Speak Up Archive: The 5w’s of Speak Up

Come March/April Speak Up will be featured in STEP Magazine’s 5w’s column — yup, I am very proud and excited — which asks who, what, where, when and why on various happenings within the design community. Emily Potts, editor of STEP, is very interested in that the write-up include comments from the readers on Speak Up. So, that’s what we’ll be doing here. Let me explain.

I will be writing the column, which lends itself to doing whatever I want — in a responsible, mature way of course. That means that I will be the one choosing which comments go into the little article (little as in 1,000 words). The selection process will be highly subjective, based on what is interesting, funny, relevant and appropriate. I obviously can’t put all the comments, but all the responses that I receive before the March/April issue comes out will be nicely formatted into a brand new page which will be mentioned in the article — it will be like a cool, little archive highlighting the readers of Speak Up.

If your comment(s) get chosen Emily or I will contact you to get your blessing for publishing it, but keep in mind that if you post a comment chances are that it could be picked.

Let’s get to it, shall we? Here are the questions that you have to answer and the format in which the responses need to be:

(Code provided for ease of use in copying and pasting for your comments)

Who: In one word, just one, describe who you are. Don’t put down your name, we can figure that out with your posting information.

What: In one short sentence tell us what Speak Up is/means to you.

Where: In one word tell us where you are.

When: In one short sentence tell us when you found out about Speak Up.

Why: In one short sentence tell us why you keep coming back.

One more little rule, just as we did on Show of Hands, you are only allowed to post once. If you have any questions/concerns/props about this just email me.

Thanks!

Who: Big-daddy

What: Speak Up has become a lifestyle for me

Where: Chicago

When: Winter '02

Why: Because I can't stop now

On Dec.12.2003 at 09:12 AM

Who: Unassuming.

What: Speak Up is my opportunity, as well as inspiration.

When: Through my adoradtion of the work by Patric King.

Why: It has become like air and water, a necessity.

On Dec.12.2003 at 09:48 AM

Who: Speakupauthorwannabe

What: Passion, period.

Where: Charlotte

When: Somewhere between "The Swoosh: Symbol Beyond Redemption?" and "a nickel...two dimes...".

Why: I have a persistent itch.

On Dec.12.2003 at 09:52 AM

Who: picaenforcer

What: an opportunity to question

Where: edmonton

When: november 2002

Why: it's like coffee, the more you get - the more you can do.

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:02 AM

Who: CrazyAfro

What: Intrinsic motivation

Where: Nordeast(mpls)

When: Typecon 2003

Why: It's impartive to know what is being created and talked about in the design community.

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:14 AM

Who: bigcheese

What: mosh pit without the bruises

Where: anywhere

When: during a heated discussion about the aiga:business perspectives for design leaders seminar

Why: there is no other place like it

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:38 AM

Who: boss hog

What: home away from home

Where: San Francisco

When: in a dream

Why: wonderful design related discussions

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:51 AM

Who: Slacker

What: Outlet. Inspiration. Intimidation. Intelligence. Passion. Creativity. Experience.

Where: New York

When: Fall '02

Why: It's the current design authority. Graham Wood.

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:54 AM

Who: she-devil

What: inspiration, challenge, fascination, provocation...oh yeah, holds me accountable.

Where: the tallest building in gotham city.

When: google. my firm's work was called "a pair of turds."

Why: changed my life, truly...it's a destiny thing.

On Dec.12.2003 at 11:06 AM

Just for the record, Emily Potts is my sister. Not that Emily Potts, but my actual sister's name is actually Emily. Now what was the question?

Who: designo-hippy

What: A place to get all foo-foo about design & people understand.

Where: Hicks-ville (Edmonton).

When: One year ago, purely accidental.

Why: It's like having co-workers, but you can tell them to screw off without getting fired.

On Dec.12.2003 at 11:52 AM

Who: Viajero.

What: My morning coffee companion (all of them).

Where: Venice.

When: When I most needed it.

Why: The writing, the raving, the reasoning, the ranting... and Armin.

On Dec.12.2003 at 11:53 AM

who: wind

what: a monkey, a boar, a dog, a donkey, a stag, a camel, a horse, a bull, a bird, a goat a lynx, and a group of rabbits: the latter under a branch on which sit an owl, another bird and a squirrel.

where: a scrap of fabric from Napoleon's tent in Egypt, "captured" in 1833, from an exhibit in the Luxembourg museum in Paris.

when: strays from the Orion Nebula ether revealed to man 600 B. C

why: in our time, no one has the slightest conception of what is great.

it is up to me to give them an example.

On Dec.12.2003 at 12:52 PM

Who: Covert-Ops.

What: A mystery warped on an macintosh.

Where: 33rd Latitude.

When: Microfilm, Leningrad, 1946. Would tell you more but then I would have to kill you.

Why: Imagine sitting at a table with hundreds of the most inspiring people you can think of... Why not?

On Dec.12.2003 at 12:58 PM

who: mokemonster

what: a chance to eavesdrop on the cool kids

where: denver

when: right about when idealism met reality

why: to be reassured that the two can co-exist

On Dec.12.2003 at 01:01 PM

Who: Questioner

What: It's the design community I've been looking for for 15 years.

Where: Island.

When: I found Speak Up when I was wandering, a little lost; it made me loster, then it showed me the way.

Why: Because it affirms that I'm a liar when I tell people I no longer care about design.

On Dec.12.2003 at 01:12 PM

Who: CaddyDaddy

What: Speak Up means engaging, interacting, and exploring the creative community.

Where: Oakland-CA

When: 11-03

Why: It's addictive--in a good way.

On Dec.12.2003 at 01:47 PM

Who Graduate-Student

What Lifeline to the "real world"

Where Kansas

When Looking for Jeff Keedy and found Rant book club

Why Learning as much as I can from as many people as I can, plus it makes look smart in class when I know whats going on.

Who: Big-daddy's-DesignerDad.

What: An open space to hear, learn, speakup.

Where: MexicoCity.

When: When it was hatching (or is it embrionic phase?).

Why: There is so much going on and you feel part of "design world". It has that "immediacy".

On Dec.12.2003 at 01:51 PM

who: Kal-El

what: a connection to my home planet, where my superpowers mean nothing and I am free to be merely one among many

when: Googling for an Ex Libris holiday project, Nov 2002

where: San Jose, CA

why: it's the best design seminar I never attended

On Dec.12.2003 at 02:44 PM

Who: Coolest.

"Perhaps the coolest of all of us. He certainly has the coolest tattoos." - Tan Le

What: A break from, what often seems, a frivolous workload.

Where: Seattle, WA

When: Winter '03

Why: I have no other place to go.

On Dec.12.2003 at 02:56 PM

Who: Prude

What: Speak Up means to me information, cool ideas, and a chance to think intelligently about design.

Where: Bradenton

When: I found out about Speak Up when cool Rebecca Giménez said, "Hey, check out Speak Up."

Why: I drop by to learn stuff.

On Dec.12.2003 at 04:20 PM

Who: Blank-slate

What: Having always been strong enough to fight myself but no one else, I discovered an arena where my opponents taught me more than I ever could to myself.

Where: Beigecarpetland

When: Armin's continual damned mass-emails. I could never figure out how I got on the list, but I didn't care--the subject matter was provoking.

Why: I hit the wall but it fell down before I could stand up.

On Dec.12.2003 at 04:26 PM

Who: Opinionated

What: Speak Up! means that others share my need to have a a dialog about visual communication.

Where: Savannah

When: After Emigre's Rant issue.

Why: Because as an opportunity to communicate with peers - to influence and to be influenced, inform and be informed - it is invaluable...and addictive.

On Dec.12.2003 at 05:01 PM

Who: DesignBully

What: It's 11pm. I'm surfing late-night TV and get a craving for a snack. So I head to the fridge and rummage through my freezer. Sigh...there's nothing but frozen veggies and balls of tin-foil. But wait, what's that I see? It's an orphaned ice-cream sandwich, wedged in the back between the fish sticks and the peas. Score!...yes, SU is exactly like that.

Where: At the crossroads of career, fatherhood, and life

When: When my rage and disgust over the rebranding of UPS had reached a stage that I had to talk to someone -- even if it was a bunch of strangers from a blog I'd never heard of before.

Why: To remind myself why I love this profession.

On Dec.12.2003 at 05:17 PM

Who: Shutin

What: SU is where you go the remind yourself why you do design, and refresh that young designer in you who had goals and passion about what he was doing.

Where: Seattle.

When: The Art Chantry Interview.

Why: Always interesting content with a youthful drive and innocence to it.

On Dec.12.2003 at 07:06 PM

Who: PhotoDude

What: A chance to read intelligent, well thought out, gramatically correct dialogue.

Where: Lotus Land (Vancouver)

When: About 6 months ago, while trying to find interesting sites worth coming back to.

Why: To learn more about design.

On Dec.12.2003 at 07:29 PM

Who: Curious.

What: Inspiration, Passion, Direction, Validation, Family.

Where: The Beach.

When: I don't remember when, but for some reason it feels like always.

Why: I'm addicted... I can't stop... my therapist says admitting it is the first step to recovery... but I'm not sure I want recovery... I guess that makes Speak Up my designer drug.

On Dec.12.2003 at 10:36 PM

Who: Design-addict

What: A community of people who give a crap.

Where: Boston

When: Summer '03

Why: See Who answer.

On Dec.13.2003 at 11:37 AM

Who: Is it okay for me to be a consummate generalist?

What: SpeakUp projects the voices and opinions of today’s movers and shakers in design.

Where: I am everywhere, just like graphic design.

When: After reading Emigre no.65, I caught a blurb that advertised the site and have made it my home page ever since (thanks for spreading the word, Rudy).

Why: I come back to SpeakUp every day because the site's visitors possess a voice and attitude that most design discourse lacks.

On Dec.13.2003 at 06:40 PM

Who: freelance journeyman

What: a check against the day—to—day

Where: at the gate way to the west

When: first: a look to see the use of unibody. next: a daily addiction. now: a daily glance to see the pulse and to welcome virtual company into the office/apartment.

Why: much like in any reality tv show: to see what Tan will say next.

On Dec.14.2003 at 11:46 AM

Who: Catwoman. (no, really— ok, ok, i just wanted to sound sexy)

What: It's one giant, extended design family: disfunctional at times, but at the end of the day, full of wisdom and heart. <3

Where: Earth.

When: Once upon a time...

Why: "It is not for us to question why, but just to do or die."

On Dec.14.2003 at 01:40 PM

wh1o: trapped in SLC

wh2at: the constant flow of pure intelligence

wh3ere: still trapped in SLC (please, somebody, get me out of here!)

wh4en: Veer-directed, logo smackdown hooked, everything since reeled in

wh5y: because no one else around this place gets it.

On Dec.14.2003 at 07:46 PM

Who: Someone'sMom

What: 24/7 design ju-ju.

Where: SinCity

When: stumbled onto it on Veer's idea page in summer of '03.

Why: The open advice and thought provoking discussion on every design topic you could ever think of.

On Dec.15.2003 at 12:45 AM

Who: Student

What: A resource for creative discussion

Where: Salt Lake City (not trapped, but loving it)

When: Last Summer

Why: I love this stuff

On Dec.15.2003 at 10:33 AM

Who : ME

What : Speak Up is a living voice and barometer of graphic design thinking today.

Where : San (Francisco)

When : I was looking online for inspiration.

Why : Though it is difficult at times to keep up, Speak Up is like a common-room of colleagues or fellow students, where we get to mix with mentors and professors and discuss/argue amongst ourselves.

who THE wife.

what Life as I know it. Life as I love it.

where Chicago.

when Late night pillow talk.

why Passion, love, lifestyle, companionship, ideals, life.

On Dec.15.2003 at 12:00 PM

Who: Disconnected

What: An oasis of discussion in a desert of silence and apathy.

When: AIGA Conference in Vancouver

Why: More discussion grist for the local design community mill.

On Dec.15.2003 at 01:24 PM

Who: Brainstormer

What: Speak Up is truly the life of the mind at work -- an entertaining place for the exchange of visual ideas and pithy criticisms, a digital home for those graphic designers constantly looking to be inspired and challenge their own thinking, and a community usually free of hype-for-the-sake-of-hype.

Where: Online, on the south side of Chi-town.

When: During the summer of 2002 through a post on a Web log, Speak Up's became a part of my life organically -- a lurk here, link here, everywhere a post, post.

Why: It's good, cheap (but not always clean) fun, damn it.

On Dec.15.2003 at 02:20 PM

Who: "Still-Bill"

What: A designer's peephole.

Where: cubicle.

When: I accidentally found it while surfing for info on Paul Rand.

Why: Because I'm a design pervert.

On Dec.16.2003 at 11:41 AM

Who: Persistent

What: Speak Up is a low-key cocktail lounge with a smart vibe and the best entertainment.

Where: Chico (California)

When: While burning the midnight oil.

Why: Speak up is my link to the world design community without the ego and black turtlenecks.

On Dec.16.2003 at 06:13 PM

Who: The masses

What: A place where we can discuss design without wearing all black and smoking clove cigarettes.

Where: Everywhere.

When: We found Speak Up just as it was about to choke on it's own pretentiousness, but we saved it via the Heimlich manuever.

Why: We need to keep those hoity-toity design snobs grounded in reality.

On Dec.19.2003 at 09:40 AM

Who: Designer.

What: It's like being in an office with 200—300 people who love design as much as I do.

Where: Kansas.

When: In the beginning — Armin was posting on Typographica at that time...I just followed him to Speak Up.

Why: Everyone who inspires, enlightens, offends, defends, teaches, snarls, shows off, supports and cares.

On Dec.19.2003 at 10:43 AM

Who: UltraVirgo

What: It's a direct connection to a wide variety of designers and their opinions.

Where: Home in NYC

When: I really don't remember when I found Speak Up. I just realized one day it was bookmarked and I was reading it every day.

Why: There's a new opinion every day, if not every hour.

On Dec.28.2003 at 11:06 PM

Just wanted to update everybody on this. I couldn't put as many quotes as I wanted in the article, it was getting to promotionally for Step's taste, which is understandable. Anyway, check out the March/April issue to catch the article and eventually the speakup_v2/5ws section to see all these responses arranged nice and purty. Thanks to all for your contributions.

On Jan.23.2004 at 01:51 PM

For those interested, the article is now readable in the latest issue (March/April) of STEP Magazine.

Too lazy to go to the bookstore? Here is a quick, not-too-revelatory image.

Thanks to all of you who participated� I almost forgot, I haven't linked to the 5W's page here. It ain't groundbreaking, but it's kind of cool to see all the responses together.

On Mar.06.2004 at 05:22 PM

Up next is a tell-all, revealing, daring, insinuating and infatuating interview with me by Rudy VanderLans on Emigre 66.

After that, scheduled written appearances are Adbusters (not sure when, where or how) and HOW magazine. (And I think Print too).

On Mar.06.2004 at 06:08 PM

I think we are being bundled up with other blogs for an article on blogs. But I am guessing that's all I can say 'bout that. And I can see how that would be "surprising" given our show of affection for Adbusters in the past.

On Mar.06.2004 at 09:41 PM

Who: Thirst

What: A bubbling cauldron on information, opinion, discourse, dialogue and dribble that may be the very tonic the design industry needs.

Where: X

When: When I was low.

Why: To get high.

On May.09.2004 at 07:41 PM