What do I do?
If you haven't heard my go on and on about my job before, I just wanted to let you know that I really like the work I do. Where I work is great, but I think it's the type of work that really gets to me.
I write, I read, I work with organizations to help them tell the stories that are important to them and the people they represent (both corporate and non-profit). To use even more romantic language, I'm a story-teller that uses symbols including words and images to tell a story well.
For those who've asked, you know I can go into the specifics: tales of problems, events, ethics and sometimes even the mundane daily stuff... Like this:
You're looking at our nation's wordmark. Chances are you've seen it before. I love it. This little image is Canada's logo--its brand image. And the Feds have done a good job of using it to identify our country/government since it was created in 1980. In a survey, 77% of respondents recalled seeing the workdmark before... that's pretty good recall for a logo. Wikipedia has a bit more about it here.
So you want to know what I do? I geek out about things like this. I get excited to learn that the font for this is a modified version of Baskerville and that they use serifs on this but not other versions to focus on readibility for headers. And, on a good day, mentioning serifs will lead to further discussion on the uses for serif versus sans serif fonts. Yeah...
I guess every person has something they geek about that's related to what they do. Do civil engineers love to look at pictures of new buildings or bridges while rubbing their ring? Do pharmacists enjoy the latest dirt on the drugs that accidentally kill people? What makes you geek out at work?
UPDATE: For more great, unique Canadian design, check out the Canadian Design Resource.
3 comments:
I take delight in those who enjoy their work and get to have nerdy discussions about serifs. Yup, I'm jealous.
Everytime I see that logo (or wordmark or whatever jargon you called it) I feel like the flag should be attached to the "d", as tho it's a flagpost, and that the flag should be stylized, with a little imaginary wind wave or something.
Then I realize how stupid that would look, and thank the designers for their restraint.
I want a job I can care about. I don't currently have one. But I know what you mean...
i love the Canada logo. It's simple, and classy and -- thank the good Lord -- doesn't have the flag attached to a letter doubling as a flagpost.
I'm sure almost everyone geeks out about their work, sometimes without even knowing it.
I like reading news -- all sorts of news -- and getting angry about how bad some of it can be. I'm not talking about the kind of bad that gets left-wing watchdog groups to kick up a fuss with the media conspiracy and the like. That stuff makes me angry as well, but what really spins my spurs is bad writing, bad stories and just bad reporting. I know I'm not the best, but I like to rewrite stories in my head, change the ledes, move things around. Ask out loud "why the hell they put that there?!"
Community newspapers are easy targets, and it's often not worth even trying. The small dailies -- the Moncton Times and Transcripts and Red Deer Advocates of the world -- are good fodder. Small local papers in the U.S. -- largely to do the size but also because of something that seems specific to the country -- are pretty damn good, too. Fatal car crash stories that begin with showtune quotes; crime stories that convict suspects outright; obscure references that no doubt cause readers' eyes to glaze over.
I love it.
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