Designers of the World, Write.

This week, How Magazine presents a very interesting article by Juliet D'Ambrosio, associate creative director at Atlanta-based Iconologic. The article begins like this:

It's a strange paradox: So many designers whose work speaks so fluently in images flee in terror when called upon to communicate with the written word. After all, designers are nothing if not communicators, and communication is most fully realized when image and word unite.

Juliet presents seven steps to tackle this challenge. I suggest you read on, to find out more.

All the best!

Learn English!

As I’ve said before, Latin American designers must speak English. This will open up doors for them everywhere!

However, I am not the bearer of good news. I think when it comes to English (or any other foreign language, for that matter) there are two kinds of people:

· Those that really have to work at it.
· Those for whom it just comes easy.

Unfortunately most people are in the first group, and that’s the bad news. Such people need to really work at it and be disciplined to learn.

There are basically two (and a half) ways to learn English, in my opinion:


Option 1: Take a course.

This means doing all the exercises and walking the extra mile by enrolling in every English speaking activity they can think of. Watching TV in English (no subtitles) like news and movies, listening to music in English, attending events organized by the UK and American Embassies or English institutes such as Berlitz.

So, if you’re up for the challenge of being consistent, disciplined and reaching your goals, this is a way to do it. If this option speaks to you, allow me to recommend the British Council and Wall Street as two good institutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the first person that has really learned like this. Learn to speak well, I mean. Anyone can “kind of speak pigeon English”.


Option 2: Travel abroad.

In my opinion, this is the fastest and best way to learn English. And most people have this idea that maybe it’s too expensive. I can assure you, there is always a way. Spend at least six months abroad, learning. I recommend you do this through an institute, so that you have some structure to follow.


Now here comes the “half”:

For those special people for whom English comes easy (like me, it’s a gift) there is another way. I never did go abroad to learn English, the first time I went to the US, I’d been speaking English for years. In fact, I learned in about six months when I was twelve years old.

How? I used to be a TV-holic, so just by watching English spoken TV shows with closed captioning (subtitles in English) I learned how to use sentences, the context, grammar and pronunciation. I did help myself with some English textbooks to understand the structure better.

If you are this kind of person, congratulations! All you have to do now is work at it, so that you won’t forget it. Watch TV, listen to shows and write in English daily!

And here's a little tip for all of you who are learning: Don't over pronounce words so much. We spanish-speaking people tend to over pronounce, but in english there's no need to do that. In fact, english can be pretty much mumbled and it will still sound ok. This will make your speech sound more natural, less latin.


I guess the advantages of speaking English are obvious:

· You can access tons of information on the web (and many different sources, such as books and newsletters), about every topic imaginable.
· Podcasts and audiobooks are at your disposal.
· You can join networking communities online and exchange information with people from all over the world.
· Out of this networking, great business opportunities may arise.
· Access to the latest global news.
· A valuable asset for your resume.

I have an English friend (from England, actually) who’s learning Spanish and he says that as an English speaking person, if he learns Spanish, he’ll be able to communicate with the vast majority of the planet. I think he’s right.

And in this day and age, Colombian (and Latin American) designers cannot afford to be left behind.

All the best!

Positive feedback

As most people, I was never very good at recognizing people’s efforts or saying a kind word whenever they showed some progress. In time I realized I had to leave my comfort zone in order to obtain better results.

I think that most people have trouble giving positive feedback. I know I do. However when you’re leading a team of people, be it a design team, your family or people working with you in any other endeavor, you really need to learn to acknowledge even the smallest efforts for improvement.

Why?

Well, who doesn’t want to be acknowledged and not taken for granted? Don’t you want to be? Don’t you get a little spring in your step when someone says something positive about you?

Would you agree with me if I said that positive feedback can largely increase your team’s productivity?

Well, that’s old news, yet I see too many professionals and managers who avoid it.


But what is positive feedback?

It is the action of telling somebody effectively that what they’re doing is acknowledged and recognized.

That’s pretty simple, isn’t it?

Not quite. You see, saying “good job” to someone doesn’t bear the same connotation to actually stating what it was they did well and its impact.


So how to go about it?

There are many resources on the Web about this subject and several ways to use it. Here’s my take on it:

When you spot something that someone has done, when you catch yourself thinking “hey, that’s pretty good”, every single time, even if it’s something small, follow the next steps:


Step 1: State the time.
The specific time in which the person did something well. The phrase should start with their name, followed by an expression of time.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning…”
“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x…”.
Be as precise as possible.


Step 2: State the action.
The actual thing they did. The fact.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning when you delivered the sketches on time…”
“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x you supported the concept we were presenting with the items you brought…”.


Step 3: State the impact.
On the operation, how what they did affects the results positively and how it makes you feel.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning when you delivered the sketches on time, it proved to me that I can trust you with deadlines, that you’re a professional and that you care about what you do”.

“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x you supported the concept we were presenting with the items you brought, which allowed the customer to visualize the project more effectively and made me feel very proud that you’re on our team”.


See, if you’re this specific when giving feedback it has a bigger impact on the person and encourages them to keep striving to be better.

I still struggle a bit with it, it doesn’t come as natural as I’d like, but I’ve found that giving positive feedback builds up relationships and contributes to a more effective and productive work environment.

Care to try this at home, as well?

All the best!

Design magazines

As I’ve discussed before, I think young designers in Latin America would benefit from expanding their scope and trying to find new and wider sources of information. One of those sources are design magazines. Though the web has opened up many doors for designers, there may be some that will read this information for the first time.

Remember how I said that I used to think that my world was really small? Well, when I was at the university I used to think that design magazines were beyond my reach. In those days there was a really beautiful one called Abitare, italian, awesome… we used to see them at the design building’s library.

As years went by, I started working and got a credit card and what do you know…? Using credit cards, you can buy things abroad! I don’t know about you, but this never occurred to me when I was in college (I know, I know… I was either too innocent, or didn’t have good friends!).

So I wanted to let you know about two magazines I’ve been subscribed to for years.

How Magazine: This magazine focuses on graphic design, which being a designer, I love. And it shows some great examples of graphic design, they have contests and then they feature the winners and the contestants, so it’s a great source of visual culture.

Furthermore, what I really love about this magazine is its business edge. You will find design business related articles, from hiring an accountant for your design studio, to how to boost creativity and be a great design leader.

They also do a “Business Annual” every year (no kidding, huh?) that covers even more business related topics like salaries and legal stuff. To me, this magazine is a must read for every designer. It’s American, but I think it conveys the global design business trends of today.

ID Magazine: Sister of How Magazine, ID focuses more on my field, industrial and product design. It doesn’t have the same depth in business issues, but it’s a great showcase of the best of current design. I suggest you get this one too.






So my message for this short post is…

1. Get a credit card! I don’t care if you’re a student, banks always have special promotions for you.
2. Research and subscribe to design magazines. If there aren’t any good ones in your region, subscribe to a couple abroad!
3. Even if you can’t afford it, research local publications. It also doesn’t have to be on your design discipline, you can check some decoration magazines, or architecture… it’ll all become what I call “visual culture”, feeding and stimulating your brain with more design!

I mean, that’s why we became designers, isn’t it?
Hey, do leave a comment if you want to suggest more magazines!
All the best!

Designers beware: Setting clear goals and expectations.

Lately I’ve found myself having differences of opinion with people about my ideas on how to lead a design team. I want to present a situation to the community and get some feedback on whether or not I am completely off my rocker.

Let’s say you own a small design studio or you lead an in-house team. Let’s say you hire a new designer. A young bright designer. Let’s say that this new designer is assigned a group of tasks that involve learning a new software or mastering a technology which he hasn’t been exposed to before. He’s expressed this openly to you during the selection process.

The standards or final goals are clear in your head. You know exactly what you expect from the designer.

The question is: How do you get this new designer from not knowing quite how to do the work to getting the job done as you want it?

Some might argue that if this designer is as bright as he seems, he should figure it all out on his own. Now, from my point of view, there are three things/issues he should figure out:

- One, how to work the software/new technology.
- Two, the standards the job needs to meet.
- Three, how much time he’s allowed to take to get to the expected level of performance.

Do you agree with me so far?

New set of questions: What would happen if you (the manager) fail to give information to this young designer on one of the three issues. In fact, what would happen if you refuse to provide information on all of them? What would be the odds of this designer meeting your criteria? Would you still expect him to?

Believe it or not, I’ve encountered such a situation recently.

So here’s what I think:

Issue one, yes, software and new technology usually come with manuals, and yes, there are forums on the web where a person can post his questions and get some guidance. Would this be enough?

Would it be reasonable to ask one of the designers on the team (one that knows how to work the technology) to help the young bright designer? Would it be reasonable for you to spend some time with the designer, explaining the basics of the technology? Would this help him reach the performance level quicker? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

Issue two, could the new designer guess what you expect? Let’s say he’s so brave, he went straight to you and asked about it and you ignored him because you thought explaining that would just take too much time. Would you still expect him to know how the job needs to be presented?

Again, would it be reasonable to enlist the help of another designer on the team or to perhaps spend some of your time explaining the standards that need to be met? Would this help the designer present the job according to the expectations? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

Issue three, would the designer be able to guess how long would be a reasonable time to reach the expected level of performance? Would anybody in this situation be? Would it help to inform him clearly when you expect to see results? Would it help him if you gave him a schedule of steps or small goals he needs to reach and their timeframe? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

So by now I’m guessing you’ve gotten my point. You cannot expect someone who’s new on a job to guess how things need to be done. Especially if this young bright designer is also fresh-out-of-college.

You need to give this person the tools, all the tools available, for him to learn as soon as possible. You need to inform the standards that the job has to meet and you need to be clear on deadlines, schedules and expectations. Period.

Let’s avoid the “quick-fix” mentality and let’s start building a real design team. Let’s spend time training our people so that they can be more productive now and in the long run and so that we can deliver better work.

If our schedule is so tight, let’s delegate! Other designers would be more than willing to guide the new guy! Don’t you agree? Wouldn’t you go as far as calling the attitude of the manager I’ve described as “negligent”?

I’d love to receive some comments and know what other people think. Are there people out there who can “guess” how a job needs to be done? Would they be successful if they put more “effort” into it? Am I missing something here?

All the best!

Designers beware: Is the design manager or leader the one that is “better” than the rest?

I recently held a discussion with someone who told me in order to lead a team of designers, the design leader had to be better than the other designers. I don’t agree with such statement.

As I’ve mentioned before I’m very interested in learning and growing as a leader. I’ve read a lot about leadership and I keep up with design publications so I can feed off the experience of others, as well as my own.

So I thought I’d bring the subject up and see what people think!

What would be my answer to such a question? No.

But before I expand on my opinion, let’s just ask ourselves what “better” means. The person to whom I had this conversation was indicating the design leader must produce better logos than the rest, better visual systems, or the best brochures.

So for this person, being 'better' in the "technical” sense of the craft, meant a good designer would naturally become a good design manager. In other words, somebody who is better has the natural ability to supervise other designer's work, on account of their ability. On the other hand, someone with less ability would be unable to judge the quality of the other designer’s work.

Let’s stop for a moment and ask this question, “Would any really good designer necesarily want to become a design manager? I’ve known a fair share of designers that would decline such an invitation, at least feel uncomfortable with such a possibility. Why? For some being a design leader is “boring” and cuts into the one thing they enjoy most... designing! Managers have to start worrying about clients, deadlines, paperwork, tedious tasks and more importantly, the growth of their staff. I don’t know many, if any designers that would trade their art of designing for a higher position. Designers love designing!

Another question... what qualities does a great leader have to posess? Think of the great leaders of the world; those who have moved the masses, that have created a positive impact in history. In fact, why not consider that great boss you once had? What did he/she have in common with those other great leaders? I would say the ability to bring the best out of those they lead... in the case of the design manager, not the ability to draw better nor apply a more exhilirating color.

I once had a great boss who knew a bit about doing the tasks I normally did, however I surpassed him in many aspects of the work, chief of which was technical ability. But I could never have led the team the way he did. He’s still remembered by many as to how he pushed the team in all the right directions. What was so great about his leadership? He trusted and guided us... he encouraged us to learn on our own... he pushed us to try new heights, always keeping his word as he held the reigns. Was he “better”, in this sense of the word? No. But he was certainly wiser, with more experiences, able to see in us abilities we never saw in ourselves.

In closing here’s my thought: A good design manager is one who hires designers “better” than he or she is able to design. This way they’re able to feed off the knowledge of those they lead which will in turn bring out the best in their designing ability. If I were such a leader I would hire those passionate about their work... designers always learning more, always pushing themselves to new heights. In the final analysis, it’s not who’s better, it’s who forms the most diverse team, where the team feels supported to each bring their best to the table. This, to me, is what makes for a successful design team.

I look forward to receiving some comments! I’d sure love to know what the community thinks.
All the best!

*A special thanks to Mr. Green who kindly helped me proof read this article.

Designers beware: 10 tips on writing emails.

If there’s one thing a designer cannot afford to be is sloppy. Ever. And we designers tend to be a bit sloppy about communication and we tend to believe that whoever doesn’t speak “design tongue” is kind of dumb.

But think again, as I’ve exposed before, it is we, the designers, that need to start expressing in the language of the people we serve.

One of the most used tools of communication for designers is of course, email. Numerous versions of blueprints and projects are sent every day, iterations, discussions about budgets, deadlines, look and feel, corrections, revisions…

It is crucial that we manage email effectively in order to not drown in our own sea of email and communicate a clear message that will help design processes run smoothly. So here are ten tips to effectively handle email:


Tip 1: Be smart about subject lines.
The subject line should provide as much information as possible about the content of the email. Be descriptive and avoid laziness. Include if applicable, the name of the customer, the project, the specific part of the project, the version, if any action needs to be taken. For example:
Nike Running Shoes Ad blueprint, version 04. Comments are expected by tomorrow noon.

I’ve literally received emails with “design” or “strawberry” in the subject line.
Another thing is to update the subject line every time you reply. As the message evolves, so should the subject line.

If there are emails that you constantly send, that have the same structure, come up with a nomenclature for them. For instance, if you send a budget update every two weeks, your subject line could be: "Nike Campaign, Budget Update for February 20th, 2007", where you would only change the date every time you send it. This makes it easier for you and your readers to archive.

You could even come up with some abbreviations to add at the end of the subject line, inside the organization. For example: AR=action required; EOM=end of message; CE=comments expected. This will help other people know up front if there’s something they need to do about it.


Tip 2: Be brief and to the point.
Bottom line up front, state the purpose of the email and the actions required in the first paragraph. This will allow the reader to decide whether they need to continue reading or not. If the emails is more than three paragraphs long, it’s better to call and follow up with a summary email.


Tip 3: Be clear on what the next step is.
And include this information in the subject line or first paragraph if possible. Tell the reader if an action is required of them and state a deadline for that action to be taken. If no action is required, inform that also. You could start the message with “fyi” which means that the email is sent only as information.


Tip 4: There are no urgent emails.
If something is urgent and needs immediate attention, call, and then follow up with an email.


Tip 5: Present ideas in a simple, easy to understand way.
As I said in a previous post:

“This is particularly important when sending emails and explaining design issues in writing. It is very easy for a customer to get confused when he receives an email and it’s not well written. Revise how much detail you want to go into when discussing matters with your clients. Little detail and you won’t be able to convey your message, too much detail and it’s likely that your counterpart will get confused.”

Also help the reader with visual aids whenever needed. Highlight issues with different colors if you need to draw attention to them. Use bullets to list things. Another thing I like to do is take a picture (JPG or PDF) of a given design and use Photoshop to circle the areas I want to discuss. I assign a number to each area and then I explain each of the numbers in writing.

Make sure your emails comply with IP Standards (Idiot Proof Standards, that is, meaning that anything that needs a manual to be understood, is not well designed).


Tip 6: Mind your spelling and grammar.
As I said in a previous post:

“Grammar and spelling do speak about your professionalism, so be aware of the image you’re presenting. Check emails for errors or typos before sending them and make sure your staff does the same.”

Tip 7: Never forward junk or chain emails.
It’s plain unprofessional and goes against the trust customers and people in general, have in you.


Tip 8: Use a signature.
One that includes your name, position and contact details. If you’re part of a design organization, standardize it and make sure everybody uses the same. This reinforces your brand and it looks professional.


Tip 9: Be professional about email.
Do not use email to solve disputes. It is always better to use personal communication first.
Don’t use email to tell on other people.
Don’t use it as a mechanism to track actions.


Tip 10: Archive your email.
In a business where there are so many subjective issues, it’s a good idea to follow up discussions and agreements with something in writing. Come up with a good archiving system to file your email and make sure you can locate it easily afterwards. Use email client rules to help you file more quickly. I’ve talked about filing systems before. Some of this principles apply to archiving email.

I look forward to receiving some comments!
All the best.