The Indianapolis chapter of the AIGA, to which I belong, recently published a spotlight piece featuring me on their Instagram and LinkedIn socials. For the piece, I was asked to consider a series of prompts. Before I knew my colleagues at AIGA only required bullet point responses, I penned a 1000 word response. The following piece is the full text of what I composed in reply. I thought it might provide good insight into the professional life of this blog’s primary author. Enjoy!
Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you work/what is your role?
It has been my privilege to work with some of the greatest talent in the museum industry as Lead Interaction Designer at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis for over 6 years now. I am responsible for the UX and UI of our digital interactives. I continue a freelance practice (ellojeo, inc.) working within identity, communication, interaction, and architectural design. Prior to my current role, I taught Visual Communication Design for 16 years at both Anderson University and Herron College of Art and Design. I had the pleasure of working with phenomenal students and colleagues at both institutions, many of whom currently shape the design culture of Indy and beyond.
Why did you get involved with AIGA?
I participated in AIGA events for many years as an educator. Portfolio review days were a particular highlight. Whether serving as a reviewer or bringing students to their first professional review, the event was consistently a rich experience. After a few lapsed years, I restarted my membership in AIGA ahead of attending the National Conference in Seattle. Membership in AIGA is a recognizable expression of professionalism with colleagues and clients. I am currently working on AIGA-DL certification. The certification process has both affirmed my experience in the profession as well as introduced new insights to my practice. FWIW, I highly recommend fellow designers engage in the certification process!
At several points in my career I looked to the AIGA Standards of Professional Practice as a guide towards ethical practice, particularly when clients do not realize the legal or ethical implications of their requests. It is important to me for a professional body to undergird our decisions in those moments. Furthermore, the Standard Form of Agreement developed and published by AIGA provides reliable guidance for my contracts. The SFA supports quality relationships with clients by clearly laying out many items including the nature of our engagement, how copyright is licensed, and what to do if things don’t go as planned. Both documents are a valuable part of my professional practice.
How do you stay inspired/creative?
I subscribe to Wendell Berry’s perspective on creativity. He says, “To be creative is only to have health: to keep oneself fully alive in the Creation, to keep the Creation fully alive in oneself, to see the Creation anew, to welcome one’s part in it anew. The most creative works are all strategies of this health.”
So, how do I go about that?
My wife, Jill, conducts a lot of international travel for her work and sometimes I get to tag along. Visiting new places is very stimulating to my creative spirit. Most recently, we visited Barcelona where I became immersed in the art and architecture of the city. Getting to experience the work of Antoni Guadí first-hand was exhilarating!
My daughter, Grace, has just completed her first year at DePauw University. Her experience of the personal and educational discoveries that come with undergraduate education reminds me of how I love to be present for those “Ah ha” moments with students. It reignites the educator in me in profound ways. I am invigorated by my own learning, yet I also delight in that of others!
I also take as many opportunities as I can to work with my son, Evan, in my wood shop on projects ranging from simple guitar pedal boards to more complex furniture pieces. (The shop I built is the second structure in the state of Indiana to be legally permitted using whole wood pallets as the primary building material.) I employ traditional Japanese joinery methods in many of the pieces I build. I can easily lose myself in meditation while working with wood!
Lastly, I enjoy Saturday mornings volunteering with my local Habitat for Humanity. At HFH I collaborate with masters of building craft and novices alike, teaching and learning all while benefiting a new home owner.
What advice would you give your past self?
Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good. As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve learned the pursuit of perfection can spoil what is perfectly good. The process of reaching a solution is a critical factor in reaching quality outcomes. Oftentimes, it is errors and mistakes that lead to the most creative solutions. The fear of making mistakes (a feature of perfectionism) suffocates creative leaps before they happen. So, I would tell young Bradley to learn to fall into the flow of creativity. Show up for yourself and others, act with more love than fear, reflect on and respond to what happens, then repeat. Though they may never be perfect, great solutions will emerge from this process!
What are you currently into/obsessed with right now?
I’m currently really into the work of Indianapolis artist, Israel Solomon. My wife and I hope to acquire a Solomon painting someday. His extraordinary color work and interwoven geometric shaping builds a visual space rich with depth, making his work as strong aesthetically as it is conceptually. To me, his subjects speak steadily and powerfully about the sacred in the mundane, and the mundane in the sacred. Check out his work at https://www.israelsolomonart.com/. Also, shout out to GANGGANG for their BUTTER show where I first encountered Solomon’s work.
Tell us about a project you’re working on.
One advantage of working at an internationally renowned learning space such as The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the variety of projects and topics with which I engage at any given time. Recently, the range of my projects include the Barbie franchise, the sport of hockey, the story of Malala Yousafzai, the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, and a Scooby Doo experience. I’ve also filmed 360 videos highlighting many faith traditions for a new exhibit focusing on Sacred Places. Therefore, picking just one is difficult; which is indicative of the delightful work at the museum.
Personally, I am challenging myself to learn and better practice the art of writing. I am currently working on a manuscript featuring progressive pedagogical practices. The piece has taken the form of a series of dialogues covering the events of a fictional semester teaching a course in Color Theory. It is inspired by my work with colleagues and students during my teaching career. Aimed at other educators, the finished product will illuminate alternative approaches to engaging students in the classroom/studio.
Where can we find your work?
Come to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis! You can experience my work in nearly every exhibit! You can also visit my personal portfolio at https://bradmckinney.design. Additionally, https://soundthinking.design contains a portfolio of work from my studio, ellojeo. Lastly, I try to regularly contribute written pieces to [this site]. The Thought Swamp blog focuses on “design, culture, and criticism” imagining a target audience of design students and early career designers.