Entering Spaghetti Territory

You’ve given the client three options, and they picked a cool idea, but then proceed to remove, bit by bit, over the course of days or weeks, anything that was cool about it. You are entering spaghetti territory.

Why?

Some of this is the flattening of culture that’s going on in the world at large. Right now, even minimal risk is a four letter word. Ironically, what brands need most of all right now is to stand out. Designers are dying to break out of this. Some of this is about the blame game – the less controversial a decision is, the less any one person will be blamed for it. And not every project needs to push boundaries or be high concept to be successful. 

It can be worth pushing back for something you feel strongly is the right strategic way for the client to go. But you can only argue so much. Sometimes, you’re on round five of revisions. Spaghetti happens when despite your best efforts, a project enters the “do what they want and move on” phase. You will feel like a bad designer even though you were battling through several layers of approval, each layer with multiple opinions involved. 

What to do?

The first thing I do is save my favorites to a folder. Use this in your portfolio. Or simply look through the folder any time you need a reminder of what you can do. Will the idea work for someone else? For yourself?

This article by Na Kim is a great reminder to have a personal practice regardless what form that takes. The design practice always has to serve the needs of the project. And sometimes office politics. Or ego. Or budget. However, my art practice can willfully disregard all of those things. It can feel like a relief.

My private practice has now become an invaluable tool in allowing me be emotionally cognizant of the needs of a book and its author. It’s also allowed me to appreciate the separation of my personal work from my job as a cover designer. ...I carve out a few hours every week to draw and make whatever I like. 

Light a candle for your design, pour a whiskey, and let it go. Then get off the interwebs and go make something.

🕳️ The Rabbit Hole

These look fake, or like a painting, but they are nacreous clouds.

A type of polar stratospheric cloud, they form when unusually cold temperatures in the usually cloudless lower stratosphere form ice crystals.

This image is from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. I especially love the food and food containers. THE. COLORS. They're fascinating and there's a project in there somewhere. Someone, of course, has already made a book about the clothing.

A roundup of modern Native American beadwork. Which reminded me to tell you even though the Superb Owl is over, that their logo for NOLA was made out of beads by Tahj Williams. It was the first time the NFL had a local artist create the logo.

🚰 Why did these ever go out of style? I'm biased toward vintage appliances, but seems really useful in the right setting.