[PERSONAL] Coffee in Amsterdam

Oh, boy.  I'm pretty sure all the blood in my system has been replaced by coffee at this point in my life.  

I love coffee.  Yes, I'm aware it doesn't make me any different from anyone else.  But in my move from Austin, Texas to Amsterdam, I've become aware of a few things that have changed.

In Austin, I used to buy my coffee at Texas Coffee Traders on the East Side. It had entire WALLS of coffee, which was great!  Also, you can ask for help with their lovely colleagues.  I would always buy a few different types, of which included a blend that is office friendly, something chocolatey, or something more light and citrus-y.  If I didn't buy it at TCT, I went to H-E-B.  Yes, it is a supermarket.  But it also had a great selection.

When out, I had a laundry list of great spots.  However, my tops are:

-Houndstooth.  They, to this day, have the best espresso I have ever tasted.  Also, it sits next door to a taco place--what's not to love?  The most perfect Texas morning begins with damn good coffee and 2 perfectly balanced tacos with some HOT salsa.  My stomach cries in remembrance of the tacos I left behind.  

-Medici.  Also amazing coffee, and a convenient location next to my alma mater, UT.  I first fell in love with coffee at Medici, and I will never look back.  This cafe was the start of many friendships, study groups, and a wonderful short-lasting friendship with my French professor who felt disconnected from his surrounds away from his home.  As an expat, I finally understand that after all these years and I hope you feel better now. 

-Halycon.  The coffee was always dependable, but what stood out were the memories.  Because my friends and I were too young to actually go out to the clubs or bars at the time (drinking age in Texas is 21), we hung out at Halcyon drinking bountiful amounts of coffee late into the night, eating s'mores (yes, you can legitimately order s'mores at your table), and watching far too many couples breakup at the cafe.  It was all tragically poetic.

SPECIAL NOTICE:
Not in Austin, but in the deep south of Texas. Grind Coffee Co. is owned by a near and dear long-time friend of mine.  I am not biased, just check their reviews online.  He combined a love for pan dulce y cafecito and has a great thing going.  Hands down the best coffee in all of South Texas, and I'm always excited to grab a coffee and catch up when I'm back home.

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In Amsterdam, things are different but the coffee is still quite solid: Cafes here are incredibly trusting.  You don't get charged until you're done with your stay.  I find that strange, but it's honestly heartwarming.  I typically buy my coffee from a friend who is a roaster in Noord--it's a 7 minute bike ride to his place by Expocafe Zamen (who use his beans), and it's quite nice to sit outside and watch the ferry go across the Ij on nice days.  As for cafes--there are a million and 1 places here that I will never get around to, but thus far I've enjoyed:

-Filter [CLOSED]  They had the most amazing red velvet cake of your life; it still haunts me.  Their coffee was always great, and you got a cookie or piece of cake with your coffee order (a lot of places here do this; not a thing in Texas).  I'm sad they closed--I've had great memories taking Couchsurfers there before heading to the Waterloo markt, meeting friends for coffee and impromptu picnics, or generally working in a nice setting.

-Back to Black.  They take their coffee seriously. I love getting an espresso macchiato from them, and it's in such an accessible area of Amsterdam if you plan on being out and about shopping or browsing the city streets.

-Scandinavian Embassy.  What the heck is going on at this place?  It's so wonderful.  When I first went to meet friends, a friend ate a second breakfast that day as she looked over at people's plates.  I wish I was her that day.  Her eyes opened wide and she proclaimed it to be the best thing she's ever eaten.  And their Scandinavian coffee is phenomenal; personally, it's hard for me to get just one drink.  The coffee is entirely from Nordic roasters, and it will probably be the best coffee of your life.   

I love coffee no matter where I go; my mom makes such a simple, homey coffee but the love she puts into preparing my coffee warms my heart and I love knowing that there are people out there dedicated to doing that for others as a livelihood.  Always go for good coffee.  

And as always, if your cafe has  appeltaart, get the appeltaart.  

Kind Regards,

Alisa Longoria
 

[CLIENT] Ensuring a Better Relationship with Your Designer

"I am an ARTIST, and I am sensitive about my sh*t."

I have particular music playlists when I'm working on projects--certain days call for old blues, others beckon forth garage rock, and some days demand Erykah Badu.  I first heard this phrase in her song "Tyrone", inviting an enthusiastic roar of agreement from the audience. 

When working with artists of any kind, be mindful that your web designer, your packaging whiz, your sound mixer,  your video editor, or your storyboard artist--whatever your project may be--is indeed sensitive about their work.  I firmly believe that everyone can grow from critique, but there's definite methodology behind how to speak to an artist. 

Having worked a few managerial positions as a liaison between artist and client, I can say that I've experienced the dark side of an artist's feelings of defeat and embarrassment for getting less than positive reviews of their work.  Even if an artist reassures you that this is just a "rough draft" that will "demand lots of changes or revisions," they will have a sense of pride in the work they do, even if it just an initial sketch.  My usual approach is as follows:

-Before launching at all into negatives, always start by saying some variation of "Nice work!" Because the work, no matter how corporate, involves an artist tapping into an emotional value of some sort, and it feels a lot more vulnerable than perhaps what an accountant feels crunching numbers.  So let the artist know that you're happy they came up with something uniquely for you!  They'll be excited and work more eloquently and, in my experience, work more truly.

-List off at least 3 things you like about the design (or video edit, etc).  3 is an arbitrary number--it can always be more, but I find that when an artist only gets minimally good feedback (like one comment or none) it feels defeating and I always sense that the project is off to a bad start.  I have had to comfort a crying artist or two when they've gotten no good feedback on a legitimately good proof--so be mindful.  Your artist is absolutely capable of executing your project, but they need positive feedback.  And as a project manager or art director, it's essential that everyone feels comfortable and confident in their roles in order to make a project successful.

-Once a good rapport has been established, critique can be introduced.  I find that using positive, passive words and a lack of a you pronoun (when dealing with negatives) work.  So two examples:

CONDUCIVE CRITIQUE

"Great job on the design!  I'm really impressed.  I really love your choice of colors; I never would have thought of that, so very cool.  We'll definitely stick with those colors.  I also am a fan of how you laid out the information, I believe this will be effective with our customers for sure. I also love the direction this is going.  Maybe we can change the current font or something--it's great but doesn't seem to fit the vibe as we are looking to be more traditional since our clients are a bit older.  Also, we are hoping to see some more icons or something of the sort incorporated in the design to look cohesive with our print materials, so less photos overall. Take a look at our attached print materials, as I think they'll help you knock it out of the park. Thank you so much for your awesome design, and we look forward to seeing those changes!"

INEFFECTIVE CRITIQUE

The design is okay.  The colors work.  I'm not a big fan of it, I guess, so can you figure something else out? I really want it to be impressive and you didn't really do that at all.  It doesn't feel like you know what our customers are about even though I've told you what we are about.  Now that I think about it, it just doesn't seem to work.  You need to provide some alternatives, because at this point this doesn't look marketable.  Oh well.  No one was expecting you to get it the first try but we can't wait around for you to get it."

Does the ineffective critique seem ridiculous?  It honestly is but it is a real critique I have seen before, 100%.  Notice how it kept putting the designer down without concrete direction about what needs to change--it is all about negatives yet doesn't provide any direction or concrete or conducive critique.  Remember: graphic artists are talented creatives, but not mindreaders.  They want and are willing to make something impactful for you, but communication and mutual respect is key.

I am in no way insinuating that artists aren't strong; they're the opposite of that.  It takes a lot for an individual to share a piece of their soul in their work.  But I do find that sometimes clients are oversaturated with a pool of talented artists and are invested in the product result that they will forget to acknowledge the person bringing their project to life.  On the flip side, I have worked with incredibly mindful clients who seem to understand the nature of creatives.  Be confident in your designer, and I can guarantee you'll have a project to be proud of.

Kind Regards,

Alisa Longoria

 

[DESIGNERS] Tacos to Bitterballen: Shift in Culture and Design

An international move brings about many life changes, one of which happens to be the way a country approaches design.  Even the untrained eye can determine the differences in branding in a foreign country, and I can say with certainty that the way Amsterdam approaches design is vastly different from Austin, Texas.  Yes, I know it's obvious.  However, these affect me as a graphic designer in that my catalog stands in contrast to what can be found around the city.  As I've taken clients here in Europe, I've been a lot more receptive and aware of the branding I see everyday and have been better in keeping my designs aligned to a more European perspective.

I didn't look Amsterdam and immediately decide to move.  It was something that happened, something that wasn't pre-meditated. 

My advice is to stay open and take notes if you're a designer traveling.  Whether you're vacationing in Japan, visiting family on the East Coast, or seeing Iceland for the first time--you never know, you one day might end up somewhere you never thought you'd be.  Will you be ready?

Kind Regards, 
Alisa Longoria

[DESIGNERS] Personal Philosophy: Keep It Simple, Silly.

“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.”

Albeit cliche to begin with such a quote, this is a defining characteristic of mine in fashion and, more importantly, in my design work.  For beginner designers and those jaded by the years of client demands, we can begin with rearranging this idea to be more directly applicable to graphic design:

Less is more.

Now, I have had my fair share of clients wanting a mountain to fit within the kitchen sink.  That is to say, a million design elements without intent or direction.  Of course, I have fallen to complying wholly with the client and therefore falling short of myself.  This leaves a graphic designer with a portfolio item they don't feel comfortable with, and ultimately doesn't build something worthy of a career archive.

 I mean, this is a sentiment that I completely relate to:  I am the product of the American way of thinking of client needs being golden.  (My first job was at McDonald's in high school--you know how customer service goes and pervasive it is in most American industries.) I have talked with colleagues, freelancers, and designers within my network who feel that they have fallen short of themselves in a client's design, favoring a checklist of trendy elements instead of intent.  It's a burden of the type of work we do.

There are ways to deal with this.  Everyone can offer up advice, and this is my personal way of dealing with a client who has a plethora of ideas they want to incorporate into the design.  It is in no way the only correct methodology, and there are other ways that might be much better; a designer ultimately knows to adapt and change their system to fit a client's needs.

Tips

1. Smile!  You have a client who wants to work with you, and probably for a good reason: you're awesome at what you do.  Keep reminding yourself of that through the design process.

2. Communicate and Record Everything.  I try to log all the details of our conversations, whether if it's on my computer, phone, or on paper.  I then transcribe it all so I have a document full of notes to fall back on, and through the design process a client starts to subconsciously reveal the priorities in their design with the recurrence of themes or elements.  I pay attention to words or themes that consistently come up, and start crossing out the initial themes they stopped mentioning.  All of a sudden, that city skyline they were so insistent on in the logo is forgotten in favor of damn good typography that makes them proud of their company's name--which is ultimately more important than a disconnected trendy, graphic.  

3.  Show options.  Let's say that a client has 5 opposing elements they want incorporated into a business card.  They want:

• Their face on the business card
• Their favorite colors are red, black, teal, and orange.
• They want the design to be clean and unfussy.
• Their budget is small, so therefore all the text and design will be on one side.
• The inspiration examples they sent are pricey designs.  Letterpress, laser cut--the works, and none bear resemblance to their notes.  

I personally would not do all of the above together, especially with the space a business card allots; it wastes time because as a designer, you're a problem solver and starting with all those elements won't necessarily move you forward if you already know that the end result won't include all 5 elements.  This is a hard equation to solve, so as with algebra, break it down into segments.  I would create three distinct designs that incorporate 2-3 elements from the 5 listed above.  When compared side by side, the client will start seeing which they prioritize, and by having 3 mockups available, it makes it easier for the process to move forward on at least one of them.

I almost never let them "see something else."  It's a good way to create more work for yourself and indecision on the client's behalf (as well as mistrust of your capabilities as a confident designer).  Value your work and say, "This is a starting point; we can make adjustments as we go."  

Whether you're a freelancer or work for an agency, these are time and sanity saving ways to not only solve the conundrum of a client's needs, but also being able to edit a design to fit your viewpoint as a designer.  

Regards,

Alisa Longoria