The Bakery is open. Congrats Soco and Iron Yard.
Sky.
Bloom.
My most influential classes
This post was originally posted on October 17, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Some classes just stick with you.
I was talking with a friend a couple of weeks ago about influential classes that I took in college – classes that helped shape my world view and approach to life. I noted that it was interesting to look back and see what has stuck with me after two decades.
The more I started to think about it, I realized the same was true for high school and even middle school classes. Some classes just stick with you long after you take them. And decades later, it’s sometimes surprising which classes and teachers shape how you look at the world decades later.
I’m lucky to have had a whole range of amazing teachers at all levels. But a handful stick out in my mind today:
- Speech Arts, 8th Grade, Batavia Junior High. I took a speech arts class in eighth grade and was forced to get comfortable with prepared and impromptu speeches in front of crowds. To this day, I think of Mr. McCloud’s class before I make a big presentation.
- German, 9th-12th Grade, Aiken High School. I don’t use German as part of my job. I can read German without too much difficulty, but my spoken German is embarrassing because I haven’t really spoken German conversationally in a couple of decades. So if I don’t use German in my career, why was German so influential? Because Herr Lader and Frau Lader1 taught me about another culture and helped me understand things from a more global perspective. And as a bonus, it provided me with an opportunity to spend six weeks in Germany one summer and experience life from a different point of view. Randomly, German class is also where I learned about Bauhaus and Walter Gropius, a couple of my favorite influences from art history. I enjoyed it so much, that I went on to take three more years of German in college and my cognate2 is German.
- Media Law, Freshman, University of South Carolina. After spending a semester with Dr. Collins, you look at the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and our legal system in a different way — understanding the balancing act of personal freedoms and necessary governance. A tough class, especially for a freshman.3
- Political Psychology, Junior, University of South Carolina. This was an odd little Honors College seminar. A small class with lots of readings and lots of discussions. I learned about why we make the decisions we make and the factors that influence our government and our leaders. I come back to those discussions frequently, especially in today’s political climate.
There are many others, too. A middle school shop class introduced me to woodworking and drafting. High school and college history classes fostered a love of the past. An intro to art class equipped me with many of the tools that I still use today. A class on mysticism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity whose lessons seem to come up at the most random times.
Looking back, many of the classes that I loved and enjoyed were outside my major and outside my career needs. But they are undoubtedly a significant part of who I am.
We force kids to decide on career paths earlier and earlier. I see many students today rushing through school, laser-focused on taking classes that will advanced their specific career needs. And while we want them to be focused, I worry that many of them are missing out on those random classes that might not help them in their chosen career, but might help them become a more well-rounded person.
Bob Wertz is a creative director, type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. His blogging journey started in 2008 with a Squarespace hosted blog.
We still suck at selfies.
Pumpkin patch
Designer toolkit: The Lamy Safari fountain pen
This post was originally posted on October 7, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
A perfect modern, beginner fountain pen
Designer Toolkit is a new weekly series on Sketchbook B that will highlight an analog tool that designers should be using.
Why designers will love the Safari:
Colorful inks. The Lamy Safari is a fountain pen that uses ink cartridges or bottled ink. This means that you can write in an absurdly wide range of ink colors. Find a color that’s close to your favorite Pantone color.
Choose your thickness. The nibs on a Lamy Safari are interchangeable. This means that you can select a thickness that works for you. Like really thin pen strokes? Get an extra fine nib. Want to have some variation in stroke thickness? Buy a 1.1 mm caligraphy nib. Customize the writing experience to be exactly what you want.
Modern look. It’s not a “traditional” looking fountain pen. Most people think of fountain pens as archaic devices with a century old design aestitic. A Lamy Safari has a clean, modern look and comes in a range of colors. It’s definitely not an antique.
Things to know:
Converter. If you want to use bottled inks — and trust me, you do — you’ll need to by a converter. It’s a little plastic cartridge that lets you draw the ink from the bottle and costs about $5.
Taking care of your Lamy. You’ll need to spend some time cleaning your pen when you change the ink. Thankfully, there are many online resources that talk you through the process.
Cartridges and bottles. The pen comes with a blue ink cartridge, but if you want to start with a different color, you’ll need to buy some other ink cartridges or bottles of ink. If the idea of buying bottles of ink is intimidating, I recommend starting with some of the Lamy ink cartridges.
How much?
A Lamy Safari costs about $30, depending on where you buy it. I recommend Pen Chalet or Goulet Pens.
Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he endlessly searches for a perfect “Sketchbook B” green ink.
Five.
Shadow.
Columbia
Filming with former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw.
Greenhouse studio in the Rose Garden.
How to get quality images and logos from clients
This post was originally posted on September 27, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Just copy, paste and send.
I constantly struggle with getting high quality images from clients to use in printed materials. Typically, my struggles fall into one of two issues:
- Poor image quality. Images that are too small, edited or color corrected poorly.
- Vector files. Clients don’t understand what a vector file is and why you need it.
I was tired of explaining it repeatedly so I started writing some standard text that I can copy and paste when I need to explain these concepts to clients and partners. As I worked on them, I realized that other designers could benefit to having a copy of these explanations.
Request high quality Images
Most designers try to explain image size with resolution, file type or file size. This goes completely over the head of most users. Now that most digital cameras — including phone cameras — generate appropriately large images, we can just ask for the original, unedited image. We also need to make sure they understand that they can’t just grab the files off of Facebook or Instagram.
Next time you need an image from someone, try this explanation:
In order to make sure your image looks its best, please provide us with the highest quality image you have. This should be the file that comes directly off your camera or phone. Do not edit or crop the image. Images downloaded from Facebook or Instagram will not reproduce well. The file will likely be a JPG or PNG file.
Getting Vector files
Vector files are tougher. The concept is foreign to most users who don’t understand the difference between vector and bitmap. Here, I think the best bet is to educate them that a vector file is a special file format and try to steer them to the designer or communications department.
Most of the time, when I need a vector file, it’s a logo. So I wrote several versions of my vector explanation. The first version is specifically for logos:
In order to ensure your logo will look great, we require a vector version of your logo. A vector file is a special type of image file typically created with Adobe Illustrator that can scale to various sizes while maintaining quality. A vector logo is typically saved as an EPS file. Note that JPG or PNG files are bitmap files and cannot be vector files. Vector files are typically provided by the designer or company that created your logo.
A second version of this copy can be used when you are working with a non-designer in a larger company that has a dedicated communications team:
In order to ensure your logo will look great, we require a vector version of your logo. A vector file is a special type of image file typically created with Adobe Illustrator that can scale to various sizes while maintaining quality. A vector logo is typically saved as an EPS file. Note that JPG or PNG files are bitmap files and cannot be vector files. You can typically get a vector version of your logo from your communications department.
Sometimes, I need vector artwork for other projects. So I wrote a third version that is a little more generic.
In order to ensure your artwork will look great, we require a vector version of your design. A vector file is a special type of image file that can scale to various sizes while maintaining quality. Vector artwork is typically saved as an EPS file or a PDF. Note that JPG or PNG files cannot be vector files.
Copy and paste!
Feel free to use these descriptions next time you are requesting artwork. Hopefully they will help you get the files you need and save you time. Please let me know how they work for you. Based on feedback, I may refine and update them.
*Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he looks for ways to be more efficient.
Koalas
Early to rise
This post was originally posted on September 24, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Maybe the most effective way to get work done at night is to go to bed early.
The other night, I had a bunch of projects I needed to work on after I got home. This is always challenging for me, because I need — and want — to spend quality time with the kids and my wife.
The college version of me would just stay up all night.* The 40+ year old version of me isn’t as good at that anymore.
So when I have a bunch of work to do, I go to sleep early.
The sun isn’t up yet.
When our first child, Norah, was born over a decade ago, I would often wake up when my wife woke up to feed her. Our oldest did not sleep very well. It was helpful for me to be awake to get my wife a glass of water or, honestly, just provide emotional support. It was seriously a rough couple of months.**
For several months, in the wee hours of the morning, I would work in my office, next door to the nursery while my wife fed our infant daughter. Surprisingly, I got a lot of work done in the middle of the night and early morning.
Thankfully, after six months or so, Norah started to sleep through the night and we went back to our normal sleeping habits. But I never forgot that I could be really productive in the early morning.
So I developed a new procedure for working on significant projects at home. When I really need to dedicate a couple of hours to a project, I go to sleep right after the kids do. I’m in bed by 9 p.m.
Then, I wake up at 3 a.m.*** After 6 hours of sleep, I’m not mentally exhausted from the day I just had. And I find that the two and a half hours before the family wakes up is some of the most creative time I have during a day.
I’m more productive, too. If I stay up late, I often stay up until 1 a.m. working, but then often can’t go to sleep right away. My brain is in overdrive and I stare at the ceiling for a couple of hours. I end up getting less done and only get 3-4 hours of sleep.
I blame the industrial revolution
As a quick aside, research suggests that this early morning creative period is something that humans developed with the advent of electric powered lights and that the continuous 8-hour night of sleep is a modern invention. So maybe there is a scientific reason for my insanely early morning productivity. Or maybe not…
Set your alarm
I don’t do this every night. But when I’ve got personal projects that I really want to work on, it’s better for me than staying up all night.
There are drawbacks to my early morning approach. Sometimes, the alarm doesn’t go off. Or you need a larger chunk of time than you planned for. Sometimes you finish quickly and try to go back to sleep, which doesn’t always work so well. And trust me, if you send a bunch of emails at 3 a.m., people will think you are crazy.
But next time you’ve got a chunk of design work to do and you need uninterrupted time, go to bed and give waking up early a shot.
* In college, I didn’t sleep that much.
** Thankfully, our other two were much more consistent in their sleep patterns.
*** And as an FYI, television at 3 am is really bad. Procrastination is that much harder…
Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he writes wakes up at weird hours of the morning and works on personal projects.
ASAP: The lowest priority
This post was originally posted on September 12, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Real jobs have deadlines.
As a designer, I hear “As Soon As Possible” an awful lot. Most people are shocked to learn that ASAP is actually my lowest priority. Jobs with concrete deadlines are always in line ahead of jobs with no real deadline.
Understanding why the client needs something ASAP is the first step in understanding whether you are dealing with a crisis or a “crisis.” There are a couple of reasons why clients avoid giving you a real deadline:
When can you get it to me? If the client is asking you to set a deadline, the project probably doesn’t have a firm due date. It likely needs to be done quickly, but they don’t want to look stupid and throw out a date that is impossible. Or they are hesitant to suggest a date that is too far out in the future. So they throw it back to you. In that case, sit down and start developing a schedule that works for everyone. If they need it faster, they’ll let you know in the process of setting the timeline.
Everything is a rush! For some clients, everything is a rush. Every email is marked high priority. So don’t overreact and rush into the project. Ask for a specific timeline. This is client’s normal operating procedure so stick to yours. If it’s a real rush, they will tell you.
It’s going to take forever! Some clients have no idea how long a project is going to take. So they are anxious to get started. Asking for a deadline will diagnose that immediately. I once had a client call in a panic and rushed over to meet them only to find out that we had four months to complete a simple poster series. Crisis averted.
My boss wants it now! Sometimes, the client is panicked because their boss is on their back. They may not even know when the project is really needed. Work with them to set a schedule to share with their manager. Have them confirm the schedule will meet the manager’s needs and get back to you. 99% of the time, the manager will be fine with the schedule.
I need it yesterday! Some clients ask for the world. And the ability to travel back in time. Setting a timeline is important here, but so are problem solving skills. I’ve seen clients ask for 50,000 brochures on a very short turn, only to find out it was because they needed 1,000 for a trade show. (We ran the 1,000. Then ran the larger print run later.) The clients are typically panicked and aren’t thinking straight. By focusing on the timeline, you can help them figure out what they really need and give them the best solution for their problem.
Sometimes, the client really is asking for the impossible. Tell them. But here’s the key, after you tell them that you can’t meet their deadline, tell them what you can do for them.
Oops! Sometimes the client makes a mistake and forgets to make a request or communicate a deadline. And this is where you can play the hero. Set a timeline for how to get them what they need and do your best to help them out.
Designers drop the ball sometimes, too. If it’s your fault, apologize and own the mistake. Then, move heaven and earth to make it right.
In every single one of these scenarios, communication is key. Be up front about the schedule, challenges and costs. Remember that the client is often under a lot of pressure and may not be thinking straight. Most importantly, don’t take the ASAP request personally. Just view it as what it is… an opportunity to save the day and build a better relationship with your client.
Bob Wertz is a creative director, type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
Rain and wind.
War Memorial gets really dark on a rainy morning.
Why I was forced to abandon my Gmail account
This post was originally posted on August 30, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
An extra period in an email address apparently doesn’t matter to Google.
A number of years ago I randomly started getting emails from a Republican Women’s Group in Virginia. I unsubscribed, but the emails kept coming. I unsubscribed again. Nothing changed. I finally responded with a nasty email explaining that I had repeatedly tried to unsubscribe, unsuccessfully.
All of the images in this post are from emails I have ACCIDENTALLY RECEIVED. I don’t think I’ll be headed to Boone, Iowa for the Farm Progress Show.
An employee with a political consulting group reached out to explain that they could not find my email address — bobwertz@gmail.com — in their records and they had no idea why I was getting their email. They finally figured out that the address in their database was actually bob.wertz@gmail.com. Somehow the mailing system was dropping out the period and sending the email to the wrong person. They removed bob.wertz@gmail.com from the mailing list and the emails stopped.
But new ones appeared.
Over the years, I received emails from a number of mostly conservative organizations. I would unsubscribe and move on. Then, my dot-pleganger — as I began to call him — became a member of the NRA and I was inundated with email. Lots of it, all addressed to bob.wertz@gmail.com, but delivered to my address. At one point, I started getting emails from Match.com. I got sick of unsubscribing to the emails and pretty much abandoned my Gmail account.
I’m sure that National Hog Farmer is a lovely publicatioN, but I didn’t sign up for your email.
But I still needed my Google account for other reasons so I checked in occasionally. I had a few new subscriptions — Corn & Soybean Digest, Penton Agriculture, Sam’s Club, Farm Progress Show and National Hog Farmer. I had an email from Indiana Representative Todd Rokita from Indiana’s 4th District inviting me to his Women’s Summit on Safety. All addressed to my dot-pleganger.
I’ve avoided writing about this for a couple reasons:
- I didn’t really want to put my email out there. I can’t even imagine the spam I’m going to get now.
- It was annoying, but harmless. Basically, a bunch of annoying subscriptions and I could easily move on to a different, non-Gmail email account.
This week, I noticed that I missed an email from a friend to my Gmail account. I decided it was finally time to figure out what was going on and post about it in case others were experiencing the same issue.
I don’t live in your district, Todd. I don’t even Live in your state.
I started by trying to figure out if they were all using the same mailing service. They weren’t.
As I continued to research, I stumbled across a Gmail help document that explained that Google ignores periods in the first section of the email. So bobwertz@gmail.com and bob.wertz@gmail.com are delivered to the same email account… on purpose.
Wait. What?
GOOGLE DISREGARDS THE PERIODS IN THE ACCOUNT NAME FOR GMAIL ACCOUNTS!
So now, I’m really confused. This means that there is no way that there can even be a bob.wertz@gmail.com account. My dot-pleganger doesn’t exist. But even though the email address doesn’t exist, emails addressed to my dot-pleganger are still sent to my address because it’s… close? What kind of twisted logic is this? Why it the world would anyone set up an email system this way?
As for why I am repeatedly getting email that I don’t want, this leaves only two scenarios:
- Someone out there is mistyping their own email address repeatedly over a period of years.
- Someone mistyped my address once and then it was sold to a variety of entities that now spam me.
Either way, I’m irritated. I’m betting on the “my name is on a master list that keeps getting sold and recycled” scenario. (The fact that my dot-pleganger’s address seems to circulate among mostly conservative causes seems to reinforce this theory.) I can unsubscribe from the emails I get, but I can never get that address off the master list.
“Navigate the complexities” of unsubscribing from email.
I’m also completely perplexed. Why would Google set up an email system that delivers emails to the wrong address on purpose? And who is the random person that apparently doesn’t know their own email address?
I had hoped that I would be able to reclaim my Gmail account. Alas, it doesn’t seem possible.
Bob Wertz is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he tries to unsubscribe from emails.
What I want in a newspaper
This post was originally posted on August 22, 2016 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
How do we make the printed newspaper relevant again?
As a kid, I loved the newspaper. Growing up in suburban Chicago, we had the Chicago Tribune and the Aurora Beacon News delivered to my house daily. And there was a local weekly called the Windmill News. I was a paper boy for the Aurora Beacon News and one of my original majors in college was journalism. Newspapers were a major part of my life growing up.
I’m still a news junkie, but it’s been years since I subscribed to the newspaper. As much as I love the daily newspaper, that’s not how I get the news anymore. I don’t have time to sit and read it every morning and all the breaking news I want is delivered through Twitter or the web.
I’ve been thinking lately about what I want from a modern local paper. What would make me subscribe again? In my perfect scenario, this is what I would love to see:
Fiercely local.
I get my breaking national news from the internet. My newspaper will give me news I don’t get from Twitter. Newspapers now are half filled with wire stories and in today’s world, that doesn’t make sense. I get that news online the instant it breaks — not the next morning.
I want a newspaper filled with local stories and local perspective on national stories.
National newspaper conglomerates are mostly interested in efficiency and streamlining operations. The emphasis on local would mean investing in local reporting and probably impact their balance sheets. And so for my modern newspaper to be fiercely local, I assume that it also needs to be fiercely locally-owned.
Once a week.
My local paper — The State — often sets up a booth in the local grocery store trying to sell subscriptions. Their sales pitch is that you can get the entire week of papers for the same price as just the Sunday paper. People perceive value in the Sunday paper.
I never have time to sit and read the paper. But for me, Sunday is the best option for spending a significant amount of time reading and I think that most papers will be better off with just one paper a week, delivered to your doorstep.
There are all sorts of problems with the economics of producing and delivering the paper just once a week. What are the presses doing the rest of the week? How do you hire a delivery team that only works one day a week? Sunday delivery keeps the lucrative retail insert profit alive, but will your subscriber base be large enough to entice advertisers to continue to print and place inserts.
So my modern newspaper — assuming you can work out the financial model — would be delivered to your doorstep once a week on Sunday.
Smart mix of online and print
Just because you only print a paper once a week doesn’t mean you do nothing the rest of the week. My perfect paper would have a smart mix of online content to supplement the printed version. Blogs, podcasts and exclusive online content would keep you connected to the writers and editors. Relevant social media engages readers. Your reporters become trusted sources and well-known voices. With today’s consumer, I think the success of a modern newspaper depends on this deep connection with the readership.
The Perfect Size.
I miss the old broadsheet papers, but the logistics of printing a newspaper in smaller quantities and reduced runs means that the size of the newspaper needs to be a strictly business decision. I guess a tabloid size is the most logical, but I’m open to whatever size makes sense.
Comics
On Sundays after church, I used to sit with my dad and read the comics. I looked forward to that every week. How can we bring back that magic? The daily grind of comics burned out countless cartoonists. Would we still have Calvin and Hobbes if the schedule wasn’t as relentless? A modern newspaper should work with cartoonists to recapture the magic. Partner with them to develop new models and formats.
Respectful online experience
Ads are part of the financial model that makes content possible. I understand that, but for online ads, be respectful. Today’s ads are obnoxious. Terrible. They slide in and pop up and create an awful experience. I am not opposed to advertising at all, but a modern newspaper needs to respect its readers and provide a first rate experience.
Well designed and high quality
Newspapers typically aren’t held up as examples of great design. The breakneck daily schedule doesn’t leave much time for refinement and reimagining. A modern newspaper has to take a step toward better design quality. Most newspaper websites aren’t much better than their printed counterparts. Make content easy to find and search.
Modern consumers value design quality and high quality photography. A modern newspaper must meet those expectations.
Can this happen?
I’m not sure if anyone could pull this off. Current newspaper conglomerates have shown they don’t have the foresight to pull off a massive shift like this. An entrepreneur would have to find funding, but good luck finding an investor that thinks starting a newspaper in 2016 is a good idea.
But I still think there is value in a printed news vehicle, and not just because of the ads that are in the Sunday paper. I hope someone figures out a model before all of the local papers are gone.