Branch & Night Drop

Over the last several months I’ve been working with The Littlefield Group on the brand identity design of their latest venture, Branch & Night Drop. Branch is a beautiful, naturally lit, restaurant and Night Drop is the dark, basement level, bar below it. They're housed within the old bank building (formerly Central Trust) in Cincinnati’s historic East Walnut Hills neighborhood (next to O-Pi-O). Branch & Night Drop will serve up unexpected combinations of food, drinks, and art. Their doors are scheduled for this winter (2018). Sign up to be the first to know when at their site. And, also be sure to check out the window mural by Jon Flannery and Julia Lapowski of owls on a branch next time you drive/walk by the bank.

User-Centered Designer

As the first assignment for my User-Centered Design class, I had the students write about a professional designer who practices User-Centered Design in some shape or fashion. As a requirement, the students had to interview the professional designer or a person who has used or experienced the output of their work. I most enjoyed reading their takeaways from the assignment. Often, students shared how it was valuable to see how practicing professionals actually utilize the methods and tools learned in class. I pulled some of my favorite essays and used them in a lecture on modern day UCD practitioners. I’d notice a big smile in the crowd each time a student realized that the person I was presenting was the person they wrote about. Teaching continues to bring me joy, especially in the little moments like that.

What are we reading?

I’ve been reading the Man The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks and The Gift by Lewis Hyde. Both at a snails pace. The Man Who Mistook HIs Wife For A Hat is an entertaining, highly readable, look into what it might be like to lose different physical and sensory abilities. The Gift is an anthropological deep dive into gift giving and receiving. The book’s written specifically for creative people who make things and share them with the world (like designers). As someone who hopes to become more generous and less scarcity driven, it’s been enlightening and encouraging. 

Here’s a quote from each book: 

"What is more important for us, at an elemental level, than the control, the owning and operation, of our own physical selves? And yet it is so automatic, so familiar, we never give it a thought.” - Oliver Sacks

“Any exchange, be it of ideas of goats, will tend toward gift if it is intended to recognize, establish, and maintain community.” - Lewis Hyde

We’re Contracting…

We’re exploring what it would look like to contract a young graphic designer for two half-days a week (8-10 hours total). Hopefully, the need would increase, but we’re starting with baby steps. Ideally, the person would have typographic skills, a handle on the creative suite, and some experience with Squarespace. If you’re interested, click the button below.