Andy Rutledge : Design View

Again With the Risks

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:12:31 -0600

Whether you’re a designer or a plumber or a banker, this article is meant for you…

Where Wireframes Are Concerned

Wed, 09 Nov 2009 09:40:31 -0600

Wireframes can be useful, valuable artifacts for informing the designer’s process, but they often fail miserably as a first-step deliverable for clients…

Risk

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:02:31 -0600

Risk is too much maligned in western culture these days and that has begun to seriously piss me off. It wasn’t always so. The west, the US in particular, used to be a place where risktaking was understood to be a fundamental component of life; successful life especially. So in a fit of indignation I made some desktop wallpapers yesterday…

Creativity is Not Design - Design Test 2

Mon, 02 Oct 2009 07:55:31 -0600

Some years ago I published a little test to stimulate discussion in the community and so that readers could self-evaluate their understanding of design fundamentals. It was and remains quite popular among my readers. Here I’ve crafted another design test, but this time with a specific target audience and a more specific purpose…

AIGA On Committees and Design Projects

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:20:31 -0600

It is a sad but inescapable fact that one cannot be a responsible writer on issues of design professionalism without being compelled to take to task and try and repair damage done regularly to design education and professional standards by AIGA. I’ve endeavored to do so quite a few times in the past and there is once more need to correct what passes for wisdom or instruction in the insular and unfathomable the world of that organization…

Where the Buck Stops

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:40:31 -0600

Experienced designers know that collaboration can be effective, but is important to keep in mind that collaboration should never imply shared responsibility. Shared responsibility is diluted responsibility; it means no one has responsibility. Regardless of how many individuals might contribute ideas to a project, one individual must be required to make final decisions. One individual must be saddled with the burden of responsibility for the design and the project’s success…

Unify: A Fantasy Fulfilled

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:07:31 -0600

Ever since I first started making web pages, I wanted a CMS that would allow me to make content updates by simply going to my website and changing the content right on the page. My fantasy was that this system did not require me to know any programming language or tagging system beyond HTML and CSS and it didn’t require me to play with a database. In my fantasy, the system took minutes to implement and my clients could use it as easily as I could…

The Trouble With RFPs

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:24:31 -0600

Gentlemen do not associate with the kind of woman who delights in compelling men to fight each other to win her attentions. Everyone knows that her choice is not based on actual suitability and mutual respect, but rather on sheer competitive success in the arena shaped by her wanton ego. Such women are relegated to randy brutes, not gentlemen suitors. Respectable members of the community have slight regard and particular names for this sort of woman. The crude relationships that come from this sort of scenario have predictable outcomes, as do the similar relationships involving companies who broadcast RFPs (Request For Proposals) and the low and misguided agencies who respond to them…

Gestalt Principles of Perception - 5: Closure

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:47:31 -0600

It is no accident that the final installment in this article series deals with closure. I’ve put it off until last not because of the clever pun, but because unlike the other Gestalt principles, a responsible examination of the principle of closure involves a host of harrowing contexts: war, deception, political and economic ruin, broken homes, broken hearts, blood, tears, and needless agony. Are you sure want to get involved with this principle? Are you really so eager to get your hands dirty? Despite what you’ll find everywhere else on the subject, closure ain’t just for making clever logos…

On Inspiration

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:06:31 -0600

Inspiration is entirely unnecessary in our work. Oh, it does a doozy on those rare occasions, but if we staked our livelihoods and our clients’ fortunes on the condition of our being truly inspired, we would all of us go bankrupt…