One Skinnyj

is the ongoing moniker of Justin Kropp

Mar 04 2012

Noah Stokes, Bold and Building Products That Matter

There’s not much that Noah can’t do. He’s a father, husband, designer, developer, writer, guitarist and all around nice guy. During the day, and I suspect some evenings too, Noah runs Bold, a design and development studio in San Francisco. Noah was kind enough to answer a few questions about successful client engagements and building products that matter.

Let’s talk about Stevie Ray Vaughn for a second. Kidding. Can you give me a brief synopsis of who you are? Not where you came from or how you got started, but who are you at this exact moment? What do you do?

Oh man, start me off with the SRV! Greatest guitarist to ever live. As for me, I’m as far from the greatest guitarist as you can be, then bumped up one half notch. But guitar is just a hobby. I am a developer, designer and partner at a small web shop outside of San Francisco called Bold. I have been working in web for nearly a decade now and feel like I am just hitting my stride. At this exact moment, I’m trying to be a good husband, a better father and a leader in various aspects of my life. I’m turning 35 in a few days and feel like my soul is telling me to put my talents to use for something lasting, something that won’t be redesigned in a year, and something meaningful. Not YATBI (Yet Another Twitter Based Idea) but something that helps people, helps society. I don’t know what that is yet.

Keep Reading —

Written

Feb 08 2012

Realignment and Dialogue

Things have been a bit stagnant in this space for a while. That’s on me. I’ve been working to pull some things together and I feel like it’s all starting to take shape. This site will continue to exist, but will be dedicated to more critical dialogue with my colleagues and peers. I’m currently lining up a roster of voices that I’m really excited about sharing here. Over the next several weeks you’ll hear from Paul Soulellis, Frank Chimero, Noah Stokes, Daniel Mall, Matthew Anderson, Callie Neylan, and David Cole. And the list is continuing to grow as I reach out to those who I believe are contributing to our profession in compelling and positive ways.

The longer and more personal pieces will exist, alongside an evolving, and somewhat exploratory, body of work over here. I need a spot to write about a range of interests, ideas, observations, and problems — a collection of things finished and ongoing. Words and images. Page and screen. The other space will be just that. I’m working hard and haven’t been this excited in quite some time, so I’ve gotta keep going.

Written

Jan 09 2012

Shedding One’s Skin

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Observed

Jan 01 2012

Hexagram 10 – Treading

After an inspiring conversation recently with Paul Soulellis, I have begun a series of explorations around the periphery of chance operations. As Paul succinctly discusses here, beginning with the hexagrams of the I Ching is a great place to start your journey.

As I become more comfortable with this process and allow more complicated systems to surface, I hope to fold in tenets from my graduate research in semiotic theory. What that means at this point I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out.

Created

Jan 01 2012

The Art of Observation

“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Observed

Profile

Oneskinnyj is the online repository of me—Justin Kropp—a designer, educator, and writer. This space is a place for me to write about the visual culture I'm engaged in, post observations relevant to my life, share experiences, and create with wild abandon.