I never truly appreciated what design meant to me until tonight.  As design students we are taught color theory, typography and visual heirarchy. We learn to evoke emotion from our audiece through the use of imagery, color, shapes, textures and depth. For years I tried with some success and much failure to practice these principles in my professional career. I can point to some work of which I am really proud, and other projects I would like to forget. But after all this time, it only took a few photographs for me to realize that my finest work started 4 years ago.

I call this project, "Olive" and she happens to be my 4 year old daughter. Of course as design work goes, I am a bit biased toward my own creation, but it is very hard for me to find any flaw in my greatest design project.

A very special thank you to Will and Emma Darden of Reversed Lens Photorapy for being the first photographers to truly capture the essence of my work.

I have long felt that the creative and healthcare industries are like kids and white carpet. They just don't seem to go together. It was the last place you might find a talented illustrator, web designer or art director. No right minded creative talent comes out of design school or an interactive program yearning to work in health insurance. I sure as hell did'nt. My dreams like most in the industry, revolved around finding shiny new design projects. You know, the projects you keep in your hip pocket that revolve around a brand that everyone knows. As a creative professional, I don't think those thoughts ever go away. But our goals and aspirations do evolve.

This is why I enjoy my creative role so much in healthcare. We learn that being creative is not about our portfolio, but more about the work and it's impact on our audience. Healthcare is in true need of a very large creative impact. It needs the help of people who tell stories with pictures, photography and type. We need the help of multimedia professionals, writers, web designers, information architects, and creative directors. Not sure if you noticed lately, but healthcare in the United States is a real mess. It lacks true direction, inspiration, and creativity from professionals who are hired to deliver just that.

How could your talent help reduce the tyranny of the healthcare system?

I attended an interesting presentation yesterday on the future of Mobile at Portland State University. The event was put on by the Software Association of Oregon (SAO). Jason Grigsby from Cloud Four and Steve Romero from Critical Path Software did a good job at articulating the enormous growth in Mobile computing. They also offered some insite into planning, sustaining and implementing mobile strategies.

So what did I get out of this hour long event? Here were my key notes.

1. Mobile computing is ramping up faster than desktop internet ever did
2. 4 billion phones on the planet
3. SMS revenue was $100 Billion last year
4. Throwaway apps were discussed
   1. This relates to the cost of development vs. how you price the app in the market
   2. $.99 apps for example may be for entertainment purposes and quickly disgarded, while apps priced higher may be used for longer term
5. Currently their is no control over getting your iphone app featured in the app store
6. 20% growth in Mobile economy during recession
7. Consider your entire mobile strategy
   1. Building an app for the iphone or other devices is not a marketing strategy
8. Know your demographics and their mobile devices. Enterprise market vs emerging markets.
9. Build you app to keep them coming back
10. Situational relevance (example: travelocity app alerts user to approriate content based on time app is launched)
11. Opportunity based messaging (example: home depot based deals based on inventory and interests)
12. Don't forget a technology roadmap for mobile based web services and infrastrucutre
13. Set a high bar for usability and experience excellence. This can be the difference in apps that are approved, purchased and used through Apple.

Much of my attention the last few years has focused on social media strategies. While I understand this focus and it's importance, I feel like the true value of mobile computing has snuck past me. I own an iphone, purchase apps, use SMS, use MMS, take photos, tweet, email and surf. Most of my social communication comes from my iphone.  What I learned today; Think Mobile. Then Social.

From 2008 through 2009 I was part of a team that helped create a national health cost estimation tool.  This team worked very close together for almost two years. At times it felt like this project sucked the creative energy right out of our bodies. So when we finally finished the tool last summer, it was bitter sweet.  We were satisfied with the end result, but the journey was complicated, draining, and very painful. There was a mixed bag of emotions around what we accomplished. For some reason, that sense of pride and closure we were supposed to feel never quite materialized.

So the other night when my wife held a magazine advertisement up and asked "Didn't you help build this?", I found myself not only surprised but strangly satisfied as well.  Five months had passed since the completion of the project. I was not aware, but our company had taken out a full page add in "Parents" magazine centered on the health cost estimator we built. After reviewing the advertisement, I suddenly felt a real sense of accomplishment. It was like seeing your name in the credits of a movie. It was the creative satisfaction I needed, and the personal validation that what we built was a great achievment.