Hello, Childhood.

Personal note -

When I was a little boy, McDonalds introduced a cheap line of Transformer-esque robots in every Happy Meal (registered trademark I guess.) I got the cheeseburger robot. I got the fries robot. But I never got the vanilla shake robot. I wanted it so bad, but never found it.

A couple of years ago, I bought one on ebay for five bucks. Now it sits on the corner of my desk in my office. I'm a grown man.

Victory.

- Future Boy

The Importance of Designers

Shake Shack in NYC is a great example of good design in a business. (photo credit: www.shakeshack.com)

Designers, as I see it, have an enormous responsibility in this world. They alone serve as the face of a brand, product, service, or person. They are detached from that particular business and yet integrally a part of it as well. They often claim no part of the quality of a product, yet determine in many cases its entire vitality.

A great product with the wrong designer behind it could spell doom for that product's future. Conversely, a small, unknown product can be propelled to new heights if presented in the right way. Everything rests on the  presentation. And every so often, we are treated with the perfect match of a quality product backed up with a designer and marketing strategy that is pure art.

So for better or worse, a designer must understand the weight that is on his or her shoulders every day. He is the last stop between the mammoth amount of work that goes into creating a business or product and the consumers themselves.

The very best in this industry understand that reality and embrace it. A great designer will be empowered by this trust and view every new client as an opportunity to create something special and unique, rather than simply doing a job. A company like Shake Shack in New York City are a great example of that behavior. Rather than fall into the same rut of every other burger joint marketing campaign, they shook things up a bit. They created a look that is visually stunning, pop, and classic all at the same time. Traits that are synonymous with any great design work. And so as tasty as their product may be, I believe strongly that they owe so much of their success to the presentation itself. They now stand apart from their McCompetition.

So don't be lazy. All designers should take a new job with vigor and excitement. Don't fall back on the status quo of that industry. Rather, look at that industry's history. Learn about where it began and what you can take from it. Look to other design influences as well, even in completely different lines of work. And most importantly, try to stand out from the crowd, rather than blending in with the scenery.

Greatness is not shy or typical.

- Future Boy

The Designer's choice: Apple vs. PC

I use a PC. Yes, it's true. I realize that it is often sacrilege to utter such words in the world of design, but it's something I wanted to mention to those of you who are interested, particularly fellow designers. 

My computer choice is not out of any geeky loyalty to a particular company. I could care less. And frankly, I'm far too busy to even begin to care about the passionate differences between OSX and Windows. They are both fine systems that would serve most consumers' needs perfectly well, designers included.

Many on the Future Boy team have PCs. Many others have Macs. I recently purchased a Lenovo Ideapad y510p. So far, I love it. I won't bore you with the specs. You can look it up if you'd like. Suffice to say it's a powerful machine for my needs as a designer. And frankly, it's as strong as any MacBook currently on the market and costs about half the price.

That's the point.

Apple is a fine brand. Their machines are impressive and do possess certain strengths for certain tasks. But for ninety-five percent of consumers, any laptop of a decent rating will do. Lenovo is nice. Sony, Samsung, Acer, and HP all have many highly rated models out right now. Asus produces many of the parts for Apple, and that's why you may find a similarity between their Zenbook and MacBook Air. Yep, same computer. Chromebooks are an extremely cheap and very impressive option as well for most people. 

So if money is no object and you really want that new MacBook, go to town. But if you're like many students and designers who are counting their pennies, ignore the hype and have a closer look at all the options out there. You will definitely find a stronger machine for a lot less dollars.

Just a tip.

- Future Boy