A look at the hidden forces that shape every layout—negative space, cropping, vibration, mental models, and the subtle cues our eyes register before our minds catch up. This piece explores why the most interesting parts of design are sometimes the ones we never consciously notice.
What makes a brand identity stick — and the one thing that brings it all together. The strongest brand identities always look simple. They feel clean, intentional, and almost obvious — as if they were always meant to exist. But that simplicity is never accidental. Behind every identity that “sticks” is a layer of decisive work: decisions about tone, structure, hierarchy, and restraint. The real craft isn’t in adding more elements, but in building a system that’s clear enough
Lessons (and Laughs) from the Web 2.0 Era Agency life in 2008 had its own flavor of chaos. Flash was everywhere, “Web 2.0” was the buzzword of the year, and clients still asked whether things would “work on AOL.” It was a transitional moment in digital — exciting, messy, and occasionally held together with ActionScript and hope. In the middle of all that, I was the interactive lead at Wunderman (RTCRM) in Georgetown. Our team was pitching AARP on a bold idea: a full online ca
A look at the strategic test you can’t skip when choosing a brand name. Naming looks simple from the outside — a few words on a page, a shortlist, a final pick. But anyone who’s ever tried to name a brand knows it’s one of the hardest creative decisions a company will make. The reasons are many, but the biggest is this: naming is often more of a political process than a creative one. Much of it happens through committee. However, even with all the opinions and internal alignm
Graphic design layout often involves displaying and arranging some visual elements within a composition. But another way to understand what makes a composition is to recognize what parts are not visible. I’m talking about more than negative space. There are parts of a layout that are invisible because of the way we look at them and how we think about them. Examine figure 1. You’re probably thinking, “I see two rectangles, or maybe an equal sign.” In fact, there is more to thi
