Design + Banter talk — Everything's a portrait

Notes:

Hi, I'm Tom Cavill
Designer / Developer; building an events platform for the visual arts.

Anyone know who this is?

The greatest British artist of the last century

Was deeply interested in people.

Examined his subjects.

Uncompromising, some might say unflattering

Freud said "Everything's a portrait"

What did he mean by that?

Your work says as much about you as it does your subject.
Applies to us as designers?

Angel of the North, Anthony Gormley
Egotist
Reflects Gormley's opinion of his own importance in the art world?

Tracey Emin's Bed
She's slovenly, promiscuous, doesn't care about showing that.
Willing to expose.
Needs room service

Damien Hirst
The master butcher of the art world
Certainly a shark:
Most commercially successful living artist

What's my work say about me?
3 personal projects

DSGN JBS
Aggregates all the boards

Twitter feed and web site

Helvetitee

Tshirt sites too bloated

Anything in Helvetica looks good

Create a tshirt in seconds

without even visiting the site

Peeps

Texting's dry

Much better to see your friends

Send selfie video messages

3 taps

Clearly themes of impatience, laziness

But also working on the ultimate First World Problems
White, privileged male -- work reflects that

But at least there's *some* personality -- some semblance of self

Not homogenous UI lumped from ubiquitous components

Best designers put their personality into their work

Says something about them or the brand

Can work both ways
Negative but nonetheless accurate
PayPal copying Spotify -- no design culture?
Or more serious: no ethics?

So what does your work say about you?
LMK on twitter!

Transcript

1. @tomcavill
6. Brutal Uncompromising Unflattering Sharp Raw Honest ! Freud’s Work Freud himself
7. “Everything is autobiographical and everything is a portrait, even if it’s only a chair.” — Lucian Freud
8. “Everything is autobiographical and everything is a portrait, even if it’s only a chair.” — Lucian Freud
9. your work == you
14. ?
15. dsgnjbs.com
17. DSGN JBS
19. helvetitee.com
21. Something.! Anything.! Whatever.
23. There’s always! money in the! banana stand
24. Peckham helvetitee.com/tee/Peckham
25. Peeps — see your friends
28. Dead simple: Hold to record, release to send
29. DsgnJbs ! ! Helvetitee ! ! Peeps All the design jobs in one place ! Custom tee in 5 seconds ! Don’t make me text! FaceTime on your own time
30. Fewest clicks/ taps possible DsgnJbs ! ! Helvetitee ! ! Peeps
31. Lazy? DsgnJbs ! ! Helvetitee ! ! Peeps
33. Something
40. U?
41. @tomcavill