Today is not only the birthday of Icograda, AND the first day of Design Week: Design Currency in Vancouver, but also World Graphics Day around the globe.

We're in Vancouver at the GDC AGM for 2010. This year's AGM has a fairly familiar structure compared to last year's event in Winnipeg - so if you were there, you know the kind of things we are talking about. This year, Sunday's hot topics include Sustainability, Sponsorship, Branding, and Membership as well as associated Membership Processes.

Say what you will about the value of design, but one thing is clear: no two people think exactly alike when it comes to defining the value of design itself. And if the question of defining the value of design sounds like a simple one, let me assure you - you're dead wrong. It's not just about dollars and cents..

The entrepreneur who picks a logo off the shelf to use, solely because it appeals to himself or herself, is more likely to fail in business than the entrepreneur that engages in a full design process. This isn't just because self-reflection can sometimes be a smokey mirror. A full design process can be defined many ways, but for this post, lets say it is is one with research, symmetrical communication between the organization and its stakeholders, and sound design thinking with evaluation. Designers know the value of the design - but how can this value be articulated and understood by those outside of the industry? How do you define the value of design?

Is design technology doing what we need it to do? New products are everywhere, but is technology helping with quality products or obfuscating design's purpose with quantity of products? Are those responsible for rendering our designs doing so in a timely way? Finally, is infrastructure for cloud computing ready for what designers will need it to do?

How do you balance the sit-at-desk nature of design work with the need for physical activity in your day-to-day life? Personally, I go for walks at lunch, and sometimes I'll do the 4 kilometer walk home. If I'm lucky, I'll get some tennis in - but there doesn't seem to be a lot of time for that...

The focus of this post is the metamorphosis of a few industries that have gone under the unforgiving microscope of the internet: how would their business model succeed when the physics of their media shifted? What role does design have when entire industries lose their footing and have to re-establish themselves?

I read many design websites - more specifically I read websites that designers maintain. Here are some of the ones that I have plugged into Google Reader..

I was at my fiancée's parents' place last weekend, and they had something very interesting sitting on their coffee table. In very good condition, it was the 10 year anniversary edition of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone magazine was started in 1967, which meant that the magazine I was looking at was printed in 1977 - 32 years ago for those of you keeping count. I figured I'd have a look and see what layout trends I could pick up...

I have been asked to take an editorial role here at the GDC National blog, one which I am delighted and honoured to take on. All I intend to do in this first post is introduce myself and explain a bit about what I intend on writing about.