dave braden

What is good design? Dave Braden's work reminds us that design is about more than selling things. "It's about creating a relationship between a product and its customer," says Braden. "And hoping that this relationship inspires culture." Braden is a co-founder of The Engine Room, a San Francisco brand identity design firm that is helping to shape the look of the cotemporary artisan and fine food movement taking place in America. The company's clients include Recchiuti Confections, Aidells Sausage Company, Zenergize, My Nonni's Italian Foods, FatCat Scones, Andalé Mexican Restaurant, Haig's Delicacies and San Angel Mole. Braden's work has been recognized by GDUSA, Design Interact, HOW, Graphis, PRINT and the James Beard Society.

Is graphic design a growth industry? Graphic designers have been around for about 17,000 years, since painters tagged caves in Lascaux. Design is an industry that society will always need. Today, the way in which businesses communicate is changing rapidly, and that creates opportunities. Brand extensions, monthly newsletters, eBlast campaigns, seasonal food products, living websites: there's a lot of work to do! However, the volume of print communications has declined considerably, and folks in the biz whose skills are limited to print collateral and direct marketing may want to scrub the ink off their shorts and start crooning expressions like "CMS," "Hexidecimal" and "SEO."

Do graphic designers have a special responsibility to promote a green society? It's nice to use recycled stock or cut down on gratuitous packaging, but big changes can only happen on the demand level. For example, Americans have gone berserk with getting food and drinks to go. Suck down that coffee, then it's cup, safety sleeve and lid in the trash can. Even if it's recycled, then energy, time and money are still spent breaking it down and spiting it back into the cycle. People need to use less.

Because designers experience the bittersweetness of mass production firsthand, we can be influential in the using-less-stuff department. Standing on the front lines and witnessing the casualties may inspire in designers a prophetic calling that we should certainly exploit.

ONE THING I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IS butter

FAVORITE BOOKS

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism by Fritjof Capra
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady

FAVORITE SONGS

"Good Morning to You" by Mildred and Patty Hill
"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan

FAVORITE FINE ARTISTS

A.R. Penck
Picasso
Leonard Cohen (I'd put poetry in the fine art department.)

FAVORITE TV SHOWS

If I knew of any television shows, I'd imagine it'd be difficult to think up a favorite one.

BOOKMARKED WEBSITES

slice.seriouseats.com
natureworksllc.com
recchiuti.com