Parse aims to make sense of issues and information relevant to design practitioners, regardless of the disciplines they work in. Parse makes big ideas useful, actionable and applicable. It distills jargon, reduces complexity, pares words, omits gobbledygook. It’s open-source, approachable and friendly.
Start Somewhere, Green is a Must (2)
5/21/12
Maybe “green” and “sustainable” are terms you’re a little tired of hearing about. Especially if you are still fighting the need to work this way, or you don’t think it affects you, or you’re struggling with how to implement sustainability in your work life.
Recently Parsed
Master Your Finances (3)
5/17/12
We all have a troubled relationship with money—especially we creative types. We spend a lifetime mastering our craft. But we don’t do money. We aren’t taught how to manage our finances or set up a billing structure. Take that lack of education and add the “starving artist” myth to the mix, and you get a person who isn’t controlling their money but who’s controlled by it. If you’re ready to take control of your money, here are the steps to do it.
Ditch Your Elevator Speech (14)
5/14/12
by Marcia Hoeck I’ve always had an intense dislike for elevator speeches. I’ve fought the idea tooth and nail. They never came naturally to me and they never sounded natural coming from anyone else, either. Many times, I’ve seen them repel rather than attract. So I’ve taken a page from Lois Kelly’s book, Beyond Buzz: [...]
Engage Users in a Dialogue (1)
5/10/12
Conducting and participating in a research interview can feel a bit like a first date. A good rapport creates comfort, more freely flowing conversation and opportunity to open up. Jumping to certain questions too early will trigger a bolt for the check and door. Ever been asked how many children you wanted on a first date? Like a date, the interview dialogue has a flow and dynamic as it evolves over the course of the event.
Generate Monster Ideas (By Getting All Emotional and Stuff) (1)
5/07/12
Whether we’re designers, writers, illustrators, photographers, creatives or clerics, we call some facet of marketing “home.” Our pictures, words, drawings or photographs play a part in the unique purpose of altering human behavior in favor of our client’s product, service or offering. Which is just fancy-schmancy talk for generating ideas to convince someone to buy our client’s toys; ideas that we want to be big, fat, hairy, monstrous successes.
Exploring the Typographic Wild West (1)
5/03/12
As graphic designers we have been thoroughly trained to finesse typography. We painstakingly analyze each line break, each dash, each quotation mark. We consider it a point of pride to scoff over “type crimes.” We are obsessed. With typography. In print.
Play Nice with Others: How to Build Creative Community (1)
4/30/12
Building an authentic connection to the local community is also a powerful tactic for design agencies in attracting business and talent, engaging in better design practices and encouraging a collaborative company culture.
Reinventing Design (2)
4/23/12
As the economy shows a few small signs of recovery, the design industry is bouncing back and design business owners are beginning to consider how they will rebuild. This rebuilding process presents a rare opportunity to rethink the model on which our businesses are built, and to develop a more diverse base of revenue and, ultimately, a healthier business.
Build Strong Client Relationships: Three Simple Rules (4)
4/16/12
Offline and online, marketing is built on relationships. There are different ways of building relationships with people you’ll probably never meet in person, but the bottom line is that people buy products and services from people and companies they like and trust, and ignore those they don’t.
