Change Is Coming, Change is Good

By Scott, June 25th, 2009 in Updates | 6 Super Comments

Welcome to the spoonfed revolution

I’m not a big fan of “state of this blog” type posts. But here we go anyway, because I need to introduce myself. My name is Scott. Matt has moved on to bigger and better things, and now it’s in my hands to make Spoonfed Design a bigger and better blog.

First the basics. Great original design articles, tips and tutorials, and discussions of inspiring work have always been what Spoonfed Design is all about, and will remain so. But you will also be seeing some changes in the months ahead, as SFD adopts a new look and branches out in some new and perhaps unexpected directions. As that process gets underway, I want to take this opportunity to ask for the continuing support of the great community of designers, graphic artists and other readers already established here. Don’t abandon this ship–regular posting will resume soon!

I’m also going to need the help of a few talented individuals who may be interested in contributing to the site in a more significant way. More about that in a minute. But first, a few words about me.

I may as well confess: I’m not much of a designer. I’m actually a writer (science writer, blogger, poet) with some background in ecology and strong interests in art, design, the creative process, and the present and future state of the internet. To name a few. Accordingly, I’ll leave the writing of this site’s nuts-and-bolts, how-to design content to a few experts who really know their stuff.

What I hope to do is engage with the design world, and all of you, from a bit of an outsider perspective. Sometimes as critic, sometimes as questioner of assumptions, and mostly just as a blogger trying to get at some of the larger issues surrounding this simple word: design. Not just for the sake of discussion; my hope is that everything posted here will offer something of value to you in your daily design practice.

To give you a hint of what lies ahead, one of my central interests is the role that design plays, or might play, in our crazy world of diminishing resources and destructive politics. Design in all forms, it seems to me, is movement away from diminishment and destructiveness. That’s why it matters, from the highest levels all the way down to the individual just starting to learn the tools of his or her trade, or building a first website, or simply trying to make a living.

Which brings me to my other main interest: You. Individual designers. You have inside you a creative spark and (hopefully) a healthy does of ambition. You have acquired a set of skills, either on your own or through formal training, and now here you are, doing whatever it is you do. And as I see it, particularly if you are working with any sort of digital media, you’re on a treadmill. It may not always feel that way, day-to-day. But as your practice evolves over time you face a never-ending flow of new tools, new ideas and assumptions, new vocabularies that must be mastered.

How do you bear up under that constant smashing of new information, and still get any creative work done? How do beginning or aspiring designers, in particular, get started on a productive path? What is there in the world that facilitates your work, or hinders it? How do you strive to produce work that isn’t merely current, and won’t appear antiquated five years from now? How do you balance your purely creative energies with the need to function–and compete–in the marketplace? Is your primary impulse creative or commercial–or something else entirely?

These are some of the issues Spoonfed Design will be addressing. Not just through my own writing, but also in interviews with influential designers and developers, through guest posts, and hopefully through lots of comments and participation from all of you.

My fundamental goal is to offer support and guidance to the creative community in as many ways as possible. So, practical tips and tools, yes, but also some reflection on larger issues within and surrounding what you do.

Oh yes…I said I’d be needing some help. If you might be interested in joining Spoonfed Design as a regular contributor of articles, design tutorials or other related content, I’d like to hear from you. Send a tweet with an introduction and a link to your site or some of your work. Or email me at myfirstname at thisdomain.

And for everyone: I’ve just started a new Twitter account for this blog and would appreciate your follows! Send me a hello and tell me your suggestions about the kind of content you most want to see on SFD. I look forward to getting to know some of you in the weeks and months ahead.

Credits due: The Artifex (single spoon) and zenobia_joy