I have a bad habit of letting magazines pile up in my inbox, but yesterday the web connection went down and I didn't know what to with myself, so I started reading some back issues. I came across a great essay/article in Print's March/April 2007 issue by Virginia Postrel pondering the fear that some designers feel when faced with the proliferation of amateur work on the web and in print.

Her best argument about why designers shouldn't worry, likening writing to design, makes a lot of sense to me:

After all, the First Amendment promises that anyone can express him- or herself in writing, yet writers don’t live in fear that people are issuing unlicensed prose. Everyone (at least in theory) learns to read and write in school, which is to the benefit of daily communication, and not the detriment of professional writers. Neither my self-image nor my pro-fessional standing is threatened if you write a letter or a memo or a poem celebrating someone’s birthday, or, for that matter, publish an article or create a blog. Literacy doesn’t quench the demand for skillful writing—it enhances it.

In the same way, design literacy will only increase the demand for great design. Don't fear the do-it-yourselfer, just think about designing more tools for him to use to express himself, beautifully.

Posted by Megan

That girl we'd all like to be, Grace Bonney, yesterday posted a design*sponge Sneak Peek at the home and workspace of Dave Plunkert and Joyce Hesselberth of Spur Design.

We love Dave's work; his illustration graced the very first cover of the Pentagram-redesigned HOW in 2005.

You've heard of Post Secret, right? The website where people send postcards revealing their most private secrets? Well, I got an email newsletter from Post Secret creator Frank Warren today showing just how vast his collection of secrets has grown (more than 250,000 and counting). If you haven't gotten around to it yet, check out the site for tons of vernacular design, hand-rendered type and heart-breaking secrets.

Posted by Megan

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles potato crisps that he asked his family to bury him in one.

His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest - in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township.

Dr. Baur, a retired organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Procter & Gamble, died May 4 at Vitas Hospice. The College Hill resident was 89.

He developed many products, including frying oils and a freeze-dried ice cream, for P&G. The ice cream was patented and marketed, but didn't catch on. "Basically, what you did, you added milk to it, put it in the freezer and you had ice cream," said his son Lawrence J. Baur of Stevensville, Mich. "That was another one he was proud of but just never went anywhere."

But the Pringles can - a tube-shaped container designed to hold the salty, stackable, saddle-shaped chip - was his proudest accomplishment, his daughter said. He received a patent for the package as well as the method of packaging Pringles in 1970.

Posted by Megan

Our editorial colleagues who work on sister publications in the design, craft and fine-art fields are also buzzing about this: the Orphan Works Act of 2008, which passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee in April. Orphan Works are works whose rightful copyright owner cannot be identified. According to a recent release from the Craft & Hobby Association, the Orphan Works Act of 2008 does the following: 

• It changes the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act, and makes it virtually impossible for artists to protect their work.
• It allows anyone to use a design without the copyright holder's permission.
• It requires artists to attempt to protect their work by registering it with a digital database system (presumably for a fee, in addition to the copyright filing fee) when no such system currently exists.
• It eliminates statutory damages wherever an infringer can successfully claim an Orphan Works defense, thus eliminating the only tool the law provides to prevent deliberate infringement.
• It allows for an infringer to create and copyright a derivative work from the original design.
• It leaves infringing works (and products incorporating them) subject to seizure in other countries.

CHA and the Graphic Artists Guild have joined forces to hire a lobbyist to advocate against the new law as it makes its way through the legislative process. If you want to know more, or want to take action, visit GAG.org.

After sorting through 27,000 logos to prepare LogoLounge 4, designer Bill Gardner started to spot a few trends. He's collected them into an interesting article about what's going on in logo design right now.

There is a certain childhood joy associated with the perfect cleaving of these orbs that is akin to discovering hidden treasure. The 70's op-art quality of these marks is accomplished with little regard for a reserved palette. Generally, brilliant color is a must and often cross-sections are as unique as Technicolor snowflakes.

Posted by Megan

The Design Management Institute is offering HOW readers a special summer deal on its seminars in June and July. Take advantage of the summer slowdown to learn the DNA of design and business success and take your design career to the next level. Visit the DMI's webpage for details on the offer, which runs through the end of June and is only available for first-time registrations.

Back by popular demand, frequent HOW speaker Jeni Herberger is joining us to present a series of webinars this summer. If your design career could use a tune-up (especially if you're looking to make yourself indispensable in this uncertain economy), sign up for HOW's Professional Growth Webinar Series.

Jeni will help you outline your career goals, successfully balance your work and professional life, and develop the strategic-thinking skills you need to get ahead in the design field—all in three one-hour webinar sessions.

All sessions are archived, so you can register and view them any time. (If you registered for the live event, you'll also have online access to the webinar for 12 months afterward, so you can watch it again and again as a refresher course.)

Register now for the first session on Thursday, June 19.

About the presenter
Jeni draws on her 20 years in the creative field, including her experience running a creative staffing firm, Big Fish. Her engaging and informative presentation style has earned her big props at various HOW events.

The brand new HOWBookstore.com offers up to 20% off every day. And if you sign up for the email newsletter, you'll recieve special offers like up to 40% off new releases, bargain basement clearance sales and more.
 

Posted by Megan

So, you're running your own solo creative gig, and you love working for yourself. Awesome.

But my bet is that you're finding it a bit more challenging than the romantic notion you had about freelancing before you started. (In my brief stint as a freelance writer, I hated the business-development side of things.)

We've heard more than a few of you say you wished there was some way you could learn all the business and marketing stuff you need to know when you're on your own. That's what the new Creative Freelancer Conference is all about. HOW and Marketing Mentor are teaming up on this first-time event, August 27-29 in Chicago. We've just launched the conference website, where you'll find info on sessions and speakers (most of them seasoned freelancers themselves), plus some helpful resources and a blog.

This conference isn't just for designers: if you know any freelance copywriters, illustrators or photographers, let them know about it, too. It'll be a place where designers can network with other creatives whose services they might need.

Like HOW's very first conference for in-house designers 3 years ago, we expect this event to fill up fast. Interested? Learn more and register now.