That’s right… I’m going to fail this year. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t really want to fail. Truth be told, it’s the kind of thing that completely messes with my head. Even contemplating doing so makes my uneasy, but I worry about the consequences of doing otherwise.

I probably haven’t ever noted this, but these Random Observations are a running project for me. In ways, they prove a respite of sorts from my otherwise lengthy posts. As I observe some kind of a rule or occurrence, I make note of it as succinctly as I can. (Some I admit, are contradictory—as is much in life, it seems.) Here are the latest:

Engineers need to complete a certain amount of schooling, coupled with applied practice, before earning their “ticket.” After doing so, they gain increased responsibility as they’ve worked through a structured and rigorous training process. I want to make the case for similar training and accreditation for designers.

It’s awfully easy to profess expertise when you’re playing with someone else’s money. Perhaps that’s part of why we remain skeptical at smashLAB. There are some great new tools out there, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to build a brand. That’s why we take on our own projects: so we have some skin in the game.

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. As we work to complete Speak Human, I find myself wrestling with footnotes, nitpicking over commas, and obsessing over every last detail. As a result, I’ve been a bad blogger. (Still, I think this is preferable to a bad bladder.) In the meanwhile, here are some random observations:

This is my hundredth blog post. I’m sort of surprised that I’ve managed to write this many. I’m even more surprised that people like you read them and take the time to post such thorough and intelligent responses. I don’t think ideasonideas can be called a “new” blog any longer and this leaves me thinking.

It’s hot at smashLAB today, probably much like at your studio. We’ve finally pushed Speak Human through its first set of hard edits and it’s getting closer to release, even though it has been delayed somewhat. Additionally, we’re working on a few new projects that will launch this fall. In the meanwhile, here are a few more random observations.

Last week’s post resulted in a number of lovely emails and positive feedback. Thank you for all of your kind words! Writing these articles is a lot of fun, but getting little notes from you makes it even more enjoyable! It’s a beautiful day here in Vancouver, and what better way to start it than with a few random observations?

Things remain interesting around smashLAB. (Interesting is code for “really great and also really fucking hard”.) Lots of new lessons for us, including some that have taught us a little humility, which I’ll talk about in a future post. That being said, here are a few more random observations.

The past few months have been full of wild ups and downs. My wife has been privy to me coming home and looking like I’m going to fall down from exhaustion, freak-out completely, or dance on the ceiling. (Oh, what a feeling!) I’ve made note of some points for myself, and thought I’d share them with you (you can also read #1, #2, and #3). Here goes…