I Read 228 designRoom Blog Posts. Here’s What I Learned

Last month marked designRoom’s 100th issue of the dRSee, and to commemorate it, we gathered together 99 quotes from 99 blog posts across the 12 years dR has been blogging. And doing so involved me reading all 228 blog posts. That might sound tedious, but it wasn’t. First of all, it was my idea and I was excited to do it. Second, I’ve been working with designRoom for over two years now and while two years isn’t nothing, it’s still just a small part of a much longer history. Reading all of dR’s blog posts helped fill some of the gaps inof my knowledge of designRoom and what it’s about.

An interesting pattern emerged during my designRoom deep dive: I was able to tell which member of the team had written which post by only reading the title. That’s no feat of my own; that’s a testament to the strength of the individual voices of dR. This project allowed me to really witness how unique each team member’s voice is and what talents, interests, and perspectives they bring to the table. 

Anna: Insight

I know I’m reading an Anna post when the title alone teaches me something new. She is a bottomless well of knowledge about art and design, and specifically an expert on fonts. Whenever I ask her, “What’s your opinion on this font?” I know I’m in for a wild ride of niche information. You may not think Wes Anderson’s 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom has an interesting story behind its typeface, but it does, and Anna knows it.

Chad: Honesty

I feel like honesty has become rare in internet spaces, and when it exists it’s often in bad faith, confused for meanness and cruelty. But I think Chad is proof that honesty and tact can coexist. With a Chad post, you know you’re about to be served something very real and very refreshing.

Also, Chad might be the most quotable person I’ve ever met. He made my herculean task of quote-finding a thousand times easier. I don’t think I’ll forget “Viva la skull baby on the rocks” for as long as I live.

Shaun: Clarity

There are two kinds of Shaun blogs: 

1. Posts where he lays out a lot of complicated information in a concise and organized way while managing not to sound dry or encyclopedic.
2. Posts where he offers wisdom on life, nature, and our connection to technology. 

I still think a lot about his “Digital Detox” series and how I might enjoy one too if I didn’t hate bugs so much. One day I’ll conquer my fear of buzzing, flying things, and on that day I’ll flee into the woods and never look at a glowing screen again. 

Kelly: Energy

Kelly has a way of bringing out a spark in people, and I think her writing reflects that. It’s hard to read one of her posts without getting jazzed about something, even the color black. There’s a lot to admire about Kelly’s approach to blogging, but I think my favorite thing is how her annual themes always remind me to look at the bigger picture—not just the work that’s in front of me, but how it all connects to something bigger. 

Her theme this year is Rise, and although I didn’t go into this project to be an example of rising, that’s what it became. It was admittedly a long process, but I think the wide-angle view it offered was worth it in the end.