<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/1833437/curiosity-manifesto?claim=9hafekbtek8″>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> The hottest trend in the 2012 fashion forecast is LEATHER so it’s no surprise that these haute hides are finding their way into every avenue of design from sheik interiors to designer pet products. The use of leather has come quite a ways from the overstuffed cigar chair for granddaddy’s [...]

I was already an active member of LinkedIn with a well established network, but I wanted something more casual and far reaching. I searched for other designers and came up with surprisingly few results. My options for connecting with designers like me were running thin and I began to wonder what it was about social media that turns off designers.

It’s not unusual for designers to want control over multiple facets of design and yet so often project teams are fragmented. Assembling a design staff with truly diverse talents can be difficult and is probably more rare than we realize. Still, I imagine the possibilities are great.

Toyota’s marketing firm deserves a big wet kiss for this one. Let’s face it, today’s soccer moms (and dads) are just as fearful of the mini van stigma as they are proud of their little tikes. This brilliant tongue-in-cheek video might just prove that today’s 30-something parents can still maintain their cool while driving the family car.

Twenty-10 will go down in history as the year I was obsessed with birdcages. I just love to gaze upon them as the unique works of art they are.

Since moving from the East Coast to California three years ago I have found myself privy to many-a-comment about East Coast vs. West Coast design. Oddly enough, while working as a designer on the East Coast I had never once heard anyone identify the style differences as they pertain to interior architecture.

Monday mornings start with design staff boasting who went the longest without sleep or who worked the most days in a row without a day off or who hasn’t taken a single vacation day in 15 years. When did we decide that working harder was more valuable than working smarter?

Last night’s Meetup was based in relevance in graphic design but the subject is appropriate for any avenue of design. Whenever you start a new project you can maintain relevance by asking yourself and your clients about their goals and their image. What are they trying to achieve? What do they want to portray?

Of course, the folks in design firms who first realize the switch is necessary are rarely the ones who write the checks. It’s usually the CAD Managers and drafters who smell the smoke first. Those poor folks are tasked with the chore of approaching the big Boss and telling her (or him in some cases) that they need to invest $5,000 per drafter for a new program.