Nope, pick two. You may have heard it before; it's certainly not a new concept. (There are plenty of variations floating about: quality, time, money; quality, service, cost; good, fast, cheap..it's all the same.) But I often find myself explaining to clients that as much as I would love to provide top-notch stellar quality at lightning-fast speed at the lowest rock-bottom price, I can't. Nobody can, without sacrificing something themselves. Between quality, speed, and price, you're going to have to pick two to optimize. Gosh, life is just full of tough decisions, isn't it? Let's look at "a day in the life of Jane" to illustrate this point. More

The funny thing about design is that it has to be perceived by people who may have very different perspectives...which opens the door to other interpretations that can sometimes leave you scratching your head. Well, guess what? This phenomenon isn't unique to graphic design...it's a part of life! Have you ever looked up at a cloud and saw a bunny rabbit, or a horse, or a face? And if you try to point it out to somebody else, they may not see what you see in that cloud... More

AAHHHHHHH!!
That's my reaction to the above image. Do you see it? Can you understand why I look at this and want to pull out my hair? Yes, a grammatical error. On a professional website. In a big bold heading at the top of the page. The first thing somebody sees when they visit this site. More

Every so often, my dear hubby comes home with a new addition—be it a kitchen gadget, filing cabinet, piece of furniture, etc, that was "just too good of a bargain to pass up." This is generally what happens next: I look at it, look back at him, look around at our already full home and say, "Where exactly are we supposed to put this?" His response, "I'll make it fit, I've got a plan." See, he considers himself a master engineer when it comes to "making things fit".  When we're packing up the car for a road trip, sure, that comes in handy. When it comes to our living space, well...not so much. More

Sometimes, if you call me up, you may hear a voice in the background. This voice may say "Drink your water", or "Xooma Worldwide", or "I love you", or...just shriek obnoxiously. (Yes, I love that.) This is the voice of July the parrot. July will also occasionally say "Pretty bird! Who's the pretty bird? Pretty bird!" She's a little vain, if you ask me. But it's always reinforced when people see her for the first time. They'll say, "what a pretty bird!" More

So I was cooking dinner the other day...a bean and rice dish. Started by sauteing a little onion, then added some brown rice. So far, not very impressive. But then again, I wasn't expecting anything impressive. The next steps were to add in some black beans, dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and diced chilies. And when I did, it was... magic.  More

I find that a lot of people are surprised to know that the internet isn't environmentally friendly. How so? Isn't the internet just a nonphysical entity of digital something-or-others floating around somewhere in cyberspace?  Well... More

Have you heard of "Quirky"? It's a website that allows you to submit your ideas for inventions, has people comment on and vote up the ideas, and if yours is chosen, the Quirky team actually brings it to life — they manufacture it and make it available for retail. Quirky functions in the spirit of open collaboration, and there are some pretty useful products that have come about because of it. I think it's a fabulous idea. But... More

"People are more motivated by immediate consequences than by future possibilities."

Oh, how true. I work with a couple who are big proponents of sustainable living—how to live happy fulfilling lives without draining the earth's resources. They have actually built a completely sustainable housing community, the Garden Atriums, that is nothing short of amazing. Seriously, click on the link and check it out. One of the challenges they face is getting people to care about what will happen down the road, globally, as we continue to live as we are right now. And you know what? They've found a general sense of indifference when they present these trends, predictions, and facts to people. Of course, nobody acts indifferent when face-to-face with them, but when it comes to taking action today to better our future, most people are slow to do anything at all to make changes in their daily lives. More

I call myself a designer, but I find that I somehow morph into other entities throughout the course of client relationships. More