I was sent David Barringer’s book There’s Nothing Funny About Design to review. It was an interesting read. First, let me say that if I hadn’t been asked to read it, I never would have done so. It’s for a world I do not inhabit.

This is an intellectually stimulating, very entertaining read

Of course it is. It won the 2008 Winterhouse Award for Design Writing. This is an award out of AIGA for writers about design who are under 40. Already we can see bigotry. The bias is certain. This is intellectual stimulation for academically trained designers [or those who wish they were].

For me it was an interesting voyage of self-examination. First of all, it brought back memories of my school days where I was taught (in all seriousness) that the life of an artist is a journey of a hero of mankind. We were taught that artists are the prophets of mankind, leading the rest of man [& woman] into new truths, promoting and developing the evolution of the species. I know, what drivel!

I really believed that crap. It took me many years to recover from that ego-centered view of life [and many would argue that i have not been successful yet].

The funny thing (in the sense of saints sitting in the corner laughing uproariously at how ludicrous it all is) is that if I were as talented & witty, I could could have written this book. In a very real way, this blog is intended to do for a Christian designer what Barringer does for a worldly designer. So, he didn’t focus on issues I consider important. That does not matter. What matters is who he is. If you like who he is [and he is very likeable] his writings will inspire you, entertain you, and help you develop your potential.

Hopefully, my writings here will do the same for you if you like who I am. All I can do is follow the lead of the Spirit. All Barringer can do is follow the lead of his mind—and that is very entertaining. But the basic truth is: good design cares, based on the character of the designer.

I have released a small line of Good Design Cares products: T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, and mousepads. I hope you like them.