I’m running a little contest for my friends at Art House Films to promote their new documentary, Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight.

Yes design nerds, that’s the Milton Glaser—the designer who created the famous I ♥ NY logo.

The prize is Milton Glaser’s latest book, Drawing is Thinking.

The film will be playing on June 19th in San Francisco at the Roxie. Here’s the official synopsis:

For many, Milton Glaser is the personification of American graphic design. Best known for co-founding New York Magazine and the enduring I ♥ NY campaign, the full breadth of Glaser’s remarkable artistic output is revealed in this documentary portrait, Milton: To Inform and Delight. From newspapers and magazine designs, to interior spaces, logos, and brand identities, to his celebrated prints, drawings, posters and paintings, the documentary offers audiences a much richer appreciation for one of the great modern renaissance men.

Artfully directed by first time filmmaker Wendy Keys, the film glances into everyday moments of Glaser’s personal life and captures his immense warmth and humanity, and the boundless depth of his intelligence and creativity.

How to enter

Simply, post a comment below about why you heart Milton Glaser.

Comments should be substantive. I’ve got a little clever robot who will kill anything shorter than 12 words.

Be sure to include your email address when filling out the comment form. I need this so I can let you know if you win. Don’t worry, the address will remain private.

On June 19th, I will pick a winner and contact the user via email about the prize.

It’s an all day event, and it’ll be my sixth year as a reviewer. I enjoy it every time, and I’ve yet to make someone cry. Am I too nice? Perhaps, this will be my lucky year. ;-)

It looks like reservations are still available. So sign up if you’re looking for a job in this terrible economy or if you simply want portfolio feedback from Bay Area design studios.

Space is limited, so register soon:

AIGA SF Portfolio Day Registration

Can’t find greeting cards that live up to your design standards?

Check out Paper Culture, a new greeting card company co-founded by my friend and former MetaDesign colleague, Hui-ling Chen. The cards are modern, cute, and delightful. Best part, you can even personalize them with your own photos or text.

Right now, a majority of the cards are baby-oriented. But I expect to see a larger variety of different event cards once the business gets going.

Here are some more sample images:

Don’t forget to check out my previous post on other cool greeting card companies:

Where to Find Greeting Cards that Don’t Suck

Simple problems (problems which are already defined)
are easy to solve,
because defining a problem
inherently defines a solution.

The definition of a problem is subjective;
it comes from a point of view.
Thus, when defining problems,
all stake-holders, experts, and designers
are equally knowledgeable
(or unknowledgeable).

Some problems cannot be solved,
because stake-holders cannot agree on the definition.
These problems are called wicked,
but sometimes they can be tamed.

Solving simple problems may lead to improvement—
but not innovation.
For innovation, we need to re-frame wicked problems.

Because one person cannot possibly remember
or keep track of all the variables (of both existing and desired states)
in a wicked problem,
taming wicked problems requires many people.

These people have to talk to each other;
they have to deliberate; they have to argue.

To tame a wicked problem,
they have to agree on goals and actions for reaching them.
This requires knowledge about actions,
not just facts.

Science is concerned with factual knowledge (what-is);
design is concerned with instrumental knowledge
(how what-is relates to what-ought-to-be),
how actions can meet goals.

The process of argumentation is the key
and perhaps the only method of taming wicked problems.

This process is political.

Design is political.

Originally published as part of Why Horst W.J. Rittel Matters
by Chanpory Rith (that’s me!) and Hugh Dubberly,
in Design Issues: Volume 23, Number 1, Winter 2007

Here’s a little teaser for you:

Your product is one among millions.
With so many products, why should a customer choose yours?
Positioning answers this question.

A product’s “position” is the place it occupies
in the customer’s mind.
All products have a position—
even if it’s the position of “unfamiliar” or “irrelevant to me”
or “not very good”.

Successful products are both relevant and highly ranked.
They stand out. They have a unique position.
The purpose of “positioning” is to create and articulate
what makes your product unique.

Check out the full post: How to Write a Positioning Statement.

Note: Some of the lines wraps are looking a little funky in the post. I’m working with the editors to fix it.

But let’s try to answer it anyway—visually! Check out Dubberly Design Office’s new concept map, A Model of the Creative Process:

Here’s DDO’s brief description of the concept map and poster:

The creative process is not just iterative; it’s also recursive. It plays out “in the large” and “in the small”—in defining the broadest goals and concepts and refining the smallest details. It branches like a tree, and each choice has ramifications, which may not be known in advance. Recursion also suggests a procedure that “calls” or includes itself. Many engineers define the design process as a recursive function: discover > define > design > develop > deploy

For a closer look, head on over to the site and download the PDF.

Designers and collaborators on the project include:

• Hugh Dubberly
• Jack Chung
• Shelley Evenson
• Paul Pangaro

Note: I also work at DDO!

Just don’t forget the receptionists, too.

Why?

Because they’re the gatekeepers to the decision makers. More importantly, they hold a wealth of information and can answer questions like:

• Are you hiring?
• Who’s in charge?
• What’s it like to work at the company?
• When’s the best time of year to drop off my portfolio?
• What’s the dress code? What’s should I wear to the interview?
• Where else should I apply or send my portfolio?
• How many other applicants are there?

How do you get them to talk to you? I take the common sense approach. Have a conversation. Be interested in their opinions. Respect their time. Build a relationship. In short, treat them like real people. Like they’re your best friend.

The same goes for office managers, secretaries, assistants, and other administrative staff.

So go ahead, pick up that phone and start practicing.

I now have a gig with HP on their new blog, Small Business Marketing Guide. It’s only for the next few months, but I’m super excited. I’m scheduled to write five post about branding and marketing, and my first post is already up. Check it out:

• The Do’s and Don’ts of D-I-Y Design

Head on over and show me some love in the comments!

Oh, I’m feeling pretty guilty about writing over there and not here. So I’m working hard to post more LifeClever goodness for you.

Addicted to book cover design?

Get your fix at The Book Cover Archive, a collection of 1000+ fairly well-designed book covers. Curated by Ben Pieratt and Eric Jacobsen, the site features work by prominent designers such as David Pearson and Chip Kidd.

I quite like the site’s clean and simple layout. Each book get its own landing page with details on its designer, art director, author, genre, and publisher. There’s even a handy Amazon link to buy the book directly. (Don’t worry watchdogs, the site explicitly discloses its Amazon commission.)

It’s a great start to a more comprehensive site, but I’d love to see a larger number of books included, especially older vintage book covers from the 50s and 60s—or even earlier. After all, it is an archive.

For some more inspiration, check out Joe Kral’s collection of Penguin and Pelican book covers on Flickr.

I’ve been pretty bummed about the development death of my favorite Mac utility, Quicksilver. But now I have a glimmer of hope. Nicholas Jitkoff, Quicksilver’s original developer, has just teamed up with Google to create Google Quick Search.

It’s still a prototype, but the resemblance to Quicksilver is unmistakable. No, it doesn’t yet have the awesome array of actions and commands as Quicksilver, but with Google’s backing and an eager development community, I expect robust goodness soon.

Note: I’m starting to feel a little better.