Over the Thanksgiving holiday my dad helped me with some electrical work in our basement where I work. I was able to recover 10 extension cords and a couple power strips that covered my walls and ceiling like spider webs. Safety benefits aside, it feels really good to have simplified my workspace so much. I love having a well planned space to work in and anything I can do to simplify my surroundings is really rewarding.

Shawn Blanc has an ongoing blog series about “Sweet Mac Setups” and I am honored to be featured this week. I have also posted the images used in the article on Flickr adding notes pointing out the highlights of the images. My home setup can be viewed here, and my setup at work can be viewed here.

My dad has been getting some recognition for his sculptures lately, so I thought I would brag about him a little bit…

The story of my dad’s sculptures is in many ways the story of what it means to be a Christian and an artist. The reality of our culture is that Christianity often gets marginalized when it comes to “relevant” issues. Most of us are aware of the separation of church and state, but the church is separated from more than just government. Unfortunately, church has also been separated from the artistic community. If you attend my church you may wonder if there are many things that it actually is connected to. That’s a rant for another day, but my point is that being an artist and a Christian can seem like an invitation to not be taken seriously. So to see my dad being recognized for his artistic abilities as well as his Christianity feels like an amazing achievement. Listen to my dad’s interview on NPR to understand what I am talking about:

Interview with Adrian Hanft, II on Nebraska NPR show, Friday Live NET Radio (5.75mb)

It takes an amazing amount of determination to decide to carve in granite. With much softer stones available you really need to be committed to the task if you are going to carve granite. The dust is toxic, the tools are expensive, the stones are heavy and dangerous, and it takes a long time to complete a sculpture. Why would anyone voluntarily do this? The crazy thing is that deciding to become a pastor is an equally absurd decision. The pay is low, church politics are bitter and petty, and society has all but written off the church as irrelevant. Why would anyone voluntarily do this?

From the outside my father’s decision to be a pastor and a sculptor may seem hard to understand, but the reason is actually pretty simple. This is just who my dad is. The fact that his chosen task is difficult doesn’t even register on my his radar. He is just doing what he was meant to be. More than being true to himself, this is who God created my dad to for.

As I write this I understand for the first time a verse that says “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. When you live a life that is in alignment with God’s plan for you, your challenges won’t be a burden. In fact, you will actually find joy in the trials you face. Joy is exactly what will surprise you when you hear my dad talk about his work. You won’t hear my dad complaining or bragging about the challenges involved in his work. All you will hear is his joy as he talks about the process. I truly admire my dad for accepting the role that God has chosen for him.

If you are interested in seeing some more of my dad’s sculptures, you can go to stonesofscion.com.

I have the privilege of designing logos (among other things) for a living. This puts me in the company of a group of people commonly referred to as “graphic designers.” Unfortunately, there is a perception of people in my profession that isn’t very flattering. While the corporate world is beginning to notice design as a powerful business tool (I challenge you to open a business magazine and not find a discussion about design in some capacity) there is still a stereotype that paints designers as a group of complaining, ego-centric, hard-to-work-with snobs. That bothers me – because that assessment is often accurate. Look no further than this troubling (although really funny) rant called “Please design a logo for me. With pie charts. For free.”

This week I got an email from HOW Magazine (and Print Magazine) apologizing for an earlier email in which they seemingly endorsed the new service of iStockPhoto.com selling stock logos. You can click on the images to the right to read the emails in their entirety, but basically the “trusted design publications” offended nearly every serious designer on Earth by partnering with a company that promotes stock logos. Needless to say, this is Print and HOW’s core audience and they are now distancing themselves from this mailing as best they can. Like most other print publications, Print and HOW are scrambling to find a way to stay relevant in the age of the blog.

When I was writing regularly for Be A Design Group I would have posted this outrage immediately with a fiery rant against stock logos and proclaiming the virtues of custom logo design. But when I read the apology email from HOW it barely registered on my radar. IStockPhoto has all but killed the professional photography industry, and it isn’t a stretch to see designers as the next victim of the digital/DIY revolution.I wasn’t more offended by this email than I am by any of the other junk that HOW sends me.

In the midst of the “stock logo outrage” issue I think there is a sub-story that gets lost. That story is the disconnect between how designers and non-designers view logo design. If you are a designer, you understand the terrible implications that come with a stock logo service. But if you aren’t a designer you are probably wondering “what’s so wrong about saving money on something that is seemingly overpriced?” Rather than being offended by that question and writing letter’s to magazine editors, designers should use this as an opportunity to educate people about the real value that a designer can bring to an identity project. We should calmly point out that the purpose of a logo is to represent the unique qualities of a company. Explain how it is impossible to stand out in a crowd when you are using the same logo as 50+ other organizations. Talk about how importing branding is and the importance of differentiation. Whatever you do don’t pout about the threat of a new competitor in the logo design marketplace. All that will do is promote the negative designer stereotype and put a barrier between you and your potential customers.

So is the age of the designer ending as a result of all the cheap design options available today? No. Their will always be demand for creative people who can communicate clearly and decisively the value of design. I will do whatever I can to discourage people from buying stock logos, but I will never be offended when someone falls for the allure of cheap logo design. I know that eventually it will be obvious that the stock logo purchase was a mistake. At that point I hope they ask themselves, “Remember that articulate designer who tried to sell us an expensive logo? What was his name again? Adrian3 was it? I should give him a call…”