JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTEDJOSHUA BLANKENSHIPJOSH BLANKENSHIP REALTORBLANKENSHIP REALTYBLANKENSHIP HOMESDAVID BLANKENSHIP FACEBOOKJOSH BLANKENSHIP FOOTBALL I could take or leave Fallon, but good grief this is an absurd collection of talent. I’m enjoying The Highwomen collaborations. Video from August 16, 2019; More about music / pop culture; Finding Brand True North. When a sailor is navigating by the stars they need a celestial constant — a star to reference all the other stars by, a key to unlock and understand the rest of the map.

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A 52° Poem October 12, 2018. Bury me in leaves and morning chill and cumulonimbus clouds of breath of Autumn. A festival of tabernacles, chest colds of harvest. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED ≺ Older Posts. Since 2004 / ©2021. RSS / Contact / Search / Contact

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JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; On Changing the Game. I’m creating rules for the game so that I can have my little business support the life I want to live. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Five Good Movies as Old Books from Matt Stevens. Designer, illustrator, and all-around nice North Carolina guy Matt Stevens is doing a rad Good Movies as Old Books project on Dribbble. This excellent Knives Out cover caught my eye first. Bring on more For The Fun Of It projects! JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; A Note from the Management. Human nature is a fickle thing — we often want what we can’t have, and the gravitational pull toward exclusivity, luxury, limited editions, etc. is so strong it bypasses

logic.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Finding Brand True North. When a sailor is navigating by the stars they need a celestial constant — a star to reference all the other stars by, a key to unlock and understand the rest of the map. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Genealogy, History, and Knowing Where You Came From. I’ve been slightly obsessing over genealogy JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Yvon Chouinard on Capitalism’s Wake. I believe the accepted model of capitalism that demands endless growth deserves the blame for the destruction of nature, and it should be displaced.

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Frank Chimero on the Monkey Trap metaphor and how “ preconceptions can blind us from doing things in better ways.” I’m teaching a Graphic Design 101 university class this semester — mostly about how the brain perceives visual stimuli — and I’m fascinated by how our various biases (visual, semantic, cognitive, etc.) shape our behavior. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTEDJOSHUA BLANKENSHIPJOSH BLANKENSHIP REALTORBLANKENSHIP REALTYBLANKENSHIP HOMESDAVID BLANKENSHIP FACEBOOKJOSH BLANKENSHIP FOOTBALL I could take or leave Fallon, but good grief this is an absurd collection of talent. I’m enjoying The Highwomen collaborations. Video from August 16, 2019; More about music / pop culture; Finding Brand True North. When a sailor is navigating by the stars they need a celestial constant — a star to reference all the other stars by, a key to unlock and understand the rest of the map.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP

A 52° Poem October 12, 2018. Bury me in leaves and morning chill and cumulonimbus clouds of breath of Autumn. A festival of tabernacles, chest colds of harvest. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED ≺ Older Posts. Since 2004 / ©2021. RSS / Contact / Search / Contact

/ Search

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; On Changing the Game. I’m creating rules for the game so that I can have my little business support the life I want to live. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Five Good Movies as Old Books from Matt Stevens. Designer, illustrator, and all-around nice North Carolina guy Matt Stevens is doing a rad Good Movies as Old Books project on Dribbble. This excellent Knives Out cover caught my eye first. Bring on more For The Fun Of It projects! JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; A Note from the Management. Human nature is a fickle thing — we often want what we can’t have, and the gravitational pull toward exclusivity, luxury, limited editions, etc. is so strong it bypasses

logic.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Finding Brand True North. When a sailor is navigating by the stars they need a celestial constant — a star to reference all the other stars by, a key to unlock and understand the rest of the map. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Genealogy, History, and Knowing Where You Came From. I’ve been slightly obsessing over genealogy JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Yvon Chouinard on Capitalism’s Wake. I believe the accepted model of capitalism that demands endless growth deserves the blame for the destruction of nature, and it should be displaced.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP

Frank Chimero on the Monkey Trap metaphor and how “ preconceptions can blind us from doing things in better ways.” I’m teaching a Graphic Design 101 university class this semester — mostly about how the brain perceives visual stimuli — and I’m fascinated by how our various biases (visual, semantic, cognitive, etc.) shape our behavior. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Excuse me, your org chart is showing In 1967 computer programmer Melvin Conway wrote a paper called “How Do Committees Invent? ” The thesis of his paper was later quoted by Fred Brooks in the book The Mythical Man-Month, a tome that has gone on to become a classic in software development circles. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; I Miss My Grama. In no particular order, my Grama taught me how to spell and write my last name, work my multiplication tables, ride a bike, shell green beans on the front porch, “visit” and have a conversation, accessorize any outfit or ensemble, use loose tobacco to ease the pain of a wasp sting, tell the difference JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Frank Chimero on the Monkey Trap. Frank Chimero on the Monkey Trap metaphor and how “ preconceptions can blind us from doing things in better ways.” I’m teaching a Graphic Design 101 university class this semester — mostly about how the brain perceives visual stimuli — and I’m fascinated by how our various JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Team Blankenship’s Tex-Mex Family Cookbook. For the last few months, Mrs. Blankenship, the kiddos, and I have been collaborating on a paper goods endeavor called, appropriately, Team Blankenship.We’re pretty

excited.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Footnotes. 1. In the interest of an accurate archive, I’ve gone back and added a handful of articles from 2015–2018 that were previously published elsewhere (Medium, etc.). JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; English Standard Version Study Bible Typography. The newly-released soon-to-be-released English Standard Version Study Bible is typographically gorgeous, filled with illustrations, and the website isn’t bad either. Wikipedia has a write-up on the ESV.. Article from April 15, 2008; More about christianity / illustration JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; Stop Settling for Trying to Be Someone Else. I’ve already written about this topic (see: Copying Doesn’t Hurt Me, It Hurts You) but I want to look at it from a different angle. Our church website is copied a lot. I’m not saying that in a prideful manner, but simply as a

stated fact.

JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; 2007 Oscar Nominations. Oscar nominations are out this morning. Everyone apparently loves Babel, they love Dreamgirls, but not enough for a best picture nomination, Leonardo DiCaprio’s hideous accent in Blood Diamond earned him a best actor nod, and no one seems to be pointing out that Marky Mark was nominated for best JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Blog; Archives; Info; Joshua Blankenship; Shop; Studio; LogoLand; How To Dismantle An Idolized Bono. My friend Tara who a little article for Relevant magazine called How To Dismantle An Idolized Bono and has, unsurprisingly, been publicly blasted by U2 fans online for the better part of the day. I thought it was a good, thought-provoking article, but I suppose that makes me a target, too. JOSHUA BLANKENSHIP · QUITE INTERESTED Since 2004 / ©2021. RSS / Contact / Search / Contact / Search

* Blog

* Archives

* Info

* Joshua Blankenship

* Shop

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* LogoLand

FIVE GOOD MOVIES AS OLD BOOKS FROM MATT STEVENS

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Designer, illustrator, and all-around nice North Carolina guy Matt Stevens is doing a rad Good Movies as

Old Books

project on Dribbble. This excellent Knives Out cover caught my eye first. Bring on more For The Fun Of It projects!

* Friday Five

from March 06, 2020

* More about illustration

/ pop culture

EXCUSE ME, YOUR ORG CHART IS SHOWING… In 1967 computer programmer Melvin Conway wrote a paper called “How Do Committees Invent? ” The thesis of his paper was later quoted by Fred Brooks in the book _The Mythical Man-Month,_ a tome that has gone on to become a classic in software development circles. Brooks dubbed Melvin’s thesis “Conway’s Law” and it goes something like: > Organizations that design systems are constrained to produce designs > which are copies of the communication structures of > these organizations. In other words, the things we make are a reflection of how the people making them talk to one another. Conway was talking about software development, but I’ve found the concept applies to a broad spectrum of disciplines and fields. PRODUCT AS PROJECTED ORG CHART Do org charts, job titles, and internal corporate communication structures matter to the end user/customer of a product? On their surface, no. People care about their problems being solved, and they want products, services and experiences that do that well for a price they can live with. But if we buy into Conway’s Law, then yes, those communication structures matter a great deal because the way things are made is woven into their DNA. Your organization is optimized to get exactly the results you’re currently getting. For good or ill, we optimize our organizations to make the product(s) we have. Is there a disconnect between the on-boarding experience of a web app and the typical use cases for its logged in users? My guess is the teams or individuals responsible for those features and flows don’t talk enough. Does a guest at a hotel have a vastly different experience talking to the late night concierge versus using the hotel’s app? My guess is the organization doesn’t have a cohesive department whose mission is taking care of customers — they likely have a software team and a front desk team (and never the two

shall meet).

In each of those examples there are only two constants: the organization, and the individual interacting with the organization. Everything in between — the teams, departments, personnel, tech, and resources, endless org charts and corporate layers of responsibility — doesn’t ultimately matter to the customer. They just want a great experience. But it matters to the customer because it’s ruining their experience. And it matters to the organization because enough ruined experiences will eventually lose you customers. If there are disconnects in your product, there are disconnects in your org chart. So fix the internal structures, and incentivize, organize, and optimize around the outcomes you want for your customers. Out of that holistic structure will flow holistic products, services, and experiences. Healthy people make healthy things. Healthy orgs do, too.

* Article from

November 06, 2019

* More about design

FRANK CHIMERO ON THE MONKEY TRAP Frank Chimero on the Monkey Trap

metaphor and how

_“ preconceptions can blind us from doing things in better ways.”_ I’m teaching a Graphic Design 101 university class this semester — mostly about how the brain perceives visual stimuli — and I’m fascinated by how our various biases (visual, semantic, cognitive, etc.) shape our behavior.

* Quick Link

from September 20, 2019

* More about life

KOHARU SUGAWARA FT. YUKI SHIBUYA DANCING TO DOG DAYS Joy personified, this one made me smile start to finish. And the crowd goes wild! (Do yourself a favor and lose 30 minutes searching Koharu Sugawara videos

on

YouTube.)

* Video from

September 09, 2019

* More about dance / pop

culture

I MISS MY GRAMA

In no particular order, my Grama taught me how to spell and write my last name, work my multiplication tables, ride a bike, shell green beans on the front porch, “visit” and have a conversation, accessorize any outfit or ensemble, use loose tobacco to ease the pain of a wasp sting, tell the difference between milk and buttermilk before you pour it on your cereal, use a toaster and make a pop tart (which she’d cut up into little squares and slather with butter), the just right ratio of tiny marshmallows to hot cocoa, how to have perfect hair at all times, be kind to everyone I meet, love an occasionally difficult spouse, clean my room, pray for my family, enjoy a good soap opera, and leave a legacy marked by kindness, fidelity, faith and love. Mildred passed away quietly the week my son Moses was born. Moses turns 2 this week. I miss my Grama.

* Article from

August 19, 2019

* More about life

FIVE FEATURES OF MY IDEAL TV REMOTE

* POWER BUTTON

* BRIGHTNESS DIAL

* INPUT 1

* INPUT 2

* INPUT 3

* Friday Five

from August 16, 2019 * More about design /

tech

THE HIGHWOMEN & THE CHAIN I could take or leave Fallon, but good grief this is an absurd collection of talent. I’m enjoying The Highwomen collaborations. * Video from August

16, 2019

* More about music / pop

culture

FINDING BRAND TRUE NORTH When a sailor is navigating by the stars they need a celestial constant — a star to reference all the other stars by, a key to unlock and understand the rest of the map. As the Earth spins, the constellations in the northern hemisphere sky currently revolve around a single star called Polaris. It’s a _“Pole Star,”_ a near foolproof way for sailors to find their bearings on a clear night. Credit: Annapurna Star Trails by Wang Jinglei, Jia Hao A brand’s mission is no different. Every decision, every nook, cranny, fringe, and faction in the organization should revolve around their mission — spinning ’round the thing the organization exists to make happen. Defining that constant is literally mission critical. I run a design studio , but our mission isn’t design, brand identity, or websites — those are just tactics. The tactics should never become the mission. When we work with new businesses and established organizations, first we have to understand their version of Polaris, then we can plot a course from where the brand is, over the visible horizon, to where it needs

to be.

Design isn’t magic; it’s the disciplined process of changing existing situations to ideal ones. But to do that well, we need a destination beyond the craft. Without a shared destination, we lack shared mission. Arguing about taking a left or a right at the fork doesn’t matter if the designer and the client are operating off of two different maps. Define what’s true, first. Then you can start your journey. ------------------------- AMATEUR CELESTIAL NAVIGATION TIPS If you don’t know how to find Polaris, two constellations will help you see it—Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (aka The Big Dipper and The Little Dipper). Look at the front edge of The Big Dipper’s ladle, follow the path like you’re liquid being poured out, and you’ll run right in to Polaris, the last star in the handle of The

Little Dipper.

* Article from

August 11, 2019

* More about branding

/ design / work

FIVE MOVIES I’M EXCITED TO SEE IN THE REST OF 2019

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* Friday Five

from August 02, 2019 * More about film / pop

culture

MRS. BLANKENSHIP ON 99U The lovely and talented Mrs. Blankenship was recently interviewed alongside a few other folks on 99u about how life-changing experiences shaped their creative work.

* Quick Link

from August 02, 2019 * More about life / work

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