Top 5 Things I’ve Learned about Being a Designer from Kids
Posted by: Alissa Ampezzan
As most of you know (I think), I spent the last three months working from our partner office in Wiesbaden, Germany, soaking up their atmosphere and traveling as much as possible. But maybe you didn’t know that during that time, I also spent some time in the USA. Well, technically. I was volunteering with the USO at the Army base in Wiesbaden, which is like being on a little American island in the midst of a German city. I ran a weekly arts and crafts group for soldiers’ kids and it was a blast. A huge challenge, but really rewarding.
I don’t have a lot of small children in my life so it was definitely a learning experience, not only in how to handle 15 energy-filled kids, but also I got a close look at their way of making things. I reflected a lot on my own design processes and how I could benefit from a more childlike approach.
The top 5 things I learned from 6-10 year-olds about being a designer after the jump.
Qmmuting from Detroit
Posted by: Doug Reith
My commute from Detroit will be quick ride on the Solar powered interstate high speed rail!
All Wrapped Up
Posted by: Tim Montie
This summer I was given the opportunity (and extreme challenge) to work on a graphic design project that would need to translate and scale into a full-size graphic vehicle wrap.
Q much fun
Posted by: Alissa Ampezzan
Q Wiesbaden has a client relationship similar to ours with the Ark and the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. They are design sponsors for the annual Rheingau Musik Festival. And, like Q Ann Arbor, they like to unwind with some good wine, interesting music, and great food. Last week, they invited Tom and I to their annual sponsor party for the Rheingau Musik Festival. Tanja, Q’s resident photographer, took some fabulous shots of the event, which took place at a beautiful winery in the Rheingau region outside of Wiesbaden.
More photos after the jump.
Volleyball Challenge
Posted by: Jocelyn Edin
This summer, Q proposed a volleyball challenge to our friends (and law firm), Ferguson & Widmayer, P.C. They gladly accepted and the games took place this past Thursday at Independence Lake Park.
Wildly Appropriate
Posted by: Dan Klyn
Q’s Graphic Design Ethos and The Nature of Information Architecture
Every so often I’m sent a comment or a question from a person on the Internet who I’ve never met, wondering about the name of my blog. I love getting this question, because it allows me an opportunity to reminisce about the time during the early 2000s when I was working at Q.
Originally hired-in to write HTML code and produce graphics for the web page layouts Q designed for its clients, I was delighted to find that there was plenty of work I could chip-in on and do that fell outside of my title and "official" role. One of the most exciting categories of beyond-the-job-description work I was allowed to collaborate on was naming. And even though there were few (if any) ideas of mine that would end up being selected and then set up in type for actual production, being in the conference room for a naming brainstorm with Tom and Jeff and Christine and Todd and Jocelyn ... it was exhilarating.
Berlin Street Art
Posted by: Alissa Ampezzan
In June Christine wrote about the Ghost of Banksy in Detroit. Last weekend, I visited Berlin, a mecca for street artists and a favorite canvas of Banksy himself.
Here at Q Wiesbaden, we have been talking a lot about randomness and coincidence because of a project they are working on. And, very coincidentally, I had just read Banksy: Wall and Piece at Thilo’s house when I stumbled across a Banksy original. But, I also saw probably the most famous (and maybe largest?) street art exhibition: The East Side Gallery.
Big Project
Posted by: Christine Golus
My first visit to The Heidelberg Project in Detroit was nearly 20 years ago.
The Most Beautiful Character
Posted by: Alissa Ampezzan
Having been at Q over 2 years now, I’ve often found myself exclaiming such oddities as “Check out THAT Q! The tail is detached!” My friends and family ignore my nerdy typographical rants and have even started pointing out interesting Q’s for me to document. They’ve caught the Q bug. A few weeks ago, I left Germany for a 10-day vacation in Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, and Paris. And, I made it my side-mission (my main mission being spend as much money as possible) to document international Q’s.
Want to go on a typo/geo-graphical adventure?
Voices That Matter
Posted by: Jocelyn Edin
Last Monday and Tuesday, Todd, Rie, and I attended Voices That Matter, a web design conference at the Mission Bay Center in San Francisco.
Inspirational Men
Posted by: Jocelyn Edin
Tomorrow afternoon I will be heading west to Portland, Michigan, my hometown, to pay tribute to two very inspirational men.
Banksy?
Posted by: Christine Golus
We were in Detroit visiting the DIA’s Through African Eyes exhibit. Afterwards we set off on a Banksy hunt.
An Update from the Old World
Posted by: Alissa Ampezzan
Hallo from Deutschland! Well, I’ve survived my first 2 weeks despite the terrifying European driving style. Although it’s all been new and exciting, I’ll just share some highlights so far.
Pleasantly Surprised
Posted by: Tim Montie
My internship could involve me running papers, designing nothing more than 60x60px web buttons, scrubbing floors covered in lead type, all while wearing a bunny suit and singing mary had a little lamb.
User Experience People
Posted by: Jeff Callender
One of the goals Peter Morville and I had with our book, Search Patterns, was to have our ideas and concepts live beyond the pages, allowing readers not only to be inspired by the content, but to utilize it in developing and explaining there own ideas and concepts.
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