Last night I had the privilege of hearing unsung design hero Aaron Draplin of the DDC speak at the Salt Lake City AIGA gathering. I’ve been following Draplin’s work over the past few years, and as a fellow displaced midwesterner, admire his blue collar design sensibilities. As always, Draplin gave an inspiring presentation and I’m happy to report back with a few of my takeaways.

1. Get Cosmic – Design is cool, but in the end we’re particle matter floating in space. Stepping back to ponder and get lost in the many mysteries of the universe is a great way to maintain perspective on life.
2. Do Good Work for Good People – It’s too easy to get stuck punching the clock pumping out work we don’t care about. While this may be part of life and essential for paying the bills, we should also find time for work that excites us. Field Notes is an excellent example of how passion can turn into profit.
3. Say Yes More – I struggles with this one. Design is a valuable resource and as such, designers should be compensated fairly. However, I don’t think Draplin is advocating that we work for free or for minimal wages. It’s important to get paid, but sometimes helping out a friend or taking on a job simply because it’s awesome is important too.

For those of you who were in attendance, I’d love to hear what you came away from the presentation with. Big thanks goes to the big man, Aaron Draplin as well as Salt Lake AIGA for making it happen.

Fellow cyclist Chris Van Dine teamed-up with Thule to create this video in support of Pedals for Progress. Pedals for Progress is an organization that redistributes abandoned bikes to developing nations and since 1991 has relocated over 136,000 bikes. In addition to keeping our landfills a little emptier, these bikes help to fight poverty and provide opportunity for those in need. Riding bikes has always been more of a lifestyle than a sport, as well as given me a sense of freedom and adventure taking me places I wouldn’t have otherwise gone. It’s inspiring to see a rider like Van Dine reaching out through cycling and sharing his gifts to pull others up. I wish him and Pedals for Progress the very best.

For info on how you can help or get involved, visit Pedals for Progress.

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Shovels & Rope – Gasoline. Suck on this Toby Keith.

Rodriguez – Only Good for Conversation from his 1970 album Cold Fact. Recorded when Dan and Patrick were just glimmers in their parents’ eyes. Further proof that nothing under the sun is original

The trouble begins with a design philosophy that equates “more options” with “greater freedom.” Designers struggle endlessly with a problem that is almost nonexistent for users: “How do we pack the maximum number of options into the minimum space and price?” In my experience, the instruments and tools that endure (because they are loved by their users) have limited options.

Brian Eno from The Revenge of the Intuitive – Wired Magazine, 1999.

I have always referred to this problem as “Chinese Menu Syndrome.” Too many options can paralyze users, and ultimately lead to a less satisfactory outcome than a decision fewer choices would have yielded. While Eno is directly referencing music production, this should be included in every mobile and web designers creed. Strip out the bloat and get to the point.

Quote via Austin Kleon.