Hi, my name is Cale Lopp and I’m thrilled to be able to share with you a little about who I am, where I’ve been and what I do.  When Kyle asked me to write a post, I thought, “Me…you want me?”  Well, here I am, so either Kyle was actually serious, or just so nice he couldn’t say no.  That aside, I’m guessing you would like to know who this crazy guy from Jones, Oklahoma is; I personally don’t believe that much in credentials but here are mine. I have a degree in Architectural Design from Oklahoma State University (sorry to all those OU fans). It was there on September 15, 2006 at a birthday party that I found the love of my life (a graphic designer) and we’ve dreamed of design together ever since. I worked for TAParchitecture from the time I graduated and was laid off in September due to the economic downturn—that about does it for the ‘who I am’ portion. Simply put, I’m a man with a passion for design that is only more heavily fueled by my desire to take over the world (cue Pinky and The Brain theme song).

Since being laid off in September I’ve rediscovered this passion, this desire to see design that makes a difference, not just for the poor or the homeless but for everyone. My wife Meg and I started Green Couch Design not long after the lay-off. We had been talking about reawakening that dream of design together for a few months before September and had decided that come January 2010 we would launch something—even if one of us had to quit our job. Well, God made that happen, and now as I look around me I wonder what it was like back then.

I know it’s only been four months but wow! What a change! We have fought through the initial fear of failure and struggled to constantly regain daily personal inspiration (and for those moments when two designers don’t see eye-to-eye, Rock, Paper, Scissors has been a godsend). You may ask, fear of failure and lack of personal inspiration? Yes! Suddenly your designs aren’t checked or proofed by anyone and I never realized how nice it was to hide behind the corporate sign. For example, when someone gets upset with a design you produce for a firm, they get mad at the firm, but when you’re on your own, there is nothing between you and the public, or for that matter between you and your paycheck. It’s all on you! I would venture to say that fear of rejection and of failure is one of the greatest inhibitors of true design. I know I’ve been held back from breakthroughs in design because of those fears.

Something I find helpful in combating fear is to pursue inspiration. This integral daily pursuit has become doubly important for myself. Whether you’re looking at the latest issue of Dwell Magazine or reading about David Paul Seymour’s 2010 line and you think, “Damn, how can I compete with that,” that’s when inspiration pushes you to the top. (If you haven’t see his new line of papers and prints you need to…Awesome!) It makes me feel like I’m ten feet tall and bullet-proof; I might as well have on red tights and a cape—like hell is that client who requested a rainbow color palette or the fact that we don’t have any money for more printer ink going to stop me!

Most of my inspiration comes from what I call the ‘missing items,’ those things you sense you need but can’t find in stores, the items your hand instinctively reaches for but closes on thin air. They just haven’t been created. These are the things that bring design home; these are the solutions that are needed in the equations of life. Sometimes it’s a candleholder that completes the look for your home or perhaps it’s a new way to use an object that would otherwise be thrown out. Inspiration is not some new form, or technology: it’s a twist of the simple elements of life.

My design has always been inspired by functionality and streamlining.  I’ve struggled with the ideas of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ design based on subjective ideas or aesthetic notions. True design happens when a problem is presented and a practical and inspired solution is created; true design is based on and judged by its thoroughness in solving the problem That’s why I will never use Green Couch Design to create something that doesn’t meet a need of some kind, or a product that doesn’t make the world a little easier. And yes, that includes the candleholders and paper bows (that one’s for you, Meg)!

We are a world-changing force (bring out the soapbox). As I stated in my introduction, I have a desire to take over the world—to alter it and make it more than what it is right now. I believe design is the best vehicle. I hope this statement defines us designers as a people group. If there is an issue that your heart responds to, please fulfill that desire to reach out and do it! We can’t sit back and not take action. I’m talking to the “us” here in Oklahoma, and the “us” in Chicago, L.A. and New York City. It’s amazing to look around and see our nation in this state of rebuilding. We have the opportunity now to make changes to our nation that we haven’t had since it’s founding. What knocked me on my ass in the shower one morning (hey, that’s one of my places of inspiration) was the fact that designers comprise one of four people groups trained to communicate (that’s not a statistic, just an opinion). We need to be using that ability to communicate for good. Guard against being too critical of the designer next to you and be sure to encourage growth.

I constantly catch myself checking to see if I’m ‘as good’ as the next guy, or judging those I feel are ‘less’ than myself. Why should it matter! Instead of feeding those fears of failure and doubt we can encourage our society’s development. With the beginning of Green Couch Design came the realization of how truly powerful we are as designers. The power to transform the visions from others into a physical form is not something to be shirked. Be it a logo that captures the true nature of a business, or a building that enables a company to work at its full potential—hell, if it’s candleholders and paper bows—it still matters. We are in key places at this time to build up instead of tear down. Let’s keep design real, let’s keep it about life, and let’s keep it about people. Let’s bring design home.

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