Senior graphic designer and NOD contributor Chris Costello talks about navigating and transcending crisis in his creative career. I love watching documentaries and reading books about famous artists. What inspires me most about the lives of creative personalities is that they have all gone through times of desperation and uncertainty along the path to greatness. Steve Jobs endured the most...
Interviews from the Edge, Epiphanies and Wake-up Calls that Beg You to Ask “How Did I Ever Make It Out Alive”. I’m a little excited as I try to recall the most forgettable moments of my art career. It’s a bit like reminiscing late at night with friends and laughing over a few beers. Now that I work so...
I have been asked this question on several occasions: “Where is the best place to work: at an ad agency or an in-house design department?” So, I though it might be helpful to give a breakdown of what are generally considered benefits and drawbacks of both. For the sake of a broad comparison, I include design studios along with...
I’m probably a little crazy, but I’m trying to have it all and I’m sure I’m not alone. I have a full-time design position with salary, benefits and job security. However, in this current economic environment, you never know what’s going to happen, so I still maintain an active network of freelance clients just in case my day-job turns...
HOW magazine’s In-HOWse Design Awards issue arrived last month and I was excited to see what’s been happening in other corporate design departments. The award competitions initiated by publications such as HOW and GDUSA that specifically showcase in-house work are evidence that there is a growing interest in what this segment of the design community is creating. These awards...
“Another recession could be just around the corner, but at least for now, malls and restaurants are full again, traffic is terrible and everything is back to normal.” That’s what I wrote back in August, 2007. Since then, time-bomb mortgages have been blowing up all over the country, foreclosures have become a national crisis, major U.S. financial institutions are...
I received HOW’s Business Annual a few days ago. It’s loaded with great material, including the results of a poll that asks, “…do you hope to start a business someday?” The poll made me think about starting my own business again (my wife always cringes when I mention this), but I think I have a good argument for both...
I’ll pick up where the Queen of Soul left off. What is it going to take for those of us in the design field to get some? From clients who think they are designers. From marketing directors who believe brown doesn’t sell. From employers who think we do nothing but arts and crafts all day. I think I’ve seen...
Part Two of a Two-Part Series. Earlier this year, I received an email from a woman who was impressed by specific samples she had seen on my website, and wanted to hire me for an illustration project. Her company was developing proprietary technologies and needed a drawing of a prototype village that showed how these technologies could be used...
Lessons Learned from Jobs that Got Completely Out of Control: Part One of a Two-Part Series. I ran a full-page color ad of my illustration work in the Graphic Artists Guild’s Directory of Illustration #11. It set me back $3500, but I was convinced it would open all kinds of doors for me. Within two months I received a...
