PORTFOLIO SAMPLES

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THE DUNES

THE PAST

The city of Singapore in southwestern Michigan was a thriving lumber and shipping town at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River in the mid-1800s. Soon after its inception, one of the most important events in the history of the area occurred, the Chicago fire of 1871.

The demand for lumber to rebuild Chicago was almost beyond belief. Every mill in Michigan responded to the strong market, including those along the Kalamazoo River. The demand was so great that the mill in Singapore cut everything in sight, removing all trees from the coastal dunes in the area. This proved a fatal mistake. Without the trees to protect the town, the blowing, restless sands of the Lake Michigan shoreline gradually buried the lakefront boom town. Within four years the dunes had buried the village of Singapore. Many buildings were moved to other locations in the area, but the story persists that one resident refused to move, even as the sand enveloped his home. Today it lives only in legend as the “Lost City of Singapore.” *

This is the perfect metaphor for the Internet Boom at the turn of this century and the collapse of many companies and fortunes. I have witnessed it, been a part of it, and have thrived through it mainly by keeping my "trees": my values, my calm under pressure and my desire to learn new things. I have seen daring chances taken, even larger mistakes made and some very smart people preach to deaf ears that basic rules of design and message delivery will always apply. Through this, I have learned to value the basics, to see the "forest through the trees", to avoid the "paradigm paralysis" of just accepting the first idea and to understand that many of the "trees" I see going down around me collectively have immense value.

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THE FUTURE

New trees need to be planted.

In 1993, just before the Chicago Tribune launched it's first web page, I was fortunate enough to be seated at a luncheon table of 12 with Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, Tribune CEO Charlie Brumback and Ted Turner (among others). Mr. Turner started to wax poetic about the new age of the World Wide Web. He said one thing that has been a driving force for me ever since:

"How many times in your life do you have a chance to truly be a pioneer at something?"

To use a cliche, the web has created a new frontier. Land grabs have been made. But, very few fully understand what to do with it. My job as a designer is to help shape these ideas. I build and develop with the understanding that it will need to be built again and strive to attain that status which I know is within me - web pioneer.

*Source: The Dunes History:Saugutuck/Douglas, www.thetimmelcollection.com

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(Pictured on this site) The Pustelnik Kids show dad how to properly descend a sand dune.