WHO? WHY? In lieu of a bio, which only tells you where I’ve been, here’s an incomplete set of professional beliefs, to tell you where I am. ❡You are what you make. ❡Professional communicators must have a code of conduct. Without one, they are yet just another dispassionate content machine. ❡Art directors and production artists are designers. The design profession, by necessity, wears a mix of collars: blue, white, and grey. ❡Honest communication is the primary concern of design. Good design is not beautification, nor is it coercion, and it especially isn’t dishonest obfuscation. ❡Communication goals that can’t be expressed without buzzwords or vague jargon serve no-one. Either avoid or translate, repeating the nonsense is not an option. ❡Heroicism is over-valued and dangerous. Confidently eat the humble pie. ❡Lines drawn in the sand can and should be redrawn when necessary. Hard lines should be respected but inspected. ❡A code of conduct (or a  pretentious list of beliefs like this one) exists to be followed, not cited. ❡Shamelessness has its place. I’m unashamed about not chasing up-to-the-minute design trends. Timelessness can speak to anybody. ❡Everyone has influences. Be unashamed of having obvious ones. Speaking of…

Who I rip off am inspired by (in no particular order): Dieter Rams, The Eames, Aaron Draplin, Jenny Holtzer, Dan Cassaro, David Carson, Designers Republic, Buro Destruct, Attak, Jessica Hische, Peter Saville, Saul Bass, Ikko Tanaka, Keith Haring, Futura 2000, Paul Rand, Guy Bourdin, Kazumasa Nagai, Susan Kare, Colin Forbes, Jan Tschichold, Lucian Bernhard, Erik Spiekermann, Roland Topor, Shepard Fairey, The Dadaists (specifically Tristan Tzara, Raoul Hausmann, John Heartfield, Kurt Schwitters, Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp), Jonathan Barnbrook, Emigre, Aaron Siskind, Vaughan Oliver, Paula Scher, Retna, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Tadanori Yokoo, Gerhard Richter, and finally the anonymous craftspeople that did things like set type in lead or on pasteboard, who created memorable and evocative designs when it wasn’t easy or sexy. ❦

THE SAME AS ABOVE,
BUT READABLE

  • Professional communicators must have a code of conduct.

  • Art directors and production artists are designers.

  • Honest communication is the primary concern of design.

  • Communication goals that can’t be expressed without buzzwords or vague jargon serve no-one.

  • Heroicism is over-valued and dangerous.

  • Lines drawn in the sand can and should be redrawn when necessary. Hard lines should be respected but inspected. 

  • A code of conduct exists to be followed, not cited.

  • Everyone has influences. Be unashamed of having obvious ones.

Thanks for looking.
— M.H.