Good Fucking Design Advice.

In the fall of 2011, iOS Developer Tim Johnsen contacted Brian and Jason wanting to put his passion to work creating an App for GFDA. After a few email exchanges, the team decided Tim was the right guy for the job. The three embarked to create the first App for GFDA which culminated in a trip for Tim to GFDA World Headquarters in early 2012. While the App is still under development, Tim’s story in his own words is presented below:

Start a new fucking project

I’ve always been a fan of building beautiful things with a no-compromises, “get shit done” attitude. I discovered GFDA about a year ago and bookmarked it, occasionally checking it for inspiration. As a young developer-turned-design enthusiast, GFDA seemed like a great place to turn for some clarity when I was frustrated. In my final semester in school I was hunting for a new project, so I decided to build an App for the site. After completing the initial version of the App, I made a short presentation and video about it and sent it off to Brian and Jason. The presentation material kicked off a conversation about the future of GFDA that ended up with some thoughtful redesigns and collaboration. I ended up flying out to work with these two and discovered an incredible group of hard-working people.

Fucking collaborate

I was pleased to spend a few days as an honorary member of the Windchimer, working with Brian and Jason by day and sightseeing around Kent by night. Walking through the University’s graduate design lab and talking about the origins of GFDA made it apparent that this was much more than just posters and a website, but an incredible network of passionate individuals spanning the region. Everybody I met there had worked at GFDA in some capacity, be their involvement screen printing, photography, videography, web design, business, framing, or even packing and shipping. It’s clear that GFDA is in the business of building opportunities for those ballsy enough to get involved and I’m honored that I got to work with Brian and Jason experiencing that opportunity first hand.

Learn from other fucking disciplines

The incredible part about passionate people is that they energize each other, no matter what their respective disciplines. During my time with GFDA, I got incredibly charged by the design community and I think I spurred some inspiration with the App. Brian and Jason as well as Eric and all the others are all incredibly talented people, and it was great ricocheting ideas around seeing what we could come up with. Overall, I think we hope to put good fucking design advice in the hands of many more people with the App and pass the passion on.

Tim Johnsen is an iOS Developer and alum of Arizona State University