Why rhizome studios? and what’s a rhizome?
While humans try to design ever more complex technologies, the most beautiful, sustainable, and creative design comes from nature itself. A rhizome is a horizontal stem that sends out roots and shoots. Asparagus, ginger, grass and many other common plants propagate using rhizomes. Rhizome’s are also used by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to describe modes of thought that can hold a plurality of meanings (you can read more about both the botanical and philosophical definitions of rhizomes at your friendly neighborhood wikipedia or you can ask a farmer at the farmers market). In the spirit of embracing such acentered and radical (as in root) design, I formed rhizome studios.
How much will my website cost?
As with all technology, the web is designed to perform certain functions. The first step is figuring out what you want your website to accomplish. Once this is established, we can talk about what functionality will service those goals and then how long that will take to design. For more information visit the rates page.
What’s your design process?
With both graphic and web design, I prefer a process with a lot of back and forth between designer and client. I always start with a communications consultation where we ask the fundamental questions: what’s the message? who are you trying to communicate with? what are appropriate technologies to help amplify that message? who is going to maintain these technologies? From there, with web work, I will design a static mockup for the client to view. Once we together decide we have a design that we can move forward with, I will build out a beta version of the site. After testing out the site and working out the kinks, we’ll go live. Typically this process can take as little as a couple weeks or as long as a couple of months, depending on the project. Learn more about the type of work I do on the services page.
You talk a lot about social change, what kind of social change are you talking about?
Social change is happening all the time. Some is coerced by violence, some is manipulated through lies from politicians and advertisers, and some emerges from people discerning together, coming to decisions and acting for a common cause. I’m talking about supporting this last kind of social change, the grassroots, democratic kind. People are constantly figuring out new, more inclusive and just ways of relating to each other. We can act in ways that encourage this kind of change, or be surprised by it, or worse yet seek to stifle it. I understand my design work as one small piece of a larger effort for greater justice, flexibility, and generosity for the times ahead.