George S's List: Art & Computer Graphics

• Networking in business groups is far more productive than attending design 'show and tell' seminars.
• Clients should be part of the process. They have creative ideas, they often don't have the means to interprets, expand and express them.
• They make the client a collaborator.
• Design is becoming more about design thinking and strategy and less about placing emphasis on the craft. Designers that concentrate on craft risk being relegated to competing on low cost with the likes of 99 designs.

2 more annotations...

• Journey signals to players the centrality of its jumping by waiting a few beats into the story before enabling you to do it. The Legend of Zelda did the same thing when it opened with a sword-deprived Link. Even though you only had to walk a few short steps to the nearest doorway to grab the rusty beginner sword, the game’s designers italicise the moment by placing a frame around it. You feel empowered because just a moment ago you were helpless.

• Lucas expanded his special-effects department into Industrial Light & Magic, which became a key partner to moviemakers in need of state-of-the-art effects.
• Over the years, he had computer divisions (one of which was spun off into Pixar), book imprints and other ventures, as he made movies including the hit Indiana Jones series.
• While the movies have been lucrative, it is the licensing and merchandising that has brought a bonanza
• Lucasfilm has operated with a group of fewer than three dozen employees who do everything from track in exacting detail every story arc and character in the Star Wars universe, to ensuring quality standards are met. Lucas does not get personally involved in that oversight, but the buck still stops with him on every major decision.
• Lucas keeps a tight rein on his world but isn't a micromanager
• "Obviously, he has many people he respects and trusts, or they wouldn't be working for him. But ultimately George has been the creator and custodian of the greatest franchise in movie history. In the end, everything flows back to George. He will just know whether it's right or wrong when he sees it."
• "It keeps kids engaged between movies and TV seasons,"
• He is even more central to the face and focus of his business than his friend Steve Jobs was to Apple.
• With a personal fortune Forbes estimated at $3.2 billion in 2011, Lucas says he is "having a great time. I've got one daughter in martial arts, one daughter who is a writer -- which is sort of another version of martial arts -- and my son is in college. So things are good."
• Whether anyone else will be able to follow his recipe seems unlikely. "What you are talking about here is the marrying of the genius of the product with the brilliance of the original creative endeavor,"
• "You can have hard work, diligence and creative control -- but pick another movie and I don't know that you would end up in the same place."

9 more annotations...