Sam Kang Blogs @samuelkangblogs - Tumblr Blog

On getting it right.

You’re here to get it right, not to be right. — Brené Brown

On doing things different

Since day one it’s been elbows off the table, don’t wash your reds with your whites, chew with your mouth closed. And writing is the same. We’re taught to write in a certain way until we learn things aren’t black and white. Then we start switching up the formula by trying new ways of expressing things – even if they break the rules. In a digital world, this is key. A lot of the rules in social media, SEO and email marketing have been tried, tested, and tried again. You’re constantly fighting with other brands who do the same thing to reach their audiences. To stand out, you need to do things differently.

On designing websites.

Our approach is defined in human, cultural and emotional terms, before technological ones. Every project and collaboration is totally unique to the client’s needs and world view, so we make every effort to understand what excites them personally or collectively. This includes what they like aesthetically, emotionally and culturally, and then we grow something that feels authentically theirs out of those references.

from here.

On Websites.

A lot of sites are boring because they will keep using the same patterns, but we’re very much about trying new practices. The aim is to create something that people have never seen that before, while avoiding performance issues by testing and developing it to a high standard. We always try to make a site entertaining and interesting, but you don’t want to make gimmicks just for the sake of it. It’s about finding that sweet spot between creating something usable and memorable, that pushes things forward.

from here.

On Intention.

Design is a verb. An act. Anyone is free to pick up the ball and run with it. And if you’re not doing the job you’re being paid to do you can’t be upset when someone else starts doing it. You cannot not design. What a professional designer brings to the act is intention. But for that, the designer needs to behave intentionally. Designers are dead. Long live design.

From here.

On Audience.

There's a saying in the design world: when you design for the average, you design for no one.

from here.

On Self-Respect.

'People with self-respect exhibit a certain toughness, a kind of moral nerve; they display what was once called character… Character- the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life- is the source from which self-respect springs.’

From here.

On Talent.

As far as the direction of the magazine now, I think it reflects my love of typography, but also our incredible staff. Matt Willey, our art director, is an amazing designer who makes his own typography, which we often use in our special issues. And a lot of the other people here also really enjoy making their own fonts. One of the great things about working in a group versus making something yourself is being able to draw on the talents of the people that you work with, and the talents here are not only considerable, they tend towards typography. It’s just a good fit, both in how I approach things, and how the people that I work with think about design.

Gail Bichler from here.

On Process.

The importance of conviction and trust in the process. This is the right way to run a business.

From here.

On networking.

If you make great connections, they might advance your career. If you do great work, those connections will be easier to make. Let your insights and your outputs — not your business cards — do the talking.

from here.

On telling your story.

You grow up in school getting grades on papers, and then you get out into the real world and realize that no one is even going to grade your paper. You have to cross into this world of just pleasing yourself, just doing something because you want to do it. It was a very valuable lesson. The truth is you have to hang on to your own belief. At the end of the day, all you really have is your own belief, your own passion. You can't ignore the feedback. But you tell the story because you love it.

From here.

On Opportunity.

The following season, I came back to Tottenham and met with the manager, André Villas-Boas. He wanted to send me out on loan again. There were a few good clubs interested in me that would’ve been OK, but that wasn’t my dream. My dream wasn’t to play in the Premier League. My dream was to play in the Premier League for Spurs. So I told him, quite honestly, “I don’t want to go.” As the words were coming out of my mouth, I thought, Oh, wow — maybe that wasn’t.… He just kind of looked at me, a bit confused. And then I just came straight out with it. I said, “I’m gonna prove to you that I should be starting on this team. And you can tell me every Friday before the game that I don’t deserve that, and that I’m not going to play. And that’s fine. But I don’t want to go.” And that was that. He let me stay on and train with the first team — and it really ended up being the turning point in my confidence. I had always felt like I had the ability, but I kind of had to stand up for myself. It was like I could see my childhood dream, and it was right there in front of me … but it was just out of reach. I was waiting for somebody to hand it to me. But life never hands it to you, does it? You’ve gotta grab it. From here.

On Brand Storytelling.

Authenticity in the context of branding, then, is the communication of values and beliefs that are core to that brand—the essence of what makes it distinct and unique.

From here.

On Culture.

I suspect we know the answers already. We just need to apply them. We should set aside presenteeism, micromanagement and over-engineered solutions. We should properly embrace empowerment, expertise, velocity, agility. In short: Don’t control the process; trust the team. Don’t double up on tasks in the name of representation; respect roles and responsibilities. Don’t celebrate longevity; reward intensity. Don’t obsess about inputs; concentrate on outputs. Don’t deal with it after the meeting; solve it in the room.

Piece from here.

On Problems vs. Dilemmas

In the world of commercial creativity it has often been said that our fundamental task is to ‘manage tensions’: between the rational and the emotional; between behaviour and belief; between the creative and commercial; between cost, speed and quality; between art and science. So let’s not suggest that our brand or business has all the answers, when sometimes there are no answers to be had. And let’s not promise to solve a problem, when the best we can do is manage a dilemma. I’ll probably carry on giving conflicting advice - confident in the conviction that successful leaders employ tools, training and tips alongside intuition, instinct and judgement. This is the skill and craft of leadership. Great leaders may not solve every problem; but they will ensure that every dilemma is better managed. From here.

On Vanilla Ice Cream.

A good vanilla ice cream is usually enough. I don’t wish to be dogmatic—every approach has its place, but sometimes plainness needs defending in a world starved for attention and wildly focused on individuality. Here is a reminder: the surest way forward is usually a plain approach done with close attention to detail. You can refine the normal into the sophisticated by pursuing clarity and consistency. Attentiveness turns the normal artful.

from here.

On Characters... and brands.

According to the thirteenth of Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling, characters must have opinions: “Passive/malleable might seem likeable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.” The writers at Pixar talk about how rookies often write characters up as charming, friendly, happy and kind parts of the story, only to find that audiences are bored by their actions, are in engaged with their storylines and ultimately feel the character is flat, dull and lifeless. Characters with hard won and deeply defended beliefs are the ones we back, the ones we fall for and cheer on. Buzz Lightyear really does believe there’s been an error and he should be in space… Bambi experiences the death of his mother early on — Ana & Elsa lose both parents at sea in Disney’s smash-hit ‘Frozen’ so become obsessed with Love and Control. Equally the brand that blindly stops along happily humming a tune is almost entirely odds with what populates cultures — stories.

From here.

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