Kenya Hara, Artistic Director at MUJI, is interested in designing "circumstances" or "conditions" rather than "things." MUJI is a Japanese manufacturer and brand whose products are about a simplicity achieved through a complexity of thought and design. And Hara directs the aesthetic integration of all the company's commodities is give form to "living."

Hara's approach is to create products, communications, and objects of culture in which functionality might meet simplicity with elegance and improve the human condition through the expression of beauty. He believes that his designs provide the consumer with a vessel in which they are able to deposit their own messages or meanings.

Throughout his career of designing the ceremony programs for the Nagano Winter Olympics, becoming the director for the Nippon Design Center, writing books such as Designing Design and teaching the prestigious Musashino Art University, Hara has ultimately transformed the way the Japanese have approached design, by making it recognizable to the everyman.

AIGA members will get a chance to meet Kenya Hara in person at the Imprint Culture Lab conference. A private AIGA/LA presentation by Hara will focus on the concept of "Emptiness," which relates to his approach to communication and product design, followed by a one-on-one interview led by Clive Piercy.

A special 10% discount for the Imprint Culture Lab conference held on October 1, 2008 is available for AIGA members. Just register with the promo code: AIGA at the Google checkout part of the registration process.

What I mean by that is you may get clients who are mum on what they want out of a project. Instead of wrapping up an unproductive meeting with such a client and going off the top of your head when creating the material they've requested, it's vital to learn how to ask the right questions and probe them for the information you need.

Not only will you get more specifics to help you design more in tune with what they want, which will save you the grief of their dissatisfaction, but getting client specifications out in the open will save you time--and them money. (Especially if you work on a project-based fee.)

Here are some tips to help you get exactly what you need from your clients to produce work they'll like.

Make it easy. Some of my clients tend to get a little nervous when I ask them what they want out of their messaging. I get a lot of, "Well, you're the writer..." statements. Time and time again, I have to reassure them that this is a collaborative process and I can't get things right unless they give me their input. This is why I tell my clients to "Give it to me in bullet points and then I'll make it look pretty," if they're not sure what they want to say exactly. In other words, I ask them to give me the overall gist of what they want. For example, if they want a press release about their business, do they want to announce an event at their store or publicize a new service they offer? They have to be specific. Many don't know how to put things into words, but I remind them that an overall message helps me do just that.

Get it in writing. Sometimes you'll notice that clients are talkative and others are quiet. You have to use your judgment to extract information for them in a way that's as simple as possible. I recommend jotting down your ideas before the meeting--or better yet, having a questionnaire handy--to make sure you cover all the points that you need to. The following may be some items on your questionnaire:

• When does the client need the first draft by?
• Will I need to contact anyone else from the company to get information? Get contact information.
• Will I need to research information about their industry or products?
• Who is the audience?
• How many words are they looking for on this collateral? Is that the same per page?
• What color schemes do they absolutely detest?

Tell them about the benefits. If the client says, for example, that they want you to create a page of content about their company, don't leave it at that. Ask more questions, and tell them you need details in order to leverage their business. Tell them what specific messaging concepts will do for them. Do they want to compete with Company A? Then they may need to offer staff bios. Do they need to promote awards they've received? This may help them boost their image. Let them know that there are benefits to giving details, and give them time to go back to their office and do homework.

When you get the details, it helps you get closer to what a client wants. Even if they tell you to "work your magic," you can never know exactly what they want--especially since they probably don't, either.

You don't have to be a journalism expert to dig for information, just approach the project with a fresh perspective and the end-result audience members in mind. What would they want to know or see? These are all great ways to get into the inquisitive mindset.

Kristen Fischer is a copywriter and author living in New Jersey. Her latest book, Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life, is available in stores now. For more information on her latest book, Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life, visit www.ramenrentresumes.com. Reprinted with permission.

"If I had a different client base."

"If I had different employees."

"If I were located in a different city."

"If I didn't have this partner." Or "If I could find a partner."

But here's my favorite: "If we could just get a little bigger, add some employees, throw in a few great clients, we'd get past this hump and start to really make money."

Figure Out What You Have First
The truth is, though, that you've got to figure out how to make money...and keep some of it...right where you, right now, with minimal change. Managing a creative business requires creativity. If you aren't making or keeping enough money currently, it's because you've missed something or you don't have the courage to make something you have not missed "right" again. All over the world, ad shops and design firms and public relations agencies are making money--in small towns, with some clients that aren't ideal, and with employees they would not hire again.

Figure it out! Make some changes. Experiment. Be disciplined in creating a map and then following it. If you don't fix what you have first, growth will be a big mistake because you'll be losing money faster, taking more risk, and living a more harried life. The very essence of being a great leader is taking what you have and making it work. It's like MacGuyver, who always seemed to build a robot from a stick of gum and a stale battery.

You know what else you need to quit doing? Whining about how "different it is" at my firm. "You don't understand my region," or "my clients," or the "uniqueness of the industry I serve."

Well, the truth is that you are really different but you aren't. Master those real differences but don't use them as excuses. I was interviewed recently by the Indianapolis Star about a large ad agency that had won some awards on their path to doing national work. The reporter asked me to cite examples of firms that had created a name for themselves in "backwater" locations. It was no trouble to name a bunch. But for each of those, I can name a dozen who proclaim that "it won't work for me."

Listen. You've got some clients and employees. You've got an income stream and an expense stream. You have some risk and some opportunity. What more could you ask for than an opportunity to shape your business life within that context?

David C. Baker is Principal of ReCourses, Inc., the leading management consulting firm that works exclusively with small service providers in the marketing industry. Republished with permission.

What is the best part of your job?

Andy: What I like the most about my job is I have total freedom, the ability to dream and to create.

Bart: Creating breathtaking large-scale environments with light. Making people happy and often get the reactions from them like they are kids again, yay, wow. Traveling around the world and creating peace.

What's the most interesting project you've done?

Andy: I like the Lullaby Garden that we created for the Cornerstone Festival of Gardens in Sonoma, California, 2004. This project was all about the experience of making the garden, trying to understand and explore the multifaceted properties of monofilament. And the most rewarding thing for me was to reconnect to the Vietnamese culture and artisans in Vietnam.

Bart: Opening of the Polish Year in Israel. With the project creating a closer relationship of Poland and Israel. More about the project:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3530512,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx7JUwwLP7Q

What is your favorite part of the day?

Andy: Siesta time-taking an hour nap after lunch. Since I work for myself, I can do that.

Bart: I love it all. Wake up enthusiastic that the new day just started. Walk and run every morning (whenever I can). While walking, I have my morning phone conversations with clients and my team. After a shower and breakfast, I love coming to my studio and working. I love working with people and creating together. Evenings are always fun, coming up with new ideas, meeting with friends and always spending quality, joyful time together.

On the road, my days are always different. Always staying focused on the project. Whatever it takes, sometimes I work all day go to sleep for two hours and go back to work.

What is your current obsession?

Andy: I'm revisiting the glass medium. This time I work with hot glass, dealing strictly with heat and gravity, no form, no color, no formula-just a volume of glass that can define the space.

Bart: My current passion, will talk about this at the event.

What advice would you give young designers and artists?

Andy: Travel. Go out there - see the world and be not afraid to dream.

Bart: Follow your love...sometimes you are working 40 hours straight...you've got to love it to do it.

So far it has been very eye-opening. The most motivating or interesting idea we're heard from our sessions so far is:

Michael Lejeune (President): A great way to serve community is to hold a design competition for social good-present a problem to the LA community that can be solved with design like homelessness, traffic or pollution.

Ann Enkoji (Vice President): Another chapter developed a business plan for their year's event offerings in the form of a visual barometer that outlays categories of importance to their membership like socials, business matters, and more. They overlaid their year's events over the barometer to make sure they fulfill their chapter's full spectrum of needs.

Jill Finely (VP Programming): It's important to reach out to new members. We could hold a quarterly new member welcoming gathering to greet the new and renewing members.

Matthew Silverman (VP Membership): You can pay for your membership in installments.

Rachel Elnar (VP Communications): Inviting the civic leaders to share with us what's needed in LA may help us direct our efforts to help serve the community better.

Roger Dela Rosa (Creative Talent Director): A partnership with a local business school to offer small business conference would be helpful to LA creative leaders to discover opportunities within our own business environment.

What are your inspirations?
In life: My little sister Lucy. Because she's an awesome person! She's a home ec. teacher (yes, they still exist!) and she is really making a difference in the lives of her students. It sounds cheesy, but it really inspires me to be a better person.
In work: Stefan Sagmeister. I wish I had 1/100th of his talent.

How do you balance your life between work and non-work? Or, what do you do in your spare time?
As I've gotten older, I've realized time for myself is really important, so I try to keep normal working hours whenever possible. Of course, in our line of work it's not always possible... but I make an effort. Since I do more development than design nowadays, in my spare time I usually find myself doing something creative, like jewelry making or sewing. Nothing crazy, but I like to keep busy with crafty stuff. And on the weekends I'm usually outdoors down by the beach.

What are you currently listening to?
Lots of stuff... but based on today's playlist it would be: Jaymay, Rilo Kiley, Wilco, and She & Him.

What do you feel is your most eccentric behavior or habit?
Well, there's so many to choose from... (just ask my co-workers. ;) I guess one would be that I religiously drink diet cherry Pepsi in the morning. Either that or asking my trash can important life-altering questions with the "if I make this, xxxx will happen" basketball shot.

What product or gadget strikes your fancy?
One of my favorite things of all time is Clocky. I heard about this years ago on NPR, I think it was the senior project of an MIT student. It's a little alarm clock with wheels. When the alarm goes off, it rolls away so you have to get out of bed to wake up. It also smiles! Seriously, it's awesome: http://www.nandahome.com/products/clocky/index.php?color=raspberry

(I do have to admit this is a close second: http://www.mathlete.com/portfolio/wakeNbacon.php )

How long have you been a member of the AIGA, why did you join and what do you get out of your membership?
I've been a member of AIGA ever since I graduated college... which has been, holy crap, like 9 years? I originally joined because I wanted to be a part of the design community... which is still a large part of why I belong now. However, I will always feel incredibly lucky that a co-worker encouraged me to be part of the AIGA board in Pittsburgh, because being a part of the board has since become a great part of my life. Because I had been involved back home in Pittsburgh, when I moved to LA I continued to be involved. I started by volunteering for the Communications Committee, which led to more involvement in the Programming Committee. That led me to the position I have now, the Chair of the Studio Tour series. I love being a part of this community, and I love all the friends I have made as a result. I would highly recommend being involved to anyone - volunteering can be work, but what I've gotten out of it has definitely been worth it.

What are your favorite websites?
I have many, not all are specifically design-related. A few:
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://www.gskinner.com/blog/
http://www.group94.com/#/website/news/20080520/
http://www.thebubbleproject.com/01.Bubbles/BubblesFrameset.htm
http://www.theonion.com/

Do have your own website?
Isn't that kind of mandatory now a-days?
http://www.sarahlamont.com

If you would like to add a question to this list, what would it be and what is your answer?
Question: If you could have any super-power, what would it be?
Answer: It's hard to decide between the ability to fly and the ability to stop and start time. I always used to go hands-down with the ability to fly, but lately I've been feeling more like I'd want to be able to start and stop time. Mostly because I'd like to take naps at random times during the work day.

Member Spotlight is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of our chapter's members. Promote yourself or a new project while sharing your experiences, interests and opinions with your local design community. Wanna be profiled next? Let us know.

TOMS Shoes, maker of the Argentine-styled slip-on has a cause--for every shoe purchased they give a pair free to a child in need. The company started after the founder visited impoverished villages in Argentina and saw that few, if any kids, had shoes. Countries with poverty and health issues are the company's target. Their goal is to give 180,000 kids shoes over 24 months.

For the Sole Search Design Contest, the local design community was asked to create a unique design on a pair of canvas shoes, one that could be worn and replicated. To participate, a pair of shoes had to be purchased, designed, and photographed with images sent to TOMS. Inspired by the challenge, responses came in from all over the country with thought-provoking designs.

Designers got the opportunity to look to the streets of their communities, design something of function, create their mark on an object of personal significance and make it their own, as well as had the chance to give their design to the masses. The shoe designs that came back were inspired by environmental, political and playful themes using materials of paint, fabric markers, and wool.

Organizations also participated. Mohawk Fine Papers sent a shoe design called the Mohawk Windpower Shoe. Designed by Katie Repine of Pentagram NY, the repeating pattern on the shoes is of wind turbine blades that combine to produce a honeycomb design. Metro entered a whimsical pair that looked like cars with rolling tires on the soles.

The entries were judged by Archie Boston of Archie Boston Graphic Design, Michael Hodgson of Ph.D, Petrula Vrontikis of Vrontikis Design Office, Ricky Javaroni and TOMS Shoes. Leny Evangelista's shoe was the winning design and will be replicated and sold by TOMS shoes. Evangelista's shoe along with 29 others were displayed at Elevate Lounge in Los Angeles for the AIGA/LA gala, "Los Angeles Defines Design/Design Defines Los Angeles," held on May 14, 2008.

The response was mostly of inspiration by the act of giving back. Tommie Brink entered a shoe design with the comment, "Dump the gas pump, ditch the car, and put on a pair of TOMS shoes to stroll the neighborhood. Discover Los Angeles without the view of a windshield or the back end of a car in front of you on the 101 freeway." Participant Christina Hanson said, "Walk in my shoes. It's simple. Help others."

2008-2009 AIGA/LA Board Slate

Chapter President
Michael Lejeune (will serve through May 2010)

Vice President
Ann Enkoji (will serve through May 2010)

Programming
Jill Finley (will serve through May 2009)
Jane Lee (will serve through May 2010)

Membership
Jae Yang (will serve through May 2009)
Mathew Silverman (will serve through May 2010)

Education
Jimmy Moss (will serve through May 2009)
Haven Lyn Kirk (will serve through May 2010)

Communications
Brad Benjamin (will serve through May 2009)
Nat Bolton (will serve through May 2009)
Tracey Bolton (will serve through May 2009)
Rachel Elnar (will serve through May 2009)

Senior Advisors
David Goodman
Nan Faesler
Toni Hollander-Morse

Advisors
Kim Baer
Rob Bynder
Agustin Garza
Errol Gerson
Louise Sandhaus

Administrator
Veronica Thompson

"Hey," said a voice from behind me. Chen arrived. He'd been busily working on the site for months. But now that it was finished and launched, he had time for a beer.

I asked him, what's so great about the South Park Studios Web site? Is it just a place to go online and watch South Park endlessly? "Yes, that's pretty much the point of the site. Now all the fans can watch all the episodes online while they are at work or in their classroom for free, except they'll have to watch some short advertisements. But it should be worth it, who wouldn't want to watch ads?" Chen questioned. "Unlike other shows, the South Park episode that you missed last night will be online within minutes after the show, so you can catch up on it, then the next day, you could share the experience with your pretend friends at the water cooler. And you can even grab the clips and share them on Facebook, MySpace, or in your underpants."

The site definitely puts the control back to the users and has allowed South Park to gather many more fans. Offering full episodes for free online has attracted more than half a million unique viewers in March. But there's more to the site than being an episode library, it also features a forum that is filled with very active and dedicated fans along with many casual users. There's an avatar generator where fans can make themselves into South Park characters. Production Blogs and Behind the Scenes sections let fans know all about what's going on at South Park.

South Park initially approached Schematic with a list of requirements and requested that video should be front and center. They wanted the site simple and clean, easy to navigate and not too wacky. And of course, their business requirement was advertising. Features needed were mainly based on browsing, searching and promoting content.

Although working with South Park sounded fun, Chen mentioned that the project was a lot of work in a short amount of time, about four months. And as the Art Director of the project team, he collaborated with the designers, developers and project managers to make the process run smoothly. Comedy Central provided the team with technical integration.

"Research was definitely entertaining, going through all of South Park's DVDs, watching and re-watching countless clips and episodes of the show. Of course, some of us had no need for research due to the ability to recite every line from every episode."

Then, he went on to talk about design. Simplicity was key. The screens had different challenges so the team had to develop a flexible and dynamic system. "We came up with a mosaic design that was color and imagery driven, with minimal amount of copy, and personally, I don't like sentences with more than 3 words. We used tight shots of the character because we know the fans recognize the style of the illustration which is the branding element that's peppered throughout the site. I asked him if there was any art direction from the client. "One of the requirements was to have the site be uniquely South Park, from colors and imagery to attitude."

After the approval of the initial pages, production and development started, and design moved forward with other pages of the site based on priority and complexity. "Even though our team was in different cities (both Comedy Central and Schematic have offices in New York City), we were able to integrate our workflow seamlessly."

Throughout the project, Chen and his team were able to quality assure the site as development progressed. To bring South Park Studios to life, Javascript, CSS, AJAX, HTML and Flash were used. "Not to mention animated GIF, which is always really fun," he added.

"We worked very closely with South Park and we met with them frequently as their approval process was incredibly speedy. It also helped that their office was just down the street," Chen confessed. "It's not very often that you get to work with a client that easy-going, so we took advantage of that."

The project started last December and was launched March 19th. The original launch date was a week earlier but launched late due to some technical issues. South Park's goal was to launch with free streaming, full-length episodes. And thanks to Jimmy Chen and his team at Schematic, they did. Now, that deserves a beer.

Visit southparkstudios.com.

Rachel Elnar is a partner at Ramp Creative and editor-in-chief of the AIGA/LA Web site.

The 2008 Art Center Design Conference: Serious Play
May 7, 8 and 9
Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, California
http://www.artcenter.edu/designconference

Join us at Serious Play as we explore the key role of play in creativity and innovation. Surround yourself with some of the greatest inventors, designers, tech wizards, and artists of our time exploring the key role of play in creativity and innovation--in business, the arts, technology, and more.

The Conference will feature:

• Acclaimed commentator and moderator John Hockenberry
• The first hands-on Serious Play Studios
• Luncheon roundtables with Conference speakers, special guests, and Art Center leaders
• Opening and closing parties

Information and Registration
http://www.artcenter.edu/designconference
conference@artcenter.edu
1.626.396.2357

Register under affiliation: AIGA to get your member discount.

Yolanda Santosa recently appeared on the January cover of GDUSA, as one of 48 People to Watch in 2008. Previously an art director at yU+Co creating broadcast and movie titles for 300, Desperate Housewives, Catwoman and others, Santosa took what she learned from motion design and started Ferroconcrete to do branding. She feels that similar to motion, solutions to brands have to be fun, and entertaining. Brands have to be a sequence of progression.

Ferroconcrete does the design and brand development for the frozen dessert restaurant and cultural phenomenon, Pinkberry. When the company started with one store in West Hollywood (they now have 36 stores), Santosa has helped Pinkberry with all aspects of their brand, including coming up with their tag line "Swirly Goodness," concepts for events, design collateral, packaging, environment graphics, and Web site. Santosa says part of Pinkberry's success is due to concentrating not only on the product, but the interior space as well as the brand, and they have managed to separate themselves from the other emerging frozen yogurt brands. "Pinkberry's distinct flavor plus interior plus brand makes Pinkberry, Pinkberry. And copycats may replicate one aspect of the three, but never all three," she states.

Young Lee, Co-President at Pinkberry is a great client who pushes her to do great work. They have a great creative relationship and always shoot ideas to each other. "An instance is the Pinkberry Coffee Flavor Launch. I came up with initial design directions. He liked it, but felt it needed to be dramatic, 'like those main titles you do.' He suggested some kind of transformation going from coffee to yogurt. One idea was to have the yogurt emerging from a cup of coffee. I thought this was going to be 'Photoshop-Hell.' But once I started to open up to the idea of transformation, it became fun blending coffee, pouring to create a cup of yogurt, and I loved it. It was simple, concise and had a dramatic impact that blended well with Pinkberry's brand."

Santosa tends to go for simple solutions and simple executions. She loves to strip an idea down to the bare minimum. Of course, most things ended up not as bare as she'd like it to be. Her admiration for architect Tadao Ando inspired her design philosophy. Concrete is beautiful. Design is about minimalism and light and loving things as they are.

Rachel Elnar is editor-in-chief of the AIGA/LA website.

What are your inspirations?
There are so many things - sometimes just a color is inspiring, or something someone says. Inspiration is all around us and I believe people, especially those in the creative world, need to remember that. As for people, Steve, Helmut Newton, Aaron Sorkin, Nicolas Ghesquiere, my 25 year old sister Ester whose mother (she's adopted) was a 16 year old crack addict and wasn't expected to live past 6 months.

What is your worst client experience?
Introducing a client of mine that I have worked with for some time and who is a VP to someone and mispronouncing his name. And, he let me know it! Embarrassing and yet mind boggling that he would be so upset!

What is the most valuable thing you learned in school (or your career)?
Let go of regret.

What are you currently reading?
The Pillars of the Earth, Elle Magazine, The Greatest Story Ever Sold, PDN, Eat Pray Love - I have many books/mags going at any given time.

What's the strangest project you've ever done?
During my agency days, executed a PR/promotional event in the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas for our client 2000 Flushes. 2000 Flushes was celebrating their 20th birthday so we needed a great event to create some noise about a toilet bowl cleaner (not your typical high involvement category!). The event was called Musical Thrones where we had 20 celebrity impersonators playing musical chairs but instead of sitting on chairs, they sat on toilets all decked out in bling and gold lame Vegas style! Each impersonator was playing for their favorite charity and if they lost a round, they would perform for the crowd. Elvis was our host and kept the crowd going until eventually "Dolly Parton" ended up being the last one sitting on a toilet. The lucky charity was Special Olympics and they were present, along with the mayor of Vegas, to accept the check from the CEO of the company. Although an unlikely product to get a lot of press, the event was a huge success and a lot of fun!

If you could collaborate with another designer, another field of design or another industry, what would it be and why?
Nicolas Ghesquiere, Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz, designers of Balenciaga, Chanel and Lanvin respectively. Their designs are absolute works of art and the fashion world is one I would love to be involved with.

Do have your own website?
SteveAndersonPhotography.com

Are you currently looking for work or projects and why should a potential employer or client that is reading this contact you?
We are always looking for new clients with a high level of visibility who have an appreciation for the art and sophistication of portraiture. Clients look to us to bring out the character in each person we photograph and to bring a level of intimacy to the portrait that the viewer can feel.

Member Spotlight is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of our chapter's members. Promote yourself or a new project while sharing your experiences, interests and opinions with your local design community. Wanna be profiled next? Let us know.

How do you balance your life between work and non-work? Or, what do you do in your spare time?
I try to hike, go to the gym or do yoga regularly. I also use mealtime as an excuse to take a break. Since I am lucky enough to work from home I can actually cook and experiment with interesting recipes and I find that chopping, dicing, mixing and stirring are really therapeutic after sitting in front of a computer all day. When I can get away from the home base I am usually making pictures with my new digital SLR, or traveling, or both.

What are you currently listening to?
According to my iTunes Library, in the past week I have been listening to Cornelius, Van Morrison, Cocteau Twins, Sea Wolf, Catherine Wheel and Radiohead.

What are you currently reading?
I have a short attention span so I am usually reading about 5 different books and a few different magazines at a time. Right now I am juggling, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Making Comics by Scott McCloud, About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper, Sketching User Experiences by Bill Buxton, and Pattern + Palette Sourcebook by Heidi Arrizabalaga. The magazines always near my bed or desk are the latest issue of Dwell, Real Simple and Domino.

What’s the strangest project you’ve ever done?
While working at Cottonblend we did a short promotional movie. In the movie my co-workers and I get to ride to work on a very unusual mode of transportation, the giant Cottonblend bunny (aka Bunny Kong). My stunt double was a Barbie doll and in a scene where I am eating breakfast I consumed 2 bowls of cold oatmeal while I endured the 10 plus takes in order to get it right.

How long have you been a member of the AIGA, why did you join and what do you get out of your membership?
I have been a member of AIGA for 8 years. I joined when I was a design student because I wanted to learn as much as possible about the professional design world. AIGA workshops, portfolio reviews and lectures taught me a lot about the nuts and bolts of working as a designer and improving the quality of my work. When I graduated and moved to Los Angeles I didn't know anyone, didn't have a job and felt really disconnected from the local design scene. I knew the first step to connecting to my new design community was to volunteer with AIGA LA. Through volunteering I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with design legends, produce and organize large scale events, and meet countless inspiring creatives and thinkers. Now, as the owner of a young design business, I am seeing first hand how these connections help nourish and contribute to the well being of our studio and our work.

Do have your own website?
Yes, it's www.boltondesign.com. Stay tuned for updates and a redesign in the next few months.

Member Spotlight is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of our chapter's members. Promote yourself or a new project while sharing your experiences, interests and opinions with your local design community. Wanna be profiled next? Let us know.

What are your inspirations?
My employees. They inspire me everyday. They keep me young (I sound really old). I owe a great deal to their creativity, inspiration and loyalty.

What are you currently working on?
We are currently working in what I call the "Positive Living" space. Meaning we are working with companies and organizations that are making a concerted effort doing good. From entrepreneur Mallika Chopra and entrepreneur Ryan Scott who are both doing yet to be announced start-ups in this space to a green initiative for Scripps Networks the parent company of HGTV, Food Network and Fine Living. In addition we just finished launching 5 sites for French Laundry Chef Thomas Keller one of the most recognized American chefs working today.
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/
http://www.perseny.com/
http://www.bouchonbistro.com/
http://www.bouchonbakery.com/
http://www.adhocrestaurant.com/

What do you like most about what you do? What do you dislike most?
The union of business and creativity. One of the things that excites me most is that moment when strategy & design are united in perfect harmony. Keeps me getting up in the morning.

That said I enjoy the people and sales components of my job. Finding solutions for clients, pitching creative solutions and coming up with the "wildest" ideas (That solve business problems) possible. Waving my hands in meetings with clients and having "jesus" speak through me. Sort of speaking.

Dislike? I have a short attention span. I have a hard time focusing on long tasks.

How do you balance your life between work and non-work? Or, what do you do in your spare time?
Is this a trick question? Actually on weekends we like to check in to LA hotels. We spent some of the Christmas break at the Standard in Downtown. We also like Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.

What is your worst client experience?
I can't say I have had many. That said there are always challenges. We have been fired from a job once. It was for the better. Recently I made the mistake of letting my "need to be right" supersede the "client is always right." Did I gain anything? Not really.

I don't believe there are bad clients. Just bad matches. If you have had a bad client I have some harsh news for you. IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT! Meaning that it takes two to tango.

What is the most valuable thing you learned in school (or your career)?
How to leverage your school mates. Meaning reaching out to your network and collaborating. Doing events and fun projects together.

What are you currently listening to?
A friend (Gabrielle Rivera) has hooked me up with some great mixes. Everything from Quantic, Zeph & Azeem to Timbaland, Money Marke, The Isley Brothers and M.I.A. You should hook up some mixes from her. Email me if you want some.

What are you currently reading?
Made To Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath and Post Office by Charles Bukowski

What's the strangest project you've ever done?
I can't talk about it. It was for a secret government organization. Not kidding either.

What do you feel is your most eccentric behavior or habit?
Wow. Do we have space? I like to jump in meetings/presentations with clients. To get my blood pumping.

What product or gadget strikes your fancy?
A hybrid Porsche 911. (Don't go looking it up on the internet)

What are your favorite websites?
http://www.Bnet.com
http://www.inc.com
http://kuler.adobe.com/
http://del.icio.us/zuzio
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=691447594

Do have your own website?
Yes, http://www.thegroop.net and http://www.evilbusinesman.com

Are you currently looking for work or projects and why should a potential employer or client that is reading this contact you?
If you are interested in changing the world in a positive way call us.

Do you have anything to add or information to share with other designers?
Change comes from power. How can we as creatives own the future?

If you would like to add a question to this list, what would it be and what is your answer?
Evil or Flakey?

Member Spotlight is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of our chapter's members. Promote yourself or a new project while sharing your experiences, interests and opinions with your local design community. Wanna be profiled next? Let us know.

I'd be lying to you, dear readers, if I didn't admit that before Compostmodern, I was in a very bad place.

Maybe it's just the typical occupational hazard that comes with being a blogger. But when you're bombarded, every day, with designers touting the eco-sensibility of their newest utterly useless product you should buy for only $499.99, architects who want to be praised for using some non-toxic paint on their latest 500,000 square foot monstrosity, and creative people using up valuable resources to launch misdirected movements about using up valuable resources, it's enough to make me want to reach my hands through internet until I can wrangle the mouse from their smug little hands and whack them over the head with it until they get it.

So when spoken word artist Dawn Maxey stood up and read her little poem on eco-hype (read the full text), I wanted to run up on stage and kiss her. Oh, how I feel you, sister.

Valerie Casey addressed that eco-fatigue we've all been feeling. But she coupled it with a very interesting point about movements in general--they spike, then dip, then slowly gain more solid acceptance over time. So don't despair, we're all just feeling that spike. The dip has yet to come.

Except now, this movement belongs clearly to designers. Activism didn't work, said Adam Werbach. We are in need of better stories, said Alex Steffen. We need to stop making stuff, said everybody. And Casey made a great argument for why designers by nature are perfect to spearhead change. But when Casey showed the slide above, which was sent to her by, in her words, a "very prominent and well-known designer," it really got me fired up. Because every single company I heard represented at this conference--Mark Galbraith and Nau, Jane Savage and Nike, General Electric and VSA Partners, yes, even Werbach and Wal-Mart--has realized the importance of not just being designer-centric, but being designer-dependent in order to make big changes. People: There. Is. No. One. Else.

This movement is more about shifting from the traditional designing model (closed environment, lots of secrecy, working alone, guarding your intellectual property...you know, the kind of place that Mystery Old School Designer above works at) to a completely new way of working. Complete corporate transparency coupled with industry-wide knowledge sharing. Knowing the stories behind every product or service you come in contact with, including your own. Designing to avoid problems, not just fix them after they happen. Sure, there were a lot of big ideas about how to make big change. But from what I could discern, the process can be distilled into these three easy steps:

1) Get your story straight.
2) Make it irresistible.
3) Share the process with everyone you possibly can.

This is only the beginning. In fact, the name of this conference couldn't be more appropriate, as moderator Joel Makower pointed out in one of his excellent segues. "Compost"-ing is one of the most fundamental, simple (and fundamentally simple) ways to engage with this lifecycle concept that all designers are trying to bring to their work. But the "postmodern" part is just so perfect. This new model--the postmodern sustainability movement--just kicked in. Like, this week.

Earlier this week, IBM and others pledged to make their eco-patents public. When CES backlash hit a few weeks ago, the Greener Gadgets conference answered, and resoundingly: Now we hear CES wants to get involved with Greener Gadgets! And we can only imagine what kind of response will come from the already overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new Designers Accord.

This isn't "thinking about sustainability," this isn't "being environmentally-responsible," this isn't "adopting eco-friendly policies." This is now, officially, simply, your job. Maybe it's like the design world's version of the screenwriters' strike: What if all of you refused to work with clients who didn't get it, and yanked your business from vendors who didn't get it, and only collaborated with other designers who got it? How long would it take?

Makower opened the conference by saying we have no way of knowing what's good enough. But we all know what's better, even if it's just a tiny bit better. And we also know that it's no longer about doing one thing. It's about doing everything. So.

1) Get your story straight.
2) Make it irresistible.
3) Share the process with everyone you possibly can.

And if you promise to me you've done steps 1 and 2, I promise--yes, cynical, skeptical, but suddenly enlightened me--I promise to help you spread the word.

AIGA/LA member Alissa Walker is editor of UnBeige and a freelance writer. Her goal on UnBeige is to post "every 20 minutes or so." All UnBeige's Compostmodern coverage can be found here.