But just know, sure, the design of 1960 was beautiful, but man, that was a messed up time. I just want to make that clear. Sure, I’m a sentimental sumbitch, but it’s only for the design of things. Not the old ways of society that thankfully have died off, as America refines itself. What is the importance of preserving that heritage? If any.
shit gets smarter, we shed old ways. And sadly, we’re losing beautiful stuff along the way. Pacing, restraint, humor, subtlety. You have to look for it, but it’s out there. Shit’s just so predictable these days, and that bums me out. So I’m looking back at simpler things, to mine simpler ways out of them. I’ve been doing that my whole career. I’ve seen the “cool” pursuits, and that shit’s just fashion.
There’s an innocence there that we just can’t lose. As
What’s the message you tote through your speaking gigs? That bigger isn’t necessarily better. The big jobs out there are cool and all, but don’t forget the little jobs. Those mean something too. I show work that made me thousands of dollars, as well as work that didn’t make me a one damn red cent. What’s important is that I loved both, and worked equally hard on both ends of the spectrum. I’m proud of that and love telling people about it. I hope they dig my work, but more importantly, dig the spirit of “going for it” and “trying like hell” to do it right, as creatively as possible. Can we save America with design?
Man, that’s a hard one. A word I learned a couple years back was “Trending.” And right now, design is trending a path back to the basics. Be it graphics, language or a harkening back to simpler logos. I like that. Design is helping us savor stuff. The details. A beautiful pair of jeans. Sure, a lot of this shit comes with a steep price tag, but I see design reaching regular people every day. Things are getting smarter, slowly. I’d like to think design is helping America refine itself. Little steps, and they all all add up after awhile. People are demanding better government. Better health care. Better roads. Better food. And I’m happy that design’s got a role in all of those.