AADA - Raw, direct and live chats about design and creativity

AADA - Raw, direct and live chats about design and creativity

By Craig BurgessArtsMusicVisual ArtsDesign
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AADA - Raw, direct and live chats about design and creativity episodes

  • 120 - Ideas Are Infinite
    It's not useful to think about originality. It is useful to think about infinity though.
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    Music and links from this episode
    Man Alone Chimes the Hour by Nihilore
    Pineal Gland's Goodbye by Sro
    And the track playing right now, my new favourite track: Invisible by Camilla North x Jens East
    Line-by-line notes
    In episode 118
    I spoke about the idea that ideas are infinite
    That, given enough pressure, we can squeeze out ideas forever
    We shouldn’t believe the mantra that everything has already been done
    And nothing is original anymore
    Because that’s just not true
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    MUSIC
    In design, we’re already setting ourselves up for a fall
    Most people on this planet today believe the mantra
    “It’s all been done before”
    “Nothing is original anymore”
    I hate that mindset with every bone in my body
    It’s destructive and just plain unhelpful
    It just sets your mind up for defeat before you’ve even tried
    Why bother trying hard, if everything you’re about to make has been done before?
    Why bother trying at all?
    Why don’t I just copy somebody else?
    After all, it’s all been done before right?
    This is not the attitude to take when it comes to idea generation
    It’s a deeply destructive train of thought
    And just to confuse you more
    I don’t think the direct opposite is a helpful stance either
    Trying to be original with everything you do is unhelpful too
    Thinking the complete opposite sets you up for equal failure
    If you’re trying so hard to be original, you’ll forget the original purpose of any design
    To communicate something effectively and efficiently
    I’ve been there myself
    And this is why generally designers are so bad at doing things for themselves like their own portfolios
    Because they want it to be so original, and so perfect, it creates inaction
    I prefer to believe a much simpler thought
    That ideas are infinite
    Your mind and everybody else’s mind are so full of ideas, you can never run out of them
    There might be days when you struggle to come up with a single one
    Those days where nothing works
    And they’ll be lots of bad ideas
    Yes, LOTS of bad ideas
    But that doesn’t matter
    Because ideas are infinite, you’ll eventually, no, inevitably get to a good one
    This removes the idea of originality completely
    Originality is important
    Just as important as it is to develop your own designer’s eye
    And your own unique way of looking at the world
    I won’t say a style, because I think designers developing a style just paints you into a corner
    And that’s a topic for another day...
    Rather than believing everybody has done everything
    Or that you need to be a christopher columbus and discover the next big trend
    Just think about the idea that ideas themselves are infinite
    It shifts your thinking completely
    You don’t need to worry about originality anymore
    Because you know you’ll get there eventually anyway
    You don’t have to worry about your ideas being rubbish
    Because the next hour or the next day is full of more ideas
    Everybody is capable of an infinite amount of ideas
    You’ve just got to believe it
    MUSIC
    This was AADA and I’m Craig Burgess
    Music featured in this episode was
    Man Alone Chimes the Hour by Nihilore
    Pineal Gland's Goodbye by Sro
    And the track playing right now, my new favourite track: Invisible by Camilla North x Jens East
    For a line by line rundown of this episode, go over to askadesigneranything dot com/ ep 120
    I’m back tomorrow
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    Leave me a review on iTunes
    8 min
  • 119 - Everything Isn't Great
    Everything isn't always great, and it's OK to admit that. Sometimes.
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    Music and links from this episode
    Lunar Dunes by Spinning Clocks
    Anti-Saloon League Midnight Mystery by Fields Ohio
    Nothing Like Captain Crunch by Broke For Free
    Line-by-line notes
    Being British has its advantages
    We don't have the endless optimism of the Americans
    We're definitely more realists than optimists
    I think it's the dour weather
    That sours our mood
    Today's episode has a very melancholy mood
    And not because I'm in a melancholy mood either
    Everything isn't great all of the time
    And it's OK to admit that
    This AADA, and I'm Craig Burgess.
    MUSIC
    I will be honest though
    I really couldn't be bothered with this podcast today
    I spent all last night making a business idea, writing and building a website in 3 hours
    That's online now by the way if you want to check it out
    It's at whyismywebsiteslow.co.uk
    After last night's late night
    The last thing I want to do tonight is more things that require me to think hard
    But here I am
    Recording this podcast
    And speaking to you now
    Things aren't always perfect
    And I think it's OK to admit that
    It's more than OK to admit that
    Social media is definitely skewing this opinion that we always have to be great
    Facebook, Twitter and Instagram especially is a carefully edited edition of somebody's life
    It all looks good when somebody's life is reduced down to a couple of photos on the internet
    But when we sit flicking through that kind of thing
    And everybody else's life looks more perfect than ours
    It's hard not to feel a little bit ungrateful about your own life
    Why is my life not perfect like their perfect life on Instagram?
    The thing is though, it is
    Your life is just as perfect as theirs
    No matter how happy they look in that photo they just took when they got out of bed
    Five minutes before they were as miserable as sin and didn't want to get out of bed
    We all suffer from the same things
    The same highs and the same lows
    And today, I'm here to tell you that's OK
    This applies to everything in life, but especially with design
    When you're designer, you're constantly looking at other designer's work
    And it's hard to look at their work
    And not feel inferior to all the better designers out there
    I feel like this all of the time
    I wish I could be more like Michael Beirut
    And I wish I could draw properly like all the amazing illustrators on the internet
    But the same thing applies
    You're looking at a carefully crafted portfolio designed to make you think that designer is amazing
    It doesn't show behind the scenes at the work that we've all done
    Those design jobs that we don't put in our portfolios because they're absolutely terrible
    It's OK to feel inferior to them, but remember that you're not
    Every designer has their off days, their off weeks, even their off years
    Every designer goes through a period of not feeling inspired anymore
    And questioning whether they're past it, or not good enough, or never going to be as good as insert any famous designer
    If you think like that, you'll never be good enough
    As long as you pursue a life long mission to be better than you was yesterday
    That's good enough
    Everything isn't always great
    And that's good enough too
    Perfection sounds nice
    But it just doesn't exist
    MUSIC
    This was AADA, and I'm Craig Burgess
    Music featured in this episode was:
    Lunar Dunes by Spinning Clocks
    Anti-Saloon League Midnight Mystery by Fields Ohio
    Nothing Like Captain Crunch by Broke For Free
    For a line by line run down of this episode, go over to askadesigneranything.com/ep119
    Thanks for listening
    I'm back tomorrow
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    Leave me a review on iTunes
    8 min
  • 118 - Under Pressure
    Pressure is the secret to good ideas.
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    Music and links from this episode
    The Ocean by MindsEye
    Post Yes by Soft and Furious
    in the garden of swine by alpha jaguar
    Line-by-line notes
    If you're a regular listener of this podcast
    You'll know I like setting stupid challenges
    I like testing the theory
    That ideas are infinite
    And if we put ourselves under enough pressure
    Ideas can pop out of anywhere.
    This is AADA, and I'm Craig Burgess
    MUSIC
    This podcast is a little bit different today
    Because I've got something else at the back of my mind
    Tonight, in a meeting, I accidentally set myself a challenge
    Yeah, that's on top of this daily challenge of a podcast a day
    I set myself a challenge to make a business by midnight
    As I record this podcast, it's now 8:15pm
    And after I've recorded this podcast
    I need to then edit it
    So easily, it'll be 9pm before I'm done with my podcast
    Which gives me 3 hours
    To invent a business where I can sell my skills through
    And be taking money by midnight
    It isn't an easy challenge
    But I set it up for 2 reasons
    Reason 1: I wanted to prove that it's possible with as little time as humanly possible to set up a business
    So nobody has an excuse for not doing something
    And 2: the idea that ideas themselves are infinite
    Ideas are a little bit like diamonds
    They start out as boring bits of earth that nobody cares about
    But as you add pressure to them
    And the more ridiculous the pressure
    The better the idea crystallises into a diamond of an idea
    That way of working definitely works for me
    The more pressure I put myself under
    The the more ideas flood out of my brain into a useful format
    The longer you have to think about an idea
    Not matter what it is
    That idea goes from an amazing one, to a good one, to a rubbish one
    And if you're lucky, back to an amazing one
    Our brains are fascinating pieces of kit
    They have an amazing ability to convince themselves
    Of anything
    No matter how ridiculous or otherwise it is
    And when you leave brains to ponder things
    They tend to get all realistic about stuff and a little bit more boring
    I try my best to seize ideas when they strike
    And ride that idea and find out where it takes me
    Sometimes, they end in a blaze of glory
    In fact most of them do
    But every single time I've decided to make some stupid idea
    That didn't go anywhere
    I've learned things larger than the idea
    I've learnt a new skill, a new piece of knowledge, or just become a better person
    You can't put a price on that
    And the only way you test yourself with those kinds of things
    Is by putting pressure on yourself
    And trying new ideas
    MUSIC
    This was AADA, I'm Craig Burgess
    Music featured in this episode was
    The Ocean by MindsEye
    Post Yes by Soft and Furious
    in the garden of swine by alpha jaguar
    For a line by line rundown of this episode, go over to askadesigneranything.com/ep118
    I'm back tomorrow with another episode of AADA
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    Leave me a review on iTunes
    7 min
  • 117 - The Grind
    Every day is made up of choices.
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    Music and links from this episode
    Welcome to the Grid, author unknown, YouTube Video
    Egg Zit Pay Pairs by Captive Portal
    Don't Tickle Me (feat. Benadiction) by Captive Portal
    Bruntleek by Myriadar
    Line-by-line notes
    Every minute of every hour of every day
    Is made up of choices
    Do this
    Don’t do this
    Do that
    Don’t do that
    Your biggest opponent in life is yourself
    And every minute is a battle against yourself
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY WELCOME TO THE GRIND
    That’s a clip from Welcome to the Grind, and amazing motivational speech
    I couldn’t find the original author so I’m sorry
    But It sums up the grind entirely
    And leaves me with little else to say
    Let’s get back to choices
    Every day, we get to make a choice to do the work
    Or not do the work
    We get to choose to do that thing we don’t want to do to reach that goal we really want
    Or we choose to put it off for another day and delay that goal we really want
    The people who are 60 years old and didn’t do the work
    Look back, and wish they’d made the better daily choices
    Grinding is not just for World of Warcraft
    It’s a way to make yourself better every day of your life
    5 times a week, I lift weights
    Some days, I look at that workout I have to do
    And I can’t be bothered
    I’d prefer to do anything other than lift a couple of weights
    But then I catch myself
    And break the task down
    It’s just 45 minutes
    I tell myself
    It’s 45 minutes today to make my life better for the rest of my life
    To make sure I have a strong body, strong bones, and a strong mind
    45 minutes to give me a better life
    I enjoy lifting weights
    But sometimes I don’t
    And I’d say it’s split 50/50 between
    But I know if I stay consistent
    And I keep grinding out session after session
    I get better
    I don’t have to do anything else
    But just turn up, and be willing to put in the work
    It’s automatic
    It’s why I do daily 365 day challenges
    It removes my ability to make a decision to do something or not
    If I’ve said
    Very publicly by the way
    That I’m gonna do this thing every day for 365 days
    I have to
    I’m stubborn like that
    Our brains are powerful, complex things
    And it’s amazing what we can do with them when we give them a task
    It’s even more amazing how good we can get at stuff if we just stick at it
    And apply some consistency to our actions
    In life, we can’t rely on motivation or inspiration
    Motivation is fleeting, inspiration strikes every now and again
    To be good at anything
    We need to get used to the grind
    We need to embrace the grind
    And be willing to turn up every day
    Whether you want to or not
    Whether you’re tired, bored, or sick of everything
    You turn up
    And do the work
    That’s what the grind means
    OUTRO
    This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.
    Music featured in this episode was
    Welcome to the Grid, author unknown, YouTube link in the show notes
    Egg Zit Pay Pairs by Captive Portal
    Don't Tickle Me (feat. Benadiction) by Captive Portal
    Bruntleek by Myriadar
    For a line-by-line run down of this episode, go to a skadesignernaything.com/ep117
    I’m back tomorrow for another episode of AADA
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    Leave me a review on iTunes
    8 min
  • 116 - Another World
    Creativity. It's like another world.
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    Music and links from this episode
    Inner Mental Cage (Bitmap Remix) by Controlled Insanity
    Freejazz by The Unknown Trio
    Hola Hola Bossa Nova by Juanitos
    Line-by-line notes
    INTRO
    When you’re making things
    Designing things
    Drawing things
    Or just creating things
    Is a really special thing
    It’s not like anything else on this planet
    When you get into the zone...
    It’s like stepping into another world
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    Jazz music is the ultimate place of stepping into another world for me
    Jazz musicians are some of the most creative people on the planet
    And once they’ve found their flow
    Their improvisations are otherworldly
    When their improvising, they’re in a flow and in another world
    The idea of flow is not an idea that’s unique to creativity
    It’s talked about in sports and lots of other places
    The idea is sometimes referred to as being in the zone
    It’s a special place where nothing else matters around you
    You’re completely and utterly immersed in your activity
    I get like this when I’m designing things
    And also when I’m coding
    Once I’m 100% focused on the activity
    Everything else around me fades away
    Being in a creative flow is a lot like meditating
    You’re completely and utterly focused on nothing else
    In my day to day life
    Of phone calls, emails and office conversation
    I don’t get much of a chance to get into this zone
    It’s hard in a busy lifestyle with lots to do
    To get focused
    And to find room inside your busy brain
    But to produce our best work
    And to be at our best creatively
    We need to find ways to achieve it
    Everybody’s different
    And part of the challenge of harnessing your other world
    Is to find when it’s easiest to access for you
    For some people it’s a morning
    And there’s been lots of studies to say that mornings are the most productive for a lot of people
    For me, I love my sleep
    So mornings aren’t good for me
    But I really kick into overdrive on an evening
    Unfortunately the later the better for me
    I love the feeling of night time peace
    And that really feels like another world to me
    I record my podcasts pretty late at night
    The night time has a different mood for me
    Everything is at peace
    And everything is quiet
    There’s no fast moving people needing to get somewhere
    And there’s no cars flying around desperate to get to their final destination
    Everybody is just…relaxed
    And enjoying themselves
    And whilst this time is going on
    I feel at my most creative and productive
    To succeed as a designer or any creative
    You’ve got to learn about your other world
    And how to get into it
    Savour it
    And create stuff in it
    Not only will you become a better creative
    You’ll enjoy yourself too
    A win win creative situation
    OUTRO
    This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.
    Music featured in this episode was
    Inner Mental Cage (Bitmap Remix) by Controlled Insanity
    Freejazz by The Unknown Trio
    Hola Hola Bossa Nova by Juanitos
    For a line-by-line run down of this episode, go to askadesignernaything.com/ep116
    I’m back tomorrow for another episode of AADA
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    Leave me a review on iTunes
    7 min
  • 115 - The Art Of The Idea
    Ideas. I love ideas. It's the core of any creative endeavour.
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    Music and links from this episode
    All tracks from Captive Portal's new album, Having A VHS For A Leg
    Choir Librarian by Captive Portal
    When We Were Once by Captive Portal
    Equestrian Encryption by Captive Portal
    Line-by-line notes
    INTRO
    There’s one thing that is common across any type of creative activity
    Whether you’re a designer, artist, singer, rapper, whatever
    It’s all about ideas
    Big ideas
    Small ideas
    Rubbish ideas
    Good ideas
    It’s all ideas
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    When people say that thing I hate hearing
    “I’m not creative”
    What they’re really saying
    Is that they don’t think they can think of ideas
    And even that’s not true either
    They think that can’t come up with ideas
    But that’s just a story that they tell themselves
    Because over the years
    People get creativity and idea-making hammered out of them
    As they get older, they think they can’t think of ideas anymore
    And actually, coming up with ideas isn’t actually that difficult
    You’ve just got to be fearless
    Actually, maybe fearless is a bit strong
    We’re not talking about going to battle here
    Or a duel to the death
    But you do have to let go of your inhibitions a bit
    And inhibitions, fear and doubts become more deep-rooted as we get older
    The biggest inhibitor to coming up with an idea
    Is the belief that an idea has to be good
    But actually
    The only way to get to the good ideas is to get past the bad ones first
    Seasoned creative people are good at this
    Because they come up with ideas all day long
    They can actually run through a whole boat load of ideas in their head
    And analyse them in an instant
    Then pick out the good ones
    That’s a skill that’s developed through years of training and practice
    But when they first started
    And when I first started
    All my ideas were crap
    And then when I came up with a good idea
    It had either already been done
    Or I didn’t have the skills to execute it
    Coming up with the ideas is only one side of the coin
    It’s an important side of the coin sure
    But a good idea
    The BEST idea in the world
    Is nothing without execution
    And good execution at that
    I’ve seen many designers over the years with a great idea for a logo
    Then I see the final result
    And I look at it and think
    “ehhh, that could have been a little bit better with some more work”
    The way I see it, the creative process involves two parts
    And both require lots of effort and perspiration
    The first phase
    Is the ability to empty your brain out onto a piece of paper
    Every last idea, no matter how good or how bad
    Straight down into a sketchbook
    Then you leave it for a few hours or days
    And try all over again to empty your brain out again
    Coming up with ideas at this stage is equal parts hard work and enjoyable
    The second stage
    Is picking the best of those ideas
    Which in itself is a gargantuan task
    Then taking that idea
    And executing on it
    And executing really well
    Ideas are weird
    They’re everywhere
    And all around us all the time
    They accompany us in the shower, when we’re washing up or when we’re walking around
    And then when you really need them
    They’re nowhere
    They can’t be commanded or asked to appear when you want them to
    You just have to wait
    And relish the opportunity when an idea arrives
    And grab the idea with both hands
    OUTRO
    This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.
    All three tracks in today’s episode are from Captive Portal’s new album, Having a VHS For A Leg
    Love the name by the way...
    The tracks were
    Choir Librarian by Captive Portal
    When We Were Once by Captive Portal
    Equestrian Encryption by Captive Portal
    For a line-by-line run down of this episode, go to askadesignernaything.com/ep115
    I’m back tomorrow for another episode of AADA
    Support Ask a Designer Anything
    Ask a Designer Anything Website
    Twitter (@craigburgess)
    Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook
    8 min
  • 114 - What Happened To Design?
    What happened to design? When did it get overtaken by the researchers and the bean-counters?
    Music and links from this episode
    Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik allegro by Advent Chamber Orchestra
    Quasi Motion by Kevin MacLeod
    Walk That Dog by U.S. Army Blues
    ACOUSTIC BLUES by Jason Shaw
    Line-by-line notes
    When graphic design first became a profession, things were simpler
    Classic design used to be much simpler to understand
    Dieter Rams 10 principles for good design are just as relevant today as they were in the 1970s
    He said
    Good design is innovative
    Good design makes a product useful
    Good design is aesthetic
    Good design makes a product understable
    Good design is unobtrusive
    Good design is honest
    Good design is long lasting
    Good design is thorough to the last detail
    Good design is environmental friendly
    Good design is as little design as possible
    Why do I feel like—in the pursuit of more and better design—we've forgotten quite a few of these?
    Where did it all go wrong?
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    I'm going to get a little bit controversial in this episode
    And try and get you to think outside your comfort zone
    Especially if you're a jobbing designer right now
    Controversy point one:
    Designers aren't trusted to do their own jobs anymore
    And designers are becoming less respected at their craft
    Before a designer gets involved, often there's lots of research
    Or testing
    Or focus groups
    Or marketing people writing lengthy documents
    Then making design suggestions before the designer has even started
    It seems There needs to be a focus group or a large scale research project to back up your design choices for almost anything these days
    And if a designer isn't sure
    They'll be asked to test two versions of a design to see which performs best
    All this stuff erodes the soul of a design
    Design isn't as simple as that
    Simply doing the research doesn't automatically create a good design
    And the research can be, you know, wrong
    Design needs to be left to the designers
    Design is as much of a science as it is an art
    Getting it right isn't as simple as doing the research and saying 'so and so looks like this so we need to look like this'
    Design is so much more subtle than that
    In the hands of a good designer, a good marketing strategy can turn into something amazing
    But in the hands of a poor designer, a good marketing strategy amounts to nothing
    And there's also the other side of this
    The side that designers often don't get a say in
    BAD marketing strategies
    The research or the strategy is never said to be wrong, it's always the designers fault
    Strategy and planning can sometimes directly interfere with the end design product
    Many people are trying to make design a science
    And design to some extent can be quantified
    There's rules of design that when followed can produce passable work
    But this is why I said design is as much of a science as it is an art
    The science part gets you to a certain point with a design
    It makes it usable, presentable, workable, and consumable by the masses
    But the art part, that's why the magic lies
    That's where something turns from a good design into something amazing
    Something timeless
    And something people talk about for years and even decades
    To finish this rant up, I'm going to let you in on a little secret
    Sometimes when I'm working on a piece of design
    The first idea I come up with
    In the first 20 minutes
    Is the best idea I'll have
    And sometimes, that idea is the perfect one
    Sometimes I can create an entire new brand in 20 minutes
    And I shouldn't be embarrassed by that
    That's just design
    It can't be quantified or put into a neat box
    Sometimes it works in mysterious ways
    And you just have to ride out the journey
    OUTRO
    This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.
    Music featured in this episode was
    Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik allegro by Advent Chamber Orchestra
    Quasi Motion by Kevin MacLeod
    Walk That Dog by U.S. Army...
    8 min
  • 113 - The Space Between The Objects
    I talk about a hidden part of the creative pursuit that most people aren't aware of.
    Music and links from this episode
    The Entertainer (1902, piano roll) by Scott Joplin
    Belview by C. Scott
    Knuckle Up by C. Scott
    En Croisiere by Juanitos
    Line-by-line notes
    Hello. It’s me, Craig.
    Before we get into today’s show, I wanted to quickly talk about something new I’m working on
    I’m starting a new podcast soon
    There’s lots of things I don’t know about it yet
    Like the name, the final format, when it’ll be released
    But I’m really excited by it
    Because I’ll be interviewing designers and creatives that I love
    We’ll be talking about geeky stuff from the design and creative worlds
    And I’m really looking forward to it
    The reason I’m telling you about this so early is because I need your help
    If you know of a designer or a creative that you’d love to hear have a chat with me
    OR, you are a designer or a creative and you’d love to have a chat with me
    Ping me on twitter at craigburgess or email me at [email protected] and we’ll go from there
    Promo, done.
    INTRO
    There’s a thing in any creative endeavour
    That’s actually more important than the work itself
    It’s older than time, and it’s a concept that’s been around forever
    It’s older than this song
    And some might say that to become a great designer, your understanding of it has to be absolute
    And most of all, it’s something you’ve probably never considered and even known it’s a thing
    I’m talking about space
    No, not the kind of space in Star Trek
    The other kind
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    Negative Space
    White Space
    Leave some room to breathe
    It’s called different things by different people
    Negative space as a concept is pretty simple
    All it refers to is the space around or between the main subject of an image
    In visual mediums, it’s the space where nothing is in the piece
    It’ll be the spare space that’s left blank around something
    To an untrained eye, it doesn’t look like an intentional thing
    When you’re reading a book, the words don’t go to the very edge of the page
    And that’s intentional, to aid your reading consumption and make it as comfortable as possible
    But not only did somebody design where the words will go
    And how much space is between them and what size the letters should be
    Somebody also designed the space, the area where nothing is
    It’s often an alien concept to some clients too
    Who are always keen to see it as wasted space
    Space that should be filled with something else
    But once the negative space is filled up
    It doesn’t have any power anymore, it’s not negative space now
    It’s one of the rare areas of life where nothing is more powerful than something
    It’s a concept that’s important in any artistic composition
    Across “proper art”, photography, design, even music and writing
    There’s a famous quote about it by Artur Schnabel
    the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides
    The concept of the pause shows up in lots of areas of life
    Pausing to reflect
    Pausing to catch your breath
    Space to breathe
    Clearing your mind to create space
    Space is seen as the holy grail of calm and peacefulness
    It’s seen as a way to true enlightenment
    And this also makes sense in graphic design
    It’s often said that you’re not a proper designer until you can fully command negative space
    Until you fully understand what to leave out, rather than what to add in
    I like the Japanese phrase ma, which is roughly translated as gap, space or pause
    Even better, I love the description of it from wikipedia
    It is best described as a consciousness of place,
    not in the sense of an enclosed three-dimensional entity,
    but rather the simultaneous awareness of form and non-form deriving from an intensification of vision.
    Ma is not something that is created by compositional elements;
    it is the thing that takes place in the imagination of the human who experiences these elements.
    Therefore, ma can be defined...
    9 min
  • 112 - Two Parts Work, One Part Happiness
    Let's talk a little bit about happiness.
    Music and links from this episode
    Travelling between the Ancient Empires by Ars Sonor & Sean Derrick Cooper Marquardt
    Park Bench Afternoons by MindsEye
    Tides by MindsEye
    A curious thing by J Hacha de Zola
    Line-by-line notes
    INTRO
    In our work focused culture
    And because work is all about, well working
    We often forget that work could be fun, if we wanted it to be
    Because work is driven by profits, timesheets and getting paid
    We sometimes forget one of the most important parts of our life
    Happiness
    Let’s talk a bit about happiness
    This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    James Deb
    It’s probably not a name your familiar with
    If you you are
    Congratulations, you read Wikipedia like me
    James Deb is often cited as one of the inventors of the 8 hour work day
    Or the 40 hour work movement, that its apparently known as
    Previous to this idea, 10-16 hour work days 6 days a week were common
    It was actually Robert Owen though
    A Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of the utopian socialism movement
    That really branded the 8 hour work day well
    He came up with the slogan
    8 hours labour, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest
    This was seen as revolutionary at the time
    That suddenly were going to start working less hours
    And looking after our health
    And it’s funny, now, we live in a freer society than ever
    One that, with the help of the internet pretty much lets you do whatever you want
    Whenever you want
    And we voluntarily choose to work longer hours
    Do more things for our bosses
    And put our happiness on hold for the sake of the corporation
    In the design industry, we value worker heroes
    The people who turn up an hour before everybody else
    And leave an hour after everybody else
    It’s common in the design industry to work long hours
    And work weekends, and in your spare time
    Because we enjoy our jobs so much
    It’s not like this feels like work, and we might still think we feel happy
    Those worker heroes, the people who work the longest?
    They’re not heroes
    It’s not big or clever working ridiculous hours
    It grates on your happiness
    Slowly and methodically
    And it's something you don't even realise
    Trust me, I’ve been there and worn out the t-shirt
    I realised, years ago now, that working the longest doesn’t make you the best
    It just becomes habit, then you expand every task to fill the available time
    You become less efficient, because you’ve got more hours available to you
    Then that means you end up working longer hours, because things are taking you longer to do
    Then the cycle repeats all over again
    And, it just doesn’t make you happy
    Design makes me happy
    I love it
    But I don’t love doing it for 16 hours a day
    That’s not an efficient use of my design brain
    I can’t come up with good ideas for that long during the day
    And I shouldn’t try, but some people do
    I’m at my happiest when I’m designing things
    But that doesn’t mean I stay happy for very long when I’ve been doing it for too long
    Even the things you love make you less happy when you do them for too long
    And if you’re not even in a job that makes you happy
    Quit tomorrow
    It’s just not worth it
    There’s no point wasting your life being unhappy
    I know not every part of every job makes you happy, I’m not naive
    But you can work your damnedest to make the happiness balance tip in your favour
    If you’ve got a job that makes you happy, well done
    To make sure you keep it that way, make sure you don’t do it too much
    Instead of 2 parts work, 1 part happiness
    Flip it on its head
    Go for 2 parts happiness, 1 part work
    Or even better
    3 parts happiness, no work
    After all, if you do something you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life
    Right?
    OUTRO
    This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.
    Music featured in this episode was
    Travelling between the Ancient Empires by Ars Sonor & Sean Derrick Cooper Marquardt
    Park Bench Afternoons by MindsEye
    Tides by MindsEye
    A curious thing by J...
    8 min
  • 111 - Be Good At Lots of Things
    Should you be a specialist, or a generalist?
    Music and links from this episode
    Break by Little Glass Men
    Poolside by Little Glass Men
    Spray Paint It Gold by Little Glass Men
    Line-by-line notes
    INTRO
    Over the years, the design industry has flicked between different trends
    The gradient and bevel era where designers were first starting to work out how to use the new features that Photoshop allowed
    The skeuomorphic design trend, that saw every designer making things look real life things
    And the current design trends: very simple and clean design that some people think has gotten too simple
    There's even been trends that have dictated what a designer should be, or should do
    There's been the traditional graphic designer, who mostly designs print work
    There's the hybrid designer, who designs web and print stuff
    And there's the more granular type of designer that's become popular in recent years, the UI or UX design, or interaction designers. They've got different names every week
    The current trend is to tell designers that we should focus on one area of expertise. That we should be specialists and not generalists
    I disagree. And in this episode, I'll tell you why.
    This is AADA, and I'm Craig Burgess
    PLAY MID SONG
    In the past 12 years, I've designed lots of different stuff, and worked on lots of different projects
    I've even built apps and web systems, and dabbled with programming
    On top of that, I've even looked into video game design, and started trying to learn how to make games
    I didn't get very far with learning how to make games by the way
    But it's something I definitely want to return to learning about
    I truly do consider myself to be a hybrid designer
    I'm just as interested in getting my hands dirty in the technical side as I am the creative side
    I get equal parts enjoyment from right brain activities and left brain activities
    As a young designer, this kind of difference confused me
    I enjoyed developing stuff, so did that mean I should be a developer?
    But I'm a pretty good designer too, so should that mean I should be a designer?
    I was truly confused, and early in my career I nearly took a job as a developer
    Now, I'm glad I didn't
    I don't ever see my interest in lots of different topics as a designer as a bad thing at all
    In fact, I believe It's only turned me into a better designer over the years
    Because I can understand things from technical viewpoints
    As well as the creative side
    When I'm designing something new, I fully understand what can be achieved technically, so I can push the boundaries and not hold back
    I think any development activities I do as well help me with my problem solving abilities
    Development, coding, whatever you want to call it
    Is a creative endeavour
    You are creating something
    And you're solving problems
    And you're communicating
    Anybody who tells you otherwise is just wrong
    To me, a good graphic designer should be able to turn their hand to designing almost anything and be able to do a good job of it
    It's trendy right now to specialise
    To call yourself something like an interaction designer
    Or a UI designer
    But to me, all designers should be interaction designers
    Or UI designers
    Specialising as a designer in interaction is a tautology
    Shouldn't everything you make be designed to be interacted with?
    And what about when the trend veers back away from UI or UX design?
    Where does that leave your very specific skills, honed so narrowly that they can only be applied to one area of design?
    Specialising as a designer doesn't take into account the true makeup of the design industry
    Most agencies are small, and when you're a small team you need to be multi-disciplined, and willing to work across lots of different mediums
    Specialising as a UI or UX designer limits your true potential to large agencies, which might not be where the most rewarding work is
    I don't mean to keep bashing on UI and UX designers
    There are other examples of very specific...
    10 min

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