Schwindamania is the portfolio and blog of Jackson, Mississippi graphic designer Darren Schwindaman. I'm currently completing design work for small business and non-profit clients. Contact me if you'd like to work together.

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Turning Challenges into Positives

In addition to creating visual designs and websites for clients, I also assist with consulting. In consulting, one of my main goals is always to find ways to turn a business’ challenges into positives. Here’s an example:

My father Dale Schwindaman’s real estate law practice has been slow of late, as people are reluctant to make real estate purchases and sales. The solution to this challenge isn’t to hunker down and ride out the storm, waiting for economic factors outside of our control to rebound. In setting a strategy, I’ve outlined for the practice several positive steps to take:

1. Recognize the challenge. People out there are reading the news and talking about “the real estate crisis” all the time. No one is served by pretending everything is rosy when in reality it isn’t. We’ve changed print ads to mention the current climate.

2. Present a solution. People out there still do need to make real estate sales. What we’ve done is to recognize that there’s uncertainty, and say that it is exactly because of that uncertainty that Dale Schwindaman is the correct real estate lawyer to use for one’s real estate transaction. After all, with many delicate factors coming into alignment to make a real estate sale happen, the last thing someone wants is for an inexperienced real estate attorney to botch the deal.

3. Diversify. While closing real estate sales might be slow, there are other revenue streams available. People might not know, however, that a real estate attorney can shepherd mortgage refinancing. We’ve changed advertising to reflect this.

4. Reframe the situation. Much of the current economic slowdown can be traced to nervousness among people, not necessarily a reflection of a real loss of value. Using editorial resources available in local newsletters, we’ve been able to get Dale a column space to provide his expertise about real estate issues. In addition to promoting his legal services, the editorial space helps to put people’s minds at ease, and frame the debate in a way that’s positive for his business.

There’s always opportunity during times when other people are nervous for an organization or business to be innovative with their approach.

Posted on Jan 03, 2009 - 07:37 PM | Leave a Comment [0]

New Kodak Zi6

Scored a Kodak Zi6 pocket camera for an early Christmas present. It shoots widescreen HD video, and I’ll be playing with editing footage soon. I look forward to offering short video production services to clients soon!

Posted on Dec 24, 2008 - 08:31 AM | Leave a Comment [1]

December 08 Client Shout-Out

This last month’s been keeping me super-busy, and I wanted to take a moment to say thanks and give a shout-out to my clients:

FAITHANDREASON hosts lectures around the country, giving audiences access to progressive Christian scholars.
Ellen Langford is a Mississippi painter telling unique stories that could only be set in the Magnolia State. Visit her site to see her 2009 calendar.
YouthNoise is a San Francisco-based social action network that connects people with information on social issues and gives them the tools to take action.
The ACLU of Mississippi is celebrating their 40th year defending individual civil liberties in Mississippi.
Stephanie Dwyer is a metal artist working in the Millsaps Arts District who can weld anything. She’s tapping into Mississippi folklore and making the best bottle trees in Mississippi.
Robinson, Biggs, Ingram, Solop & Farris, PLLC is a firm located downtown in the 111 East Capitol St. building (home of one of my favorite lunch spots, Mansell’s Deli).
The Downtown Jackson Neighborhood Association is forming to give the residents of downtown Jackson a voice in speaking to the larger community.

Posted on Dec 12, 2008 - 10:11 AM | Leave a Comment [3]

New Shirt: Buy Local

Had a great night tonight at Fondren Unwrapped selling Pulp brand t-shirt designs and unveiling my new shirt, Buy Local:

The design is meant to be very versatile, and suggest that it’s being shouted through a megaphone. I’ve also heard that it feels like Superman, and anyone who shops local is a superhero… an economic superhero.

Posted on Nov 20, 2008 - 11:53 PM | Leave a Comment [3]

Where I Shop Local

Check out the Google Map in this blog’s sidebar. I’ve marked waypoints at the local businesses where I go in my regular travels. There are lots of awesome places around. Although I’m writing about places in Jackson, MS, where do you shop local?

Posted on Nov 09, 2008 - 08:27 PM | Leave a Comment [3]

Buying Local at Fondren After 5

Had a great time at Fondren After 5 tonight with lots of great local businesses and organizations. One Blu Wall in the Fondren Corner building has some great artwork, and Robin is super-cool. I dig their innovative business model towards showcasing and selling art, and young professionals with a little extra income can find some great pieces there. It’s always great to catch up with the Jackson Free Press.

I spent most of the night at Sneaky Bean, listening to Johnny Bertram play. The weather was perfect, and everything was great at the coffee shop’s patio. Caught up with Amanda of the new Jackson sensation ‘The Bachelorettes,’ promoting Saturday’s Wig Party. Awesome.

The community aspect of Jackson was on display in full force tonight. It’s possible here to go to an event and see literally everybody. As people are nervous about spending money, it’s a great opportunity to band together and use the trust gained from community connections to support local businesses. At the same time, it’s important for local businesses to respect the community by putting forth their best effort in food, price, or service.

For me, it means being professional with my design clients, getting things done well and on time, being responsive, and doing the most creative work possible. For my clients, it means showing customers a thought-out image that’s fun, innovative, and connects with them on a deeper level than any corporate brand possibly could.

Posted on Nov 06, 2008 - 11:30 PM | Leave a Comment [1]

‘Creative Britain’

Brand Republic blogs about the design identity for the Creative Britain conference. The conference is part of an overall plan started in February 2008 by the British government to build the creative local economy. Wouldn’t it be great if Mississippi had something like this on the state level?

There’s a large swath of Mississippi small businesses and nonprofit organizations who aren’t being served. Most of my clients are people who haven’t worked with a designer before. Creativity through design and marketing is a great equalizer for local businesses to compete on the same stage with larger corporations.

Leadership in Mississippi to build the creative class economy could take the following forms:

• Tax incentives for small businesses to use towards design & marketing
• Emphasis on innovative public outreach for MS state interests like public health, voting registration, and disaster preparedness
• Coordination and collaboration between the different creative disciplines such as music, fine art, architecture, and graphic design

It’s important to remember that when people are nervous about the economy, they’re looking for leadership. Because its role is one of communication, design is uniquely positioned for organizations and companies looking to put on a strong face for consumers and help lead them back to confidence.

Posted on Oct 28, 2008 - 11:15 PM | Leave a Comment [0]

Homemade Pasta

I’ve been experimenting a lot with Instructables.com tutorials. Last week, I made a red sauce from some tomatoes I got from the Mississippi Farmers’ Market, and this week I found a great-looking pasta tutorial. It turned out extremely flavorful, having a robust taste that store-bought dried pasta doesn’t have. Here’s a photo I took prior to eating:

Posted on Oct 25, 2008 - 11:33 AM | Leave a Comment [1]

Inspiration: Friday, Sept. 19

Spending a lot of coffee shop rat time lately, so here are some cool design links:

Luke Hayman and Pentagram redesign Vibe Magazine.
I met Luke at an alt-weeklies design conference in Chicago last year, and he was cool enough to go out for beers with the designers. There’s a lot that’s awesome about this redesign, including how to be ‘urban’ without using the tired cliche style elements. Scroll down to those simple 5 black bars, and check out all the variations for how they can be used. Badass stuff.

Rocketship Travel Posters.
Graphic designer James White found some awesome posters blending retro sci-fi and travel elements. The 1930s were obviously a heyday of poster design, and it’s cool to see a new twist on some old elements. I think there’s a real earnestness to this work, that captures what advertising was like before the more sly techniques of modern branding developed.

Posted on Sep 19, 2008 - 02:00 PM | Leave a Comment [1]

Coffee Shops

I’m at the Barking Dog Coffee Shop in Sonoma, California. My girlfriend Melia’s at a meeting with the superintendent of schools here about incorporating some of the ideas surrounding her project into the system. I’m going to give this shop a rating of 9 on a scale of 10. It’s awesome, fulfilling the following parameters:

Sturdy wooden furniture. I like coffee shops with furniture that’s reminiscent of an old bank. Solid furniture helps me get a good footing while I’m doing work. The chairs need to be sturdy so I don’t rock around all over the place, and the smallest table needs to be wide enough for my computer, elbows, and coffee. Square tables, please. Also, an overall brown color aesthetic is awesome.

Great music. I don’t need things to be totally silent, and appreciate enjoyable music. The Shins, Nick Drake, Imogen Heap, etc. playing here could come right from my iTunes. I approve.

Awesome brewed coffee. Do you think I go to coffee shops just to hang around like some layabout? No, I want great coffee! I look for a choice of brewed coffees, with around 3 available brews, including one (preferably hazelnut) flavored option.

Refill option. The Barking Dog has 50-cent refills after I buy a cup. Seems reasonable, no?

Overall, these conditions will ensure a quality coffee experience for me, and more enjoyable design work for clients. Everybody wins.

Posted on Sep 17, 2008 - 02:24 PM | Leave a Comment [8]