ProjectKNOW started three years ago, originally it was conceived as a development blog for a few ideas I had for my fledgling freelance design company. Quickly it became clear that the true focus of this site was more theoretical than developmental. This created a tension between the stated purpose and where the blog was going.

The small studio I run with my wife PROJECT is undergoing a similar change. We are finding that  graphic design no longer accurately defines what we do. The more general term design is closer, design thinking is even closer. We increasingly have taken on (and started) projects that are resulting in software, new delivery methods for information and publishing opportunities. In many cases the results will be entirely new products and business models for our clients. We have wholeheartedly advocated design thinking to all of our clients, and our partnerships are better off for it.

We have been able to do this because the world is changing.

The democratization and communication spread around the globe in part by the internet, is changing the world faster than ever before. This is proving the power of design, and more so design thinking, to make change. That’s where this will come in. We will not only point out where design can be used, but evaluate where it has been used and forecast where it will go. We are also going to focus on the fundamentals: interface elements, nicely designed items, the intersection of print and interactive, and any other issues where design takes center stage. After all people not only have to be able to use what we create but it should be enjoyable as well.

This brings us to the business of the week to week posts, the blog. In line with our refreshed focus we are rethinking our poorly met posting schedule and thinking how content will better suite our goals. The blog will now consist of 2 types of posts; weekly (or even more often) quick bite-size posts on things that are happening, inspiring videos, or anything else relevant and interesting. The second post type will either be once a month or bi-weekly, feature articles ranging from idea proposals or outline to analysis of a design feature or element to designs place in world issues (most will probably cross a few of these). Finally we will be micro-blogging daily through Twitter. This schedule may of course change again, we will settle on what feels natural over the next few months.

One major move we have already made making is to put some adds on the site. This is not merely a concession to the current economic times, but an opportunity. Ad revenue will allow us to publish more frequently and spend the time to create the longer in-depth articles we want to. Additionally the revenue will allow us to stay true to the roots of this site and develop some of the ideas that come up on this site. We are currently using Google ads so we have no influence from advertisers on the content of the articles. So that’s the big news. These changes start today you should see a feature post in the next few days, a review of Design is the Problem. There will also be a Twitter contest coinciding with the post of the review.

So stay tuned, there is lot of design geekiness to come, and hopefully plenty of inspired debate and ideas.

You might have noticed we moved the furniture around a little yesterday. We’ve replaced the outdated and rarely updated categories with a tagging system that should serve as a more efficient navigation. We’ve also added some book in the left hand nav (review to come soon!). The RSS feeds have also been updated to be more reliable, and there’s finally a new ProjectKNOW Twitter feed. THere will be more coming soon including a new post schedule and a stated focus for this site. We’ve got a lot more coming around the corner, that we’re really excited about.

You may have noticed that last weeks post went missing. Despite what the rampant conspiracy theorists say, it was merely a very stupid, unprofessional mistake involving a MySQL database and a week old backup.

While the post my be missing the sentiment of it holds true, I am currently redefining what the focus of this site is, or more accurately putting our finger on what exactly this site has become. Good news is I’ve just about figured out what it is and will be back soon with a shiny new post, and shortly after the new vision for PROJECT know. (hold for applause)

Let me start out by saying I am a child of the digital age. While I am a member of what is the last generation able to remember schools without computers, I have spent the majority of my life around them (thanks to forward thinking parents). I have fully embraced the digital age and all that comes with it.

With that preface I have to say something seems to be different lately. The last election i large part was won online, newspapers are dying at the hands of their online counterparts and one of the greatest radio hosts in the country TD Mischke just started an online only radio show. Personally I have moved much of my business software to web apps replacing the desktop, my email, contacts and to-do list are available on each computer I work as well as my phone, so is Google Maps. Maybe it’s just because of the economy but it fells as if any second we are about to open the door, and enter a new larger world.

This is a long rambling way to say that this blog is going to finally recieve some changes. The focus will change (more accuratly it will finally have some focus), the design wil be thrown out and it will be organized. The hope is that as we move quickly on this soon to be encountered shift, we will shift with it. Stay tuned for more, and thanks for your readership up to now.

It has been awhile since there has been a post on this site. I apologize.

A lot of time has been put into the back-end to he site, to make it work consistently and for the most part it does (just one little bugaboo in IE7). In addition a forum is being made to allow greater feedback and discussion on ideas, as well as give more people opportunities to post their own ideas. In the end the goal is to foster a community devoted to the goal of rethinking and facilitating the means with with information is delivered.

So the plan for the future is to post weekly on Mondays,and the forum should be up and running soon. With any luck this site can turn into more than just a place for a designer’s rants.

This is it, our first post. We’re going live before the site is even finished. It’s 99.9% functional we just have some style sheet changes to make so look forward to the site to get even cooler over the next couple of weeks.

So what do we do?, who or what are we?, what is our reason for being? Simply put, ProjectKNOW is an organization interested in the dispersal of information. We want to discover new ways to spread good information. Yes, the phrase “good information” is a heavily loaded phrase, what we mean by that is information that presents a holistic view of an issue. Unlike most purveyors of information we don’t want to present answers, we want to present good information so people can find their own answers.

Currently we are embracing the internet for it’s democracy. Of course there are numerous areas and groups with no access to the internet for numerous reasons, but for large parts of the world the internet is an uncontrolled and inexpensive medium for free exchange of ideas with seemingly limitless possibilities. This doesn’t mean we are opposed to solutions based in the real world, just that currently we are like a kid with a new toy. Perhaps we can find a solution to the real world problem of access to the internet.

The web also allows for open source development that is crucial to what we do. This opens the discussion to anybody who wants to have a say, and even experts on what ever the discussion may revolve around. This creates an environment next to impossible to recreate physically.

So we have the tools, hopefully this project and it’s subsequent projects will become the means to develop ideas.