It all started when I was invited to design the announcement for the May 2013 Dribbble meetup in Austin. What would customarily be a simple lettering piece turned into something bigger. I got caught up in the concept and wanted to really refine it. I felt like I was onto something good, so I spent  Continue Reading »

This year’s Creative South conference was such a highlight for me. Held in the The Loft venue in cozy Columbus, Georgia, the event was very intimate and personable. I’m from Texas, so I like the think that I know southern hospitality, but I never experienced it quite like this. The people are practically falling over  Continue Reading »

Do you like design? Do you like lettering? If the answer is yes to either or both of those questions, you’re in luck! Jason Vanlue and I are collaborating on a hand-crafted book called Three Pipe Problems. He’s asked me to create over 20 custom illustrations for this book. We really want to pour our  Continue Reading »

My to-do list isn’t complete. I have several dozen commission requests to respond to. I have 7 active projects, 1 due tomorrow, another on Monday. There are proposals to write, invoices to send, taxes to file, expenses to log, bills to pay, orders to be packed and shipped. There are customer support cases that need  Continue Reading »

I had a wonderful time at this year’s SXSW, and enjoyed many refreshing conversations with delightfully modest people of ubiquitously great talent. In reflecting on the experience and the personal interactions, I’ve come to realize how huge the in-person, human interactions are in contributing to the perception of a brand. Of course this applies to  Continue Reading »

The last thing you need right now is a 2,000-word article or list of 30 tips to keep from procrastinating. The only thing you need to address is the amount of care you attribute to this task. Ultimately, we do scramble to finish things at the last minute because we care more about flunking, or  Continue Reading »

I’ve talked about the good and bad types of copying before. Though there are many overlapping points, this is a tangential topic to that of my previous article. I started writing much of this in a personal response to a question posed by a good friend. Part way through, I recognized that I was writing  Continue Reading »

When it comes to thinking of a concept or approach for a design project, it’s not all that hard to have a first idea. In fact, just about everyone does. When you hold a word association experiment, you find that when given a specific word or concept, people largely think of many of the same  Continue Reading »

In the age of Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and Reddit, reposting and “borrowing” without permission may seem harmless when everyone on the internet appears to be doing it, but it flirts dangerously with illegal practices that can infringe on others’ copyright. It can get you into serious trouble if you “borrow” from someone who then finds  Continue Reading »

Awe We often find ourselves admiring the incredible. Some things have an element of magic that makes them fascinating. Many will pause for a moment, in wonder or respect, and then continue on their way. But there are some of us who look a bit deeper. We notice the attention to detail and we recognize  Continue Reading »

Cozy. Authentic. Memorable. On a whim, I decided to register for Circles Conference. I’d heard many good things about Circle Meetups, and the conference proved to be even more amazing than I expected. The talks were real and the people genuine. The intimacy was something you don’t get at events like SXSW. It was great  Continue Reading »

A Thing of Beauty That’s what you get when you mix, smart, elegant design with high quality materials and excellent craftmanship. I know I can always find that kind of attention to detail and care with Mama’s Sauce. Even the way they package their shipments is indicative of how much they pour into their work.  Continue Reading »

What is a hipster? I asked five of my friends “What is a hipster?” and I got 5 different answers. For some, it’s behavior. For others, it’s what you own. For yet another group, it’s lack of personal hygiene and for many, it’s a subjective congomerate of any untold number of things purely comprised of  Continue Reading »

Let’s Talk about the Good Copying Copying is not always bad. We all start by copying. It’s how we learn. It’s how we learned language and how to speak, it’s how we learned to draw, and it’s how we learn to make letters. There’s nothing wrong with copying to learn. Did you notice the important  Continue Reading »

Subscribers are more than subscribers. Followers are more than followers. Customers are more than customers. Clients are more than clients. They all share the same commonality: they’re people. Something as simple as throwing in a handwritten note before you ship a package makes a difference you wouldn’t believe. Maybe use their first name in a  Continue Reading »

When we ventured into into the industry of our passion, we very quickly became privy to the clear front runners. These people inspired us and made things that we admired. Their success and their drive served as a motivation to us. Likely, they still continue to inspire and motivate us to do even better. As  Continue Reading »