Reset of royscholten.nl. Still hugo based static site, but even simpler. This site is to function as the high level intro to what I do, make, learn, teach. Core blogging is done under bildung.royscholten.nl, running on the write.as platform.

I think too much about what to post where instead of doing the actual posting. Moving all bloggings to a subdomain clearly marks the space where everything goes, topic wise. Eventually on the royscholten site itself I’ll outline the main areas of expertise/activity with more specific pointers. That’s the plan!

Found two drawings from at least 8 years ago.

I have always enjoyed categorizing and indexing things. Labels, groupings, sections, categories.

There’s a lot to be found online on the principles, hows and whys of digital note taking and note keeping. Most of it is primarily concerned with text based content. Text is an accessible and portable medium of expression. Dimensions, length, amount of text per note is not a big concern for digital texts.

How much more complicated it becomes when the source material is physical and the content is of a pictorial nature. A meaningful sorting and grouping is harder to establish.

But. Worrying about an overarching structure is a form of procrastination. An imagined need to know the big picture beforehand keeps you from getting started.

Finding out about Luhmann’s Zettelkasten was an a-ha moment and a big relief. The approach Luhmann took for connecting and ordering individual physical pieces of writing is infinitely flexible and expandable. No preconceived classification needed. An open ended numbering system allows you to simply start. Somewhere, anywhere.

This removes an important mental block. Any place is the right place to start because there is no wrong place to start. There’s no special weight or importance to note number 1. Even a rhizome has to start somewhere.

The work today was about taking care of a dying friend. Lifting her out of bed, into the chair. Spoonfulls of water, some tea.

Friends visiting, saying their goodbyes. Hoping to be able to do the same again tomorrow.

In between, going through boxe and boxes worth of drawings, prints, writing. Some of it very intimate.

I miss her already.

Zoveel liefde te geven, met
Zoveel kracht en energie.

Zoveel eisen, en
Even zoveel vragen.

Aan jezelf,
En de wereld om je heen.

De lat altijd maar hoger gelegd,
Reikt nu tot in de hemel.

My best artist friend is dying. She’s 93 and near the end of a long and winding path.

Over 70 years worth of artistic production stacked in boxes everywhere in her house/studio. Brilliant drawings, drypoints, lithographs, letterpress prints. I spent the afternoon with her. Even got out for a bit to sit in the sun.

She gave it her all. With eager and demanding eyes, masterful hands and great heart, yet never sure she’d done good, right, enough.

It’s not about doing what you love. It’s about finding out why you do what you do, so that you can do it with love.

Kwam een podcast tegen over de oudste gravure in de collectie van het Rijksmuseum. Onderwerp van de afbeelding is de werkplaats van de plaatsnijder zelf. Een kleine link met een van de monoprints die ik afgelopen dagen maakte in het creative image lab: een (perspectivisch naïeve) voorstelling van een drietal mensen dat elk aan een tafel aan het beeldmaakwerken is.

Het is goed om doorlopend een serie prenten in ontwikkeling te hebben. Het zijn oefeningen, niet bedoeld als presenteerbare werkstukken. Sommige exemplaren lenen zich daar uiteindelijk wellicht wel voor, maar dat is dan bijvangst. Losbladig werken is hierbij een essentiële voorwaarde.

Een lijst op twitter gemaakt met als onderwerp digitaal erfgoed. Daarin een eerste selectie mensen en instellingen die actief zijn in dit domein, veelal in het Nederlands taalgebied.

Technologie, verhaal, advies, subsidies. Doel is om voor Grafisch Atelier Hilversum de erfgoedcollectie die er al is beter te registreren en zichtbaar te maken. We hebben al een start gemaakt met aanzet voor een beleid met doorvertaling naar strategie en activiteiten. Daar de volgende stappen in zetten. Op basis van de expertise in de twitter-lijst wil ik duidelijk krijgen wat de mogelijkheden, kansen en aandachtspunten zijn en wat dan de eerstvolgende stappen zijn.

I started mentoring two young professionals who want to switch to or specialize more in digital user experience design.

After an initial introduction meeting I have now reviewed their respective portfolios.

What I try to do is show them what they actually already can do. Identify the existing expertise and skills and connect those to skills and capabilities that are relevant in a design context as well.

Persona development has become very hand-wavy. Beware the too professional looking persona headshot.

As junior designers they present portfolio projects (self initiated, or based on courses, trainings) where they work through all parts of the design process. From research through concept, from low fidelity to high fidelity sketching and prototyping, from moodboard to detailed user interface design. Which is good to practice, but unrealistic. All design work is collaborative work.

Also,

• Label your screens, sketches, flows. Help people understand what you are showing them
• Make a distinction between expertise/skills and deliverables. You have expertise in UI design. Which shows through moodboards, design tiles, high-fidelity mockups and style guides. You are a skilled user researcher because you have experience in interviewing, user shadowing, persona development, survey design and analysis, etc.
• Connecting back to the bit about collaboration: clearly identify the parts of the project you were responsible for. Beware not to present the project as if you did all of it.

Had a dream about Drupal core priorities the other day. Two I remember:

1. Fieldable fields
2. Make it swing

I’m here for both.