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Volume 01 I Issue 03 I Winter 2020 howdesignlive.com
Table of Contents
Read Now
From The Show Director
Storytelling Time
A Seat at the Table
The Art and Craft of Taking Risks
Shaking the World, Gently
“The show must go on.”
COPY ME for font ease
Ivan Cash reveals the brilliance of connecting during an unparalleled moment of disconnection.
Terri Trespicio shares 3 messaging mistakes to bear in mind when it comes to branding.
Think being an introvert will slow you down in your career? Think again—these four strategies from Jennifer Aldrich will help you master your quiet revolution.
In her HOW Design Live keynote, Roxane Gay had attendees pull up a chair to the virtual table to discuss what, exactly, it means to sit at the real one.
COVER
IN GREAT COMPANY
We’ve been on the hunt for silver linings where we can find them. So when we had to postpone until Oct. 26–29 in Atlanta, we found ourselves with an opportunity to take on a backburner project that we’ve long been daydreaming about: a .
Brilliant by your fellow creatives.
Ultimately, in these digital pages we hope you find inspiration. Motivation. Creativity. And a reminder that there’s a community out there that has your back, no matter what. I'd like to give a special shout out to Creative Director, , the creative force behind HOW Design, Redefined, and freelance journalist and author , the editorial genius and HOW brand veteran. This publication has been a dream of mine for years, but these two definitely brought it to life! Stay tuned for more. We can’t wait to catch up in person in October.
HOW Design
HOW Design Live e-zine
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Debbie Millman Lisa Congdon
and .
Cey Adams
The Dazzling Design of Zipeng Zhu
Discover how a design agency launched a sister studio to help hit Command+Z on the clmate crisis.
Undo, Undo, Undo
Explore a key tenet of Project Inkblot’s Design for Diversity framework in this exclusive digital session.
“The Road to Hell is Paved With Good Intentions”
Continue Reading
A wide-ranging exploration of creativity, voice and creative action between
A feature about the legendary , who will soon be speaking to you himself from the keynote stage in Atlanta.
In this installment, you’ll find:
Get to know five more HOWies before the event through their amazing work.
In Great Company
Amy Conover HOW Design Live Show Director
Live
Lisa Congdon
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Stay tuned for more. We can’t wait to catch up in person in October.
Let’s be real: In times of crisis, inspiration can be hard to come by. Motivation can be hard to come by. Creativity can be hard to come by.
Moreover, isolation can be hard to manage—and if there’s one thing we want you to take away from this publication, it’s this: You are not alone. We’re feeling what you’re feeling. And when we say “we’re all going to get through this together,” it’s not just marketing speak in times of crisis. We know what our community is made of, we’ve seen what they’re capable of, and we’ve seen how they band together. And we’d wager that any HOWie would have your back at this moment should you need them, and they will rally like never before after this passes.
Yes. It’s the cheesiest of mantras, and we’ve all heard it so many times that it means very little now. But in all the years that I’ve worked on HOW DESIGN LIVE, I’ve never felt it more than in 2020. We’ve faced our challenges in the past. Speakers dropping out last minute. Venue drama. All the usual operational challenges that go with pulling off a show as big as HOW DESIGN LIVE—but it goes without saying that we’ve never faced anything like we did this year. In the spring, as the pandemic made its scope known to the world in stronger ways week after week after week, we moved HOW DESIGN LIVE from Boston in May, to Atlanta in October—an all-hands-on-deck shift of epic proportions, from the basics of realigning speaker schedules and changing flights to finding a physical space we could carve out as our own. And then, as the pandemic persisted, we had to make the call to go all-virtual for the safety of our community, from attendees to speakers to operational staff on site—a move that felt tragic and like a gut punch at the time, given how in-person connection is so deeply woven into the fabric of HOW DESIGN LIVE.
Think being an introvert will slow you down in your career? Think again—and use these four strategies to master your quiet revolution.
The Art and Craft of Taking risks
But then the event took place online Nov. 10–12—and, well, as much as the pandemic has stolen from and altered the physical world, it turns out there was only so much it could take from HOW DESIGN LIVE in any form. Which is to say: We knew we had some amazing speakers and sessions lined up, and a host of cool features such as the virtual Exhibit Hall and the HOWie Hangout—but we had no idea how profoundly powerful it would all function and feel. Speakers poignantly reflected on how they have survived and thrived throughout 2020. They riffed on the new future, and how we can best embrace it. They provoked and prodded, and provided truth and wisdom, and did so poignantly. And the whole time, it all felt like HOW DESIGN LIVE—which goes to show how strong and unparalleled our community truly is.
The show must go on.
It did. And we had no idea how much we needed it to until it was over, and we were left in awe of everyone, from our speakers to our attendees, and the collective brilliance and grace in the art of the pivot. As you’ll see in the sampling of sessions highlighted throughout this issue of HOW Design: Redefined, the event managed to put the “how” in HOW while offering inspiration to keep you creative and creating. It’s a balance core to our mission—and one we were so thankful transposed to the virtual platform. Oh, and as far as silver linings go: By the time the next in-person HOW DESIGN LIVE rolls around, we’re going to have to party that much harder. I’ll be there. It’ll be a closing bash like no other. Stay safe, and happiest of holidays,
FROM THE SHOW DIRECTOR
For so many of us, the pandemic has been creatively paralyzing. For HOW Design Live speaker Ivan Cash, it hasn’t been a picnic, either—but as the past year has gone by, he has sought to turn his talents toward helping us all feel connected in a time of utter disconnection. If the universe were just, you could Google “outside-the-box thinking,” and the first hit would be Ivan Cash’s website. At Cash Studios, his clients include the likes of Google, Nordstrom and Toyota, and he has become known for a variety of his innovative projects—Snail Mail My Email. Occupy George. Hack Marriage. IRL Glasses. But it’s his latest trio of powerful projects, produced throughout 2020—which he dubs “a crisis sandwich”—that have showcased how one creative has creatively met the moment. Here is a recap of those projects—and the takeaways he gleaned from them.
“A Social Distance” At the outset of the pandemic, Cash felt despair and hopelessness. He discussed his emotions with choreographer Jacob Jonas, and the two had a realization: Everyone was locked up and isolated and feeling alone … but everyone was experiencing the same thing, together. So how do you give form to a fact that brings comfort to the discomfort of lockdown? Cash issued a call to participate in a crowdsourced film about the pandemic, to document it and create a montage of human portraits. He issued clear instructions to interested participants: Wear black. Film vertically. Use natural light. (As he told the HOW Design Live audience, it might have seemed anal retentive, but, “I’ve found that constraints are really constructive for creatives.”) The sum toll of the experiment—with more than 100 participants from 30 countries—is a fascinating time capsule art project, featuring the view outside everyone’s windows, the view inside everyone’s fridges, and everything in between. From a pantsless Stefan Sagmeister to a 93-year-old Malaysian grandmother, the project is emblematic of Cash’s approach that is based in inclusivity; if you can see yourself in a project, you can relate to it. You connect.
As for the lesson he drew from the initiative: “It was the project that I needed, to even just see as a viewer. What would be a project or a piece of art that you would find most therapeutic, and how can you make that, knowing that it will also be helpful and therapeutic for others?” he asked the HOW audience.
“Parked” Having collaborated with Jonas on “A Social Distance,” Cash wasn’t expecting to work with him again so soon. But then he got a call about an idea Jonas had—one that utilized societal restrictions as a bedrock for creativity. The idea that ultimately took shape: creating a one-night-only drive-in dance performance in a vacant parking lot, lit by the audience’s headlights. (“I’m really interested in ideas that can be described in a single sentence and are really simple,” Cash said.) Cash began his meticulous process of devising a treatment, lighting references, a shot list. The cars would be arranged in a circle, and safety would be paramount—everyone would be masked at all times, and if anyone felt uncomfortable at any moment, it was perfectly fine to bow out. But the team was missing the key element at the heart of the project: the parking lot. No one would sign off on the liability waiver. And after nearly calling the project off, they decided to DIY it. Cash and his crew pivoted in real time to the challenges that presented themselves (e.g., in the absence of being able to use drones, given the selected location’s proximity to an airport, the team deployed a 20-foot monopod). And the results are beautiful, and beautifully moving. All told, the performance was an hour long, and after it was over, the audience honked and flashed their lights. “It was really powerful,” Cash said. The takeaway?
“Risk-taking is an art in and of itself. What risks are you willing to take, and how can that be incorporated into the art itself?”
“Jay Allen Glaspy” For years, Cash wanted to make a film about Jay Allen Glaspy, a third-generation sharecropper. After COVID prompted Cash to move across the country, he was finally close enough to Glaspy to collaborate—and decided, given the political schism in the nation, that it was time. “What better way to bridge this divide in America than a third-generation sharecropper?” Cash asked. “It felt like it would be such an honor and a privilege to tell his story.” Glaspy agreed to take part, and Cash began his treatment process, broke down the look and feel, style references, COVID safety protocols. Collaborators were brought on board. They established a tight shooting schedule. After six weeks of work, everything was set to go—and then Cash got a text. Glaspy was backing out. He was uncomfortable with the crew being in his house—the hero shot location—due to the pandemic. Cash fully respected his thoughts and considered scrapping the project entirely. But again, he utilized creativity to adapt and pivot. The solution: Filming Glaspy in different outdoor locations, holding objects that would serve as visual metaphors for different chapters in his life. The end result nabbed a Vimeo Staff Pick—and taught Cash a lesson he shared as he concluded his HOW Design Live session.
The results, indeed, can be powerful.
“With any creative project there’s going to be turns and curveballs, and you have to ask the question, ‘Are you willing to move forward or not?’ … I think a huge skillset right now is understanding how to be adaptable and have a clear, specific vision, but also be willing to change it in real time.
shaking the world, gently
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Story Telling Time
"In order to be more than a commodity, you have to offer more than the job you perform." - Terri Trespicio
3 Messaging Mistakes to Bear in Mind When it Comes to Branding
Nobody wants to swim in a sea of sameness. And that’s why the question that marketing and branding guru Terri Trespicio fields the most is this: How are we going to be different? In her fast-talking and wise-cracking session at HOW Design Live, Trespicio revealed the secret sauce to just that. “It’s not just enough anymore to have a good product or service,” she said. “Being good is the floor now. It’s a prerequisite. What you do beyond that is where branding comes in.”
"...What You Do Beyond That is Where Branding Comes in."
Trespicio gets hired to help people change the way they think about, talk about and communicate what they do. In “Beyond Commodity: How to Master Your Message and Stand Out in a Sea of Sameness,” she broke down her view of branding this way: A brand is like the trunk of a tree. The leaves are the brand’s messaging. They can change, but the core of the tree should not. Effective messaging is crucial—so Trespicio trotted out some common mistakes she sees, in a presentation that would broadly benefit both branding professionals as well as anyone maintaining their own business.
When you look at your website, Trespicio advised, ask yourself: Would I make a good first date? If it’s just you talking about yourself the entire time, the answer is probably no. Your website should not just be a mirror of how fabulous you think you are. “I say, the mirror should be turned around so it reflects what that person wants, needs, needs to hear. We often leave them out. We treat it as if this is a monologue.” She brought up the example of a financial planning company that had hired her to help them stand out. Sure, financial planning is about money. But is it all about money? She asked the team to tell her stories about their experiences with clients and their lives—and the telling detail was that money was only part of the story. Rather, the thing that kept coming up was time. And in the end, she steered them toward a fresh tagline: “Money is one thing. Time is everything.” A sea of sameness, no more.
MISTAKE No. 1: Talking About Yourself Instead of to Someone Else
MISTAKE No. 2: Thinking That Your Brand Should Appeal to Everyone
“Please, no, no,” Trespicio said. “Your message should actually discourage some people so it can encourage the right ones.” For example, to help Monument Wealth Management do so, Trespicio had the team develop a marketing piece listing traits of customers
Anymore, Trespicio said, it’s not enough to just say “Hey, here’s what we do. Call us.” You should acknowledge how you feel about what you’re doing. Trespicio brought up the example of a website she worked on for NCA Financial. The old site featured a hero image of the interior of an office. The new site that the team developed featured a child on a diving board—and the copy, “The next decision you make could be life-altering. … Even the smallest choice has the power to significantly change your life.” By bringing in the human, the brand took on an entire new life—one that no doubt stood apart from the templated approach of its competitors.
MISTAKE No. 3: Prioritizing Information Over Connection
What's in The Sauce?
As for the secret sauce of Terri Trespicio’s process, she utilizes a tool called the Gateless Method to get creative teams to explore new ideas. It begins with story—she has her clients grab a pen and respond to prompts. It gets the wheels turning, and ideas begin to flow. Some that she has used: “Write about a time when you stood up for something.” “Write about a time when your client had a breakthrough.” “Write about something you used to believe.” “The point is, you mine story first,” she said. “Everyone writes and then shares their work out loud. And it is nutrient-rich story where the branding can grow.” As they mine their stories, clients discover truths about themselves. And in a sea of sameness, “That is what makes you different.”
Learn more about Terri Trespicio and the Gateless Method, click here
“Write about a time when you stood up for something.”
“Write about a time when your client had a breakthrough.”
“Write about something you used to believe.”
“The point is, you mine story first,” she said. “Everyone writes and then shares their work out loud. And it is nutrient-rich story where the branding can grow.”
the art and craft of taking risks
ShAKING THE WORLD, GENTLY
that would like them—and a list of “You won’t like us if…” that included “You only trust people in suits,” and “You hate dogs. (Seriously, that’s a dealbreaker.)” The brand that draws a line in the sand is the one that will have people (and all the good boys) on its side.
From the Show Director
"The Show Must Go On"
Jennifer Aldrich
Think Being an Introvert Will Slow you Down in Your Career? Think again! Use These Four Strategies to Master your Quiet Revolution.
story telling time
seat at the table
There are HOW Design Live sessions that inform. There are sessions that inspire. And then there are sessions that are downright cathartic—and we heard from many of you that Jennifer Aldrich’s “Introvert’s Guide to Career Progression” was exactly that. The session, which closed out the Leadership track curated by Stephen Gates, focused on a trio of strategies: how to manage introverts; how to navigate community events without burning out; and finally, actionable ways introverts can self-advocate to quietly amplify their voices. Aldrich, who is director of community engagement at InVision, proudly identifies as an introvert—and proudly says that being an introvert isn’t a hindrance in your career. Rather, it can be your superpower. “If you take advantage of the skills you have as an introvert, they can just propel your career as far as you want to go,” she told the audience. Here are four major action items and wisdoms from Aldrich’s session.
UX Blogger Product Designer Director of Community Engagement
Aldrich pointed out that some of the most remarkable individuals throughout history—from Rosa Parks to Bill Gates and Barack Obama—have identified as introverts at one point or another. Introverts tend to be hyper-observant—and that gets to the heart of one of an introvert’s greatest powers: being able to truly connect with people and create great one-on-one relationships. In other words, one of the strongest elements of being an effective and natural manager. “You can manage the daylights out of a team,” Aldrich said. But how do you get on the leadership track when you’re not the most vocal person in the room? Aldrich said to directly request a project that you can run and manage end to end. “Ask for that … because they might not notice that you can completely crush it.” The results will speak for themselves.
1. Proceed to the Proving Grounds
Ask for that … because they might not notice that you can completely crush it.”
”
Hope is not a strategy when it comes to your career
All introverts know what it’s like to be in a meeting, desperately trying to claim a stray second of silence to put forth an idea. It can feel like a futile battle, but it’s crucial to your career. To that end, Aldrich recommends sending contributions and ideas to your management and team ahead of time, or post-meeting. “If you take the initiative,” she said, “it can make a huge difference in the way that your management sees the work that you’re doing.” Moreover, Aldrich said it’s key to communicate and share ideas in the way that is most comfortable for you. That could be in writing. That could be sketching on a whiteboard. Making a graph. Whatever it is, embrace it, and get it to the right people.
2. Communicate With Comfort
Still having trouble getting your point across in a meeting as the chorus drowns you out? Aldrich recommends getting an extrovert “sponsor” who will advocate for you, and carve out direct space. Should someone cut you off or steamroll your response, your sponsor can guide the narrative back to you. What were you saying again?
3. Stop the Steamrollers
Aldrich, like many introverts, hates talking about her successes and what she excels in. But again, it’s an essential thing to be able to do. Aldrich recalled how she was once talking with colleague Stephen Gates about a promotion she wanted. She told him she really hoped someone noticed the things she was achieving. Gates’ reply: “Hope is not a strategy when it comes to your career. … If you want that promotion, you need to make sure that your manager sees what you’re doing and the impact that you’re having on the organization.” So, again—using whatever means you are most comfortable communicating within—be direct, and show or tell them. And guess what? Aldrich did. And she got that promotion.
4. Remember: Hope is Not a Strategy
Ultimately, Aldrich said that many introverts believe that they must act like extroverts to get ahead. But that’s just not true. After all, as her favorite quote, via Mahatma Gandhi, goes, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” You don’t have to change yourself to get ahead. “It doesn’t matter what life throws your way, there are all kinds of things that can go on that can feel like they’re going to block your progress; they won’t block your progress if you don’t let them. And I want you to figure out what’s most important to you in your career—the things you really, really value—figure out the steps you need to get there, and then make it happen. You can do anything; introversion is not going to block you. “Don’t let anything get in your way as you’re moving through your career.”
You don’t have to change yourself to get ahead.
Zipeng Zhu is a designer like no other—and his bright, beautiful work is carrying us through quarantine in style.
SHAKING THE WORLD, GENTLY
piece for her keynote at HOW DESIGN LIVE, we were immediately entranced. And unsurprisingly: Gay delivered, in the poignant yet at times hilarious manner that is a signature of her output. In her talk, she addressed the subject of “Setting the Table”: “What I mean by that is thinking about how we use and distribute power.” In kindergarten, Gay was given an assignment. On a piece of paper, there were two glasses. She was instructed to color in one half of the illustration. She colored in one half of one of the glasses and turned in the work. She thought she had nailed it. She got an F. (“Which, in retrospect, seems a bit harsh for kindergarten,” she noted.)
is an utterly brilliant writer. And so when Debbie Millman revealed in her introduction that the bestselling author had written an exclusive new
never wanted to experience that feeling again. I vowed to be better. I vowed to be the best. I was the daughter of Haitian immigrants; I was a Black girl in these United States. I had no
choice but to continue to work toward being the best. Since then, I have been relentless.” In 2016, Gay received an offer from Ta-Nehisi Coates to potentially write a comic for Marvel. She was intrigued—though she had never particularly read or resonated with the medium. (“Superman was simply too super. Captain America was too optimistic. Batman was too morose, and his melodrama makes no sense—he’s a straight white man and a billionaire.”) She had no room in her schedule, she was overwhelmed, and she was intimidated—but she said yes. (After all, it might have nabbed her a spot at the premiere of Thor Ragnarok, she reasoned.)
which won a 2018 Eisner and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book. “Comics are a genre that have long been considered the domain of white men—white, heterosexual, able-bodied middle-class men,” Gay said. “Rarely are people of color written into superhero narratives, and rarely are women of color or queer women written into those narratives, and rarely are women or queer women actually writing these narratives.” Via a New York Times article, she discovered that she was the first Black woman to ever lead a Marvel comic. “I was stunned, because I never imagined I would be the first to do something like this for a company as massive as Marvel in an industry as established as comics. I was at once proud and disappointed.” She now had a seat at the table. Which prompted her to reflect on such seats at such tables. “I was the first because of a culture where no one who looked like me had a seat at decision-making tables for decades,” she said. “Breaking ground is familiar territory in my career, but each time I do it, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders because so much is at stake.” If you’re not excellent, Gay said, you will be the first—and the last. “It’s an uncanny burden.”
The trouble with tables, she continued, is that your voice may not be heard if you’re the “unicorn” or have been tokenized—the only Black person, the only woman. HER ADVICE: Look around that table, and assess how genuine said table is. “Are they being given resources and actual power, or are they there in name only? It’s also time to get radical. Which means you have to ask yourself if you should even be at that table, or if it’s time to cede that position to someone else. How willing are you to follow through on your progressive ideals? How far are you willing to go to practice what you preach?” Sometimes, Gay said, the table needs to be thrown out the window, and a new one established in its place.
oreover, Gay said, tables can be anything— the masthead of a magazine; a leadership team and on and on.
Speak up. Advocate. If you see hollow Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, call them out for what they are. “All kinds of tyranny start quietly in rooms where people remain silent when they should speak up. If you’re an underrepresented person and you get your seat at the table, you have to do everything in your power to make sure you don’t remain the only one or the last one to hold that position.… You have to share the ladders you climbed to achieve your success. And that means you have to support other underrepresented people, because when it comes to creating change, many hands are going to make lighter work.”
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Volume 01 I Issue 02 I September 2020 howdesignlive.com
The Power of Design.
Discover how a design agency launched a sister studio to help hit Command+Z on the climate crisis.
At the
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Visualizing a Movement
HDL takes a look
Cey Adams.
brilliant
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Let’s be real: In times of crisis, inspiration can be hard to come by.
Get to know the work of five HOWies before the show with these awesome projects.
Distortion and opinion in the massive, mind-bending maps of former HDL keynote Paula Scher.
The Unexpected Cartographer
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