The Block

I had the privilege of growing up on what I consider to be the best block in America. On many summer days growing up, the block felt like a scene from the movie The Sandlot, with our core gang of 8 boys playing homerun derby, tackle football, racing bikes and fist fighting. Since those days, we have grown up to become bankers, designers, biologists, husbands, fathers and homeowners.

Every summer, we all set aside our grown-up lives to head back to the block for a day full of hot dogs, stickball and nostalgia at our annual block party. For that day we get the opportunity to watch the latest generation of kids growing up on the block and reconnect with our neighbors who are always eager to hear what’s going on in our lives. We share our favorite stories from the past year and re-tell all the stories we laughed at last year and the years before. While we are all off living our lives in other places, the block continues to serve as a homebase for us and a place to think about when we need a minute to remember where we came from.

There’s nothing more important than having that kind of foundation. In many ways, that’s what feeds what we do in our personal and professional lives, right? As a designer, I know that the strongest design has a definite foundation – a place from where other aspects happening within a design – whether logo, website or advertisement – can grow and expand. Just like our favorite stories that we tell at the block party – the ones that make us laugh or think – I do my best to tell a story that has impact through my life as a designer. It’s one of the things I like best about it, just like what I like best about returning to my roots. Appreciating all the things that change and grow – and the roots you never forget that remain the same, and bond us together.

– Patrick Midway, Designer