(In case you’re wondering – I drew this squirrel to signify the last day of AIGA Minnesota‘s Design Camp simply because these pesky little critters literally over-ran our campgrounds this weekend. And they’re just friggin’ cute.)

Well, as that incredibly observant person once said – “All good things must come to an end.” And Design camp was definitely a “good thing“…

The last morning of camp found me sitting on a leather sofa in The Grand View Lodge, gazing at a decapitated moose, a roaring fire – and trying to finish my blog recap from the day before. (While I typed away and sipped fresh Caribou coffee, I was delighted to listen to the lady working at the front desk. She brought such optimism and cheer to each and every interaction with her customers – I just thought someone should say it!)

After finishing my blog post – I scurried off to see my new friends Jason and Dusty (from the sensational design duo “The Heads of State“) give an absolutely spell-binding presentation on their phenomenally iconic body of work. Their presentation encompassed a wide range of pieces– including Obama administration illustrations, a Johnny Mathis album cover and even conceptual cannabis packaging.

Probably my favorite part of their talk, was when they shared an awesome creative practice of theirs. Each designer takes a week off every other month, and dedicates it to learning something new or starting a personal creative project. They showed some of the projects that emerged from these little vacations – travel posters for major internationl cities, imaginary business cards for the characters in The Great Gatsby. Outstanding stuff, really…

After their closing session, everyone wandered around aimlessly. Sad, confused, lonely and depressed. (Actually we were all incredibly inspired – just very exhausted!)

Don’t want to spoil everything but – if any of you #designcampers wanted to know who the infamous #flannelfanny and #camperken… this might be them.

Next began the 4 hour trek from camp, to Kim’s house in Lakeview. But, before we got too far, we had to stop and grab a burger. All that talk of meat was making us hungry!

Looks like I accidentally took a screenshot of my iPhone while driving! Well – I guess it gives me an opportunity to put in a positive plug for Apple’s new map app: it got me to Minnesota and back with absolutely no issues. (My wife thanks you, Apple!) At 11:30pm I finally pulled into my Omaha driveway. Home sweet home…

Needless to say, Design Camp 2012 was an absolutely awesome experience. I’m deeply grateful to both Neenah and 36point for giving me the opportunity to represent them to so many incredible designers and thinkers. I also send huge props to AIGA Minnesota for putting on an outstanding event!

Looking forward to seeing everyone next year…

Ben Lueders
www.eleven19.com
www.36point.com

P.S: And as Jason and Dusty said…

I really wasn’t planning on drawing an owl for my third Design Camp post illustration. In fact, I was actually thinking of doing something more along the lines of a loon or a squirrel. But last night I got this urgent request from Alec Rutgers (@Cdianshield) via twitter:

@benlueders @NeenahPaper Can I request for the next daily drawing a Arctic white Owl ruffling it’s feathers,pls.

Through a little internet sleuthing, I discovered that these owls are officially called “snowy owls” – and they’re not really that common in Minnesota. However, I also found some articles that claimed more snowy owls have been showing up around these parts in recent years – so I thought it’d be safe to scribble one out. Thanks for the suggestion, Alec!

For me, the second day of camp started with some great interviews for The Reflex Blue Show. Above, we find Ben and Selina from the JAW-DROPPING Minneapolis letterpress shop, Studio on Fire. Please click on that LINK. Here it is AGAIN. SUCH good work. HERE’s their blog. YES.

Here’s Matthew Doty and Fred Beecher. These guys are “user experience designers” from Minneapolis. I grabbed them right before they headed of to teach separate workshops introducing traditional graphic designers to the exciting and beautiful world of UX design. We had a great time podcasting!

After interviewing Fred and Matthew on the podcast, I peaked into their workshop sessions to take a couple pics. Here’s Fred giving his presentation entitled “Becoming a Unicorn”.

Here’s Matthew giving his presentation entitled “The User is Not Like Me”.

Speaking of workshops – Jamie wrapped up her wildly popular paper presentation yesterday – and I’m proud to say that she ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. (And yes, that’s a good thing.)

Speaking of KILLED things – here’s some paper meat friends.

What a fun/awesome workshop, Jamie! It was fun to see some Neenah love rolling in on the Twitter feed too – like this one from Shelly Marie (@see_shellz):

@neenahpaper – great take home sample. good resource and sweet design #designcamp #design #paper t.co/d9AIvPrU

I’m not sure you can really call it camp if there’s TVs in the restrooms.

This one’s for Matt and Donovan.

Of course, the biggest Day 2 highlight for most campers – was an amazing presentation by the one and only Chip Kidd. Of course he was funny. Of course he was crude. Of course he had amazing work. But I think what everyone will remember the most, is how long he waited for the internet to start working so he could play a certain movie trailer. And, unfortunately, it never really ended up working.

What amazed me most about this scenario, was how patient and attentive the audience was during this long/silent wait. Not many speakers could get away with a lull like that. It really goes to show how much designers love and respect Mr. Kidd.

After Chip’s presentation, we went down to the shore. The sky began to clear up – and it started to remind me of my hometown in Hawaii.

The Neenah folk noticed the amazing lighting at sunset – so we thought we’d capitalize on it’s beauty and take some dramatic profile pics. That’s Kim…

…here’s Jamie…

… and that’s me: Ben Lueders.

The evening ended with some more outstanding interviews. Over the last few days I’d gotten to know this amazing design duo: Ron Fleming and Brent Stickels. These guys run a small four-person design firm called YYES, that’s based in both LA and Minneapolis. In addition to their unique experience, fantastic story-telling abilities, and exceptional design work – these guys also have amazing voices for radio. Really looking forward to re-listening to this interview…

And here’s the interview I’d been looking forward to all weekend. Eric Madsen, who gave that emotional and inspirational presentation on Friday, sat down for a long conversation about life, music, art, design, friends and a host of other topics. We really connected on both our love of John Denver and also our passion for incorporating art and sketching into our daily lifestyles.

After I turned off the microphone and began to pack up for the night – Eric and I kept on talking and talking. I found so much commonality with this man. And was really impressed with his heart and intellect. Thanks for such a memorable evening, Mr. Madsen. (And thanks to Kim and Jamie for making this interview happen!)

Just as there’s more to Nebraska than corn and beef, I’m sure there’s more to the state of Minnesota than simply lakes and mooses (meese?). Nevertheless, I still thought it’d be fun to draw a moose to represent day zero of AIGA Minnesota’s amazing event: Design Camp.

After driving 5.5 hrs from Omaha to Minneapolis on my own, I magically pulled into the driveway of Neenah Paper’s Kim Shannon just as she arrived from the airport with Neenah Paper’s Jamie Saunders. If I look slightly frightened in the above photo… it’s because I definitely was.

My fear was soon abated – after we made our first stop: the local package store. Yes, that cart is irreprehensibly full of alchoholic beverages. No, they’re not all for me.

Next stop was the Neenah Paper sample department warehouse where Kim had to pick up a few orders. The main reason I’m posting this photo was because of Robert – the man pictured with Kim and Jamie. That guy’s just plain awesome. He deserves a promotion. He gave me a bunch of Neenah Stickers too!

Four hours (and many restroom breaks) later, we finally arrived at the Grand View Lodge in Brainerd Minnesota. Surprisingly, we were greeted by a giant statue of an ice cream cone. Not surprisingly, Jamie wanted me to take a picture of her pretending to lick it. A bystander offered to take a picture of both of us with the cone. That definitely did not happen.

Secondly, we were greeted by this adorably friendly squirrel perfectly perched on a festive gourd. Yeah, this happened.

Thirdly, we were greeted by The Amazing Doug Powell, the current AIGA NATIONAL PRESIDENT. Such a good guy. Srsly.

BTW – the Grand View Lodge resort is OUTSTANDING. A very beautiful and relaxing place – much needed after being cooped up in a car with such craaazy folks for four hours.

Speaking of craaazy people… JAMIE! In this photo I think she was saying something silly like “This beach is just like Hawaii!” I never would have said something like that. SO crazy.

After checking into our sweet cabin, it was time for the elite, exclusive, privileged and semi-secret “Presidential Dinner”. It was basically just a fancy meal for the conference speakers, sponsors and planners to mingle around. Chip Kidd was there… Paula Scher… and there was some awesome folks at my table too:

THESE GUYS. Thought I recognized those beards! Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers make up the awesome design team: “The Heads of State” in Philadelphia. Their work is stunning – I’m sure you’ve seen some of it before.

Across the table was Will Gay (a creative director at a company called “Disney“) and his wife . I kept trying to get a good photo of the cute couple – but every time I tried the frisky Joe Isaak (who does marketing stuff for Spicers Paper) kept photo-bombing. So that was the best pic I got.

Here’s that frisky Joe Isaak guy.

The evening ended on a very high note: the fabulous Paula Scher agreed to let me interview her for The Reflex Blue Show podcast. We had a great talk about inspiration, discipline, and balance within the design lifestyle. When it was all over, she signed my copy of her book.

Speaking of Paula – I’m missing her keynote talk right now! STAY TUNED…

Ryan McGovern chats with Terry Marks, founder of TMARKS from Seattle who shares his valuable insight on the business of design. Terry discusses what it’s like starting a business, what keeps him going and why good design is so important.

DesignChat is a weekly, live video discussion for the ENTIRE design community. Yes we have special guests, but the magic happens when YOU join the chat because you can help shape it. We take questions from the audience, and if you are savvy enough to have a web cam, you can jump on video and ask your question ‘face-to-face’ with whatever design rockstar we happen to have on. Chats happen here every Wednesday night at 9pmEST / 8pmCST / 6pmPST. If you miss them you can download them for free on iTunes. Follow us on Twitter to get updates about upcoming shows and send us suggestions for guests! 

Sean Arian of Los Angeles is turning from hardworking entrepreneur  with a passion for the environment to hardcore environmental adventurer thanks to winning Neenah Paper’s “Eco-Trip for Two” sweepstakes.   Arian was randomly selected from more than 5,000 entries in Neenah’s contest to win the environmental adventure of a lifetime in celebration of its ENVIRONMENT® Papers line.

Arian and his guest will experience conservation in the heart of nature’s most fragile environment as part of their all-expenses-paid* trip to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica.  The trip includes airfare, ground transportation, six days and five nights of accommodations at an ecologically friendly resort as well as a guided day-trip to the Neenah Reforestation Project, a project in partnership with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and Friends of Osa.

“I never thought I’d win and actually deleted the first message telling me I had won a contest,” laughs Arian.  “But once I learned it was real, I was psyched.  I’ve always wanted to visit one of the many conservation projects in Costa Rica and the Osa Peninsula looks like an awesome place.  It’s especially exciting for me because I work in the sustainability arena and visiting the Neenah reforestation project will give me great first-hand knowledge.”

In addition to the grand prize trip, Neenah also awarded three $100 gift certificates as secondary prizes to randomly selected participants who visited the website and answered five easy questions designed to test their knowledge of ENVIRONMENT Papers.  Kelly Mitchell, of Boise, Idaho, won a gift certificate to REI; Julius Williams, of West Orange, N.J., won a gift certificate to Keen Footwear; and Prescott Perez-Fox, of Maplewood, N.J., won a gift certificate to Patagonia.         

“We were truly inspired by the number of entries in this sweepstakes. We’ve always known that Neenah Paper users cared about the environment, but this just proves how hard core they are willing to go to help protect our natural resources,” said Kristen Hogan, senior brand manager for Neenah Paper.   

In a New York minute…You could be attending the Brand New Conference courtesy of Neenah Paper!

That’s right, you heard us correctly. We have two tickets to the sold out Brand New Conference on November 5, 2010 in New York City ! Two lucky devotees of the Neenah brand will have a chance to win a ticket to the conference.

It’s this simple: Hand write on a sheet of your company or personal letterhead why Neenah is your “go to” brand, snap a photo of your fan mail and upload it to our Facebook page or e-mail it to fine.paper@neenahpaper.com.

Better hurry! Submissions must be in by in by Friday, October 22, 2010 at noon Eastern time.

Our brand team will then select the two most passtionate Neenah Paper fans to win a *pass to the Brand New Conference. We’ll announce the winners by 5:00 PM Eastern time on Friday, October 22, 2010. Winners will be notified via Facebook or e-mail. *Winners receive a pass to the Brand New Conference only. Transportation and hotel not included.

“Do you ever get the feeling you’re being duped?”

So opens the 2006 Fingerprint: The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design, a labor-of-love conceived, authored and designed by Chen Design Associates in San Francisco. We are duped by computers and gadgets, the book continues, but more importantly, by the false sense of freedom we feel when we simplify our creative processes.

The words and sentiment are those of principal Josh Chen, who penned the book’s introduction. He continues: “Fingerprint is a reminder that in this age of e-gadgets, i-things, and all things high-tech and electronic, there remain some very reliable, non-high-tech tools that can help design reconnect with its audience.”

Fingerprint includes curated pieces from around the world in addition to prosaic musings from industry luminaries. Among the essayists, Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print offers thoughts on why he prefers rotaries to mobiles and why it matters to design, and his explanation is less curmudgeonly than you’d expect.

Debbie Millman of Sterling Brands tells a beautiful story about how an abbreviated name brought her to love letterforms, hand-drawn especially: “things that are made by hand are beautiful by virtue of their irregularity. I see these imperfections as marks of dignity and integrity, and believe that they bear witness to the artist—and the human—in all of us.”

The book has received its due success with publisher HOW Books. Fingerprint No. 2, we’re happy to hear, is forthcoming. To develop an appetite for the book, Neenah provided paper for a series of letterpress cards that promote the upcoming book. They are limited and if you contact your Neenah Paper sales rep you might be fortunate enough to obtain a copy of these beautiful letterpress samples on Crane’s Lettra® Papers manufactured by Neenah Paper.

The sequel  will be published in Spring 2011, with a similar concept and guiding philosophy to the first book. However, Josh says No. 2 offers more in-depth insights, a little behind-the-scenes action for projects and even some interactive elements.

According to Josh, this time around, Debbie Millman writes the foreword, Colin Berry the preface, and Christian Helms, Robynne Raye, Stefan Bucher and Shanan Galligan appear on the top billing. Other contributors to the book include Marian Bantjes, Wink, Taxi Studio, Jason Munn, Wayne Brezinka and Sagmeister. Get your fingers on one as soon as you can. Let these non tactile suffice until you can.

[Note: ® is registered to Crane & Co., Inc.]

“Your Honor, I have in my hand…”

Much of paper’s past purpose was analog. It stored stuff.  It bound human beings to legal obligations. It bore witness. Not long ago I had to be in an attorney’s office to sign countless legal forms. I brought my lucky Neenah pen.

The office was stuck in 1973. Broadloom carpet. Windowless, close-door offices. An upside down sea of fluorescent lights drained the room, leaving the hues of dead leaves and overcooked vegetables. Muzak played a Hamlisch hit, Seems Like Old Times. My foot kept time.

The attorney stepped away momentarily to retrieve more forms. I chanced a photo of the surrounding morass; a room crowded with stalagmites of yellowed paper and dog-eared folders, the forgotten twins of sibling piles moldering in drawers across town. Forensic proof. Silent, moldy, irrefutable testimony.

Paper today is often reserved for palpable connections — a way to touch people and motivate positive action. The human antidote to bloodless digital. Who keeps paper copies nowadays? Go green! Go digital! …Then I remember.

Dread creeps into my mind. I’m in agony. A disembodied voice on the line snaps her demand, Do you have a hard copy of that document, sir? Uncertain, I grow cold. My throat closes. I must  find it. My life depends upon it. “Think, think, think! Where is that document? Do I even still have it?!”

Eureka. It appears to me in a vision. Truth, tucked inside a grey metal file box, in the attic,  beneath a faded plastic Santa and his few remaining elves. You exhale. “Yes, I have a copy. It is in my files. I will fax it to you.”

Irrefutable evidence. Am analog savior in paper format. Sweet victory. Case closed.

By Erin Moore for Neenah Paper

Dyana Valentine in motion at the Denver Airport. She looks taller in real life.

She is nosy.  She is bossy. She is creative, social and adventurous. She is an entrepreneur worthy of attention. And she gets a lot of it. Dyana Valentine is a one-woman conference catalyst, an idea machine and project impossible coach. She motivates. She challenges. She occasionally ticks you off. That is what is making her such a popular force on the design lecture circuit.

Dyana’s work motivates people to a life of diligence and success, of self-fulfillment and self-discovery. Of thinking beyond one’s own self- limiting assumptions. She looks for the undiscovered energy and establishes “grounding boards” to codify information that is real, and productive. She believes potential exists within all of us.

Dyana’s interest in others was shaped as a child by her talented artist parents and nontraditional experiences. She grew up among immigrant communities struggling to assimilate into the U.S. culture because her mother directed a place called Settlement House. Exposure to diverse people and cultures shaped her more than any other experience.

Even at 14 years, her resilience was already evident: begging for a work permit and negotiating barters, shoveling the muck of horse stalls in exchange for riding lessons. She attended an alternative high school, too, that allowed her “walk-abouts” (independent projects). Pursuing photography, an avid interest of her father’s, Dyana also worked 8 weeks on a Native American Reservation photographing its people, customs and daily rituals. This colorful past engendered a life-long love for the nontraditional.

Dyana Valentine often poses this question: “What excites you?” Well, we asked, what excites Dyana? She loves getting lost in good book or great film movie – sports films, specifically. “I’m turned on by radical systems thinkers: Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds. Linchpin, the Pease’s Body Language and Freakonomics, for example. Anything Malcolm Gladwell even breathes on flares up my mind crush on him, too.”

Dyana’s love for her home community, Santa Monica, is palpable. She gives back by teaching a class on success at an L.A. community college. Guess what she leads them to discover? “When you do what you love, it surfaces in everything else,” she states. Obvious? Sure. But why on earth do so few follow the advice? Because, they forget the path.

What does Dyana Valentine have to do with Neenah? She practices what Neenah believes: when you do something, do it well. Dyana Valentine runs a digital business.  For her, paper is reserved for the personal communication, the functional and entertaining, the “warm” and the “fuzzy.” Whenever she prints, she does so on 100% recycled paper. Green is her thing.

“Some maintain sustainable paper products are, well, an oxymoron.  I believe Neenah Paper has blown that notion out of the water by raising the bar for recycled paper and papermaking.  There will always be a need for fine paper. What we need are sustainable paper options.”

She continues, “It is important to reach out to people in a very personal and tactile way. Paper can make a big impact because it is personal, tactile and beautiful. It is a motivating, intelligent medium.”

Ferreira Design and Henry & Company make brands stand apart.

Not long ago, a new identity system for a company called Brand Apart came to our attention. Designed by Ferreira Design Co. of Alpharetta, GA and produced by the specialty printer and finisher Henry & Company of Chamblee, GA, the identity package was printed on Neenah’s own Classic Crest Line. The piece is robust and extremely thoughtful, containing plenty of surprises that will make you smile–but not so many that you’re left shaking your head .

One classy letterhead system.

The piece’s simplicity honors good design, and highlights the way designer Lionel Ferreira allowed print production techniques to play a guiding role in the final piece. It’s a reminder: when clear, understated design is wed to skillful, craft-oriented print production, beautiful things can happen. Ferreira Design Co. and Henry & Company, led by scion Jason Henry, have been exploring the interplay of design and print together for many years, to great success.

Pocket folder with letterhead.

Brand Apart is a consulting firm that uses design and marketing tactics to help their clients build emotional connections with their consumers, building lasting “relationships” between brands and customers rather than one-off transactions. Sounds like the mission of a good marriage counselor, eh? For Brand Apart, Ferreira and Henry developed this identity package that helps Brand Apart stand apart from the rest. With a name like that, would you expect anything less?

Henry says working with Ferreira Design Co. is always a pleasure–if you’re ready to push the paper envelope and go out on a limb, according to some exacting standards of quality and craftsmanship. Henry & Company always is.

“My father built this business around craftsmanship,” says Henry’s son. “Die-cutting, scores, folds, laminates, foils, letterpress, embossing — the stuff that makes design geeks and print aficionados red cheeked with anticipation. Ferreira loves this stuff but he also knows how to strike a balance between function and delight. That, too, is a skill. The most beautiful work is often the quietest — and the Brand Apart job has a lot of quiet little tricks that will bring a smile to your face without getting in the way of its foremost function as a stationery system while still making a crystal clear statement about its brand values.”

Nip and tuck.

“The Brand Apart symbol represents the strength and harmony of the dynamic relationship between Brand Apart and their clients, where clients are able to find their voice,” says Ferreira. “The symbol pairs a voice box with a target to create a ‘b’ letterform that becomes the basis for the custom Brand Apart logotype.”

The letterforms, color selection and usage, production and finishing techniques, paper stock and weight selection, formats and sizes, and pattern creations all articulate the company’s brand values. Using Classic Crest with letterpress, emboss, deboss, and die cutting techniques adds tactile value to the message.

“The Brand Apart name and identity demanded a bold, youthful look that was beyond the expected,” concludes Ferreira. “What made this project special was the fact that Brand Apart understood and embraced the tactile aspects of finishing, asking for letter press and design detailing from the very beginning.”