Darrel Girardier

Nobody is Asking

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:09:41 -0600

Nobody at the office is asking for you to do something original. Even if your job responsibilities have the word “creative” in it, you can probably get away with work that is not original. In fact, in most work places, they do not want you to do something original, because if you did someone, somewhere would be upset.

Original work will get you promoted, envied, harassed and even fired.

Original work is when you create something that is reflection of you. That reflection may not be pretty or even coherent to outsiders, but that is not the goal. When you have something thathave to do, that you have to get out of because you can’t sleep or eat until it’s done, then you have some original work to do.

Clicks

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:07:16 -0600

If it takes a user more than three clicks on your website to get a product then you have an issue. People won’t dig for something that deep unless it’s something they really want and trust me, that’s not very often.

I know you you can use the search bar on the site (What site doesn’t have a search bar?). But your navigation represents how you see yourself and how you see your customer.

Here’s a game to play. On your website imagine that the search bar is broke, now try to find products merely by clicking through your navigation. I bet for over 90% of what you carry in your site, it takes more than three clicks to get there.

Three clicks? Yikes. Maybe the rule should be that if it takes more than three clicks to get to it, you shouldn’t sell it.

Could You Just ...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:55:53 -0600

Do you think you could just…?

That statement is usually completed by something makes most creatives cringe. It can be anything from “whip up a logo”, “put a few clips together” or “make this look cool”.

The issue here is the word “just”. Here it’s being used as adverb to let the creative know that what the person with the request wants is something small and insignificant. The problem of course is that creative work is neither small or insignificant and should not be treated as such.

How do you respond? First, you can say yes, which only allows the problem to keep happening. You could also say no, which could make the person requesting angry and confused. Or you could try qualifying your answers.

Qualifying your answers? Simply put, give a reason why behind your yes or no. Let the person know that what your being asked to is not as simple as they think. Look at like it as a chance to educate the person asking about the creative process. Will that require work? Yes, but it could alleviate you of future requests of the same kind.

Will they argue with you? They might. Will they think you’re dodging the work? They could, depending on whether or not you are being truthful. Face it, some people love making requests of others without thought of what the work might require. Some people even go so far as to say that they are “empowering” you to do the work (I hate the word “empowered” for that very reason). Then again, there are some people who just need help with creative work, and that is where you come in.

Popularity and the Team

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:35:03 -0600

There are a lot companies that don’t like it when the individual becomes more popular than the whole. Creative teams can be the same way.

When you have one team member that builds his or her own following, it is our natural inclination to pull that person back. To make that creative person fall in line, to remind them that they are part of team.

But let’s be honest, when we do that it’s really not about the team. It’s about fear. Fear that any individual will leave the team and go on to better things. We even fear that others might go with them.

That fear is rooted in our own insecurity.

So what if they leave you? If you do your job right, then your most creative team members will be the most sought after. And yes, one day they will leave you.

You succeed when your team members leave for the right reasons, whether its bigger opportunities or more creative endeavors. Of course, I am sure you making sure that the work you are currently doing is both of those things. Right?

Get Out While You Can

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:28:32 -0600

Sometimes there are creative jobs that your team will be handed that are just plain horrible. They are tasks that have no vision, no strong brand or just require you to work with people that will drain you and your team.

What do you do?

First figure out on the return on your team’s time is. Is it really worth it? Will this open doors to other creative tasks within your company? If the answer is no, then simply get out while you can. I am not saying you should do a half hearted job, I am saying that if the option exists turn down the task. Do everything in your power to get out.

What happens if you don’t? Well, for starters you could end being seen as a leader who does not protect their team. Or your team can be seen as the team that anyone can dump a task on. Either way you lose.

Do what you can to make sure that your team gets jobs that provide future growth and challenges for your team. In the long run your team will thank you for it.

What My Parents are Teaching Me About the iPad

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:54:13 -0600

My parents bought an iPad this Christmas. I took the time to help them get it set up and was amazed to see how they reacted to it. Here are some things that I learned from parents while observing them with an iPad.

1. It’s computer not a tablet. (My dad calls it a computer, tablet is completely foreign concept).

2. Cloud storage is really confusing if the only thing you have known as storage is 3.5” discs and CD-ROMS.

3. The FOX News iPad app is horribly designed, yet it will be main source of news for my dad.

4. Multiple email accounts for different people on the same iPad can be confusing.

5. They don’t understand why there is an app designed for the iPad and that same app is does not have a desktop version.

Keep in mind my parents are very intelligent people, however it was interesting to see them to interact with this new technology.

Simplicity Wins

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:20:53 -0600

The Amazon Kindle is flying off the shelf. More than likely the $199 price point and Amazon’s brand recognition are driving sales. However, I don’t think that is what will sustain grow their sales. It’s the simplicity of the whole thing.

It will be the simplicity of UI design, the integration of the Amazon store and the simplicity of setting up the device.

This will inevitably lead to people sharing their Kindle Fire experiences with others, which is the most powerful marketing of all. Simplicity wins. In the long runs, simplicity beats features, celebrity endorsements and overhyped design. Simplicity of message, function and design is powerful combination that can be rarely beaten.

Details

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:38:12 -0600

I love design that has detail, but there comes a point when you are adding details for the sake of the details themselves. Unless those details add to the functionality of the design, then they need to go. I see too many designers these days add details, because they have either lost a vision for how the design should function or they don’t know when to quit and move on.

If you find yourself adding detail and your are not sure why, step away. Walk away from the design and give it room to breathe. You will not create a better design by adding details to a design problem that does not call for those details as a solution.

Yes, some of the greatest designs in the world have details. However, those details usually contain a functionality that delights and even surprises the user. Achieving that is not done by whimsically adding details, but rather through thoughtful consideration. That kind of thinking is rare. Instead of thoughtful consideration, we are becoming inundated with mediocre design that is being passed off as creative work and then sent around the web thanks websites like Pinterest and Tumblr.

Lay off the details. Chances are you don’t need them.

The When/Then Trap

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:22:13 -0600

I have to have an iPad.

What I find amusing is people who are dying to get an iPad, but simply can’t answer the question “What are you going to use it for that your current computer can’t do?”.

The underlying point I am trying make is that promise of new technology and what it will do always fall short. The problem is when we put our faith in a new plugin, software, device that will somehow make us more creative or help us finally complete that project that we have been putting off. It won’t. However, by waiting for the new technology, we then put off working the very thing we know we need to be doing.

You know you are in trouble when you hear a “When/Then” statement. It simply goes “When I get X, then I will do X”. It never happens, no matter how bad we want it to. We will inevitably find an excuse for why we can’t get it done and then the cycle repeats itself.

So go ahead and buy an iPad, I know you probably will. However, don’t plan it helping you do what you are supposed to be working on right now.

Fine Tuning vs. Tinkering

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:50:31 -0500

Apple fine tunes products. Just take a look at the new iPhone. They spent days figuring out which glass to encase the phone in. The user interface icons were painstakingly chosen and refined. Everything is fine tuned and you can feel it. This fine tuning is possible due the fact that Apple just focuses it efforts on a few projects and sets it’s own internal deadline for releasing a product (in other words only they know the release date).

Microsoft tinkers with products. Just look at the amount of money they spend on R&D ($9.5 billion). Why do they get so little return on that money? Because more than likely they have hundreds if not thousands of projects going on at the same time. At that rate you really can’t fine tune anything, especially when you announce products almost a year in advance. This of course throws a public deadline around your neck, which has Microsoft rushing to get it out the door. Too many products, with a lot of tinkering and public deadlines is a complete mess.

Tinkering is okay in the creative process. Sometimes by tinkering with something you can make a new discovery. However, tinkering doesn’t need to take place when you are trying to get something out the door.

Fine tuning though, is a must towards the end of a project. Fine tuning provides the user the feeling that what they are experiencing has depth and was carefully thought through. Fine tuning is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

So tinker all you want on the front end, just make sure you fine tune on the back end.

No One Cares

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:08:18 -0500

“Well, right now we have a lot going on…”

Clients here this a lot from creatives. It’s a defense mechanism. However, here is the problem.

No one cares.

No one cares that your pipeline is full and you can’t handle much else. No one cares if three other clients have the same needs. No one cares how many hours you have to work. Guess what?

They shouldn’t.

It’s not their job to understand what else you have going on. It’s their job to pay you for the results once you deliver. It’s not there job to care about your well being.

So what do you?

First, you remind your clients that you genuinely care about what they are working on. Let them know that their needs are your needs. Second, do what you can to make yourself a partner with your client. Third, subcontract what you can within reason.

Remember that when no one cares, they shouldn’t. That’s your job.

Yes, My Office is Empty

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:27:03 -0500

The number one comment I get when people come into my office is “Wow this is place is empty.”. Some people appreciate the minimalistic aesthetic, others see at as a cold place that is not very inviting.

It’s not that I don’t like want clutter or think of less of people with clutter. In fact, I think the complete opposite. Often a place that looks decluttered does not mean the individual who owns the office has decluttered mind. For me, it’s all about minimalism.

Minimalism to me is all about getting rid of the unuseful, that unnecessary, that which does not serve the ultimate goal. It’s why I don’t have a stapler, a tissue box, diplomas on the wall or a bookcase full of books that I have read (or pretend to have read).

I see offices that are filled with things and I start to wonder if people are not building tombs to enshrine themselves in. It seems to me, the more stuff you have in your office the less likely you are to leave that place. You have invested too much into it. It has become your second home. You will spend more waking hours there then you will any other place.

I don’t think it has to be this way. Your office can be anywhere. It doesn’t have to be in a building provided by your company with a window or cubicle. Pick up your stuff and go outside. Surprisingly, there is big world out there and you can have your office anywhere you like. You can work from a museum, a starbucks or the middle of a park. Try it. You will find that whatever you thought needed in your office, you really didn’t need.

It’s time we recognize minimalism as more than just a empty space and really a way of thinking. We need to see that this attempt to make our offices look like the inside of a Chili’s resturaunt is actually quite disturbing. That the same place that you fill out your monthly expense report is probably not the best place to dream your next big idea.

Think big, dream big. You can’t do that in a corporate tomb. Go outside, the world is waiting.

What You Can Learn from Storage Wars

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:53:26 -0500

I have taken a recent fascination with a show called Storage Wars. It’s a show about people who bid on abandoned storage units with the hope the that unit actually contains something of worth. Despite the appearance that the show is about luck, there is actually a great amount of skill to buying the right storage unit.

What makes buyers so good at what they do, is their ability to see the value in something that most people don’t see. I think that’s what separates people who can execute an idea from those who can’t. People who can execute understand what the ultimate value is of what they are doing. They see the goal when no one else can see it.

Of course there is a certain amount of risk involved. Not every storage bin is filled with valuable items, just like every effort might not pay off. However, the more effort, the more chance that this whole thing will pay off.

How to Never Miss an Email from Your Boss

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:20:58 -0500

I walked in my office the other day to flurry of activity. Apparently, our new VP sent out an email that stated that the first five people to respond to him could have lunch with him that afternoon. I however, do not usually check my email until I arrive in my office, so I was out of the running.

This led to me to think, what if the VP emails me personally? Will I be quick enough to respond? How can I know when he emails me without constantly checking my email?

To solve this issue, I set up an account with the service If This Then That (IFTTT for short). Using this service is I can set up sms notification to text me, every time my VP emails me. It is very easy to setup and the service does a lot more than just sms notifications. It can use up to 36 different channels (services like Gmail, Delicious, Tumblr, etc…) to creative hundreds of different actions.

Of course it is free, however if they start charging, I would pay if the price was right.

Manager or Maker

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:48:14 -0500

You are usually on one of two teams, the manager or the maker. I have been on both teams. The maker longs to control their future and sees the manager as the one who controls it. The manager sees the maker as the one with freedom and less responsibility.

This is all true if the maker works for the manager. However, if the maker works for themselves then he or she controls the future and has the freedom that comes with it.

Still True Today

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:55:02 -0500

I wrote this on my old blog last year.

Steve Jobs announced this week that he is taking a leave of absence due to health reasons. Of course pundits, bloggers and newspapers are going crazy asking the question: “What will Apple do?”.

Who wouldn’t want to be a leader that would be missed if they had to leave their work? It’s easy to think egocentrically about this. However, if you think that is what Steve is about as a leader, than your viewpoint is pretty short sighted. Even if Steve leaves permanently Apple more than likely has numerous products in the pipeline and people who know and understand the Apple ethos that could help fill Steve’s shoes. Apple knows how to think long term.

I’m not saying Steve’s perfect, I’m saying he’s guy who’s company just beat Wall Street projections by 2 billion dollars, shipped 7.3 million iPads and and 16.2 million iPhones last quarter.

Getter better Steve.

I think it still rings true. Steve Jobs not only left the company in fantastic financial shape, he also instilled something in the company that is hard to duplicate. The ability to execute. Apple has the ability to actually get products out the door. Not only do they get products out the door, they actually stay true to the designer’s original intentions. They don’t let engineers or accountants get in the way of the actual design.

Will this ever change? Who knows? For now it doesn’t seem so.

One Thing You Need to Do the Week of 10.03.11

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:40:00 -0500

Short Version:
1. Read this.

Long Version:
1. Read this book from Al Pittampalli entitled Read This Before Our Next Meeting. Al does a fantastic job re-imagining what the modern meeting should look like. He pinpoints how a culture of bad meetings can ruin your work environment and lead to a culture of indecision. I might require everyone I work with to read this one.

The Beauty of Index Cards

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:46:05 -0500

My work has ebbs and flows. There are days when I can work for hours and be undisturbed (those days are starting to become far fewer). Then there are those days when I question why I even have door. For those days, I appreciate the invention of the index card.

At the right side of my computer is a stack of unlined blank index cards. When I’m interrupted by the latest “emergency”, I simply pull out an index card and write down whatever the issue is that this person has brought to my attention. I then place the index card in a inbox located behind me (I keep it behind me so it does not distract me). Then at the end of the day or when I finally have some downtime, I will go through index cards and try to knock out any of the tasks that I can get to. If I can’t get to them, then I put them in Omnifocus.

Now some Omnifocus users will ask “Why don’t you use the quick entry feature instead?”. Good question. I really like using an index card because I can draw diagrams to help me jog my memory of what the task is.

Index cards, simple and useful my weapon against interruptions.

Three Easy Steps to Avoiding Interruptions

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:14:26 -0500

Here is how you can avoid interruptions at your office in three easy steps.

1. Imagine everyone is your office has been turned into flesh eating zombies.

2. Ask yourself ”Where is the last place that zombies would look for people to eat?”.

3. Go there and set up your office.

Done. Now get back to work.

Periodic Switcher

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:41:05 -0500

I have a confession. I have a problem and it is none as periodic switching. You see, whenever I see a new site design or blogging platform my mind begins to wander. I begin to think of all the new possibilities that the design offers or some new feature that the platform offers like social media integration or a slick companion iPhone app.

What I am really doing? I’m stalling. I avoiding the inevitable. The fact that I have to produce content. That I am going to have stare at a computer and put my hands on the keyboard and actually have to produce something.

That’s what switching is all about. There are times when it is called for, but most times it is avoiding the work. We switch offices, word processors, upgrade computers use different task managers all in avoidance of the actual work.

Don’t switch, don’t upgrade and don’t avoid. Use what you have and get to work.