Local Expert Speaks!

I was recently asked to comment on website design by a local newspaper. The result, a two page expose on the derth of well-designed municipal websites, will thrill and astonish you. This is only the second time in my life someone has published my opinion (the first was a review of a Sigur Ros show in Madison five years ago), and in spite of a few missteps i couldn’t be happier. My dear friend Erika, who is a PR professional, has chided me for the following sentence:

“…Politics aside, designers everywhere heaved a collective sigh of relief when the new whitehouse.gov went online because it proves that great design can be applied to extremely  dense informational sites.”

Unfortunately, that’s how i write. I usually try to edit myself when i’m writing professionally, I think i failed on this occasion. Still — in this post i’ve used the words “derth”, “chided”, and “churlish” — so that really is my voice; i’m not just making stuff up to be churlish.

Download the article here. But if you just want the high points:

1. $200/year budget
2. Designed by the clerk’s son
3. Outdated clip art
4. Heaved a collective sigh of relief

SXSW 2009 – The Ultimate List?

From The Morning News, a webzine/log about interesting things well-written: Six-Word Reviews of 1,302 songs with links to the mp3s and a rating scale. Prepare to be awesomed out the door. I defy you to find a more complete list. Meanwhile NPR gets in on the action with a host of live recordings, interviews, exclusive downloads, &tc.

Why I Oppress My Kids

I am an oppressive parent. I am a puritanical tyrant. How come my family will never, never, never go to Disneyworld? Why isn’t my daughter allowed to sing Mambo #5 even though it’s really catchy and she heard it at school? Read the rest of this article…

Wisconsin: Design Like You Mean It

I’ve been hesitant to jump into the icy waters of criticism re: the new branding for the department of tourism. But today i saw a facebook group dedicated to hating on it, so i figured i’d add my voice.

Ask my friend Nick about how critical i often am of his design work, and he might say “quite.” Nick is a great designer. So when i see something as ugly as the new logo (and the website of the agency that designed it) it enrages me. “Hey,” i think “Nick could have designed a way better logo!”

Issues like how much it cost the taxpayers and the slogan itself are merely the sideshow. The main attraction in this carnival of sadness is the logo. As a designer i can tell you without a hint of remorse that everything about it is offensive. Fonts, graphics, alignment, colors, whitespace. Imagine with me a conversation between the agency and the client.

Client: Can you find an uglier font? We were really hoping for something outdated. Maybe customized in an inconsistent way? It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to say “Wisconsin.”

Agency: Well, my 12-year old son created this version for a school project…

Client: Perfect!

When the dept. of tourism rebranded their public website a couple years ago, it was handled by Hanson Dodge. [Disclaimer: I worked for Hanson Dodge briefly in 2007.] The difference between a great agency handling branding and “nice try” is pretty obvious. Colors, fonts, layout, navigation… all the hallmarks of thoughtful design are present in this site.

I’d hate to spend more money to come up with something new, so i’ll live with it. After all, just how important is branding to a state? I think wisconsin’s draw is the land and the people, and you don’t need a logo to communicate that.

Other resources:

• Brand New (logo criticism)
• Journal Sentinel

Near South Side Development Plan

I went to a meeting last night that gave an overview on development plans for the Near South Side (NSS). The NSS covers the area from the Menomonee Valley south to the railroad tracks (south of Cleveland). The only area I care about is my neighborhood, which according to The Plan is called “Caesar Chavez Drive”, but I’ll also accept “Walker’s Point”.

A lot of interesting plans, but the most interesting from my perspective:

1. Urban Ecology Center southside branch on Pierce/37th st.
2. Redevelop the 5th/National corridor to be “more than just a bar district”
3. Park ‘nodes’ + riverwalk extensions; “cap” dead-end streets where they abut the river and turn them into public greenspace linked by the riverwalk
4. Alley gate pilot program – allow homeowners the option of gating their alleyways to provide a shared social space (Baltimore’s Community Greens is an awesome example of where this has been effective)

The above four items are what they consider “Catalytic Recommendations” – which i think is a pretty awesome term. Some general recommendations include: preserve the walkability of the community, expand retail jobs in the area, soften the dense urban environment by adding trees and streetscaping. My only concern is quality-of-life for people living in the neighborhood. I don’t care about property values per se in fact i’d hate for all of us to be priced out of the area (see “East Side”).

A lot of exciting stuff. Now: how much will it cost? Who will be in charge (ie. city? county?)? I don’t really know the answers, but the projects are intriguing enough that i’m glad to be along for the ride.

Side note: the proposed Street Car system will not even touch our area (it’s relegated to a “downtown loop”, but no one could say just where the loop went) – but the express bus system would go right down 1st street, so that’s a good 2nd prize.