Frank Chimero, Versus, and the galactic good

Yesterday I tuned into my first webinar with Frank Chimero, a designer and illustrator who makes pictures about words and words about pictures. His 60-min talk Versus: A documentation of wrungniss & misatkes got me thinking about design, purpose, and the galaxy.

Here’s my take on his vision:

Entering cyberspace…

The event – a webinar – already had a galactic feel to it. It’s amazing how designers, web junkies, and even a few problem solvers (!) from all across the world can find common ground to the steady voice and minimalist screen of one America’s biggest design stars in recent years. In a world of either-ors, Frank managed to conjure up his own list of friendly paradoxes and hypothesize on more than just the nature of our work as designers, but also our way of life, the way we connect to the world, and what we can do better (“to help us live better”).

We’re not alone out there.

One of the most calming revelations I had during the webinar was that even the greatest conceptualizers can stare at a blank page and get lost. Complete freedom is what we yearn for in our professional lives, but once it’s staring us in the face, sometimes we don’t know what to do with it! I never would have expected a creative like Frank to say that choice is paralyzing, but the truth is that it can be. And not just for beginners, students, the unexperienced, and the unknown.

Gateway or portal?

One defining versus, for the audience at least, was summed up by two different visions of design as a subject of study and as an occupation: the gateway vs. the portal. According to Chimero,

• gateway = passing through
• portal = transformative experience

As designers confronting the world with our best brains, what do we do: hop through the garden gate or pop on a rocket ship?  Often times, our inner motivation reflects the nature of the work we’re hired to do… but wouldn’t it be nice to explore the galaxy more often?

Tasks, objectives, and the stars in the sky.

The most effective visual metaphor I discovered during the webinar took place during the tasks vs. objectives “versus.” Chimero proposed that tasks can be seen as indiviual stars, while objectives can be seen as the greater constellation. As I sat on my porch looking up to the sky last night I thought of that.

Perhaps he’s got a point about what it really means to design, to think – to participate in a greater, even galactic good. Thanks for that perspective.

A few design resolutions

This is what I’m taking with me on my next space trip:

• Don’t get lost in the prospect of infinite possibilities. Limiting the horizon can be incredibly productive.
• Report back to peers as frequently as possible:
  create ➝ get feedback ➝ improve ➝ create
• Define objectives before starting tasks.
• Take a step back. Spend less time focusing on the minute details. Spend more breathing…
• Work towards a better good in all creative projects. Find purpose in every assignment and respond to needs.

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Awesome webinar organized by AIGA and F+W Media. Anyone else have thoughts on it? And Frank: why did you decide to dedicate yourself professionally to the visual experience?