what stage am I in?

AS A KID, I NEVER DREAMED OF BEING A DESIGNER. I didn't even know such a job existed. But I did know about writers because I read a lot growing up. Mostly science fiction and fantasy books, but any good fiction novel would work. Naturally, I dreamed of becoming a writer one day.

God had other plans for me.

Luckily, it didn't take me long in journalism school to realize I was never going to be a great writer. But I still loved words, so I took up editing. That lasted one semester until I took my first newspaper design course. I was horrible at it, at first, but I was amazed by all of it! I went on to study newspaper and magazine design at the University of Missouri–Columbia all while keeping up with my writing and editing skills. While college prepared me well for the real world, it also taught me a valuable lesson: Great design is always based on content. I've carried that foundational principle into each job and every project I've worked on.

Coming out of journalism school, I started my career at stage1: newspaper designer. I headed to North Carolina to design and copyedit at the Greensboro News & Record. It was a fast-paced, fun job that taught me how to think fast on my feet, edit photos well, and respect the medium I was working on.

In an unexpected turn, less than 2 years later I entered stage2: magazine designer. My wife and I moved to San Francisco to work for PC Gamer magazine—she as the managing editor, me as the soon-to-be art director. (Yes, we worked less than eight feet apart every day for five years, and we're still happily married.) Working closely in a team of nine people putting out a monthly magazine taught me how to partner well with people to create the best products possible. It was also a great training ground for me to learn how to art direct, how to create successful designs (and not-so-successful ones), and how to bring new energy to the same medium time after time. After five years, I helped launch Revolution, a dance music magazine for the mainstream market. It was an incredible challenge to create a magazine from the ground up, but it taught me the value of creating a strong vision and working to achieve and maintain that vision.

It didn't take long before the pace and lifestyle of launching a new magazine demanded too much time away from my family, and that's when I entered stage3: book designer. After working on newspapers that get thrown away the next day and then creating magazines that barely last a month, I am now working on books that can last years. The best part isn't that my designs last longer; it's that the content of the products is relevant to people much longer. Tyndale publishes books and Bibles that "minister to the spiritual needs of people." That's our mission, and we work hard to make sure it's true on every product that goes out our doors. You may have heard of The Living Bible or the Left Behind series or even Tony Dungy's biography, Quiet Strength. Tyndale publishes a wide range of products that help people understand and live with the world around them. Currently, I have the privilege art directing our fiction and Bible products with a hugely talented design team. We have a team of roughly 20 people who work hard to create great work, but we work even harder to help each other every step of the way. It's a rarity to see such collaboration in a design environment, but our team atmosphere helps us create outstanding products.

This blog is an effort to show you how this collaborative environment has helped me in my designs. I don't know what the next stage of my career might look like, but for now, I'm going to be showing you what stage3: book designer looks like. I would love to hear your thoughts on any of these projects, and I hope you enjoy what's to come.

Sincerely,
Dean