I picked up a new game yesterday for my Nintendo DS. It’s called “The World Ends with You.” I was initially turned on to this game by the rave reviews of the game play by the enthusiastic press. After having played the game for myself, however, I have to say that it is the design aesthetic that really hooked me.

The look is very reminiscent of Japanese anime cartoons, however, it has an edgy quality to it that I can’t quite describe. It is simultaneously stylish and gritty, like the well-thought out graffiti murals that are intentionally done on the walls of inner city parks.

I love the style of this game, and it is games like this that inspire me with my work in 2D animation. At DDA I have an incredible opportunity to work with the uniquely talented artists who excel at fusing their own creative flair with a professional style. Whether it is Carrie expertly designing a professional corporate website, Judy hand crafting an eye-catching trade show brochure, or Melissa going wild on one of her amazingly inventive and unique character designs for animation, DDA’s artists are second to none. While our inspirations and influences come from a vast number of sources, the creative talent at work here at DDA is always a joy to watch in action!

My 3-year old is in the throws of the “why?” stage. He’s also going through some other stages as well, but I’ll save those for another time. “Why do we have tears?” Why do I have a mommy?” “Why is he a giant?”(said to a rather tall McDonald’s customer). We should all be so curious and observant. 

Graphic Designers need to be especially observant and ask many “Why’s” before, during, and after a project. In fact, it’s a great habit to ask Who, What, and Where as well. For example: Who is my target audience? What type of paper is this brochure being printed on? What resolution and color mode should I set up for this trade show graphic? Where is your literature being distributed? Where will people be viewing your website? Why am I using this font, these colors, and why will this layout be most effective for the client?

While it can be draining to answer rapid fire ”Why’s” throughout the day, I know that my 3-year old’s curiosity is something that we should all, as artists, graphic designers, videographers, programmers, animators, illustrators, and writers adopt on a daily basis.

Last night Elizabeth and I attended a leadership seminar. The premise of the presentation, and the book authored by the presenter, was that leadership cannot be taught but it can be learned. The speaker went on to explain that the the premise is not a contradiction because while schools cannot teach the curriculum that prepares one to be a leader, the hard knock, real world survival lessons of life can prepare an individual to lead.

Here is my hard learned lessons of leadership.

I think of all the staff at DDA as leaders. The programmers, copy writers, graphic designers, illustrators, SEO specialists, artists, video production crews, and photographers are leaders within their industry niche, within their department, and within themselves. They are offered responsibility and authority and challenges. They rise to accept and meet them or they shrink from the opportunity. If they rise and fail, they are hopefully corrected and thanked for trying and asked to try again next time.

Most importantly, it is in the trying that they grow and learn and become wiser and more sure of themselves and more able to lead. The concept that to be a leader, you must have followers is way too limiting. Leadership is about the willingness to have, express, and follow a point of view.

As management, Elizabeth and I know that we cannot run the business from above. There is a sign in my office for the last fourteen years that reads: You do not build a business, you build an organization, and the organization builds the business. I should probably update it to say: You do not build a business or an organization, you help grow leaders that build an organization that builds a business. Thank you DDA leaders, one and all.

The green grass of spring is finally here. The landscapers are visiting for the first time and the bushes, lawns and even the rocks are being pruned, pared back, raked and mounded in preparation for growth. Hope springs eternal and spring brings eternal hope for the promise of growth through good weather and hard work.

So it has been for thousands of years and so it will be.

At DDA, the growth is as much a personal one as it is corporate or financial. The human condition does not allow for stagnation. We are all either learning, and striving, and growing or we are ignoring lessons, slacking, and dying.

Every day I see our photographers learning, our programmers improving, our website designers testing, our search engine marketing specialists tracking, our artists illustrating, our writers illuminating, our video production crew stretching, our flash artists animating, our branding team clarifying, and our ecommerce technicians polishing and presenting.

The weather is not always great, the world is not always perfect, but it seems the growth comes not from the results but rather from the effort. Spring is here, again!