It’s a tough question to answer.

But let’s try to answer it anyway—visually! Check out Dubberly Design Office’s new concept map, A Model of the Creative Process:

Here’s DDO’s brief description of the concept map and poster:

The creative process is not just iterative; it’s also recursive. It plays out “in the large” and “in the small”—in defining the broadest goals and concepts and refining the smallest details. It branches like a tree, and each choice has ramifications, which may not be known in advance. Recursion also suggests a procedure that “calls” or includes itself. Many engineers define the design process as a recursive function: discover > define > design > develop > deploy

For a closer look, head on over to the site and download the PDF.

Designers and collaborators on the project include:

• Hugh Dubberly
• Jack Chung
• Shelley Evenson
• Paul Pangaro

Note: I also work at DDO!

Posted in: creativity, Design

When hunting for a job, it’s really easy to woo only the key decision makers: creative directors, senior designers, managers, supervisors, and partners. Since they decide whether you get hired or not, that makes sense.

Just don’t forget the receptionists, too.

Why?

Because they’re the gatekeepers to the decision makers. More importantly, they hold a wealth of information and can answer questions like:

• Are you hiring?
• Who’s in charge?
• What’s it like to work at the company?
• When’s the best time of year to drop off my portfolio?
• What’s the dress code? What’s should I wear to the interview?
• Where else should I apply or send my portfolio?
• How many other applicants are there?

How do you get them to talk to you? I take the common sense approach. Have a conversation. Be interested in their opinions. Respect their time. Build a relationship. In short, treat them like real people. Like they’re your best friend.

The same goes for office managers, secretaries, assistants, and other administrative staff.

So go ahead, pick up that phone and start practicing.

Posted in: Career, Jobs

I know you thought I was dead and buried, but I’m slowly crawling my way out of a grave of cliché depression and angst. Thankfully, it’s not all’s gloom and doom. I’ve got good news to share:

I now have a gig with HP on their new blog, Small Business Marketing Guide. It’s only for the next few months, but I’m super excited. I’m scheduled to write five post about branding and marketing, and my first post is already up. Check it out:

• The Do’s and Don’ts of D-I-Y Design

Head on over and show me some love in the comments!

Oh, I’m feeling pretty guilty about writing over there and not here. So I’m working hard to post more LifeClever goodness for you.

Addicted to book cover design?

Get your fix at The Book Cover Archive, a collection of 1000+ fairly well-designed book covers. Curated by Ben Pieratt and Eric Jacobsen, the site features work by prominent designers such as David Pearson and Chip Kidd.

I quite like the site’s clean and simple layout. Each book get its own landing page with details on its designer, art director, author, genre, and publisher. There’s even a handy Amazon link to buy the book directly. (Don’t worry watchdogs, the site explicitly discloses its Amazon commission.)

It’s a great start to a more comprehensive site, but I’d love to see a larger number of books included, especially older vintage book covers from the 50s and 60s—or even earlier. After all, it is an archive.

For some more inspiration, check out Joe Kral’s collection of Penguin and Pelican book covers on Flickr.

I’ve been pretty bummed about the development death of my favorite Mac utility, Quicksilver. But now I have a glimmer of hope. Nicholas Jitkoff, Quicksilver’s original developer, has just teamed up with Google to create Google Quick Search.

It’s still a prototype, but the resemblance to Quicksilver is unmistakable. No, it doesn’t yet have the awesome array of actions and commands as Quicksilver, but with Google’s backing and an eager development community, I expect robust goodness soon.

Note: I’m starting to feel a little better.

Antonio Carusone’s got a new site dedicated to the ever wonderful grid. Aptly titled The Grid System, the site’s filled with articles, tools, books, and templates to help you design grid systems for both web and print. Perfect for the anal retentive designer.

Clearly inspired by Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction, the site’s design is clean and conforms to a strict grid. If you’re curious, you can even make the grid visible.

Antonio’s goal is to create “the ultimate resource in grid systems. So far, he’s off to great start.

Thanks to Sean for sending this my way!

Note: I’m still alive. I’m working through some emotional and personal issues right now. Thanks for bearing with me.