Can you trace your TNA?

Creative work is built from strands of TNA (time and attention). We need to balance the care and craft we put into the work with a consideration of the consumer’s TNA. Unfortunately time is short and attention is fleeting — TNA may soon be measured in microscopic samples or registered only as ghost traces.

There’s a simple economic exchange at play in design, branding and advertising: if you want people to “pay” attention you have to give them something “worth” noticing. However, you can’t just clone another Purple Cow. For a remarkable thing to survive TNA molecules have to be carefully captured and spliced together. These essential strings of code run both through the work and its audience. They bring a project to life and allow it to replicate and thrive.
Susan Sontag: “Do stuff. Be clenched, curious, not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.”

You may also like

Who are you? Where do you stand?
Simon initially trained in fine art and theatre design eventually transitioning to multimedia and graphic design in the late 90s new media boom. He has been working independently and in various design agencies for more than 25 years. He is interested in big ideas (think philosophy and literature rather than the latest ad for caffeinated drinks). He enjoys drawing with a biro (but also loves parallel pens, acrylic paint markers, graffiti mops and Blackwing pencils). He has an improbably large but expertly curated collection of books and a taste for slow cinema. But don't let any of that put you off...
"As a design professional I'm very interested in creating or exposing a 'personality'—whether it is in brand identity, character design, custom lettering or a printed brochure. I pursue clean and elegant solutions but like to think that even in the most stripped down designs something unexpected and irrepressible is bubbling up."
↑Back to Top