D.J. Haddad is Founder & Creative Director of Haddad & Partners and Co-founder and Chief of Operations for 321 Ignition. Here are his thoughts on why starting a business is extra-challenging for graphic designers.
Category: Blog
Designing For The [Uncertain] Future
Thanks to q30, while it waits for the day for the museum doors to reopen, the Ontario Science Centre is ready to welcome online visitors with a flexible, accessible, and engaging website.
Sales Guys Bragging About New Cars …
DJ Haddad, graphic designer and successful entrepreneur two-times over, recounts the story about what motivated him to start his own agency.
Shutterstock Trends: Individuality, Imperfection, Authenticity, Escapism
Shutterstock has released the 10th anniversary edition of its annual Creative Trends Report, highlighting both global and local trends that will impact creative expression and ingenuity in 2021.
Design Firm Brings Mobile Office To Remote Workers
Design Agency CEO DJ Haddad of Haddad & Partners has taken an unorthodox approach to navigating through the pandemic, bringing a mobile office to the 70+ employees working at home.
Five Things To Think About When Updating Your Logo
Veteran Creative Director Theo Fels of Feisty Brown on when it may be time for your logo to experience a refresh.
T’was The Month Before Christmas
Extension to December 31 for a free demo and deep discounts on FunctionFox Systems’ industry leading time tracking and project management software for creative professionals.
Designing For The Human Era
Brendan Murphy posits that while direct-to-consumer brands have given us a slew of both personal and personable names, the shift from the institutional to the human era has also given rise to much more human brand logos and brand expressions.
Drummond: Meeting The Needs Of An Evolving Design Student Population
Gordon Drummond spoke recently with GDUSA about the objectives of the online Sessions College BFA in Graphic Design program, about his background as an educator, and about trends he sees in design today.
Applications Open For Virtual and Online Design Education
Academy of Art University is currently accepting applications for online, virtual onsite and on-campus education.
Gordon Kaye: We Keep Getting Back Up
The participants in GDUSA’s Socially Responsible Designers editorial feature – an annual look at creative and thought leaders who are designing for good – choose to see a silver lining to the annus horribilis that is 2020.
Spotlight on Women in Communications
Women In Communications (WIC) is a professional organization at Syracuse University affiliated with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Annie Yang: Branding For Me, By Me
Annie Yang of Conran Design Group says that young audiences want a real connection with a brand, one that has ‘an authentic integration into our lives.’
Designers Resilient In Adversity
A GDUSA reader poll sponsored by Verso Corporation, papermakers extraordinaire, reveals a surprisingly positive can-do attitude among graphic designers in the face of adversity.
Gordon Kaye: What GDUSA’s 2020 Inhouse Awards Showcase Tells Us
GDUSA Publisher Gordon Kaye on our 57th anniversary American Inhouse Design Awards edition, which features a showcase of winners of the original and premier competition for inhouse design departments.
David Langton: Lessons From The Improv
What does a business forecast look like when most of your clients are closed or working part-time? Creative director and business leader David Langton suggests it’s time to listen to improv comedians who do this all the time.
Snapshots Of A Friendship: Working With Jim Erickson
Thoughts on working with Jim Erickson, unflappable, patient and humorous, and one of America’s leading photographers.
Politicians Wake Up To Power of Design
By setting aside old-fashioned design tropes, campaigns can create authentic connections to 2020 voters. Political design is evolving to better represent diverse voices of candidates and communicate with citizens seeking change.
Gordon Kaye On GDUSA’s Pandemic Poll
In the face of uncertainty and adversity, designers are proving adaptable and ingenious — and hopeful.
Elle Morris On Branding and Race
Elle Morris, CEO of Snapdragon, a women-owned, minority-owned brand design consultancy, says design and designers must lead in the fight against systemic racism. Enlightened branding can help.
Covidesign Spotlight: Design-Forward CDC Safety Signage
When the pandemic hit, the founders of Indiewalls felt compelled to rethink how to facilitate their network of artists’ work. So they launched Indiesigns – an e-commerce shop for COVID-19 signage with a design-forward aesthetic.
How To Protect Your Small Business Investment
The world of insurance is changing quickly, and the digital revolution is helping insurance companies offer tailored plans for any specific business need.
What Exactly Is Branding?
HFZ did not develop its brand because of its creative name. Instead, HFZ built its brand by developing a reputation for financial acumen, consistently delivering value, and contributing to the urban development of NYC.
Reimagining Design Education
Duke Greenhill of Savannah College of Art & Design on how the institution is redefining virtual learning and its students are reimagining design during the global pandemic.
Thoughts On Branding In A Pandemic
Though it may seem difficult, this pandemic may be the right time to establish or pivot to re-establish a distinctive position in a potential customer’s mind.
Rick Caballo: Technology Can Be A Gift…And A Curse
While technology has streamlined the design process, co-founder of Dead Horse Branding, Rick Caballo, believes that overdependence on technology leads to inauthentic solutions.
Print Equals Human
Kevin Kernan of GDLOFT on the power of print, especially now, to cut through the digital clutter and appeal to the senses. People, he writes, want their humanity back.
New York Will Prevail: Powerful Storytelling From The Epicenter
Audra Nebolini of the New York office of brand strategy and design consultancy CBX on the power of storytelling and it’s meaning for marketing and brands going forward.
Jim Erickson Video Stories Are Timely and Profound
Jim Erickson’s video of Ellen, a favorite subject, exemplifies how his imagery fits the moment for a campaign during the global pandemic.
Staying Creative While Staying In Place
Joe Violante of CBX on how to stay creative – and reconnect with your creative joy – during the coronavirus shelter-in-place.
6 Ways To Generate More People To Your Instagram
Six tips and several tools for increasing your Instagram followers.
Thomas Hull: The Value of Riffing
Legendary designer Thomas Hull, of Rigsby Hull and a professor at SCAD, on the need to pivot, jam or riff in these times of unpredictability.
Gordon Kaye On The Pandemic Pause
A first cut on how graphic designers are dealing with the coronavirus crisis in real time. Send your thoughts and experiences for publication to editorial@gdusa.com
Craig Black: Surviving The Coronavirus Crisis
Graphic designer Craig Black on the keys to business survival and mental well-being during the coronavirus crisis.
TerDawn DeBoe: My Son, My Client
Graphic designer TerDawn DeBoe executed a project for her son and re-learned some valuable lessons.
Erin Kishoni: More Opportunities Than Ever
Erin Kishoni, a young award-winning graphic designer, shares thoughts about her education and the future of the profession.
4 Reasons Why Graphic Design Is So Important In Business
Why is graphic design important to businesses? Here are four reasons.
Josh Kelly: Stop Making Websites That Party Like It’s 1999
The point of a website is to make it easy and rewarding for people to engage with your brand, not to wow them with innovation for innovation’s sake.
Gordon Kaye: The Best Way To Predict The Future…
Editor and Publisher Gordon Kaye with thoughts on our 2020 People To Watch feature. This column – The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It – was originally published in our Jan/Feb 2020 print edition. GK
Shutterstock Celebrates Oscars With Reimagined Movie Posters
Shutterstock has launched its eighth annual Oscar Pop! poster series to celebrate the best picture nominees in the 92nd Academy Awards.