Go remote! A two-word solution to all of your work-related problems right? OK… not so fast. But there is some truth to this mindset; surely you’ve heard this phrase before. Maybe you’ve said it to a friend or family member in need of a quick mental boost. Because the idea of working remotely is enough to overcome a case of the “Sundays” — you know, the dread you’ve felt from the thought of going into the office on Monday.

To be fair, plenty of people don’t mind facing the day after Sunday (shh, don’t speak its name), but that doesn’t mean they don’t value the option to work remotely. In fact, having options is the secret to creating loyal, happy, and productive team members; it’s good for everyone. It cultivates a sense of flexibility that permeates through the business.

The Iron Triangle of Employment

During his TedxRichland talk titled Remote Working Revolution, Justin Jones introduced three decisions that a person must make prior to accepting a traditional job, using the iron triangle of product development. This design principle states that you can prioritize any (and only) two of the following three results at the expense of the other: quality, time, cost.

Justin’s example, “the iron triangle of employment,” is a spin-off of a product development principle that reflects the three factors influenced by traditional jobs: where you live, where you work, and what work you do. Very rarely does a person find alignment among all three factors.

To his point, remote work empowers a person to choose their location, employer, and type of work, eliminating the need to choose between the three. When you can choose all of the factors, life is good. (Although at DN we always insert a 4th option to this equation too, that people and employers must also know their ‘why’ — but that’s another topic.)

Richard Branson and David Coplin — Remote Work

Since the creation of Designing North Studios in 2012, the team has delivered many solutions to happy clients all over the country, all without a central brick and mortar office.

Continue reading on Medium…

Have you incorporated PANTONE Living Coral into your workspace? If you haven’t, you’re not ready for 2019. It’s that simple. Why, might you ask? Well, Living Coral is more than just PANTONE’S color of the year;it’s the product of in-depth research collected by color (and psychology) professionals who searched the world (both physically and metaphorically) for relevant feedback and inspiration, even exploring distant cultures for use cases. 

What is PANTONE Living Coral?

As a result, Living Coral is said to provide “vibrancy, warmth, nourishment, buoyancy, and comfort,” all of which contribute to a sociable and lively environment — similar to the look and feel of a coral reef system, inspiration for this pinkish-orangish hue. 

(Ohhh… it all makes sense now.) 

Much like Blue Planet 2 –BBC’s unprecedented documentary on the world’s oceans — PANTONE Living Coral is to be experienced, and the team at Designing North is excited to inject this energy into our own studio. This year especially, we could all use the positivity and warmth this color provides. Good vibes only.

Yes, even you can benefit from “an infusion of modern life,” whether you work from home, a coffee shop, agency, or traditional office. Because keeping up with the times is best done by integrating a social-media-friendly color into the work environment.

Fortunately for you, this color will adjust your mood in the best way possible. Bring on the smile! And feeling of ‘I’m in a good place’ — yup, that’s how you should feel about your workspace.

We’ve laid out the reasons why PANTONE Living Coral exists and is so well liked, but that doesn’t help you incorporate the color into your workspace. For this task we turn to the studio team and Executive Creative Director Lisa Peacock.

We live by the mindset ‘there’s no detail too small,’ and nowhere is this more apparent than in our design studio. Naturally, this served as the team’s source of truth for bringing Living Coral indoors; we think it will inspire you to do the same. Here are some ideas you might not have considered previously, for incorporating PANTONE Living Coral into the workspace:

Living Coral in the Workspace

First, decide how Living Coral can accent your current workspace and provide just the right balance of color. Will it be on the desk? The wall? Or both?

Whichever you choose, why not start with a simple Living Coral notebook— printed with the appearance of a paint chip, of course. Or, there’s this weekly planneroption as well. Both place a splash of Living Coral on your desk at all times and fit within your current workflow.

Now for the wall… Have you seen this Paint Chip Calendarfrom Paper Source? It pleasantly displays hues of Living Coral as well as other complimentary pantones, and makes the workspace pop. You can also create your own calendar using Canva (it’s free!). Choose a calendar template and add Living Coral anywhere on the page, or overlay a tint on your favorite images. We promise it’s quick and easy and allows for personalization. 

It’s no secret that plants belong on every desk, in every office — including yours. Much like Pantone Living Coral, plants inject life and add a contextual element — why not mix the two. Incorporate this vibrant color into the workspace by adding this coral plant pot to your space. (Just our two cents: it looks best with a green succulent or small cactus.) We can’t help but think of the iconic pink stucco and aloe verde you find in the American Southwest. Pure harmony. 

If planting isn’t your thing, substitute the pot for a vase. This Bright Ceramicist Vase from west elmin coral is a great option. Or this glass option from World Market. These also looks great with a touch of soft green; eucalyptus or fern stems are all you need. Another option would be to purchase flowers in Living Coral, suitable for the desk or any corner of the office. There are so many florals to choose from, including roses, peonies and snapdragons. In fact, Blooms by the Boxhas an entire page of flowers (for Living Coral) to order from. It’s almost too easy!

Incorporating Living Coral into the workspace doesn’t have to be a long-term project; it can be a day-to-day decision. You have enough commitments in life, right?

A good temporary fix is Health-Ade’s new “Bubbly Rose” kombucha. It’s one the the best flavors yet (I know…  that’s subjective) and has impressive packaging to match — oh yes, it’s coral.

Simply arrange the bottle with the planner, notebook and plant — Done. You have yourself a well-curated desktop arrangement. Go ahead, do it for the gram! These “Mocktail” bottles are another creative option for infusing Living Coral into the deskspace. And they represent the light-hearted, is-it-Five O’Clock mindset. And for those who prefer a CBD variety, these sweetgrass sparkling water dropsfrom Dram are a must.

You know where else Living Coral looks great? On white walls. This accounts for the majority of workspaces across the globe. The combination balances the warmth of coral with the cool of white, providing balance for the eyes and mind. But wait.

But wait.

This isn’t just creative banter; it’s us encouraging you to put some art on the walls of your workspace. A quick search online for Living Coral art turned up results, but few compelled a purchase. So we turned to Etsy and found this pleasant piece of geometric Living Coral art. We see the sun surrounded by rolling red rocks (maybe Arizona or Utah), what about you?

Color psychology is real. Very real. It’s a communication tool and so much more: moods and feelings can be conjured up based on a certain color, where it’s seen and how it fits — or doesn’t — with the surrounding environment.

In fact, Pantone’s researchers travel the world just to see color in its natural environment. Some, such as Living Coral, are so special that it’s shared with the public for consumption. And it’s safe to say this year’s choice is welcomed by many. Most importantly, Living Coral is a perfect addition to the workspace. With just the right dosage, it will brighten your day — from the walls to the desk.

If you have ideas on how to incorporate Living Coral in the workspace, we’d love to hear them.

Tag us on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn; we’ll share with our design friends.

Discovery

First Orion was building products with passion. They were on a mission to tackle the large-scale epidemic of scam and robocalls to consumer mobile phones. But you wouldn’t know it from their website or their messaging.

During the discovery process, as we learned more about First Orion, we realized that all of their differentiators were not coming through in their online presence.

First, they are filled with real data scientists creating the algorithms that allow their specialists to analyze the data around the scam and epidemic of robocalls. Which, let’s face it, is real superhero stuff. And like any good superhero, being authentic about their mission, especially for a company like First Orion, is truly about ‘sharing what’s “under the cape.” And what’s under there is not just the data and the knowledge, it’s a palpable drive coming from their team to protect people. We felt it during discovery; the people at First Orion displayed a sense of passion for protecting us. Just as we communicated a passion to craft a solution for their current problem: an outdated digital presence, lacking a story, lacking a customer journey with these superheroes.

There wasn’t a person at FO that didn’t express a true desire to do the right thing. It was refreshing to see such autonomy around ethical decision making. They could see all the data, all the bad actors trying every second to get through to our phones, unrelenting, and it was so inspiring to unearth this amazing commitment to be part of the change, part of this kind of ‘protection team.’

The Design Challenge

Content is the biggest challenge for every project. But we have techniques to organize process. We introduced something new to our process this time called ‘priority guides’ that allowed the client team to not get distracted with visuals and really focus on the content and message. The design team was then able to mock-up wires with real content vs. your standard latin placeholder. It’s a hard technique, because most people can be very visual — but it forces everyone to read.

In terms of the First Orion voice, it flowed well for us after our interviews in discovery. There is quiet confidence, a humble pride, and a heartfelt knowledge that comes across from everyone. It was important for people to know that First Orion knows their stuff, they are careful with data, but that it’s all wrapped in a good sense of polite Arkansas humor. It makes you what you are: approachable. And this is what the new content communicates.

The ‘Aha! Moment’ — Yes, we had it

The Aha moment was the combination of our initial ‘superhero’ idea for website launch 1.0 combined with the transparency visualization. That everything coming through the phone would be in full color (or transparent) if your mobile carrier chose FO as their protection partner. Hence all the main areas of the website showing full color via the phone, black and white/blue-tint everywhere else. Illustrated well with the home video where a phone is being waved over a crowd of people seeing only color via the phone screen — and every other customer being protected with the FO logo on their phone.

Soon after we felt the superhero emerge for us as a creative team. We drew a cape on one of the data scientists, because we had written that heroics were emerging from their product line. From there, we were inspired to move away from showing real devices with real product shots, and we just sketched. The telecom space is crowded; everyone looked the same. We wanted to introduce simplicity but ensure that FO stood out from the crowd… We were moved by the First Orion mission statement and subsequent tagline (Transparency in Communication) to illustrate transparency and what that really meant. This led to our idea of the phone becoming a trusted source again, where in full color, you could see who is calling and why.

A unique truth to this project: it was the client that inspired us most. They are superheroes, but not in a goofy way. Their “powers for good” are understated and authentic — like a sketch or doodle you make on a piece of paper. Because when you’re sketching or doodling, truth emerges. And we think the truth is pretty hip. So ‘hip’ just came naturally — feedback we received directly from First Orion upon launch: “The new website feels decidedly more hip than a traditional corporate website.”

Favorite Design Element

We love the subtlety of the cape. You find it in a few places; it covers (no pun intended) a few themes. It symbolizes that First Orion, carriers, businesses, consumers: we are all superheroes in this fight against mobile scam, robo, and spoof calls. Coming together is what makes us stronger. But it also illustrates that unlike many data companies who may have something to hide. First Orion wants you to see what’s under the cape. This aligns with their mission of Transparency In Communication — so the cape does its job in many aspects.

“We’re a hip, progressive, start-up company with a flair for creativity, said Traci Campbell, Corporate Marketing Manager for First Orion. “We’re packed full of professional and smart people, but we don’t need our voice to be overtly corporate.” The friendly style, tone and language begins to create a cohesive “First Orion persona” across all our digital marketing efforts, including social.” The cape is the perfect symbol for this message. But this benevolent character is non-fictional, and their powers help create super consumers.

The Final Product

It speaks to each audience uniquely now. What First Orion is to a mobile carrier is different for a mobile consumer. We crafted numerous journeys to the right message, the right product, the right information on how to be a part of this ‘superhero league’ in support of First Orion’s quest for complete transparency.

We met them and considered them true heroes in this battle. And believed they were truly fighting for us. So we positioned them as the heroes we knew them to be, succinctly explained why to each of their very important audiences, and hit the launch button so they could share their story everywhere.

Of course, the client always gets the last word: “FirstOrion.com has undergone a complete makeover, thanks to our own Corporate Product Marketing Team and the brilliant folks at Designing North Studios. They have worked countless hours to give a new look and feel to the website, designed in mind to speak to each of our unique audiences. The combined team put together a concept that paints our employees as the superheroes of call transparency, tirelessly crusading for justice against spam, scam, and robocalls and battling for people to trust their phones again.”

Sharing her feedback on the redesign, Traci Campbell said, “The new site gives First Orion a fresh persona in the marketing world. It also got into the nitty-gritty of what First Orion provides to carriers, businesses, and consumers. This new space will allow us to provide more information to each of our customers in a way that speaks directly to them and lets us showcase our products in a new and exciting way.”

About Designing North Studios:

Designing North Studios is an interactive design studio focused on digital solutions for web, mobile, and branding initiatives. Our mindset: attention to small UX extras makes for big UX impact. A bit different than your average agency, we were started by UX designers and can engage in a project as a team (Hire-A-Team) — or you can rent one of ‘ours’ (Rent-A-Star) for yours. If you have a project you’d like to discuss or are in need of a *designing north star* for your existing team, give us a buzz or shoot us an email.

When you freelance for a living (that is, a paycheck isn’t guaranteed every two weeks), leaving your client with a positive lasting impression is critical to your success. And when you are responsible for sourcing new work, reputation is everything, worth its weight in gold. So how you approach projects and interact with clients matters. It’s part of your brand, and serves as the foundation of your brand equity. But what if we told you our approach to success was really just a different way of thinking, one that fosters extra effort no matter the circumstance — Would you want to see it in action?

We call it the Designing North mindset, and it goes a little something like this:

Some people add a little extra to everything they do. They perform north of expectation with a focus on — and appreciation for the small details. By celebrating the small, they illustrate the belief that being a hover above ordinary has a larger, cumulative effect on good work.

As a design studio we celebrate them: she is; he is; they are — Designing North. The only question we have is, “Are you?”

A bit different than your average agency, we were started by UX designers and can engage in a project as a team (Hire-A-Team) — or you can rent one of ‘ours’ (Rent-A-Star) for your project. Of course, this position carries significant responsibility to uncover the right people for each and every project. This is where ‘the mindset’ reveals its merit, time and time again.

The nature of our work demands a continuous quest for those with this mindset, and in doing so we uncover the people adding a little extra to the world around them. Using their thinking and action as an example, let’s see what ‘the mindset’ looks like in its purest form so you can think about how you might position yourself a hover above the rest in your line of work and in life.

Linked Foundation

Dorothy Largay

She is* a techno-philanthropist on a mission to change the lives of women living in poverty in Latin America. But don’t let the diminutive figure of former director of worldwide leadership development at Apple, Inc. fool you. Because of Dorothy’s Linked Foundation and its dynamic partners, thousands of women and their families now have access to basic health needs through their rural pharmacy models.

After receiving a ‘windfall,’ both she and her husband, former Google Vice President of Engineering Wayne Rosing, decided to focus their talents and treasure on the things that interested them most. For Dorothy, that meant launching sustainable and scalable health initiatives in Latin America, and for Wayne, it meant developing a global network of telescopes to advance astronomy. Dorothy treated the foundation like a start-up. It was 24/7 in the beginning, but is now chugging smoothly along, thanks to hard work, a great team, learning from mistakes, and sharing successes.

“My husband and I have a very nice life, but we wanted to keep it simple – uncomplicated. We didn’t want to spend our time managing our ‘things’. That has zero interest to me – too much complexity. We were excited about the potential to make real change in our own lifetimes.”

Check out more on Linked Foundation’s initiatives here.

Cafe Momentum

Chad Houser

“Come for the mission, stay for the food…”

That is the tagline for Café Momentum, a new american restaurant in downtown Dallas, TX. What sets this restaurant apart is its founder Chad Houser, and his purpose: “I take kids out of jail and teach them to play with knives and fire – and make the community better.”

Café Momentum’s staff is composed mainly by boys and young men who previously served time at a detention facility for nonviolent juvenile offenders. During a 12-month, post-release internship they earn $10 per hour while gaining experience in all aspects of the restaurant business.

The restaurant also includes a classroom where the interns receive instruction on skills such as financial literacy, anger management, art, and social media.

“It’s not just about giving these young men a job,” Houser says. “It’s about creating a holistic environment where they can be immersed in all the tools and resources they need to be successful in life, which extends far beyond working at a job.” “I’ve been told every reason why it won’t work, everything from ‘these kids will never show up, these kids can’t cook this food, restaurants constantly fail’… over and over and over and over again,” said Houser in his original promotional video. “Someone has to believe in these kids. Might as well be me!”

Since its opening two years ago, Cafe Momentum has garnished a 4.9 star rating and even earned a grant from a youth opportunity fund to help provide opportunities for more young adults.

MeWater Foundation

Eddie Donnellan and Tim Gras

Eddie and Tim’s friendship began as two teenagers surfing the San Francisco coastline together. Not only was the Bay Area their home but it also provided an escape from the challenges they faced in life. Many surfers are drawn to this sport for its thrill while others enjoy the competition. For Eddie and Tim it was different, less personal and more about harnessing the healing power of the ocean to eventually share with others.

Into their professional careers the duo worked together at the Edgewood Center For Children and Families, in the mental health field. It was here where they witnessed how the simple things in life had a transformative effect on troubled children who were labeled as “lost hope youth.”  Things that we take for granted, like access to the ocean and mother nature were eye-opening experiences for their patients – even life changing. Both Eddie and Tim never lost hope, no matter the circumstances of the child.

With a strong belief in their work, Eddie and Tim decided to channel their passion for helping others to create the MeWater Foundation – a program to inspire, educate and empower youth as well as their families. In their eyes, they owe it all to nature. Whether it be the ocean or the mountains, they spend their days exposing children to the outdoors, away from the hardships of inner city life. The mentorship they get from MeWater uncovers an emotional intelligence that these youth would otherwise never find. They begin to develop social skills they never knew existed — A life changing moment.

Kim Skarritt

Kim Skarritt, once a professional canine problem solver, is the proud owner and facilitator of Silver Muzzle Cottage. Here, in Northern Michigan, Kim and a small team of supporters run this 501(c)3 as a hospice care center for older dogs that have nowhere else to go. Other than the shelter, of course. But we all know that a shelter is no place for a dog, especially an old one living out its last days.

“We feel they deserve more, that they shouldn’t die alone in a cage. They deserve love and dignity in their final days, months and years. We’re dedicated to the rescue, adoption and lifelong care of these senior dogs.” – Silver Muzzle Cottage

Kim’s mission began while running Bowsers By The Bay, the only 100% cage-free boarding and social rehab facility on Northern Michigan. As her training facility grew, Kim started connecting with local shelters, where she learned just how many old dogs were abandoned or overlooked. Even left on the roadside in some instances.    

Although Kim understood the difficulties of caring for older dogs, she still couldn’t live with the thought of loving animals, loyal to the human beings kicked to the curb.

As Kim explains it, Many people will say “I just don’t think I could do it – I couldn’t take on a senior, knowing I would lose them so soon.”

But Kim and her team approaches these situations with a slightly more positive mindset, one that is capable of solving this all-too-common problem.

That was the only motivation she needed to do something about this problem; Silver Muzzle Cottage was born. Fast forward two years and Kim is still making a significant impact in her community. Don’t take our word for it. Check out the Silver Muzzle Cottage Facebook Page to see the cute faces that have come through her doors. Who doesn’t love a heartwarming story of human kindness towards animals, to brighten the day.

Coral Restoration Foundation

Ken Nedimyer

Ken Nedimyer has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to diving in the waters off the Florida coastline. Year after year, he watched as the area’s coral reefs begin to die, one after another. When the reefs died, the fish disappeared, abandoning the only environment they called home. Across the entire globe, coral reefs occupy less than one quarter of 1% of the marine environment, yet they are home to 25% of all fish species. Understanding the science, and therefore the problem at hand, Ken decided to dedicate his life to regenerating coral through farming.

In a recent interview with Great Big Story, Ken Nedimyer explained his simple reasoning for becoming a coral farmer, “ I’m tired of watching it die, I need to do something about it.”

It all began with the idea of propagating staghorn coral in an offshore nursery. It’s often difficult to cross the threshold of idea versus action, but Ken passion for reefs was too great to be hindered by skeptics. He “dove” in head first, starting with his underwater garden. And just like a traditional roadside farm, Ken learned to follow specific seasons: one optimal for planting and the other, harvesting.    

Pretty quickly, Ken gathered help from his family and friends to begin scaling his efforts. And this became the basis for the Coral Restoration Foundation. Astonishingly, Ken and his team are planting twenty to twenty-five thousand reef fragments a year. Something that many critics said could never be done. Ken is living proof that a little passion and hardwork can go a very long way. But he isn’t one to boast his success. Rather, he has a more humble way of looking at it: “another day, another coral.”

Chris Malloy

Like his brothers Keith and Dan, Chris Malloy started on the scene as a traveling surfer with a knack for big waves — his success eventually landed him a spot in the 2006 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. As if that wasn’t enough adrenaline for a lifetime, Chris also completed multiple expeditions across the globe.

Perhaps Chris Malloy is even more synonymous with adventure films. After all, he did produce nearly two dozen, many of which were well-regarded among the filmmaking ranks. After achieving fame in the action-sports industry and experiencing many parts of the world, Chris decided to focus his future on values such as simplicity, tradition, creativity, sustainability and conservation. He now resides on a ranch in Lompoc, CA with his kids and wife, Carla. In their transition to a more sustainable life, Chris and Carla have become ambassadors for a “food movement” — teaching others how to consciously choose sustainable food sources while questioning the origin of market bought goods. They even travel the state teaching others about their findings and physically showing people how their local communities can be the best solution for healthy, freshly grown food.

After traveling for months on end to better understand the latest problems in the agriculture business, Chris Malloy partnered with Patagonia Provisions for his latest documentary, Unbroken Ground. The short film highlights four main food-production problems in the United States (and more importantly, the brilliant minds working against the status quo to design a solution) that all pose a very serious threat to the safety of our environment (and the world’s environment), health of our communities, and ability to feed the ever-growing population. These thought leaders are confident that their work is designing more sustainable methods for food production; they are the ones dedicated to current problems that often remain outside of our influence: regenerative agriculture, restorative grazing, new crop development and selective-harvest fishing.

These are the people behind the movement:

Wes Jackson of The Land Institute

Dr. Stephen Jones of Washington State University Bread Lab

Dan and Jill O’Brien of Cheyenne River Ranch

Ian Kirouac, Keith Carpenter, and Riley Starks of Lummi Island Wild

Haven’t Seen Unbroken Ground? Watch it Here (25 minutes long):

https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/pages/unbroken-ground

We recently had the pleasure of Joining Chris and his family for a viewing of Unbroken Ground, followed with a Q&A on the journey he took during the film. The event, hosted by The Ecology Center of San juan Capistrano, California, brought the local community together for a sampling of food harvested onsite and a think-tank on how ‘we,’ as a community, can adapt our habits (eating and purchasing) to support regenerative-food production while restoring the environment.  

But even more important, is the reality that farmers, fishermen, landowners, store owners, and consumers can all share the benefits associated with ‘smart’ eating choices that benefit ‘our’ planet. We salute Chris, his mindset and his effort to bring like-minded people together for the cause.

The Takeaway

You don’t need to go big to have an impact. And you certainly don’t need to be extraordinary to find success in the long run. Instead, approach your work and relationships with a mindset that *hovers just above*, one that motivates you to always give *a little extra effort* and *delivers just a bit more* than what’s expected. Small goes a long way. This is the sweet spot we can all find with the designing north mindset, a simple way of thinking beyond mediocrity and meeting expectations that rewards those who adopt it entirely. In essence, when looking to impress clients, don’t be what occurs most; be a permanent reference point for what is desired. You won’t be forgotten.

*designing north* : it’s not a location, it’s a mindset.

As a boy growing up in the 60’s, the vision of leather-clad bikers whose only nod to safety was an apparent paper machè helmet, pushing their bikes to seemingly interstellar limits filled me with intrigue and abject terror. I never found the grease and dirt of the ‘Rockers’ to be that appealing. In fact, I was more attracted to the clean-cut ‘Mods,’ but motorcycles in all of their stripped bare glory were the things of wonder. I marveled at the riders’ willingness to take a perfectly fine Triumph Trophy and pull bits off of it in a quest to drop weight. I was in awe of their nonchalant chopping, welding, and improvising to achieve that ‘ton-up’ machine.

However, I was too young, too broke, and too scared that I’d indelibly change the motorcycle to get beyond a dream.

The term “Ton-Up Boy” may have been lost to the ages. It defined a rank assigned to young men who straddled stripped down, borderline Burlesque British bikes and hurtled themselves towards (and often beyond) the magic 100 mph through the streets of London. Blurred streaks of black leather, dripping grease and belching smoke in a race from the Ace Cafe to the to Hanger Lane roundabout and back–to a plate of egg and chips.

The Project

Skip forward many years of owning and riding motorcycles, acquiring mechanical and technical knowledge that could at least get me started from the side of the road (pending inevitable failure), and my thoughts returned to the ‘Ton-Up’ dream. Obviously achieving the magical “ton” nowadays is less of an accomplishment than putting your underwear on correctly, but locating a motorcycle that resembled the “ton up” machines of my youth provided a happy challenge. And building one was, to me at least, the final act after years spent gluing plastic model kits together.  

I spent some months scouring the internet for information on building a Cafe Racer. There’s a lot of info, I mean shit loads, and determining the best advice whether it was written by Jethro the hammer wielding yokel or Slick Jimmy’s Custom Foot Peg Emporium was a significant task. Companies like Ryca Motors sell awesome kits for you to quickly create your dream Cafe Racer but I wasn’t ready for anything remotely as professional just yet. I eventually pulled enough information together to create a vision of my project bike and how I might achieve it.

Fortune came my way via my good friend Rey Sotelo of Hollister Power Sports. I purchased an Indian Chief Vintage from Rey a few years back and never regretted the decision. Rey knew I was in the market for a donor bike and offered me a deal on older Triumph Legend TT, which had been received on a trade-in. A sit-up-and-beg cruiser wasn’t the most obvious donor choice for my cafe racer project but it was cheap so it meant that I didn’t care if my hammering, slashing and slobbering screwed the bike into oblivion. At a minimum I would gain some experience and most importantly, confidence.

So without a blueprint, clear project plan, or 50% of the tools I needed, I set about transforming a 1999 Triumph Cruiser into a rat-stripped Cafe Racer for my own sheer indulgence and pleasure.

The Build

Not only did the internet (kudos to Jethro) provide great project information, but without it I would never have been able to find the parts and equipment I needed for the build (what the hell did we do before Tim Berners Lee?). I am still blown away that I can lounge on the sofa and surf a catalog of parts from 2WheelPros.com or find assembly diagrams at Pandoras, hit a button and a friendly delivery service drops the bits at my door. Without companies like Texavina who not only hand made my new saddle but most importantly had the originally seat pan models to ensure a ‘true’ fit, I would have been screwed.

Skip forward again a few months and while I don’t think the bike will ever truly be finished, I do have a working manifestation of the vision I set out to achieve. It’s never going to be a concours d’elegance entry (even for my pre-industrial revolution eye it’s a bit rough around the edges), but it’s a rideable accomplishment that I would sooner massage my nether regions with a cheese grater than wind it up to the magic ton, but it runs and looks good enough and I did it on my own. Now what?

The Purpose: Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. And The Movember Foundation is the largest funder of prostate cancer programs in the world. Additionally, prostate cancer only affects men, as women do not have a prostate gland. Risk factors in developing the disease include:

Age: The older a man, the more likely he is to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. If you’re 50 or over, chat with your doctor about PSA testing.

Family History : A man with a father or brother who developed prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease. If you’re 45 or over and prostate cancer is in your family, you should strike up the conversation about PSA testing with your doctor.

Ethnicity: Prostate cancer has an increased occurrence in men of African and Afro-Caribbean descent.

For more information on prostate cancer including symptoms, testing, treatment options, and support resources, head over to the ‘men’s health’ section on Movember.com.

The Purpose: Suicide Prevention

3 out of 4 suicides are men. And 510,000 men die from suicide globally each year — That’s one every minute. This has to change.

The causes of suicide are complex. There’s no single reason why men take their own lives, but we do know that by improving overall mental health we can reduce the risk of suicide. We need to address untreated mental health conditions among men.

Too many men are toughing it out and struggling alone. There’s no shame in checking in your own mental wellbeing, and those close to around you. Our friends over at Movember have produced some handy guides that might help take the sting out of broaching the subject.

The Goal: Ride my Bike and Make a Difference

Early in 2018 I read about the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. A group of “…distinguished gentlefolk in over 650 cities worldwide will don their cravats, tustle their ties, press their tweed, and sit astride their classic and vintage styled motorcycles to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and men’s mental health.” To date, the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride has raised $4.85 million to support these causes while looking good at the same time.

Now I’ll admit that I’ve been a Mumford & Sons fan since first seeing them appear with Bob Dylan and the Avett Brothers at the 2011 Grammy’s, so the perhaps tenuous tie-in between the well-heeled motorcyclists of DGR, the Mumford-esque feel of the event and Marcus Mumford’s own passion for bikes prompted me to actually do something with my new creation (the Cafe Racer). I have almost convinced myself that I built the bike for such an event. It looks like it was made for it. This shabby, half-arsed project might just complete its life by actually doing some good. This wasn’t something I set out to do. Shit, my only intention was to build a rad bike. But in realizing a worthy end to the project it both closes the build and opens a door to give hope for someone, somewhere, to live longer. And I feel damn good about that. I know it’s not the intention, but it feels a little like I’ll be supporting this great cause and simultaneously fulfilling my Cafe-Racer dream while dressed up as Don Draper.

Pretentious? perhaps.

But if you want to show your support for a well intentioned Mumford-biker-wanna-be then please donate here: https://www.gentlemansride.com/rider/NigelPeacock

Story by: Nigel Peacock

As one of the NFL’s most prolific leaders, Aaron Rogers said it best, “Surround yourself with really good people. Because the people you surround yourself with are a reflection of you.”

The application of this message for your life may be slightly different than Aaron’s, but the end result remains the same: the people you pick will largely influence your success in life, including the levels of happiness you experience — so pick’em wisely.

From Aaron’s football field in Green Bay (with ten other teammates) to our design studio in the San Francisco Bay Area (with an ensemble of creatives), we believe the most influential factor in determining success is choosing the right people: the people you work with, partner with, and associate with.

It’s a mindset we carry into every client project, using it to make “game-time” decisions: do we go for it — or not? Do we submit the proposal — or direct our attention elsewhere?

Rarely does it fail us.

Because (in the words of legendary NFL coach Don Shula) “The one thing that I know is that you win with good people.”

So, using our mindset as guidance, let’s take a look at what it means to pick your people.

Who You Work With

Success doesn’t occur in a closed work environment. Remote or on-site, cultivating a functional team that jives is dependent on laying the initial foundation: choosing the right people.

And more often than not, this choice aligns with a specific mission statement. That is, you choose to work with individuals who align with the company purpose — and/or — business culture.

For example, Patagonia employees are hyper-involved with the recruitment of new team members, often inquiring about one’s interest in the environment and sustainability, even asking prospective team members to consider the footprint of their application materials — the potential waste involved.

If you read Patagonia’s mission statement (“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis’), you can see why they have been successful over the years: pick good people and let those people choose who they want to work with.

As the Executive Creative Director for Designing North Studios, Lisa Peacock is viewed as the architect for the current team of designers, strategists, and creatives that all work together today. But we must reiterate, this didn’t happen in a vacuum.

When selecting her starting team, Lisa relied on the designing north mindset to guide her through the growth process:

“It takes dedication, commitment, and most importantly, really good people to make a design studio tick” she says.

“I always knew that the people I was looking for to work at Designing North Studios would be my Designing North Stars.”

Finding these people, attracting them, and creating a studio environment wouldn’t have been possible without a shared purpose: really good people coming together and displaying their talents, and delighting clients in the process.

To this day, our studio members add a little extra to everything they do — it’s who they are. Their career, how they live, the relationships they nurture — it’s all influenced by delivering results just north of expectation, embracing the small details throughout any process.

This approach, believe it or not, really does add happiness, success, peace, and love to the global experience — which for us, is the biggest UX of all.

Who you Work for

Whether choosing who you work with — or for — the premise remains constant: it’s important to pick your people. Remember, your success depends on it.

Speaking to the strength of today’s most successful companies, the ability to inspire employees around a mission is a powerful tool. In fact, this messaging helps influence a person’s choice with regard to employment or collaboration.

Similarly, this inspiration often permeates throughout an industry, reaching potential partners, clients, and firms who are out there searching for ideal work — and people.

In essence, they’ve learned to choose who they complete work for, connecting the dots between happiness and success by way of affiliation, fulfillment and satisfaction — a result of associating with like-minded, purpose-driven people.

Hipcamp showcases this mindset flawlessly: Reviewing their checklist for prospective talent, the first — and most crucial — bullet point reads:

“As a team, we’re committed to striving toward and evolving these shared values in ourselves and in other team members.”

Through this lens, working for an employer versus client may share more similarities than previously thought.

In both scenarios, a conscious choice is made to spend significant time working; choosing people, teams or companies that strongly align with your values offer the reward of time well spent, elevating the human experience.

Your human experience.

Using our studio example, choosing a project (who we do work for) is an extension of who we choose to work with as individuals — those who relish in the small details and strive to deliver effort that’s a hover above expectation. Values, mindset, and even subject matter all deserve attention when making this decision.

We know from experience: Alignment with a client’s mission equates to optimal engagement and communication, the pinnacle of choosing who we do work for, especially in the journey-crafting business. Essentially, we look for that mindset in all directions, be it freelance talent or the ideal client.

Our best partners, for example, understand world challenges; are dedicated to the future of education; and are passionate about heading in the right direction — their projects reflect this ideology.

Others have been voted the most ethical companies by industry and peers.

Some even challenge traditional business norms in order to lift entire communities from poverty. It’s all really good work that deserves to be supported with passion and commitment from fellow believers. That’s us!

Ultimately, choosing who receives your time and energy can significantly impact your feelings of success. Money aside, it’s an opportunity to enrich the human experience with a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and belonging.

If you are like us, you want more of this. Not just for yourself, but for others as well.

Who is in Your Network

Interconnectedness. Support. Opportunity. Exposure. Everyone wants it, but few know where to find it. And crafting the right network is a crucial step towards experiencing personal and professional success.

Fortunately, personal and professional networks function to serve the people who maintain their existence — you! Of course, networks require cultivation — and grow best when crafted with care and intention, with a greater-good value proposition.

We aren’t the first to proclaim the importance of networking for a successful career. In fact, current research reinforces the importance of face-to-face networking for career growth.

Even with a plethora of technology tools, the human component remains most valuable. However, if you expect your network to have your back, there’s one factor you should pay extra attention to: the people!

That’s right, a network is only of value if you can build it with the right people.

But how do you decide who is right for your network? Well, why not start by looking to the people you choose to work with — and for. Chances are good they know exactly where you need to be networking.

As creatives living with the mindset, many of us share ties to the same networks embedded within the digital design industry.

Past jobs, current friends, old co-workers, etc., they all shape who we are in the present and influence who we will become in the future.

That’s the beauty of cultivating a network reflective of your true values and interests: It’s always working for you — much like smart investing.

However, pursuing interests by way of networking will present person challenges. Always keep your eyes peeled, there are limitless temptations of money, greed, and fame within various industries these days.

Take the tech startup community, for example. From hidden agendas to a plethora of funding channels, it’s not uncommon to witness the suppression of values in the name of making investors smile.

It’s OK to be stubborn.

It’s OK to be picky.

It’s OK to vet before welcoming new members — it’s your network! And it’s “health” depends on you. So be patient. Cultivate and curate on a regular basis.

Collaboratively, we branch out to meet new people, learn of new opportunities, and even cross digital borders, accessing other communities of interest; let’s say from a design community to a primarily tech community, for example.

If your visualizing an imaginary “jump” from one social channel to another — let’s say, instagram to LinkedIn or Twitter to Vimeo — you are spot-on.

Each community brings new introductions and opportunities for connecting with good people. People chosen by you.

From the American Marketing Association (AMA) to the Professional Association for Design (AIGA) to Dribble, Behance, and even LinkedIn, these communities shape the larger network we associate and interact with — and call our own. These are the people we choose to associate with.

Designers of various disciplines (UX, UI, XD, IxD), Illustrators, graphic artists, writers, videographers, creative directors, etc., all form the design “arm” of our individual networks.

Similarly, each person may have complimentary network extensions created with connections from previous employers and friendships.

Using the studio for reference, part of Lisa’s network may offer consistent resources in the form of design projects for the team to work on, while that of a team member may uncover new freelancers to join the team, further growing the studio’s presence.

Their titles may only identify their outer layer (what we see on paper) but their work and communication symbolizes what lies beneath. A mindset for success.

Picking your people is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions you will make in life. Viewed as an opportunity to control destiny, this responsibility is ongoing, surfacing every time new relationships are made.

Who you work with, who you work for — or complete work for — and who you form a network with all play an active role in shaping what success looks like for your life. If you haven’t figured it out yet, people are the second most influential component of your life.

The first is you.

So go ahead, get out there and choose wisely.

Your future-successful-self will thank you.

Can you really know what you like or dislike if you haven’t experienced ‘it’?

We like to think we can, and often, we convince ourselves that we have the answers for questions to what we ‘should’ be or ‘want’ to be doing for our careers. But when this vision is finally realized, the expectation of excitement and fulfillment is nowhere to be found.  

There’s a good explanation for this feeling or lack thereof: the importance of the ‘it’ too often is overlooked; stripped of its magic as we are conditioned (by the education system) to use research and personality tests as the “governing body” over our professional, and subsequently, personal success in life.

Whether it’s our own fault for simply being human — using our brains to over think our situation — or it’s at the hands of an outdated education system (many institutions are designing innovative solutions to this problem), the education versus work experience conundrum isn’t any easier to solve today than it was ten years ago, and this isn’t a problem we can shrug off.

A better way to learn?

In a conversation with our Executive Creative Director at Designing North Studios, Lisa Peacock, she reminded me of important conversations already happening throughout the higher-education arena, some of which are also being discussed within design fields.

One such conversation, as she explained,“How do we transform learning? Not just so young students don’t waste personal time when they set off on a pre-determined path, but also so that we can educate more people (beyond a residential experience) in the right way (experientially, via distance, collaborative learning, etc) to also solve problems that are becoming increasingly more and more complex as we evolve: the planet, our political system, racism, poverty, war, etc… If higher education doesn’t figure it out (leaving many capable minds for solving such problems behind) there will be no personal time loss to worry about — Life on this planet will be lost.”

Public or private, a university is a business; I get it; I have been a “customer” myself, and am a “customer” this very moment. Yet, the majority of the professors I have come to know well don’t teach for earning potential — they do it for the reward of working with students and serving as SMEs (subject matter experts) in their field. And to this day (seven years later) they continue to develop forward-thinking programs based on producing ‘experienced’ graduates; they are taking the education process one step further than previous generation educators, or better yet, pioneering new methods for students to overcome the challenges of adapting to what life ‘really’ looks like after school.

Should they really have to take matters into their own hands? Sure, to some extent it’s their job, but I see the corporation and executive board sharing in this responsibility with professors — adequate budget and technology tools should come with the gig. Still, when discussing the idea of introducing integrated learning programs based on real-world working demands, the common response is doubt induced by small budgets and staff.   

What’s even more interesting, these professors I observe aren’t working on projects to help students determine what they are good at, and what they find most interesting about their field of study. Instead, they are asking students to physically enter the real world (business arenas across the globe, often in a virtual presence) and identify opportunities that aren’t being met or can be improved upon. From here, skills of interest can be developed into a toolkit that transcends many fields.Furthermore, they are sending their students down a “road of discovery,” where the destination provides clarity on what they ‘actually’ want to do in contrast with what they ‘believed’ they wanted to do. What a concept!

WHAT IF learning on the job was more closely connected with time in school rather than in the workforce; an internship consumed 4-5 years (across multiple disciplines) rather than just one summer. This could provide students with the time needed to make more polished decisions without being coerced into a curriculum based on traditional constraints associated with school: time, money, grades, job outlook etc…

The frustration felt by professors who fixate on a single-specialization approach must be challenging. Given today’s disruption-prone workforce, I imagine they often reconnect with past students who don’t report back with stories of success, positivity, and progression. We can’t all receive a trophy like our beloved parents once promised, but that doesn’t discredit the time and hard work educators dedicate to producing successful graduates. It doesn’t have to be this way, we can design a more successful system geared around realistic preparation.

Visualizing a model for success

Now more than ever — with the millennial generation placing greater emphasis on soul-searching — the model for a ‘successful graduate,’ ready to tackle what life has coming, must be made more clear and beneficial to the many young learners chasing their dreams… or so they think.

We must also not forget the old model — law school was a great example. It used to be common for big firms to recruit graduates from fancy programs and offer irresistible salaries while billing them out to clients. This lasted until clients realized they were paying top dollar for untrained lawyers; the model had to change thereafter, once the big firms began losing business to smaller ones who provided more qualified resources.

I believe current learning models can be shaped by making slight tweaks to experiential learning. It’s no different than the first five years in the workforce, except you get paid to try new things rather than pay to learn about what you might later want to try, and if that doesn’t work out, well too bad, pay off your loans, go back, and learn about something else you might want to try. Shouldn’t students at least pay to actively try the many/few subjects that interest them, checking some off as they go while also uncovering skills that might otherwise remain buried by the pressure of discontent and fear? This is undoubtedly what the current model breeds — just ask five random people what they do for a living, and follow that up with asking what they would rather be doing for a living. I’m confident the two answers will be in misalignment.

I call it the “pick it and stick with it” approach. It’s not working. It hasn’t worked for decades.

The constraints of time and competition are leveraged to corral pre-professionals into “choosing” their path forward in society. Again, as a current paying customer (grad-student), I see experiential learning across multiple fields to discover what makes us “tick” as a superior approach to strategic selection based on what’s realistic and in alignment with personality, grades, background, and let’s not forget, affordability — queue the phone call to dad, ring-ring-ring: “hello. “ Hi dad, I think I want to go to med school… research says I would make a great doctor.”  

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as “learning through reflection on doing. — Purdue University

I’m confident an institution-wide shift in mindset — with processes following behind — towards embracing discovery among students’ interests and imaginations will lead to a more effective population of young professionals entering the workforce. Speaking from what I learned along my journey, I met more people who were constantly searching for what could be, or what’s next. Very few people were excited with the present, and I attribute this to a fear of failure, a side effect to specialization too early in one’s career. Once you accept that you only fit into one small nook of the workforce, it’s easy to close yourself off from the plethora of knowledge and opportunity out there.  

There’s no good reason why working and living can’t go hand-in-hand… in harmony. But hope is on the way: shiny-bright lights are beaming down through the clouds with the help of the modern-education leaders who agree with my perspective on experiencing to learn rather than learning to experience. In fact, one in particular has curated a group of professionals from a similar educational/professional background to mentor his upcoming senior class: we will be guiding them through the transition phase of student to workforce-team member, and sharing the ‘experiences’ we recorded during our journey while equipping them with the tools and knowledge we wished we had just five or six years ago — I like to call this “paying it forward,” or “sending the elevator back down.”

There has to be more to the work experience than this.

This is a thought that has been repeated far too many times in my young career. And I’m not alone on this island. In fact, the majority of my previous coworkers and current friends share this perspective, they too are spending more time ‘searching’ rather than living. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You see, we’ve come to agree on one thing: without experiencing something you don’t know with certainty whether or not it’s a good fit. And this mindset works both ways: there are plenty of undiscovered interests and talents in this world that are hidden simply due to lack of exposure. This theory resembles the way most kids are raised in the U.S. : parents enlist them in as many sports leagues as possible, allowing them to discover where they belong, and what they can derive happiness.

When I talk with fellow peers who, like me, are living out the last years of their twenties (I know, it’s terrifying), we frequently joke about getting ‘older’ and entering the age of no return: 30 — Yikes! Mentioning this is usually followed with a deep sigh.

It’s not the hesitation of tacking on an additional year to my age that scares me, but rather the concept of time running out before I gather enough experiences to identify my ‘it’ — ideal form of professional contribution or body of defining work. I have learned  about what I really don’t like and definitely don’t want to do. Looking back, I recognize missed opportunity that proved to be too “risky” at the time.

Have an open mind; allow new ways of thinking to influence the direction of your life, you will be happier person for it.

The post-college years should be a time of exploration and discovery in the professional world. Before family or a mortgage, you should feel justified in experimenting with career paths. But be prepared to fail, start over, and fail again — failure is a sign that you are actively designing. It’s OK to run into challenges right out of the gate — remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint.

At the current rate of change among companies, you will likely need to be good at many things to maintain a healthy career.

Current systems do in fact facilitate failure, and for some reason this is still viewed with negativity. Rather than manage success rates, it would be more productive to prepare professionals for what comes next: the getting back up and try something different part.

This is what you learn in your late twenty to early thirties (if you’re being honest with yourself). It’s the ‘I wasn’t expecting this part of life’ when the shortcomings of the education industry become transparent. So much is learned and achieved when the big-life plan fizzles out before it “booms,” but of course, you don’t know or understand this upon leaving the comfy confines of school; how could you?

The lessons learned during this stage of life (it really is just a phase many people experience in their lifetime) prove that you don’t know enough to pursue just one path. But for some reason society finds justification in criticizing those who don’t specialize in a single field of professional practice. This is the difference between learning in school and working in the real world: you don’t know all of the available opportunities until you are ‘in’ each unique work setting where stones can physically be turned over, and new doors opened.

For example, when I was in business school I didn’t know that I could enter the freelance economy if I choosed; I didn’t know that I could work on multiple projects at once as a consultant; I didn’t know that my education in marketing was just a foundation for a plethora of career tracks — I would still need to determine what the heck I was interested in (in the workforce), let alone good at and qualified for. And this caused significant tension — how could I become qualified for something I was advised to specialize in as a “best option,” not due to a deep interest, but rather a need to ‘simply’ pick something. And to think, I was paying to learn about a single subject I wasn’t confident I would enjoy… 100k should buy you a bit more experience, and a bit less book time — I think my fellow constituents would agree.

The truth is, you can be whatever you want to be in life, and that includes professionally; age doesn’t dictate what you can or can’t become. And figuring out what you want to be doesn’t always happen while in school; it may not even begin until entering the workforce — you just don’t know enough about the subjects you know nothing about. The elusive idea that we can excel at multiple things and build professional equity through a multidisciplinary approach is slowly becoming understood, especially as technology innovation powers full steam ahead and companies need their “rock stars” to manage numerous challenges at once.

As more and more industries transform in response to increased technology and competition, education institutions have an opportunity to follow their lead, while empowering professors to finally redesign the user experience associated with learning at a university. With this shift, learning would encompass more than subject matter, and would include the behavioral and psychological tools needed to make an impact in the workforce without regard to where you end up once the training is complete.

We are all fledglings at some point in life, but maybe a little more time in the nest would do us good.

These experiences will further train young professionals how to envision their true self, not just rely on their everyday self for answers and guidance. More importantly, they will empower students to seek multiple areas of interest, and develop a mindset that embraces transferable skills. The ultimate goal for education leaders will not be to graduate the most skilled engineers or marketing coordinators, it will be to shape problem solvers who are comfortable in many environments, and can alter their understanding of broad concepts to further absorb new knowledge. It’s this idea that will help shed more light on building transferable skills for the workplace while also exercising the human ability for rapid learning.

These are the changes we can make to fix the current education and work experience conundrum — it’s the firmware update this system has been waiting for, and it’s just in time for the arrival of smart machines. I’m not asking for a reinvention, I just want to see it designed better than before, to a level where it supports idea sharing, new ways of thinking, and most importantly, a greater value in oneself. One day, employers won’t need to evaluate education versus work experience to determine if a candidate is ‘ready’ for the gig. Can you see a similar future?

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Small triumphs

Our industry is no different than any other. Some weeks are more of a grind, littered with meetings and deadlines. Others are punctuated with small or large triumphs that energize the team, the project, the day, the week.

This last week proved to be the latter. Our tagline at Designing North Studios is, “It’s not a location. It’s a mindset.” We aim to consistently deliver north of expectations – a hover above what’s expected. This week, after working around the clock, quite literally around the world, we presented design comps on a very large project (still cloaked in secrecy).

Exceeding expectations

Instead of delivering the minimum number of contractually obligated design comps, our design team provided twice that. They were on a roll, and let their creative juices and our discovery findings be their guide. Because we are responsible for providing content, we were also able to include key messaging that led to a more authentic initial experience for the client. Hence, the client was able to grasp true manifestations of the end product in a variety of styles and formats.

The client had provided good direction in the form of inspirational websites, but in the end, the winning design took the benchmark websites to another level. The client was able to see what they had initially imagined, and then, although they liked those concepts, they were able to confidently eliminate them as a design direction. They weren’t wondering, “What if?”

A good  kind of unusual

The selected design direction featured key elements of the inspirational websites, but cleverly incorporated the client’s branding guideline components in an unexpected way. Or as the client said, “…in an unusual way – the good kind of unusual.” Our designer had provided three variations on his particular theme, so the client was able to pick and choose the favored blocks for moving forward. We concluded the design comp review (all done on GoToMeeting from coast-to-coast) with great enthusiasm and excitement for the next stages of the project.

The seminal lesson here was that the extra effort was not at all wasted. By seeing several concepts of what they thought they wanted side-by-side with a more innovative approach, the decision process was unambiguous. Thus, the overall project can proceed with greater confidence, and likely with less iteration.

More soon!

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Why is Dorothy Largay designing north*?

She’s a technophilanthropist on a mission to change the lives of women living in poverty in Latin America.

Don’t let the diminutive figure of former director of worldwide leadership development at Apple, Inc. fool you.

Despite her petite frame and soft voice, Dorothy Largay is nothing but high-density energy. And we are all blessed that she is directing both that intrinsic verve and her financial resources to make the world a better place.

After receiving a ‘windfall’, both she and her husband, former Google Vice President of Engineering Wayne Rosing, decided to focus their talents and treasure on the things that interested them most. For Dorothy, that meant launching sustainable and scalable health initiatives in Latin America, and for Wayne, it meant developing a global network of telescopes to advance astronomy.

Because of Dorothy’s Linked Foundation and its dynamic partners, thousands of women and their families now have access to basic health needs through their rural pharmacies models.

Dorothy treated the foundation like a start-up. It was 24/7 to start, but is now chugging smoothly along, thanks to hard work, a great team, learning from mistakes, and sharing successes.

“My husband and I have a very nice life, but we wanted to keep it simple – uncomplicated. We didn’t want to spend our time managing our ‘things’. That has zero interest to me – too much complexity. We were excited about the potential to make real change in our own lifetimes.”

Read Dorothy’s 10-year Linked Foundation anniversary interview written by Designing North’s Head of Marketing Julie Farrell here.

Check out more on Linked Foundation’s initiatives here.

*Many people in this world “add a little extra” to whatever they do: their career, how they live, the relationships they nurture, or just a random act of kindness — and we consider that *designing north* — designing your life and living it just north of the average bell curve.

Dorothy Largay is designing north. Are you or someone you know? Tell us. We’re looking for the global count.