabalho já nasceu com você. Se alguém te falar que ela é feita pela Adobe, duvide. E não converse com essa pessoa mais.)

Design does not equal client work.

Look people in the eyes when you are talking or listening to them. The best teachers are the ones who treat their classrooms like a workplace, and the worst ones are the ones who treat their classroom like a classroom as we’ve come to expect it.

Quiet is always an option, even if everyone is yelling. Libraries are a good place. The books are free there, and it smells great.

If you can’t draw as well as someone, or use the software as well, or if you do not have as much money to buy supplies, or if you do not have access to the tools they have, beat them by being more thoughtful. Thoughtfulness is free and burns on time and empathy.

Develop a point of view. Think about what experiences you have that many others do not. Then, think of what experiences you have that almost everyone else has. Then, mix those two things and try to make someone cry or laugh or feel understood.

Take things away until you cry. Accept most things, and reject most of your initial ideas.

Learn your design history. Know that design changes when technology changes, and its been that way since the 1400s.

Learn to write, and not school-style writing. A text editor is a perfectly viable design tool. Graphic design has just as much to do with words as it does with pictures, and a lot of my favorite designers come to design from the world of words instead of the world of pictures.

Start brave and brash: you can always make things more conservative, but it’s hard to make things more radical.

Stop trying to be cool: it is stifling.

Be wary of minimalism as an aesthetic decision without cause. Simple is almost a dirty word now. Almost. Tools don’t matter very much, all you need is a sharp knife, but everyone has their own mise en place.

Success is generating an emotion. Failure is a million different things.