💎 Friday Gems #5 (Internet/Patterns/Milton Glaser)
💎 Friday Gems #5 (Internet/Patterns/Milton Glaser)
Three gems of ideas your future self will thank you for.
Welcome to Friday Gems #5!
Do you know how the internet works?
I thought I did until I watched the first gem, which is a video from 13 years ago. You'll learn how the internet works through a simple visual explanation. It also showcases the power of visual communication. The next gem is about patterns. Patterns help connect us with humanity and nature through a universal language. This week's find is an excellent reminder to take a pause from our busyness and observe the patterns around us to help bring more mindfulness into our everyday. Lastly, I came across 10 Things I Learned, a manifesto by Milton Glaser, the renowned graphic designer who designed the classic I ❤ NY logo, plus a sketch of the original idea for the logo. Pretty cool!
Let’s get started!
Today's gems
💎 How the Internet works
Do you know how the internet works? I had a rough idea, but this video helped make it clear. Even though it is dated and is easy to dismiss when you hear the words dial-up and AOL being mentioned but it still works, this is an excellent example of the power visuals have in communicating a message.
Takeaway: It is easy to get lost in the complicated details of your message, which can lose an audience. By keeping the message simple and using graphics or sketches can get your message across faster and more effectively.
Source: YouTube
💎 Patternity - A way of seeing, a way of being
Our world is made of patterns. Patterns are everywhere around us and in everything we do, but we need to be still and observe and find the patterns. Finding a pattern for the first time feels like unlocking a door to the secrets of the universe.
There is infinite wisdom and beauty in patterns that can help us reconnect with nature, humanity, and ourselves.
Let’s be more curious
Let’s look closely, notice the details and appreciate the excellence of our everyday world
Let’s look beyond, dig deeper, and feel part of a beautiful interconnected whole
Let’s open up as we celebrate nature’s cycles, the rhythms that shape and give meaning to life
Let’s listen to the wisdom she wants to share
Source: Patternity
💎 10 Things I have learned by Milton Glaser
Lately, I have been binging on manifestos, and this list by Milton Glaser, the renowned graphic designer who created the I ❤ NY logo, resonated with me.
10 Things I Learned
1. You can only work for people you like - Sharing common ground is vital when working with a client; remember, we are all human and working towards the same goal. Gone are the days of us vs. them. Find common ground to build a meaningful relationship.
2. If you have a choice, never have a job - If you work for someone, they can take away your job anytime. One more reason to be your own boss.
3. Some people are toxic, avoid them - Milton shares a simple test you can do to see if someone is toxic. After spending time with the person, see if you feel exhilarated or tired. If you're tired, then the person is toxic. Stay away!
4. Professionalism is not enough, or Good is the enemy of the great - Professionalism means safety and diminishing risk; instead, what we need to be striving for is to try things with the possibility of failing. As the saying goes, **A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for**.
5. Less is not necessarily more - I used to believe less is more, but Milton shares a great perspective that not everything needs less; for example, a Persian rug is unique because of all the colors; the individual patterns work together to make it a Persian rug. Making it less would take away its essence. Instead of blindly believing that less is more, we can observe the essence of a design to see that less is not necessarily more; instead, just enough is more.
6. Style is not to be trusted - A style is irrelevant and does not deserve your loyalty. Milton shares the story of Cassandre, a great graphic designer of the 20th century who didn't change his style, so his work started looking dated and old school. As a result, he couldn't make a living later in life and committed suicide. By the way, Cassandre designed the Yves Saint Laurent logo. What a classic logo!
7. How you live changes your brain - Our brains can regenerate. The thoughts we pay attention to can change our life and our behavior. This is why it is critical to use our attention wisely. Drawing changes our brains and it also helps to make us attentive.
8. Doubt is better than certainty - Deeply held beliefs of any kind prevent you from being open to experience. This is true in our work as it is in our lives. When collaborating with our clients, customers, or teams, there needs to be some flexibility and compromise to help move the best ideas forward.
9. On aging - It doesn't matter what you think if you're late to the game or early, if you were the one to come up with the idea or not, if you have the same level of education as others, if you're smart or not intelligent, it doesn't matter at the end of the day.
10. Tell the truth - Be honest with the users and customers you're designing for as well as your clients and other designers.
Source: MiltonGlazer.com
That's it for this week. Let me know in the comments which gem resonated with you the most.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend.
Your Gem Collector,
Rizwan 💎⚒️💜