About Stopdesign
History
Stopdesign was founded in 1998 by Douglas Bowman as a small design consultancy. This site is a collection of creative work and shared thinking representing the collaborative problem solving, simple solutions, and cost-effective results Stopdesign produces and delivers for clients and readers around the world.
Bowman founded Stopdesign while working in San Francisco at HotWired in the mid-1990s. He continued taking on small outside projects while working at HotWired through six years of ups and downs, drastic market swings, and two acquisitions by Lycos and Spanish media portal, Terra. After completing a successful redesign of Wired News in 2002, Bowman left Wired and Terra Lycos to dedicate his full attention to Stopdesign.
Throughout Stopdesign’s existence, people have asked about its name. Bowman likes short, memorable names of design firms. He is also intrigued by the halting, contradictory nature of the word “stop” when juxtaposed with design, the profession he grew to love. The name, “Stopdesign”, is direct, powerful, and commanding. An added bonus: it never gets mispronounced or misspelled.
Bowman believes strong design stands out from the overload of information surrounding us. A simple, well-crafted aesthetic creates profound interest in a message without allowing visual presentation to hinder its delivery. To learn more about Stopdesign, read its design Philosophy, jump over to the Personnel page, or see Services for a list of offerings to clients large and small. This site also hosts an extensive Portfolio showcasing a wide range of prior design work and experience.