These are the first words I’ve written on this site in some time but I couldn’t let the events of this day go by without sharing my thoughts.

After a years-long battle with cancer, Steve Jobs died today at the age of 56. It’s a day that we knew was coming but in spite of all of that, we wanted to believe he’d always be around.

It’s not hyperbole to say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without his work and that of the people of Apple. Because of Steve, I and others like me have been inspired to pursue our passions and to attempt to create our own bit of magic.

There are so many things going through my head right now, I can scarcely put together a cohesive thought. I think  my wife said it best on her Facebook page:

My husband lost the best friend he never knew today. RIP Steve Jobs

I think there are many that feel that way and all that’s left to say is; thanks, Steve. We’ll miss you.

Updating...

written by JM

As if it were a statue being hewn from granite with a spork, so goes the redesign of DefyCreative.com. It’s a long time in coming and not without its challenges. I won’t bore you with the details but it’s slowly but surely on the way. Meanwhile, look for new posts and the like. I know, you’ve heard it all before…

written by JM

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

This adage has always stuck with me from the very first time I heard it. I try to live up to it though I sometimes fall short. Sometimes, “good enough” wins. I suspect that’s true for most of us.

When it comes to the things we buy, “good enough” often turns out to be not very good at all. In short order, the money we thought we were saving ourselves by purchasing the less expensive option turns into no savings at all. It can happen with virtual goods as well as material. We are then left with clutter that takes up more and more space over time.

In the last couple of weeks I have run across two instances of people who go that extra mile in their craft.

The first I found over at The Dieline, a package design showcase. The post was about a box designed by Brad Denboer for his Auditorium Toy Co., which holds the company’s Boattail Racer. The box is a work of art in itself and it’s creation is explained in the post along with shots on his Flickr page. The racer inside is a beautiful handmade wooden toy the likes of which you’ve probably never seen. The toy is made from 13-ply Baltic birch and 77.5 millimeter carnelian-core industrial grade wheels. I don’t know what a carnelian-core is but it looks awesome. It looks to be strong as a tank and fast as a sports car. You’ll pay $350 for that awesomeness. It’s more than what you might usually pay for a toy, but that’s what this post is all about.

The next I saw on CBS Sunday Morning and the segment told the story of Bob Kramer of Kramer Knives. With a 14-month wait list, you’ve got time to save up for Kramer’s amazing knives which sell for $300 an inch and will likely be in use long after you’re gone. I’ll let the video tell the story.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

It’s refreshing to see examples of people striving to go above and beyond the norm and produce a lasting product. I’ll be keeping that in mind as I do my own work and when I make that next purchase.

written by JM

It’s been too long, and a lot’s happened.

Since my last missive, the mystery tablet—the iPad, has been released, Apple has for the moment ceded the top spot in mobile OS market share to Android, and iPhone 4 is on the verge of release.

Steve Jobs told us this week that Apple has sold an iPad every 3 seconds since its release. The last week has also seen its release in 9 other countries. It will do well.

The iPhone OS’s first and only credible competitor, the Android OS, has gained ground in last few months and has taken the lead in the mobile OS race. Keep in mind that much of that growth is the result of free Android handsets finding their way into consumers hands. Also keep in mind that many of these consumers could give a crap about the so-called selling points of the Android OS as cried out often by its supporters.

The broadest of those selling points is that it is an “open” platform in comparison to Apple’s “closed” iPhone OS. The Android application space is sort of the wild, wild West. Any developer that wants to can be more or less guaranteed to get their app in the Android Marketplace and any consumer that wants to can get their hands on it. That also comes with all the potential pitfalls—buggy, unsecure apps that are at odds with the experience that Apple seeks to give its customers.

I think this is great. In many ways it’s everything the iPhone OS isn’t. It’s great that the iPhone platform now has a worthy competitor and consumers have more choices. Even if this looks like a repeat of the late 80′s/early 90′s as some are saying, when Microsoft found Apple asleep at the wheel, I don’t think the outcome will be the same. Apple can serve their customers and shareholders just fine while not being the lead in certain categories.

Humorously, we engage in a holy war where spar with our peers over which platform is best. Our team is better than your team. For me, the iPhone is the best device out there. I live in the Apple ecosystem and I’m happy there. I, nor anyone else in that camp, have anything to defend. Apple may not do everything perfectly but they make some of the best products around. As long as they continue to make those products, there is nothing to be upset about in my book. We should all realize that all the options we have before us are a good thing and the outlook only gets better from here.

written by JM \\ tags: Android, iPhone

With the recent spate of Verizon ads that have been attacking AT&T’s 3G network, and by extension the iPhone, I began wondering what life for iPhone users would be like on Verizon. Even among the iPhone faithful, there is a fairly decent amount of disdain for AT&T. Among the digerati, many of whom live in the San Francisco area & New York City, it is even greater. But such is the love for the iPhone, they put up with the sketchy service (Most of which is due to the dense concentration of iPhone users in these areas).

As of Q1 of ’09, Verizon had about 86.5 million subscribers leaping ahead of AT&T’s 78.2 million as of the same period (Let it be noted that Verizon achieved this with the acquisition of Alltel which brought with it 13.2 million subscribers). Also as of Q1 of ’09, AT&T had activated about 8 million iPhones since 2007 (I haven’t found a hard number on how many iPhones are currently in use).

What is for certain is that no one uses wireless bandwidth like iPhone users. In creating mobile Safari, Apple made a mobile browser people actually want to use, not to mention the apps. My theory is that even with a wider 3G coverage map, iPhone users on Verizon’s network would face the congestion problems seen on AT&T. Like it or not, going with AT&T was the right thing for Apple to do. It allowed them to make one phone with a GSM radio that could be widely used around the world and therefore gain greater adoption. Now that they have a strong foothold, they can branch out to other carriers (once exclusivity ends). I’m just not so sure I’d abandon ship so fast.

written by JM \\ tags: iPhone

In social media circles and particularly stories written about social media, one of the favorite topics is customer service. There are some good examples of companies that exercise great customer service. There are many more who do not. The fact we will more quickly share a bad experience over a good one should make that no surprise.

Probably the most recent, bad example of note is that of musician Dave Carroll and the experience he had with United Airlines after his guitar was damaged by baggage handlers (YouTube video here). The YouTube video helped turn his bad experience into a better one. I could go on with more examples but the tone of indifference he and others experience in their customer service experiences seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

In the way of positive customer service, there is Frank Eliason who is @comcastcares on Twitter. Frank basically took it upon himself to use Twitter as a tool to reach out and help customers who were having problems or negative service experiences. Particularly those that were voicing their problems on Twitter. It is now his primary duty along with a growing team of people helping with the load.

While there are more stories like these on both sides, the point is sites like Twitter or Facebook are being used as tools/weapons to get results. In one sense I’m glad that consumers have a recourse to combat service problems. On the other hand, it’s sad that we have to resort to threats to achieve a positive outcome. Customer service is a war and social media has become the battlefield. Victories are won when companies are shamed into doing what they should have done in the first place.

The other piece to all of this is the praise that is heaped upon companies who “get it.” I love it that companies are out there using social media to communicate with their customers. However, I’m not so sure we should be throwing parades in their honor just because somebody had the common sense to see Twitter as an effective communication tool. For the big boys especially it’s simple, talk to your customers and you’ll likely keep them as customers.

A little effort can go a long way.

written by JM \\ tags: customer service, social media

I was just in the bookstore looking at the magazine rack and I again made notice of a sad trend. Magazines are looking downright thin these days. Being a designer, I naturally gravitate to the design related section of the newsstand and that is where I have seen it. In recent months,  my favorite design mags have dwindled in size while at the same time, increasing their prices.

The most desired issues of these magazines, for me, has always been their design annuals and I’m not the only one. For that reason, these have historically been more expensive than the average issue. One of the recent HOW magazine design annuals I picked up seemed thinner than an average issue would have been a few years ago. That even included a couple of advertisements for paper companies which always add a little girth to the book. They are typically printed on the heavier stock being advertised. Just holding it in your hand, you can’t help but realize the problem. Ads. While I have only the data gathered by my eyes and the feel of the book in my hand, undoubtedly ad revenues are down in a big way.

Another example was my latest trip to the newsstand. The Print Regional Design Annual is now on sale and it can be safely said that it is half the size it used to be and substantially more expensive at $39. As much as I value these particular issues that showcase the work of fellow designers, I find it hard to justify paying those prices.

Besides the economy, we’ve all heard about the dire straits of print journalism in the media in recent years. Falling circulations and ad sales have delivered a crushing blow that most can’t recover from. With the fast pace of the internet and the hunger for up-to-the-minute news, print publications can’t compete.

I hate to see this happen to such a great medium. I don’t know where magazines fit into the equation, where design is such a crucial component of what they are. Like books, the experience doesn’t translate anywhere near the same when looking at a screen. I do hope they can survive, one way or another.

written by JM

Wow, what a day in technology. Apple launches a slew of new items and the rumored eBook reader from Barnes & Noble is now a reality. The nook (note the “cool” use of all lowercase letters) is a $259 one-of-a-kind E Ink® based reader that also incorporates a touch sensitive color display strip along the bottom of the device. Like my other posts regarding the Kindle, I won’t regurgitate specs here but instead offer a bit of comparison.

I already like the nook better than the Kindle. Granted I haven’t held one, (I have now tried both models of the Kindle) but unlike the Kindle, I’ll be able to go into a Barnes & Noble store to have a hands on test. This is potentially a HUGE benefit for the nook.

Among its other superlatives, it’s less expensive and includes wi-fi which the Kindle does not. It will use the less regarded AT&T network for its 3G connection for the ability to buy books almost anywhere. Frankly I don’t care which network it runs on, it’ll be good enough. I say make it even less expensive and cut out the subsidized wireless service and just leave the wi-fi. Finding wi-fi is easy lest you find yourself out and in need of making a book purchase.

The color touch panel along the bottom serves as the navigation for moving around the menus of the nook. It’s also where you view your library and make purchases. Another nice feature is the option to lend books to your friends, again something the Kindle doesn’t do.

All-in-all, it seems like B&N has at least one upped Amazon with the nook. Like the Kindle, the nook has shortcomings that I have addressed before. Although I don’t know for certain, there are still likely the same design limitations inherent in the format and therefore not a substitute for good graphic design. For voracious readers, it’s a good investment. For those still unsure, this could very well lead you to take the plunge. The nook certainly has me a step closer to justifying buying an eBook reader.

written by JM \\ tags: Books, eBooks

Today Defy Creative launched a new service aimed at offering companies and organizations the ability to get their design work done at an affordable rate. Maybe a company has never had an in-house designer or maybe they’ve been forced to downsize. Whatever the reason, I saw an opportunity to supply companies with quality design work at a fraction of the cost of a traditional employee.

The Personal Designer Subscription Service is a subscription that, with a 6-month or 12-month commitment, allows for the design of certain projects that otherwise would cost hundreds more individually. At $299.99/month for 6 months or at $249.99/month for 12 months, organizations can get custom designed projects that will give consistent branding across their marketing efforts.

Available services are: (1 per month)

• 4-page 8.5×11 newsletter design
• Postcard design
• Banner design (ex. up to 40″ x 80″)
• Advertisement design
• Flier design
• 8.5×11 brochure design
• Poster design
• Website header graphic

If a project falls outside the scope of these services, a request for quote can be made under a more traditional arrangement.

I believe this is a great opportunity for businesses to get design work done where it often goes undone. Head on over to the Personal Designer Subscription Service section of the site and sign up!

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design

The latest release in the DesignerPacks Series is DesignerPack 2. DesignerPacks are collections of themed graphics for use in your own designs.

The DesignerPack 2 collection features three 9 x 11.5 layered Photoshop documents (.PSD) that can be used as letterhead, newsletter design, or as a flier, all including a bleed area. Also included is a 9 x 6  layered Photoshop document (.PSD) with a bleed area. Additionally the package has TIFF files that can be directly incorporated into your page layout application of choice such as Quark XPress, Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word among others. Each file is in CMYK and fully editable. Additionally, the graphic files can be used in your Keynote, PowerPoint or your presentation software of choice. DesignerPack 2 is available now for $24.99.

NOTE: Adobe Photoshop is required to edit .PSD files and produce CMYK files suitable for printing. Other image editors such as Pixelmator or Acorn will produce RGB files suitable for online or on screen viewing.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design, templates