Looking for a Senior Level Graphic Designer

UPDATE: No longer looking, and grateful to God for His timing.

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack was a post I wrote in 2008 as the company I work for was looking to bring on a new staffer. I post this today because we're once more looking to add a position. If you know someone who might be a solid candidate, send them here to read what I said then.

The teammate we're looking to add is a communication design thinker, who adds at a senior level. In the world of design, a title can mean different things depending on where you work. This position is called Senior Designer, but as I just suggested, in many independent agencies, this might also be called Art Director, or something else. Regardless of title, this candidate would possess strategic planning and execution skills and would be passionate about both the creative and business side of design. More specifically, the position requires swift and thoughtful design solutions for internal clients (mostly), under the leadership of a senior art director (that would be me). The position and the opportunity is broad—and includes brainstorming projects with an impressive pool of fellow creatives, and at times clients; strategic and creative development; design execution of all your projects; and design presentations. In other words, this position has a ton of autonomy for the person with the right mix of thinking, communication ability and tact.

A couple other important things I like to point out is that we're looking for someone with what I call a "voice"—that is, someone who has an interesting perspective on how best to develop work that gets results. Someone who adds uniquely to a discussion. Also, someone who understands what it means to be a servant leader. That is, someone who cares about growing everyone around them. A servant leader grows trust and value within our company.

We work on Macs, and are getting all new ones this Friday (can you tell I'm excited).

All that to say, filling a position at Tyndale has always been challenging, so if you would pass this on to people you know who are truly at a senior level (not just people you like a whole lot, and would love to see get a job), I would very much appreciate it.

Slim Pick'ins: Anyone Got A Plan?

BarryBlog is intentionally not a political blog. But like everyone else, I cannot deny the ailing economy has somewhat stolen the show.

Though I'm no expert on the political/economical system, it appears it doesn't take an MBA from Harvard (I know this because they seem as blindsided by our recent economic knockout as everyone else) to question the effectiveness and fitness of our political/economic system, as we all feel the collective tingle of our black eye continuing to swell.

I say "political/economical" with intention. I cannot see a separation. Every talking head speaks to PACs and money and greed as root to many of our problems. Every day a new leader in business and government is taken down by greed, which makes it hard for me to trust any lawmaker or politician. It's frustrating to see government under performing while lawmakers get very little accomplished towards the good of the republic without assuming bribery, payoffs and greed is running the show. Or perhaps something more old fashioned like incompetence.

So this mega billionaire OIL guy named T. Boone Pickens buys up a bunch of air time. It's been done before, Ross Perot ran his entire campaign out of his wallet, so precedence for self funding is not a gigantic surprise or distraction, or smokescreen for character. But I ask, is the Picken's Plan hogwash? Is it another behind the scene scheme to make a few people rich(er)?

See for yourself. Watch the video. I would be interested in your comments if you have anything to add because I'm skeptical.

Okay, back to graphic design, mid-century modern thrift store finds, and what not.

Tuesday at NEOCON: Kid In A Candy Shop

Most graphic designers I know attend design seminars and conferences all over the world on a fairly consistent basis. I have not been for over 7 years. What I can recall about going is the sense of community it builds. And the energy and ideas and possibilities it fosters. But they're expensive and take time away from work. So for any number of reasons at this point in my career I have not been able to attend any of these. With one exception. NEOCON. As I have stated in a previous post, NEOCON is the SuperBowl to me. It's also free, and in my backyard, so it's very doable. I absolutely love furniture design. Contract and residential, and for that, nothing beats NEOCON. So I'm at NEOCON today. A kid in the candy shop.

Here's my previous post about NEOCON, and a slight rant about one of my favorite all time graphic designers, Alvin Lustig.

Poster Palooza: Mid-Century Modern Ad Posters

Illustrator Bob Staake is amazing. I've always enjoyed his work and wished I owned a piece of his art. But as I was looking through my Mid-Century Modern results in compfight (which I have mentioned before), I stumbled across one of his Flickr sets called Poster Palooza! Amazing Mid-Century European Advertising Posters. Slideshow here.

His Poster Palooza Flickr set description it says...

A gallery of imagery, graphics and designs sure to inspire anyone who truly appreciates and understands the history of the advertising poster. The European 'poster aesthetic' of the mid-20th century continues to influence countless illustrators, designers and visual artists -- and this sampling of iconic, awe-inspiring images shows why so many of us remain unabashed poster fanatics.

Check out all of his sets. Bob is an amazing talent.

Jane Maraid McDevitt: Flickr Set Shares

MaraidDesign is the work of York England freelance web designer Jane McDevitt. Great work, great blog, but what caught my attention was her Flickr Sets, especially her...

In Print set, her Matchbook Labels set, her Photo, Film and Sound Ephemera set.

Thanks Jane for sharing your photography, your vintage gems, and all the rest with us.

Modernism101. All the books you've never seen.

Everyone's heard of Rare Air. Well in my estimation, Randall Ross is the Michael Jordan of the Rare Book world. Simply put, his Modernism101 store has the most, and the best jaw dropping rare publications on the business and art of design. Word has it the boys at Grain Edit have some gems too but I can't find where. Randall's breadth and depth of products are amazing. Take for instance the Alexey Brodovitch Portfolio Magazine complete set he has available at the time of this post (or not if this post is old). Don't be shocked at the price. I have seen them for more. But the point is you don't see this stuff come up to auction much.

Since I was about 20, I have been a fan of Brodovitch, Paul Rand, Lester Beal, George Nelson, John Massey, Wim Crouwel and others. Randall either has or has had books by and about these designers as well as nearly everyone and everything else imaginable.

Frankly, he has every rare book you've never seen.

He also does a remarkable job describing the books. You can get a design education reading through his descriptions. This is a big plus to his store in my estimation. He describes his store as:

... an excellent and ever-changing selection of rare and out-of-print design books and periodicals covering all aspects of 20th-century visual culture. I specialize in the areas of Graphic Design, Architecture, Interior and Industrial Design, and Photography

Go to Modernism101 now. You never know what you'll find.

Design Journal Archives (1965-74)

R_E_P_O_S_T: Absolute jackpot, incorporating two of my many favorite things...mid-century modern style and graphic design.

Design Online is a digital library of Canada's Design Journal for the years 1965 to 1974. You can browse the journals, or enter keywords.

Amazing.

Internal Brand Building: Executive Buy-in

Interesting and rather comprehensive— a unique perspective on internal brand building obstacles and some ways to get executives to understand and support brand management from the inside out.

( via Brand Strategy: the Branding Blog )

Studio Gearbox: Always on Their Game?!

Complete props to the boys in Sisters – Studio Gearbox. Book Design. Identities. Primo work. I'm taking a wild guess, but I'm thinking these gents may be Uttley Grads, as their work is most certainly up to snuff with their fellow Sisters (Oregon, that is). All told this firm is a big talent, and though you don't need me to tell you this (because they've already said it themselves on their bios), they are always on their game. Their superior thinking and design execution well eclipses the junior copywriting on their site. In my unsolicited opinion, and since this is called BarryBlog, words like "zing" and "with it" just don't communicate with the same freshness and relevancy that their work does. Regardless of my thoughts on this, hats off Studio Gearbox.

( via book art director Beth Sparkman )

Font Designer: Hannes von Döhren

Hannes von Döhren is a 27 year old German font designer. He contributes some expressive and impressive fonts via DaFont, as well as his own site, HVD FONTS. I really like his work. Many of his fonts are free for personal use as well as commercial applications. Well worth a look (and download).

Helvetica: The Documentary

This evening I saw a screening of Helvetica, the documentary film by Gary Hustwit. Since everyone in the blogasphere has already weighed in on the subject from about every conceivable angle, I really don't have much to contribute to the discussion, other than to say I think it was a great movie. It will amuse and inform both designers and lay-people. I found the movie provided an excellent mix in terms of exposure to both the old guard graphic design set and current designers, though I would have personally enjoyed more exposure to the "next set." All in all Gary Hustwit did a superb job of crafting a great movie. It gives me the bug to make a movie myself.

There's a great interview of Hustwit by Core77, on the campus of USC here. And if you're interested in seeing the movie yourself, here are the screening dates. That's all I got. If you want to get more perspectives, google Helvetica the movie.

Born Modern: Master Designer Alvin Lustig

Considering his amazing but short career, Alvin Lustig has indeed earned his master status in the world of design, and his design legacy lives on. He was a book designer. Graphic designer. Interior designer. Furniture designer. Retail store designer. Exhibition designer. Signage designer. Textile designer. Teacher. Spend some time at alvinlustig.org and learn from a true master. You can find a brilliant article by Steven Heller about Lustig called "Born Modern" here, or at the AIGA Medalist site. The AIGA medalist is given to "the most distinguished in the field, awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements, services or other contributions to the field of graphic design and visual communication." When you visit either Lustig's site or the Medalist site, you'll see why he is considered a master. His work for Knoll furniture is what caught my attention many years ago, but equally as amazing is this signage system for Northland Shopping Mall in Detroit..

By the time he died at the age of forty in 1955, he had already introduced principles of Modern art to graphic design that have had a long-term influence on contemporary practice. He was in the vanguard of a relatively small group who fervently, indeed religiously, believed in the curative power of good design when applied to all aspects of American life.
– “Born Modern” by Steven Heller

( via That's Right)

Hotel FOX: Lifestyle Art in Copenhagen

Volkswagon, in conjunction with the launch of their new VW Fox automobile, invited 21 international artists from the fields of graphic design, urban art and illustration to turn central Copenhagen's Hotel Fox into individual works of art—and as a result the world’s most exciting and creative lifestyle hotel. 61 rooms, to be exact. Each room is an individual piece of art. From whacky comical styles to strict graphic design. From fantastic street art and Japanese Manga to simply spaced out fantasies. Flowers, fairytales, friendly monsters, dreaming creatures, secrets vaults and more. Extra Large, Large, Medium and Small rooms. Fun.

( via CJ )