Not long ago, after a long and trying day spent in meetings, I made the 90 minute drive back to my home in silence. No podcasts. No music. The stereo in my car was off.
On the highway, I heard barely any noise. Only the low rumbles of my winter tires, and the whooshing of surrounding traffic as we passed each other, driving into the sunset.
In today’s dizzying world, where we often fill the silence with social media and fast news, the silence and the isolation feel increasingly rare. They create an opportunity for slow thinking — for quiet contemplation.
More than ever, I think slow thinking is exactly what we need.
A couple months ago, some folks at Adobe admitted to some major news publications that they were working on Photoshop for iPad. Today, they formally revealed it at Adobe MAX, and The Verge got a hands-on look at the app in action.
I’m a Creative Cloud subscriber because, well, I run a design studio for a living. But Photoshop is perhaps my least important CC app. (InDesign is king, if you’re wondering — nothing else comes close.)
For somebody like me, this app is going to hit the perfect sweet spot. Everything I need to touch up photos on the go, hopefully with the same Export to Web feature that I love on the desktop.
Ironically, if you live in Photoshop (like many designers I know), then it sounds like the iPad version won’t be for you. At least, not right away. Adobe is stripping away a ton of features that will make the app less useful (keyboard shortcuts, for example).
But in the meantime, this is a pretty serious win for creative professionals on the iPad. I’m holding out for InDesign next. (But I know I’m going to have to wait for Illustrator, Premiere, and probably After Effects first.)
Some other news that will change my life in some meaningful ways:
Typekit is now Adobe Fonts (and every font is available for unlimited desktop syncing now!). The new website feels slower than Typekit to me, but it’s also a little less quirky, which is nice.
Adobe XD’s first plug-in integrations are now available, drag gestures and linked symbols (finally) are built in, and the app is getting some great Illustrator and After Effects integrations. I try XD every six months or so to see if it can release Sketch. This update could put it over the edge for me.
There’s a new properties panel in InDesign that looks amazing. True story: I have multiple custom views in InDesign. I switch between them based on the amount of screen real estate I have. I’m hoping this makes that process less cumbersome for me. (Plus, there’s content-aware fill, which looks very neat.)
PhotoShop CC finally uses the same Undo keyboard shortcuts as literally everything else on my Mac. You can also double-click to edit text instead of switching to the type tool, which should have happened many, many moons ago.
All in all, these are great updates. Congratulations to the Adobe team for making their suite of products even better, and making my job easier!
Why do designers focus on images in their portfolio’s archive, instead of properly describing their work?
This is something I’m just as guilty of as the next designer. Here’s an image of what my portfolio looked like at the time of the tweet. You can find countless other design portfolios that riff on a theme just like this.
My favourite portfolios are really image-heavy, and I suspect that’s true for most people. Those portfolios are so funto look at and make. But I often find myself wondering if those portfolios are effective.
If you’re a potential client, why would you click on a thumbnail image? Some designers might hope that the thumbnail tells the story of their project, but the thumbnail is inconclusive at best and misleading at its worst. It often shows off what the final result looks like, but it doesn’t share the thinking behind that visual approach.
But that’s what designers should sell. We need to sell the thought process that gets clients results, because that’s what a good designer gets paid for.
Design pricing is in a race to the bottom. Or maybe it’s already bottomed out. But I think a lot of that is because we’re showing off visuals, instead of explaining our process or discussing our results.
So I’ve made some changes to my portfolio. Now, when you visit the home page, you’ll see a list of every project I was proud to be a part of. Instead of images, each project gets a description. Some of those descriptions link to case studies, and some don’t — but the work is all present and explained.
I had a lot of fun making this. My portfolio isn’t as flashy as it was before, but I hope my portfolio will now be more effective.
I’m really behind on this, because my new portfolio has been live for a couple months now, but: I have a new portfolio.
The website is new from top to bottom: new and re-written case studies, new designs, new type, new photography, new About page, a more detailed contact page, and more. (Not much more. I mean, I almost described the whole site. But the home page is new too.)
If you’re curious about my work, I’ve now got seven case studies up, with three more (!!!) in the works. I’d be honoured if you checked the website out.
One other note: my business runs on referrals. If you know anybody who has an interesting web or branding project and needs some help, I’d appreciate it if you connected us
Over the past couple years, I’ve tried to transform my work into a spiritual practice — not unlike Jiro. As often as I can, I spend a few minutes each morning in meditation with God. On the days I can do that, I find I’m much more at peace with my work. Inviting God into my work changes why I’m working.
I’m reminded of Colossians 3:24:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Our spiritual relationship and development is tied up in our work. Recognizing that has removed a lot of stress from me.
On the other hand, no matter how dedicated you are to your craft, rest is important:
“Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:6 NLT
On his deathbed, will Jiro wish he spent more time perfecting sushi? Or will he wish he spent more time with his sons?
