mechanics of design

A collection of 25 posts

mechanics of design

Muller's Ratchet

Understanding and misunderstanding image cropping.

mechanics of design

New Year's Card Design Breakdown

A technical dive into what went into it.

mechanics of design

Unseen Structures

How joke writing illustrates that everything has a structure.

mechanics of design

FPO

Using elements for placement only.

exploration and research

Pointing The Finger

Not blaming you, just want to show you this salad.

spot the difference

Designing A Scam

Breaking down why someone might buy it.

mechanics of design

Pantone Workarounds

Reverse engineering and some cost-efficient tips.

mechanics of design

Making Things Fit

Ten Pounds of Sugar in a Five Pound Sack

photography

How to Edit Images

Especially when there are way too many.

design process

There Is No Magic Button

Some of you are nodding your head; some of you are shocked.

mechanics of design

Managing Your Creative Time

Creative time is weird to say the least. Here are some tips.

design process

Every Decision is a Cascade

Designers are playing chess.

mechanics of design

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Approved isn't the end – it's a new beginning called Production.

design process

All The Feels

Why is using emotion in design so damn important?

photography

Will The Real Image Please Stand Up

Photographic manipulation, and the Photoshop icons that seemingly make no sense.

mechanics of design

Alphabet Soup

The moving target where AI, ML and IP converge.

mechanics of design

Should It Stay or Should It Go?

Do we store too much or not enough? And is it on the right medium?

mechanics of design

Spot the Difference

Why even chair legs matter.

design process

How to Write the Rules

Don't just create a reference – create a system.

mechanics of design

Time And Effort

Why some things are easy and some things are hard. And why easy is not always quick and hard is not always slow.

expectations

Attention is Intentional

I've had this experience from the DMV to an eye surgeon's reception desk: you walk in and are confronted with no less than six flyers or signs that you're meant to read. Do you read all of them? How long would that take? Do

design process

Making the Invisible Visible

If you want to communicate the idea of “sad,” how would you? You could simply write the word “sad,” although there are probably a lot more interesting ways to use words to convey that concept or emotion. What if you could not use words? The vast majority of graphic design

time management

Make the Logo Bigger. A Solution.

It's the classic designer meme - make the logo bigger. It's so tired and worn out because it's true. Why does it happen and how do you navigate it so that it doesn't turn into ten rounds of revisions? The longer you

mechanics of design

Horizontals and Verticals are Apples and Oranges

Two issues which are interrelated: One is the overabundance of different shapes that digital and social ads come in these days. The other has to do with the cropping of images. These both come up regularly as issues, so here is why. The graphic above is not a Mondrian. It&

visual helpers

Visual Scrap #1

Sometimes designers use imagery in concepts that we don't intend to be the final output, or to describe a mood or as inspiration. We call this scrap. I accumulated some scrap that I have found useful, and wanted to share instead of a written article this week. This