via T.S.

—Seth Godin
via Cameron Moll

There’s a great discussion on Quora on, Why is there such a stunningly short supply of designers in Silicon Valley right now?
All the responses are insightful, including Mike Davidson’s:

This is not a supply problem. It’s a demand problem. There are more talented designers in the world right now than there have ever been; more than enough to supply all of the startup ideas that are actually good ideas.
As well as Willie Lim’s:
Designers are not only short in supply because of demand. Designers who can cope with the quick, ever-evolving demands of the technological landscape are rare to begin with.
The technical skills required just to be considered for a visual design position are high in today’s world and the positions available in the Valley aren’t always compelling to the sophisticated designers they’re looking for.
The elusive “rockstar” designer you’re looking for isn’t interested in playing on piece of wood with a few wires stretched across it. Unless of course you’re Jack White and then you start your own band.

Great interview with Billy Joel at the NYTimes:

Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. They were all phenomenal. Mozart wrote some 40 symphonies, and they were all phenomenal. That doesn’t mean Beethoven was a lesser writer, it’s just some guys are capable of more productivity, some guys take more time. Mozart pisses me off because he’s like a naturally gifted athlete, you listen to Mozart and you go: “Of course. It all came easy to him.” Beethoven you hear the struggle in it. Look at his manuscripts, and there’s reams of scratched-out music that he hated. He stops and he starts. I love that about Beethoven, his humanity shows in his music. Mozart was almost inhuman, unhuman.

Dan Eden wrote an essay about what it takes to be a designer. It’s sound (and raw) advice.
It’s a great compliment to my piece, Don’t, on Stemmings.
Note: Dan has a dirtier mouth than me. He drops three f-bombs in his essay. I only drop one “bullshit” in mine. Just saying.

What If Cars Were Rented Like We Hire Programmers?

Agency : No, we can only take on clients who know how to drive the cars we stock. We find it’s safer that way. There are so many little differences between cars, we just don’t want to take a chance.
Applicant : I have a drivers license. I know how to drive. I’ve been driving all kinds of cars for 15 years, I am sure I can adapt.
Agency : We appreciate your position, but we can only take exact matches. Otherwise, how could we ever know if you could drive one of our cars?
I’m a sucker for a good car analogy.
via Hacker News

There’s many words and phrases I hear people misuse on a daily basis.

Today it’s being fired versus being laid off.

They’re not the same thing.

When you’re fired from a job, the connotation is that you, as an employee, did something wrong. You acted out in the wrong manner, or your performance dropped or your actions went against what is accepted and appropriate in the workplace.

What I find in most cases where someone says they were “fired” is the person in question is being terminated because of reasons other than their actions or performance. They’re being terminated because of downsizing, or redundancy due to a merger or a company closing it’s doors. A person being terminated in the last 3 examples I gave are not being fired, they’re being laid off.

“Fired” has a very negative connotation to it. If you use it, make sure it’s in the proper context.

A good rule of thumb to determine if someone was fired:

If there’s a really juicy story on why they were terminated, then they were probably fired.

via FUCKING HOMEPAGE via thisisnthappiness

If you create anything—music, art, design, film, writing—don’t be afraid to repeat yourself throughout your career.

I used to be afraid of reposting content and reiterating ideas on this site for fear of being, well, repetitious. People have already seen this, I’m not going to post it again. Sure, some people will recognize images, videos and ideas I’ve posted before, but guess what? There’s a good chance some, if not more people haven’t seen what I’m reposting. To quote Merlin Mann, Every day someone is born who’s never seen the Flintstones. This is true.

I’m not suggesting becoming a broken record and not trying new things, but if something resonates with you, if you’re obsessed with a certain topic, don’t be afraid to go balls out on it and attack it with all your energy. For me, creating repeated posts on a topic, like ‘innovation’, is my way of chewing on it and truly understanding it beyond a surface, scanning-the-Wikipedia-page level.

Think about the original iMac G3 from 1998. It was a breakthrough computer unlike any other on the market. Except maybe the original Macintosh 128K from 1984. The iMac was an all-in-one computer, like the original Macintosh and even had a handle on the top, like the original Macintosh. Steve Jobs wasn’t afraid of repeating himself with ideas he knew worked.

The longer I keep this site running (six years and counting) the less I give a shit about repeating myself. It drives me a little bit crazy when I see a post on a prominent blog featuring some piece of content I posted months or even a year ago.

When I have an idea for a post, and it feels solid and relevant to me, I publish it.

You didn’t get paid, but you had a place to work.

—Woody Allen, commenting on The Bitter End during the 1960’s

via Woody Allen: A Documentary on Netflix

It’s been 6 years since I’ve updated my portfolio. I decided to do it on Behance.net.

It’s been long overdue.

When you got a career, there ain’t enough time in the day. When you got a career and you look at your watch, time just flies. Like, goddamn! Woah! It’s five thirty-five! Damn, I gotta come in early tomorrow and work on my project! Cause there ain’t enough time, when you got a career.

When you gotta job? There’s too much time.

—Chris Rock, Kill the Messenger

Grind is an interesting co-workspace on 29th & Park in NYC.
Looks similar to place here in LA I’ve been going to for the last few months called Coloft. Similar prices too. Both are $35/day, ~$500/month.
via PSFK

I love when I instant message a co-worker to ask them a question, only to be told they’re in a meeting and will have to get back to me.
I have a crazy idea: if you can’t partake in the act of instant messaging, log off.