Industrial Brand was recently featured in an article called Leverage Design as a Business Asset in Business in Vancouver’s 2011 edition of How-To, their annual publication of practical tips for business. The article (reproduced below) by GDC/BC‘s Copywriting Chair, Eagranie Yuh, argues that businesses who invest in hiring experienced designers have an advantage and reap rewards in the long term.

Leverage Design as a Business Asset
by Eagrane Yuh

Think about your business assets: human resources, information technology, investments, property and design.

That’s right: design. In a recent poll of 526 businesses conducted by Harris/Decima, 63 per cent of respondents reported a link between design and better business performance.

A recent study from the United Kingdom shows that three-quarters of businesses that have made design an integral part of their operations have improved their competitive advantage.

How does visual strategy translate into business success?

Differentiating your product

Level Ground Trading in Victoria was one of the first companies to market fair-trade coffee, but since its beginnings in 1997, many similar companies had entered the market. Consumers liked Level Ground’s coffee and key message but not the packaging and design of the product.

Level Ground worked with Subplot Design Inc., which overhauled the company’s brand strategy, logo and packaging. From a decline of 1.3 per cent in sales from the prior year, Level Ground saw an increase in sales of 12 per cent across its main categories.

“It finally gave them a way to tell the story that they hadn’t had in the past,” says Roy White, CGD, creative director and partner at Subplot Design.

Reaching your target market

In 2009, Amacon, a real-estate and development and construction firm, launched District, a condominium complex in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. “We really had to build brand awareness, because there were limited developments like District in the area. We needed to sell the area,” says Nic Jensen, Amacon’s sales and marketing manager.

Amacon hired Industrial Brand, a Vancouver design firm, to target a specific demographic with a cohesive campaign that included a website, a display centre, brochures and several 40-foot billboards.

Amacon opened the display suites on September 15, 2009, intending to sell 75 per cent of the units by the end of the year. By the close of opening weekend, the first building was sold out. Three months later, the second building was sold out, and Amacon closed the sales centre, a full nine months ahead of schedule.

“The pre-sale market wasn’t very strong at that time, especially in a new area. The campaign was exactly what we needed,” says Jensen.

Gaining a competitive edge

Read Jones Christoffersen (RJC) is Canada’s oldest engineering firm. Its outdated website didn’t reflect the stature of a company that had been in business for six decades and completed more than 30,000 projects. “We needed to bring the personality of the firm to the forefront,” says Patricia Glass, RJC’s marketing specialist.

Industrial Brand revamped the website. Search-engine optimized, the new site has a robust search function that has brought in new clients. What’s more, a new recruitment interface has significantly streamlined RJC’s recruitment process.

Becoming more efficient

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is Canada’s leading retailer of quality outdoor gear and clothing. With 14 stores across the country, the company has a strong brand and consistency across its visual communications.

This is primarily due to MEC’s brandstandards guide. The 38-page guide provides explicit instructions for the company’s visual communications: logo, font, colours, in-store signage, store exteriors, website and more.

For Judy Snaydon, CGD, MEC’s creative director, the guide ensures consistency and enables efficiency. “We work with a lot of external vendors. If we didn’t have brand standards, I’d be constantly having to outline who we are, what we’re about and what our brand looks like. With brand standards, I can stop worrying about these things and focus on the objectives of each project.”

Using design as a business asset

These companies have leveraged design as a business asset and invested in strong visual strategies. In working with certified designers, they work with providers who incorporate strategy, problem-solving and business acumen into the process. The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) is the professional association for certified graphic designers (CGD). To be certified, a graphic designer must pass a rigorous portfolio review and abide by a code of ethics.

The society’s website provides resources for businesses to find certified designers and to determine whether they they themselves are working with reputable designers. For more information, visit www.gdc.net.

Eagranie Yuh is copywriting chair for the B.C. Mainland chapter of GDC. She is a freelance business writer and award-winning blogger. She also teaches chocolate-tasting classes.

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This article from Business in Vancouver How-To 2011, which you can download as a PDF here, which contains numerous other practical tips and informative articles for the business community. We encourage you to support BIV and buy a printed copy today!

Business in Vancouver has been publishing in-depth local business news, analysis and commentary since 1989. The newspaper also produces a weekly ranked list of the biggest companies and players in a wide range of B.C. industries and commercial sectors, monthly features and industry-focused sections that arm its subscribers with a complete package of local business intelligence each week.

From How-To, published by BIV Magazines. Copyright © 2011, BIV Magazines, a division of BIV Media LP. Reproduced with permission.

The below opinion article was featured Applied Arts Magazine’s website in November 2010:

Design is in chaos, and leadership is sorely lacking.

It’s time for those with the ability to take the reins of power and haul the industry into the modern world.

So often I hear experienced design professionals tell younger designers to get involved or join the local chapter of a design association. Good advice, right? Of course it is.

Wait a minute. I’ve been heavily involved in our national design association for almost a decade now, and when I look at the best and brightest in our field, most of them are not even part of that community. Not only do the experienced among us generally not lend their time and energy as leaders, but most don’t even see the value of membership. What the deuce?

We all love to wax poetic about “back in the day” (a term I only now feel old enough to use), but it’s scary how much things have changed in the last 20 years. Another phrase I find myself using these days is “in the real world,” when talking to design students about the realities of what we deal with in our day-to-day profession. It occurs to me that I haven’t been giving my students the whole story about our industry. And it occurs to me that the opportunities for learning, networking and advancement via design associations aren’t what they used to be.

Enough of that. We need to tear down the walls of complacency and lead by example.

Times Are Changing

When I entered this profession, the designers I learned from illustrated with brushes and paint, drew typefaces by hand and set type on a Linotype machine. Looking back, it felt like at that moment (1989) everything began to suddenly change. I remember the fear and trepidation so many of us felt as we realized how much of our training was already obsolete. Thankfully, we brought with us new skills and perspectives as well as our classical training, and together with the established pros, we forged ahead, evolved, and kept the design community afloat.

But times are changing once again. And nobody likes change. It’s scary as hell. But change is a constant in the design field—like it or not.

Some say that Canada’s reputation as a leader in our field has waned. Many argue vehemently that design has radically evolved beyond “graphic,” with designers around the globe adopting a new perspective and identity. And yet despite all this, Canadian graphic design associations cling desperately to old paradigms, terminology and mandates.

It’s time we told the younger designers entering the highly competitive (and saturated) communication design industry the truth about what skills they’re going to need to thrive—or even survive.

Stop Whining

I’m guilty of it too, but really—let’s grow up. I’m about as sick of hearing about spec contests and crowd-sourcing as I am talking about it. And the debate over what we call ourselves and describe what we do? An important discussion, but god I’m bored of it.

Sure, we can stomp our feet in protest every time a government ministry engages in a practice we view as disrespectful, but have those that represent us adequately secured the attention of Canada’s federal government, educating and collaborating with them? Not so much. Have regional association chapters stepped in front of the various legislative assemblies in the provinces across Canada? Nope. Have we even reached out to our local boards of trade with the message of the value we bring to business through design? Not to my knowledge.

The reality is, the immaturity with which we’re viewed will never go away if all we do is whine about everything among ourselves, resorting to the equivalent of shooting spitballs from the sidelines. And seriously, do you think the best and brightest among us get caught up in discussions about what they call themselves? Or about the quality of typeface choices in James Cameron’s latest movie or how much they love or hate the latest logo designed by Peter Arnell? Of course not. Who cares? Are we artists or are we business strategists? Or perhaps both? Do we really even know anymore?

We need to start looking beyond the ivory tower of design. There are more issues at hand than the improper use of Trajan.

The Associations Are Failing Designers

It’s been an exciting few years in the design industry. But when I look at the broader industry and the leadership within its ranks, I am ashamed. The associations are bursting at the seams with young designers, but there is an embarrassingly low percentage of experienced, successful design professionals among our leadership ranks.

For the most part, Canada’s best designers don’t seem to understand the value of membership anymore, let alone feel compelled to step up and volunteer their expertise, intelligence, creativity and influence.

In this time of change, made worse by economic uncertainty and the threat of overseas competition (when I was in China last year, there were nearly one million students studying design—one million), we need brave leadership, now more than ever. We don’t need the status quo, and we certainly don’t need to cling to old ways of thinking, trying to rebuild cosmetic meaning in an industry that has fundamentally changed.

What we need is unity. Let’s be honest with ourselves, Canada’s national graphic design association isn’t really national at all. Until old differences are set aside and Ontario and Quebec properly join the leadership of this industry, we’re going to be burdened by fractured administration and provincial thinking. If we want to truly make change, we need to quit bickering and navel-gazing, band together and get to work.

There are a growing number of professionals in our field who believes that unless our national association radically alters its trajectory, the only answer is to form a new group. This is a risky approach that would mean discarding more than 50 years of history. But this is the design industry; old things die and new things are created in their place. I’m not sure it’s the right path, but at least somebody’s making an effort—and if things don’t change soon, I’ll be right there with them.

Designers Are Failing The Associations

Most of these well-known designers who have abandoned the associations have elevated themselves beyond the level of merely producing graphics. They’ve acquired business acumen, expanded their professional networks and accumulated significant influence. They’re too busy producing results for their clients to get caught up in issues that don’t seem to relate to them anymore. Few of these successful designers turn their attention, time and energy to leading the Canadian design industry forward.

To fix this, there needs to be constant change at the head of our national organization. There should be a number of candidates in the running for leadership positions. No one should be able to park in a position for years on end and win the same spot by default. Change is healthy for an organization, and I would argue it’s required to keep our broader industry evolving and moving forward.

We need leaders who won’t get caught up complaining about how little money the association has, but who will set in motion a plan to fix that. We need leaders who not only recognize the importance of getting our message in front of big business and government, but who have the experience doing this already—successfully. We need leaders who have evolved beyond graphic design.

So where are these leaders?

I suspect that most of the really influential designers in Canada have become distracted by the allure of fame. Many designers who could bring a lot to the table have opted instead to self-promote, pursuing speaking engagements at design conferences and/or publishing books of their ramblings or works, instead of giving back to their industry in its time of need. Many will offer their design services and create posters, reports, even websites for the promotional opportunities, but these often seem more in the service of exposure in their quest to become the next Sagmeister. Good for those who enjoy this kind of professional success and notoriety, but what about those who follow? Who will be their mentors?

So this is a call to those who have “arrived” and enjoyed success in their design careers. Instead of merely becoming opinion shapers worshipped by young designers, these leaders should step forward and use their experience, position and influence to create real, positive change.

Winners Don’t Make Excuses

By now, many of you are probably thinking, “He has a point. If we want things to improve, we need to put in the work. But I just don’t have the time.” Hogwash.

This issue has been on my mind a lot lately as I consider my own future as a volunteer leader within the Canadian design community. I too have struggled to find a balance between running my own busy design studio and serving on the executive board of my local design association chapter. I recently posted a thread to Facebook that read, “Why do most of Canada’s best and brightest senior designers refuse to serve their national professional association?” I wasn’t surprised by responses claiming successful designers are busy, sometimes timid and often even elitist, but seriously, give me a break. This is not the time for timidity or elitism.

I’m not negating the importance of family commitment or life balance, and we all understand the need to focus time and energy on work itself, but I asked why the upper tier of designers is absent. From my perspective, the people at the top of this game are always busy, but they’re also extremely efficient, tremendous problem solvers and often have deep resources.

The responses that resonated most with me were those centred around the confusion about the value of design associations, which seem to be run by the “old guard” (a term that makes me cringe), which has collectively lost a sense of the state of the industry. Many senior designers replied that they have little interest in lending their talents to a community that still calls themselves graphic designers—a term few of those at the top use any more. And finally, some argued that the way the design industry networks and supports itself has changed and become much more fluid, global and instant, using online tools such as Behance, Cargo Collective, LinkedIn, QBN and Motionographer.

Fine. Things have changed. We can all sit behind our computer screens and feel a sense of community via our Facebook pages or LinkedIn groups, but that’s not community. We need leadership. We need those who’ve come before us to guide and mentor us by sharing their tricks of the trade. We also need those who are enjoying success in the newer areas of expertise, such as interaction design, user experience design and brand design. They can bring to the table their unique experiences, so those who still think like graphic designers can look at the bigger picture and expand their ideas of what we do.

We need winners to put their hands up and say, “It’s my turn—allow me to help out for a while.” Just imagine how many new designers could be inspired to band together as a community if even 10 or 20 influential design leaders stepped forward to compete for a term on the executive board of our national design association?

I’m aware that my ideas don’t jibe with everyone’s point of view, but I believe in the power of design. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a coalition of the best of the design industry can bring about radical positive change, once again positioning Canada as the bright North Star of design leadership it once was.

To do that, walls need to be broken down, and tough decisions made. It’s time to tell the next generation the truth about the mess we’re leaving them, and work with them to build a better future for us all.

Will you join me?

Matt recently wrote a great article about why he was excited about the upcoming Icograda Design Week Vancouver 2010 conference.

This week Icograda released this animated promo video about the theme of Design Currency created by Rethink, Giant Ant Media, Todd Smith Design and Wave Productions—all studios in Vancouver, BC.

The coolest thing for me is that the video is old school flipbook animation, not computer trickery. The production team literally printed and photographed 2,180 custom bills to create the effect. Here are some behind the scenes photos showing how they did it.

Pretty cool work guys—well done!

I believe there is always room for every person to grow, personally and professionally. But as an Art Director (and father of a two year old) my ‘spare’ time for a conference is very limited. I have been in this industry for 15 years and without sounding arrogant, I know a lot about this industry. If I am going to take five days to attend a conference it better be something significant that will make a positive difference for my career. I also want to see speakers who are funny, intelligent and poignant. I have no interest seeing presentations that are nothing more than monotone portfolio overviews with little or no relevance to the conference theme.

So, why should I get excited about Icograda’s Design Week Vancouver being hosted by GDC in April of this year?

Well, there is the fact that it is hosted in the convention centre in my beautiful hometown of Vancouver. An international conference on my doorstep of this calibre (which would normally involve air-flight and hotels adding extra expense) is a wonderful opportunity, I would be a fool not to attend for this reason alone.

I enjoyed watching this presentation recently given by GDC President, Rod Roodenburg, where he said “we don’t have the answers but we have ideas, and so do you. Lets create the value of design together”. That one statement alone inspires me to want to attend this conference. Going to a conference to truly participate and contribute on a global level sounds refreshing.

I am hooked by the theme ‘Design Currency: Defining the Value of Design’. Working in a service-based industry we often bump up against the value of design. How do you put a dollar value to a service for a client? What impact will the completed design work have on your clients business? What parameters does the client use to judge that impact and how does that translate into value for them or their clientele? Also, in a world where you can buy a logo for next to nothing on certain ‘generic logo’ sites, or use a myriad of crowd sourcing sites, how do we educate a client on the value of strategic design and the process behind it?

The conference is an international event organized by Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations), the world body for professional communication design. The conference will host speakers who are all world-class design experts from countries around the globe (Canada, US, France, Denmark, Hong Kong, and India to mention just a few).

I believe many creative designers are multi-disciplined in their thinking but lack the skills to implement these ideas. Personally I am a wanna be architect, interior designer and car designer but unfortunately my buildings would probably collapse and my cars would never start. That being said, I am excited that the speakers at the conference will be from varying disciplines of design with experts from the fields of architecture, industrial design, branding, strategy, and interactive design.

At the same time as the conference there will also be a trade fair where you will get to meet lots of industry suppliers and network with top management from leading design agencies, design media, design students and design educators. Additionally, there will be lots of wonderful printed samples for our greedy design fingers to flip through, admire, critique (“I can’t believe they used that typeface” or “look at that leading”), and to smell the wonders of printed ink (slight personal obsession).

On the Friday the day will be divided into workshops and an education symposium. Thursday night the conference will host the Graphex 2010 awards gala, celebrating and acknowledging the best of Canadian design over the past two years. I attended the 2008 awards gala and was impressed by the whole night (the MC Ze Frank was a hoot, this year it is Debbie Millman). It was an opportunity to connect with my design colleagues and meet admired designers from studios across Canada. Did I mention the cocktail reception and three course plated dinner?

The world has many currencies but the GDC and Icograda felt there was one missing—a ‘design currency’. One that could transcend different economies but could still represent monetary value on a balance sheet. Hence the ‘Design Dollar’ icon used as the conference logo mark. I am intrigued by the logo for the conference. There is a logo for the conference, how cool is that? It has me instantly ask questions. What is this currency? Where is it used? How is it used? What is the value? What is the Canadian Dollar and Design Dollar exchange rate? It acts as a vehicle to start asking questions drawing you in and enrolling you into the topic of the conference. Rather than the conference title set in just Helvetica (as many conference often do), strategy and thought have been put into not just the logo but into other promotional materials and brand elements. I am excited to see the full extent of which this graphic theme will be incorporated throughout the conference and trade fair. I have seen people at local design events recently wearing Design Currency promotional t-shirts that states ‘This shirt is worth 150 Design Dollars’. Inviting people to engage in dialogue about the value of design, actively promoting the conference but more so the topic of the conference. It is truly a great PR campaign.

One of the conference events that I am most keen to attend is the ‘Dinner With a Side of Design”, April 25, 26 & 28. A long table series at Irish Heather (great beer and food) combining local leaders and designers in collaborative conversations focused around the complex themes of sustainability, culture and economics. i have never heard of such an opportunity where my thoughts and ideas would have an actual impact on our city.

I’ve heard that speakers have been encouraged to avoid portfolio presentations in favour of theme-focussed dialogue and that there will be panel discussions and break-out groups. Collectively (speakers and the attendees) will come to conclusions together to include the following: What is the true value of design? How can graphic designers contribute to positive change in the world? What is the impact and value that your design has on the bottom line socially, environmentally, economically and culturally?

By attending this conference I believe the global perspectives learned, relationships made, practical lessons learned will benefit my career (and yours) not only for the next short while but continuously long term.

I encourage you to join me and register online by visiting the design week website www.designweekvancouver.ca.

We just received the Call For Entries for Graphex 2010—GDC’s biennial national design awards. The concept is “A Reflection Of The Best Designers In Canada”, so I photographed myself reflected in the shiny mirror postcard. Does this mean I’m now among the best designers in Canada? No, but maybe it’ll bring some luck as we get ready to submit a bunch of work from the past couple years. Fingers crossed!

I see GDC has created a public Graphex 2010 group on Flickr, so hopefully more designers across the country will post similar photos of themselves.

If you are serious about your career as a designer, and want to learn from the world’s top experts while participating in an important dialogue about the nature and value of our industry, leaving you better equipped to tackle social, environmental and economic challenges, then you should attend Design Currency: Icograda Design Week in Vancouver 2010.

Presented by the International Council Of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) and hosted by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) from April 26–30, 2010 at Vancouver Convention Centre, the theme of this international, multi-disciplinary design conference is Design Currency: Defining The Value of Design, with the concept of “Currency” being expressed as the state or quality of being current; general acceptance or reception; a passing from person to person, or from hand to hand.

Design Currency: Icograda Design Week in Vancouver 2010 will offer designers, business leaders and government the opportunity to experience current design thinking. Design brings clarity and enhances meaning and has the power to influence our core values, our identity, our expectations and our worldview. The conference will help reshape our mutual understanding of the value of design by exploring the various levels of identity as it relates to processes, sustainability, economy, innovation, change and authenticity in communications that help define who we are and where we are going as a culture.

Preceded by GDC’s national AGM and Icograda’s regional board meeting, the conference will kick off with a keynote presentation of thought-leadership on how design is shaping, and being shaped by, our global community. The following two days will include highly interactive presentations, panel discussions and workshops led by a host of world-class international design experts that will maximise the opportunity for interaction between presenters and delegates. All delegates, presenters and sponsors will have free access to exhibits, forums and Design Trade Fair featuring the latest products and services from manufacturers, retailers and event partners. The conference finale will be the Awards Gala dinner for Graphex 2010, Canada’s national awards programme.

A partial sample list of confirmed speakers include:

• Nathan Shedroff – Experience design pioneer, Chair of the Design Strategy MBA, California College of the Arts (United States)
• Marian Bantjes – Designer, typographic illustrator and educator (Canada)
• Freeman Lau – Kan & Lau Design Consultants (Hong Kong SAR)
• Gregoire Serikoff – Designer and facilitator, Founder of The Value Web, member of Accelerated Solutions Environment network, Icograda board member (France)
• Ashwini Deshpande – Founder and Creative Director of Elephant Strategy + Design (India)
• Debbie Millman – Brand designer, author, radio host, President of Sterling Brands, President of AIGA (United States)
• Mark E. Sackett – Designer, radio host, President of Reflectur, Founder of BOX SF (United States)
• Jason Santa Maria – Interaction designer, Founder of Mighty, Creative Director of A List apart, AIGA board member (United States)
• Martin Miruka – Designer, author, Founder and Lead Strategist of ATOM-tdf, Chairman of Diversity Africa Foundation & KenyaOne (Kenya)
• Lise Vejse Klint – Designer, Architect, Director of INDEX: Design to Improve Life, former Secretary General of Icograda (Denmark)
• Oscar Pena – Designer, Global Senior Creative Director of Philips (The Netherlands)
• Cameron Sinclair – Architecture for Humanity (United States)
• Dr. Tony Golsby-Smith – Designer, strategist, Founder and CEO of Second Pty Ltd (Australia)

Register online before January 16th and take advantage of the early bird discounts!

Mark Busse gives his final speech as President of GDC/BC in January, 2009.

GDC/BC‘s President, Marga Lopez, recently asked me to submit an overview of 2009 from my perspective as a GDC Executive. After a little thought, I jotted down the following, which I thought I’d share here.

I’ll never forget 2009. As far as my career goes, it was filled with breathtaking highs and terrifying lows. I’m not ashamed to admit that my own company suffered when the economic crisis hit and I was gravely concerned when numerous friends scaled their design firms way back or even found themselves without a job altogether.

This was my mood as the year began, but I’d have to say this was a rather good year for GDC/BC—and for me. Deciding to not run for another term as GDC/BC President was difficult for me as our team was gaining momentum and there was much work left to do. But in retrospect it was the right thing to do as Marga Lopez has blossomed as a leader we can all rally around. My hope is that Marga will not make the same choice and decide to run for another term. I would follow her into battle blindfolded.

Beyond supporting Marga as Past President, my duties included serving as Co-Chair of Design Week have kept me busier than ever. Sometimes my role seems to be one of catalyst and conduit, generating ideas or fostering relationships, other times I seem to be the voice of dissent, expressing strong opinions about issues that can rub people in the wrong ways at times.

Money was tight for our chapter this year, but we budgeted smartly and kept our eye on expenditures. Sponsorship has been a struggle as companies are reticent to spend money on marketing when they are laying off staff, but we also managed to create a new partnership with Rogers that brought enough savings to members to offset annual dues—and I finally got an Apple iPhone!

I was encouraged to see our public image gain traction this year, with improved PR efforts and the press interviewing GDC Execs, industry speakers, and running stories about the efforts of GDC in British Columbia, such as the “Vancouver’s Ambassadors of Design” article in Design Edge Magazine. Having been on the receiving end of interviews a few times this year, I have much to learn before I feel “media savvy”, but I’m getting better at navigating those trecherous waters and feel it’s an important thing for the GDC to be aware of in the coming years.

I really enjoyed this year’s events. Michael Strassburger’s hilarious presentation at the AGM in January, Michael Osborne’s irreverent yet enlightening talk at the 2009 Salazar Awards, the eager students I met at POGO ’09, and watching people gorge themselves on my moose chili at the association BBQ were all memories I’ll cherish. Our professional development breakfasts were spot on and well-received, the Graphex exhibit in China was a resounding success, and Practivism was once again the crown jewel—who would have thought our little idea to make a design lecture series about using design as a practical approach to activism?

Serving as a co-chair on the Design Week committee has been terrifying, exciting, challenging, and rewarding. It’s hard to believe this all started with a casual comment to an Icograda colleague at the 2007 World Design Congress in La Habana, Cuba. I think I said something like “What would it take to bring Design Week to Vancouver?” Another lesson in being careful what you wish for perhaps. Planning for the conference has progressed well and we have been truly blessed that so many world-class speakers have agreed to be our guests and contribute their time and energy toward this dialogue about defining the value of design.

Speaking of Design Week, leading a GDC delegation to China to promote our conference was an experience I’ll never forget, and one I owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues in GDC (especially Patricia Xu) for helping make happen. I truly believe that the Graphex exhibit, combined with the lectures and presentations that Rod Roodenburg and I gave to universities, general assembly and conference audiences helped improve the reputation of Canadian communication design internationally. I’ve already received invitations to return to China, so at least I didn’t offend anyone. :-)

This year included some sadness for many of us who lost friends and loved ones. The sudden passing of my friend Leo Obstbaum left me shaken, but I am glad his community has chosen to honour him in death by inducting him posthumously into our fold. And learning that our mentor and friend Jim Rimmer was struggling with throat cancer was a shock. Thankfully Jim is fighting back and the prognosis is positive, and witnessing Hemlock name their new scholarship fund in his name was a high point for me this year.

As the year winds down, our struggles are not over. Many of us still seek work and worry about the year ahead. But I am hopeful. The last year has forced me and my company to really look inward, make sacrifices and refocus on what we’re best at. By not compromising and working harder than ever to be examples of the GDC ideal, we’ve not only survived, but thrived.

So too with the GDC/BC community and executive. Some have disappeared from our ranks, while many others have recognized that this is exactly the right time to be involved in our professional association. In fact, those generous souls who sit around the GDC/BC executive table each month have grown in number—with more passionate professionals than ever committing themselves to a term of service to our industry. For them I am deeply grateful and proud.

Each year we write these reports to summarize our recollections and thoughts about the year. This year I find myself asking what lessons I learned? My answer is twofold.

First, our situation—that being the struggle for recognition, fair pay and respect as design professionals—is really our own doing. There is no one to blame but us and the sooner we realize that, the better. We aspire to be experts in branding, positioning, and messaging, yet our own lack of business and marketing acumen has led us to drift off course. Instead of focusing our learning on become better skilled business specialists and communicating our value to business community and public we serve, we have been (poorly) marketing to gain more membership and self-pleasuring ourselves on design fodder—designsturbation. This must stop.

Secondly, change and improvement in the communication design industry will only happen when if we want it to and actually DO something about it. We need more passionate leaders within our community to step forward and lend us their brilliance. We then must celebrate those among us that excel and learn from them. Together we must boldly infiltrate non-design networks and demonstrate our value by the things we DO, not the things we SAY. If we want government support? We must meet with government, give presentations to their ranks and convince them that the future of our province depends on design thinker like us. If it pisses them off, so be it. And if we need more revenue, we need to not only seek more sponsorship by proving the value to those who want to do business with us, but seek other ways to create revenue for our chapter so we can operate more like the businesses we work for every day.

Here’s wishing happy holidays to all my friends in the design industry and a prosperous new year to you all!

Leo Obstbaum, Design Director for VANOC 2010 Olympics

My friend and colleague Leo Obstbaum, the creative mastermind behind the designs of the Vancouver Olympic Games, died suddenly in his home of natural causes in the early hours of Friday, August 21st. He left behind his beautiful wife Monice and young daughter Dakota. He was just 40 years old—the same age as I am.

Leo and I spoken numerous times that week and even had plans to meet that day after work to catch up over drinks and discuss a presentation he’d been preparing about his work on the Olympics. It was a talk he hoped to refine and present during Icograda Design Week Vancouver 2010 next spring. I’ll never forget hearing the tragic news and trying to come to terms with the fact that my friend was suddenly gone. It really shook me up. As devastated as I felt, I couldn’t imagine the feeling of loss his family was enduring.

Click here to read the entire article on GDC/BC’s blog.

Icograda has formally announced Design Week 2010 to be hosted by GDC in Vancouver with official event profile information on their website.

The latest issue of Design Edge just hit the streets and features our own Mark Busse on page 14 in the Newsmakers section! For those of you who don’t know (and that’s not many), Mark has been instrumental in reviving and enlivening the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada BC Chapter as its president for the last two years.

Together with the current president and others, they are bringing Icograda Design Week to Vancouver in April 2010. This is huge. Kudos to Mark, Marga, Rod, Matt and the rest of the GDC Icograda committee. Should be amazing, and help put Vancouver firmly on the global design map! Speaking of which, why doesn’t Vancouver have a design centre of some sort? We should.

Click here to download a PDF of the Design Edge article.