Today I attended a talk by Justin Ahrens, principal and creative director at Rule 29 out of Illinois. The topic of Justin’s talk was “Design for Good,” which makes sense based on the fact that his firm’s slogan is “We Believe in Making Creative Matter.” He showed us pictures of his work in Africa and with vets and with the under-privileged, and it was impressive. I mean, this guy has done some really great design work for some really great causes, but I found myself struggling to relate. I mean, does a good logo really matter in the context of such large issues? Justin seemed to think so, but I struggled to make the connection, until the very end. He finished the talk with a story about his elementary-school teacher, Mr. H. As a kid, Justin Ahrens was very awkward and introverted and only wanted to draw. Well, Mr. H. saw that he was struggling and invited him to draw his homework instead of write it. This invitation to express himself authentically allowed Justin to thrive and has been an inspiring force over the course of his life. And here is where I got it: this teacher was just doing his job, but when he was able to look past the rules and the way things had always been done, he was able to do some good work. The same is true of all professions, especially design. When we look past the stationery packages and the hexcodes and see the people and the issues, that’s when we can accomplish something great.
I am reminded of Garrison Keillor’s famed Writer’s Almanac sign off: Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
And I am also reminded of Bill S. Preston, Esq.’s famous words: Be excellent to each other.
