PinnedDesign Plus Social JusticeThoughts on graphic design as a tool for meaningful change — Panel discussion, Love Library, University of Nebraska–Lincoln “Art with vision, that reflects a people’s desire and aspirations, is an art that is guided by principle. …Design6 min readDesign6 min read
Jan 23The Public LibraryThe kids who like to read need a place to go, too. — I have some very faint memories of spending my summer days at the Wahoo Public Library. So faint, sometimes I question if they actually happened. But then I dig deep, and I know for certain they did. The public library, such a magical place. Full of new ideas, new places…Public Libraries2 min readPublic Libraries2 min read
Jan 22The Video StoreThe video store. Way better than church. Far more important than school. — There wasn’t a lot to do in the town where I grew up. In the summers I found myself either playing video games in the basement or wandering the small-town streets. There were a few kids I’d pal around with and a lot of times we had our bikes. …Videogames2 min readVideogames2 min read
May 17, 2021The Glorious MiddleIn the messy middle of all of it — I love finding myself in the middle of a design project. The point after I’ve pushed through initial procrastination and past early phases of missteps and failures onward into the glorious middle. Before you can see the finish line. Before you’re coasting. Before it’s all about bringing it home. …Graphic Design3 min readGraphic Design3 min read
Mar 19, 2019Lucky Charm OffensiveThe brand promise of Trump America is a lie — Americans “get” branding. But that’s not to say they really understand it. …Donald Trump3 min readDonald Trump3 min read
Oct 18, 2018The Next AmericaWhen this is all over, then what? — Right now America is a fucking joke. Just ask the UN General Assembly. Here we are, in our current age, the age of absurdity. We’re throwing out truth, science, history, ethics, and democracy in favor of strongmen, rage, fantasy, spectacle, and believing whatever the hell we want. Because we believe…Politics12 min readPolitics12 min read
Sep 12, 2018I, AmericanBut what kind? — Start with this. You’re looking down on a tiny blue dot in a vast expanse of blackness. Zoom in, you see the Earth. Zoom in again to the North American continent. Then again to the continental United States. One more time to the center of that to the state of…Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Jul 25, 2018America Made VisibleWhat peddling “Make America Great Again” ultimately did — It started as a simple slogan. From the mouth of a washed-up, reality-show kook with a fondness for conspiracy theories. Sold to a country of consumers who watch a lot of TV and just “get” marketing and advertising on a fundamental level. Make America Great Again. These four words fit…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Jun 28, 2018What’s the Point, America?Unless we live up to our ideals, maybe it’s best we just bow out — When laws are broken, ethics violated, principles pushed aside, and rules that come in the form of regulations, guidelines, and norms are either overturned or completely ignored, we need to ask ourselves, does anything matter anymore? Our universal beliefs are in question. Any sense of a shared reality is going…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Jun 14, 2018Both Sides of AmericaAnd yet it’s only one that’s grinding us into the muck — It doesn’t matter, both sides are pretty much the same. Six in one hand, half dozen in the other. The parties so closely merged, both aligned with corporate interests at the expense of the people. Damn the workers, the planet, the teachers, the future. …Politics12 min readPolitics12 min read
