I had such a fun time subbing for Foundation Design Studio back in February at Emily Carr while Alex was away for an artist residency for two weeks. Hands on learning and material explorations are one of my happy places 🙂
Emily Carr Faculty Association
Category : design research, process
This spring semester, I have been working alongside some excellent educators at Emily Carr to support the bargaining for a new collective agreement. Part of my contribution has been to give the website (www.ecufa.ca) a refresh, drawing some imagery from the recent faculty exhibition entitled ‘The Work of the Work”.
With COVID-19 crisis, the bargaining strategy has been significantly altered to a ‘get it done’ frame while also celebrating the ground work that has been done in setting a collective vision for a fair and equitable teaching culture – zooming out, looking ahead to the next opportunity in 2022. Recognizing that the province and administration are 100% focused on emergency response.
I’m spending some time today making updates and tweaks here and there.. so I might as well post a little #wip for a graphic design project I’m working on for the good people at SFU continuing studies. I’ve been asked to develop a visual program guide for the Executive Leadership Certificate program (similar to the one I did for the Dialogue and Civic Engagement Certificate, for which I am an instructor). It’s always one of my favourite phases in design process… translating my thinking + napkin sketch ideas into three concept directions to share with the client, and waiting for their feedback (i.e. pivoting from divergent to convergent mode).
Brain Stories
Category : process
The collage below was part of an approved proposal for BC Brain Injury Association. Stay tuned for updates! We’re in final edit mode for the first story to launch on brainstreams.ca.
Studio Name Change / Leap of Faith
Category : process
Confession: I’ve been sitting on this website for over two years.
It’s taken me this long to build the portfolio and muster up enough momentum to make the creative (and administrative) leap of changing over from beloved Breavo (named after the resident beaver who used to live in the creek behind our house) to Slow & Steady Design.
(image source: Vancouver-Slowest-City-Manifesto)
What’s in a Name?
The new name – Slow & Steady Design – reflects my values and approach to design and collaboration, and sets a course for the next many years of social entrepreneurship in this wild world. It’s also a declaration that the best things in life take time and that unrealistic self imposed deadlines are not sustainable. For me, slow does not imply idleness but rather a commitment to being honest and realistic about the time and value of good design especially as it relates to sustainability, be it personal, social, environmental, or preferably all of the above. My masters thesis was all about slow design and I hope to continue to add to that research here.
It’s becoming more important to me to have the name truly reflect the type of work I enjoy.
Ironically, I do work rather swiftly and efficiently with proper bearings.
Work-in-Progress and Feedback Loops
You may have arrived here through email link I sent to you. Thank you for visiting! If you spend some time here, you may see a project post for the work we did together. The post may or may not be complete. I welcome your feedback and input as this portfolio will always be a work in progress – it can always be better, more complete.
Simplification as means for Liberation
Moving forward, please use sarah@slowandsteady.co to reach me over email, and also for shared g-drive and calendar invites, dropbox, etc..
Feeling Thankful
Thank you again for being here and reading this post. Please add a comment below if you feel inspired and I hope that we will have a chance to work together again in the near future. Feel free to drop my name if a great design opportunity pops up on your radar. I would really appreciate it!
Learning how to work with different teams and people is one of my favourite aspects of design and collaboration. Asking honest questions, active listening and experimentation all play significant roles through my work and allow me to find common ground necessary to helping clients achieve their goals. Clear communication. Trust. Feedback loops. Process is incredibly important to me. Time is valuable; I use it wisely and transparently. Ultimately, my role as a communication designer is to translate your vision into visual form that connects on rational and emotional levels. I believe I work well with people because I tend not to get too attached to ideas, but rather focus on being flexible and that satisfaction of knowing my clients / collaborators feel heard defines success for me.
Southeast False Creek Mediallion fabrication
Category : design research, process
In 2008, I worked on a series of sidewalk medallions to be placed in the public realm of Vancouver’s Olympic…
Regenerate // Public Art
Category : process
A collaborative art project between Gen Why Media, EatArt, CoLab and Vancouver Design Nerds. Currently installed at the Purple Thistle Community Garden, Vancouver, BC
Materials: wooden pallets, recycled material, burlap, soil, native plants
Artists: Kim Cooper, Tara Mahoney, Sarah Hay, Ben Cooper and Fiona Rayher
