Evolution: A Weblog by Third North Creative

I just ran across this amazing historical account of visual communications. If you have even the slightest appreciation for design, this site will add some fuel to your fire.

Here’s the deal with choosing a graphic design program: Ultimately you’re going to get out of them what you put into them. I know a bunch of great designers that graduated from a number of diverse schools (everything from state schools to art schools). Conversely, I know some pretty crappy designers that graduated from the same schools. Ultimately it’s up to you- and how much you want to put into it. Your passion and hunger to learn and absorb will have a far greater effect on your education than your choice of schools. Your ultimate success will depend on how well you communicate your ideas and concepts through flawless execution.

The UW - Eau Claire program (which I graduated from) stresses conceptual practices and theories- and does it well, while leaving the mastering of computer applications up to you as a student. (Meaning that you’ll have to spend a lot of time learning the ins-and-outs of Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, etc. yourself to be truly proficient.) Software is an incredible tool, but no matter how tempting it is- never forget the freedom of pencil and paper. The fine art (studio art- such as life drawing, sculpture, photography, etc.) classes that are part of some design programs will encourage you to think about design in different ways using diverse media as your creative vehicle. When you are exploring different programs- take a look at the school’s curriculum and see if studio art classes are part of their design program. They should be!

As far as preparation for the real world goes: get a design internship! Internship experiences during college summers can teach you more about “the industry” than you will ever learn while attending any design school. If you attend college in a smaller city, I highly recommend expanding your internship search to include some large cities (such as Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, LA, etc). Metropolitan areas provide a much larger arena of creative opportunity outside of the classroom. There’s just something about the intensity of urban areas that inspires creativity.

When it comes to landing a job after graduation, there are two things that are of the utmost importance- and where your degree is from is NOT one of them:

1. Your portfolio. The more it rocks, the better! One way to enhance your portfolio while still in school is to start doing freelance design on the side. Even if you’re doing it for a friend for free, or for someone your parents know for cheap- you’re still working on a “real” project for a “real” client- this will give you a huge step-up on your peers when you graduate and are looking for a job. Make sure to think of every project you work on as an opportunity to create a masterpiece… no matter who it’s for, or how much you’re getting paid (or not paid, for that matter).

2. Your communication skills. Effective interaction with your superiors, peers and clients will play as large a role in your success as your actual design prowess. Your ability to listen, relate and then understand and analyze are all extremely important. Remember: graphic design is communication arts.

Yesterday Apple introduced their latest addition to the Mac Pro family- a ridiculously fast 3.0GHz, 8-core Intel Xeon-based machine. Of course, like any self-respecting designer would do, I had to cruise on over to the Apple site and customize one for myself.

Apple boasts of 33 million configurations- but I was curious to see how much the new offering would cost with all the bells and whistles. (not that any web designer could ever actually use this configuration to its full potential)

Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeons, 16GB of RAM, four 750GB hard drives, one NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics card, two 30 inch Apple Cinema HD Displays, two 16x SuperDrives, one Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and one AirPort Extreme card later my subtotal stood at an incredible $15,717.00!

Wow. That’s a lot of cake for a computer.

I shared my “research” with my wife, Amanda. A look of pure horror ran across her face… and I spent the rest of the evening assuring her that I am completely happy with my current setup and I am definitely not crazy enough to drop that kind of cash on any computer… (but wow, would it be sweet!)

Packages from Amazon are regular occurrence here at the Third North studio. My latest selection was an inspiring paperback by Andy Clarke, the UK based designer responsible for the always stimulating commentary of And all that Malarkey.

Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design is not just a book about code, nor is it just a book about design theory; instead it is a conceptual hybrid of the two. Andy Clarke fuses code with concept, and then illustrates their fusion with beautiful, real world, examples and screen shots.

As Andy mentions early on, this book is not for CSS beginners, and web designers not familiar with CSS selectors and properties will probably find themselves a bit lost during many of the examples. However, for those of you comfortable with the language and syntax of CSS, this book should be a permanent addition to your web design bookshelf.

Things have been pretty quiet on Evolution since September.

But we’re back! And although it may have seemed as if we dropped off the face of the earth during November, December and January- we were in fact, hiding out at the studio for days on end, putting the finishing touches on a suite of sports specific web applications that we are ecstatic to introduce today! These applications can be found at the new Team Sport Technologies website.

As previous posts have pointed out, development and design of Version 2 of our Puck Systems web application product was our primary focus for a majority of 2006. As the Puck Systems Version 2 project progressed, our clients made it remarkably clear that the tools we were developing for hockey organizations were needed for other sports organizations as well.

We took this to heart and took the Version 2 project one step further… creating a multi-sport organization management and communication platform unparalleled in the industry. From that day forward “V2″ became “Team Sport Technologies”. It may have taken us a bit longer, but the result is well worth it.

Take a look at what we’ve been up to, and drop us a line if you get a chance.

The completely redesigned Lasker Jewelers is live! The legendary jewelry store approached us with a number of goals for the design and development of their new site. Lasker Jewelers was founded in Eau Claire, WI in 1928 and now has showroom locations in both Eau Claire, and Rochester, Minnesota. The design goals for the new site were very clear: provide a fresh face to a timeless and exquisite company. We let the jewelry steal the show through use of a subtle color pallet and non-obtrusive design elements. Site functionality includes a custom CMS and online store integration. Take a look, and enjoy the bling.

Working on the American Birkebeiner website redesign has truly been an honor. The event itself carries with it such positive connotations, and for good reason: it has touched and empowered countless individuals over the years, fueled lifelong friendships, and brought families closer together. We’re proud to have played a part in this legend they call “The Birkie”.

There were a handful of key Birkie concepts that helped guide my design decisions: (1) The Birkie is a life-changing event, both physically and emotionally. (2) Crossing the finish line is awesomely empowering. (3) The race promotes nature, community and a positive lifestyle. (4) The Birkie is a true adventure, steeped in both history and tradition.

The site design focuses on the “adventure, experience, history, and tradition” aspects of the event in both its imagery and color-pallet. The imagery celebrates the location and season of the race, while the brightness and saturation of the colors inject visual excitement. The page title photos have been colorized and stylized, reminding us that this race is a modern adventure with timeless historical roots. The typography was carefully selected to follow the same themes.

When I started this project, I definitely had a desired outcome in mind. That outcome was to have a beautiful website that truly captured the spirit of the Birkie. The content and features needed to be well organized and accessible. I wanted the site to be a hub, not only for the Birkie, but also for the cross-country ski community as a whole. The finished site also needed to be an effective tool for the event organizers. Last, but certainly not least, I wanted visitors to be inspired by the website.

Enjoy!

Here at Third North the line between web designer and web programmer continues to blur. As a company we have made the leap from PHP to Ruby on Rails, much to the delight of Mike… and while he transitions between programming languages with relative ease and grace, I usually end up stumbling around for a bit (as most creatives do when they venture into the world of logic).

Kevin Clark, author of the weblog Gluttonous, has posted a fantastic introductory guide to Rails aptly titled Rails for Designers, which I have referenced back to a handful of times while getting my feet wet in the new language. The post summarizes the key concepts of RoR for designers including: MVC, URLs, and the basics of RHTML. All of which are essential to successfully designing and working with a Rails application.

Until recently I assumed that Windows users were doomed to seeing nothing but ugly pixilated fonts on their favorite websites. However, since Windows XP was released in 2001, the ClearType feature has been included in the operating system to smooth screen fonts. The problem is that ClearType is set to off by default, and many people don’t even realize the feature exists. ClearType will be included and enabled by default in the forthcoming IE7 for XP, but to take advantage of the great feature on your current XP machine just follow the steps below and start enjoying your favorite sites in all their anti-aliased glory.

To use ClearType for screen fonts:

1. Open Display in Control Panel.
2. On the Appearance tab, click Effects.
3. In the Effects dialog box, select the Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts check box.
4. Click ClearType in the list.
5. Click Ok and Apply.

Blattner Brunner of Pittsburgh has created a fantastic series of powerfully simple Lego ads. The ads effectively capture the essence of what makes the classic toy so amazing. Imagination. I am convinced that the hours and hours my brother and I spent creating our own Lego masterpieces has directly effected the way that I design and envision creative solutions today.

UPDATE: Photography Credit: CWENAR Photography