Comments on: Kids these days

By: SJL Website Design

SJL Website Design — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:39:18 +0000

Very interesting and thoughtful post as usual Eric. Huge congratulations on your big 100th, keep up the good writing for another 100 please :)

By: Naina

Naina — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:00:03 +0000

Congratulations Eric. As always, a thought-provoking, well-written article. And I agree about the intelligent comments as well - you have a bunch of ardent, intelligent readers because you put them up to that task with your writing.

By: Rowan Price

Rowan Price — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:19:58 +0000

This is one of the most important publications about Web strategy.

That's the because the role of design, and of the the design professional, is very broadly misunderstood, and at great cost. In crude economic terms, there is a great demand for clear explanations of potential value of "design-as-results-driven-strategy". Yet there is little supply, and that's where this blog comes in; not just in what you write here, but in the excellent comment threads you curate here as well.

As for any angst vis-a-vis younger designers... dude, you're a strategist! You're just going to get better and better at teaching people how to ask: "Does it work?"

By: Giovanni

Giovanni — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:20:54 +0000

"It’s our laziness that keeps us going to the same buffet every day for lunch, thinking that the meals should change to entertain us. No, we need to find new pastures and embrace the possibility of the unknown."

Cool.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:58:56 +0000

Really thoughtful piece. Sometimes when I think of this "young vs. old" issue, I think about how Pete Townshend felt about punk in the late 70's - he thought The Who had outlived its usefulness and that the young punk bands should essentially rise up and destroy the "dinosaurs" like The Who and its contemporaries. I'm 39 and I don't hope for my own destruction by young designers, but when I meet younger designers and I sense hunger in them, I think it's totally understandable - they should be that way; it keeps us older designers vital and moving forward in our knowledge and skills. At least, it should.

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:35:28 +0000

Thanks Judy!

Kids are amazing, but I think they can be even more so as a result of the people around them. :-)

Oscar comes home having learned all kinds of new things from spending the day with you. You probably don't realize how much he gets from that, and how much we admire and appreciate your passion for helping kids grow!

Cheers!

Eric

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:35:26 +0000

Hi Eric,
really enjoyed reading your post. It makes me feel very modern and confirms that children are so amazing.

By: Claudio Rimann

Claudio Rimann — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:28:03 +0000

Hi Eric, congrats to your 100. post.
It's a very long time ago that i read such a long post. So true that we all need to question more the 'why?' !

By: Josh Berta

Josh Berta — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:04:41 +0000

Eric, yet another thought provoking post. As a designer who entered the field on the later side, I've always felt an acute sensitivity about my age. Especially so in light of the design profession's own emphasis on youth - 30 seems to be the cut off for many design competitions and exposes. I have no more experience than those young designers, but I'm instantly disqualified for not figuring out my life path sooner (I'll take those lumps, but I don't have to like it).

I can say without a doubt that my extra life experience has helped me professionally, but it's also hard to quantify that for a boss, or potential new employer. On paper, I'm a rookie, but I know I have a temperament and maturity that (I hope) makes me a valuable asset.

Minimally it at least gives me the confidence to hold my thoughts and actions up at the level of more senior designers - to be their peer and not their subordinate. I say confidence, but that's also probably partly motivated by a fear that I have a lot of catching up to do.

I'm now in a position where the business of design is becoming just as interesting (and in a way, necessary) as the act of designing. Once again, I'm playing catch-up. Which is what lead me to your blog and keeps me coming back these many months. I appreciate the wisdom and the discourse.

By: Ample Sanity

Ample Sanity — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:50:52 +0000

[...] is the domain of the young, only to be weakened by age." Read Eric Karjaluoto's full post, Kids these days. Combining elements of documentary and traditional storytelling, reality and fantasy, Paper Heart [...]