Happy Martin Luther King Day and 2023…we made it! 2022 was a wild year, but we all made it through to the other side… big exhale…. Throughout this past year, we’ve had the opportunity to partner with y'all on some beautiful design pieces. We are grateful for you—our clients, family and friends—and hope that 2023 brings many new and wonderful experiences.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is leading advocate of climate improvement and action for people around the world. It provides research, data, drives initiatives, and offers insights on the state of the climate and world today and how we can take needed changes. Leading up to COP27, WRI released its annual State of Climate Action Report, highlighting that significant acceleration of action is needed this decade to keep the keep the 1.5°C temperature limit within reach.

As the weather here has been taking a cooler turn, I’ve been finding almost daily purchases arriving for my twin daughters from AliXpress and Shein (If you don’t know, don’t learn). These sites are global powerhouses of quickly delivering low-quality stuff that lasts for a day and then is intended for rapid disposal and replacement by more. Not only does the material waste and impact bother me but think of the environmental impact of the shipping process or the labor impacts in low-cost countries. This got me talking with Alston about how we can be better stewards of the environment, whether as designers, their clients, or their stakeholders.

AI generated art has recently stepped into the spotlight, created magnificent and fascinating images, but will it eventually grow and remove the need for traditional artists?

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Alaska to witness its natural beauty and managed to sneak in some drawing classes.

All the Taggart’s decided to brave global air travel again after a many years hiatus and headed off to one of our favorite spots, Thailand!

Today I (Theron) was listening to an interesting discussion on NPR concerning the difference between native, heritage, and learned speakers of a foreign language. It really got me thinking about the challenge and opportunity of working with a graphic design partner to achieve your objectives.

Reverend Barber and his campaign are addressing the systemic injustices of racism, poverty, militarism, ecological devastation, and the corrupt moral narrative. Love that this movement unite all people across color, creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, and geography in a moral fusion movement.

When the pandemic began several years ago, my design work for the first couple of months was non-existent. I used that opportunity to dive deeper into my yoga practice and formalized my offerings by creating Big Love Yoga. We offer playful (and unpretentious) yoga classes to build connection and a space for you. We created a website for Big Love Yoga. We are available to help build your website dream!

found this amazing resource: Planting Justice. Love what this organization is about: Growing food; growing jobs; growing community... Check them out! In addition to plants, excited about cultivating my own mycelium (or mushroom) network. Fungus is amazing... And, If you live in the Tenleytown/Friendship Heights area, I am a drop-off point for Earth Springs Farm CSA (super customizable organic vegetable/dairy/meat options!).

To keep myself sane, I practice and teach yoga. To compliment years of practicing yoga (from gentle to power, yin to aerial), I have also trained in martial arts (Okinawan Kempo Karate and Ten Shin Ichi Ryu), ballet, modern dance, African dance, and bellydance (Egyptian and ATS/Tribal)—all of which inform my approach to the movements and instruction. I approach each class with a playfullness to engage, a smile to warm, and movement sequences to captivate. My hope is to channel emotion and spirit through the awareness of every moment through asanas and conscious breath, creating a fusion of heart, mind, and body.

Art is something I’ve always loved. I even consider myself an artist above a graphic designer. It’s what I originally went to school for, but my anxiety and fear managed to dissuade me from pursuing it any further. I was a different person then. I’ve grown and become much more open to learning. I’ve decided to once again pursue that passion that I left long ago.

During our down time over the holidays, I was able to do some deep cleaning and organizing of our “making” spaces.

With current covid concerns, it’s hard to explore the world like before. Inspired to see museums taking their knowledge and collections to online platforms to make the art readily available without leaving home. Gustav Klimt is one of my favorite artists.

We recently learned of the exciting work being done by the World Listening Project and the related World Listening Day on July 18 and it struck us that now, more than ever, listening was an art and skill that really matters. Listening can make the world a far better and more interesting place.

You all should know how important growth and change is for the team at Studio Red Design as we support our clients over decades while they respond to changing business, client, and other environments. In addition, we have a personal love of growth and change as you’ll have seen with our recent efforts to make the entire landscape around Studio Red Design edible and environmentally sustainable. Growth of plants fundamentally relies on two things: the sun and the rain. Since we cannot control the rain we took it upon ourselves recently to harness the sun and become carbon neutral (or better) through installing solar panels across Studio Red and Alston’s nearby home. Effective April 22, 2021, Studio Red Design became a net generator of power with a 13,484 kWh system that is forecast to offset 102% of Studio Red Design and the home. WooHoo!!!!!

Over the years we have all heard organizations touting things like the relentless pursuit of perfection. At face value, this seems like a good and noble thing. Isn’t perfection a worthy goal? While it may be, there come real problems with spending excess time on perfection. Theron, Strategy Lead here at Studio Red Design, talks about key business risks and outcomes with allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good and provides actionable guidance on how organizations can avoid these risks and stay relevant and timely in a rapidly changing market.

Earth Day is a great reminder to pause and celebrate nature’s gifts. We are, after all, simply a small part of this great and inter-connected system and need to find time to step away from our televisions and computers and reengage with our truest selfs. This is a time to step out from our walls, slow down, and breathe deeply to enjoy mother Earth's wonders. A time for deep gratitude to the grand Pachamama and an opportunity to reflect on her cycles and rhythms and the part we all in play in her/our future. Sending her and all of her creations BIG love from a humbled heart and a joyous spirit.