What
were your ambitions in life? What were your plans after art school?
Land an awesome design gig with major clients like Apple and Nike and
enjoying the "good life". So what happens when life throws you a curve
ball? What if instead of a major design studio with design savvy
clients, you're working for a small company, or freelancing and you have
clients whose design skill maxed out on Office Paint. What should you
do if life is not ending up the way you thought it would be?
To
be perfectly honest. This thought came earlier this week. It reminded
me of my plans and ideas of what life would be like after graduation.
An artsy, Florida studio working with clients that totally got my design
sense (Yeah…definitely was fantasizing that). Instead, I spent the
first four years of my design experience was spent making corrections on
someone else's design projects (with little bits of design scattered
throughout). Just when I started doing regular design work and get back
on track… I found myself moving to Knoxville, moving AWAY from our most
of our friends and loved ones. Plus, I work with clients who do not
appreciate design savvy (can I get an amen?) So as you can see, life
hasn't been what I thought it would be.
So, you're probably
thinking that my dreams are a bust… Well, they're not, just different.
Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared about a 25 year plan
that he wrote for a class at Duke. Oddly enough, the plan only stayed
accurate for 18 - 24 months. Why? According to Cook "the journey was
not predictable at all." The key to planning from Apple's CEO?
"…prepare." In essence, don't get thrown by life because it's not
working out according to your plan. Life is unpredictable, learn to see
the good in it.
So I'm not working from a successful studio in
Florida and I don't have clients that accept my work without question
(probably never). The thing is, I'm doing more design work then I've
done in the past and I'm gaining experience with working with clients. I
may not be near friends and loved ones, but I'm making new friends and
making new connections. Sometimes life does not go the way you
planned. The best thing to do then? Prepare for the unexpected. 'Till
next time Bloggees.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
The Need for Rest and #Unplug
Hey Bloggees!
Back in February I wrote a post about the rising dependence on social media (see post here). I noted about two companies who encouraged "disconnecting" from social media and focusing on the world around us... Apparently they weren't the only ones to note this concept.
This past week Fast Company featured #unplug , a collection of articles about resting or "unplugging" from electronic correspondence and the benefits that come with them (increased rest, renewed focus, clearer thinking, etc.). These observations bring to mind the need to slow down and catch our breath. We get into this line of thinking that we have to be constantly on top of every piece of information that comes our way. The truth of the matter is, our brains can't handle all this information. This constant rush effects our health, our effectiveness as human beings, and as designers. Needless to say, I'm guilty of binging on information and the overall feeling of needing to be in the know.
These articles have been a real eye-opener about the need to pull away and to rest, not only from social media, but in my life as well. Even my personal devotions have mentioned the need for rest (see here). I guess Someone is trying to tell me something. To be honest, it isn't easy to slow down and rest (especially if you feel like you have to get everything done and you don't want something like "rest" to slow you down). The truth of the matter is, I need to take breaks (both electronically and in life) in order to recharge my mental batteries.
I hope this blog and these articles will be a help to you! How do you help yourself rest (electronic or otherwise)? I'd love to hear about it. Please leave a comment on the blog (or my facebook or twitter feed). Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to do some resting.... 'Till Next Time Bloggees!
Back in February I wrote a post about the rising dependence on social media (see post here). I noted about two companies who encouraged "disconnecting" from social media and focusing on the world around us... Apparently they weren't the only ones to note this concept.
This past week Fast Company featured #unplug , a collection of articles about resting or "unplugging" from electronic correspondence and the benefits that come with them (increased rest, renewed focus, clearer thinking, etc.). These observations bring to mind the need to slow down and catch our breath. We get into this line of thinking that we have to be constantly on top of every piece of information that comes our way. The truth of the matter is, our brains can't handle all this information. This constant rush effects our health, our effectiveness as human beings, and as designers. Needless to say, I'm guilty of binging on information and the overall feeling of needing to be in the know.
These articles have been a real eye-opener about the need to pull away and to rest, not only from social media, but in my life as well. Even my personal devotions have mentioned the need for rest (see here). I guess Someone is trying to tell me something. To be honest, it isn't easy to slow down and rest (especially if you feel like you have to get everything done and you don't want something like "rest" to slow you down). The truth of the matter is, I need to take breaks (both electronically and in life) in order to recharge my mental batteries.
I hope this blog and these articles will be a help to you! How do you help yourself rest (electronic or otherwise)? I'd love to hear about it. Please leave a comment on the blog (or my facebook or twitter feed). Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to do some resting.... 'Till Next Time Bloggees!
Friday, June 7, 2013
R.E.A.D. Method (TWA Samples)
Hey Blogees!
Welcome back! We just wrapped up a four week stint on one of my methods for creative graphic design, the R.E.A.D Method (Research, Extract, Apply, Design). Along the way, we were developing a logo for the fictional rebirth of TWA. I wanted to share with you some of the ways the new logo could be used. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and thoughts on the blog about these concepts. Feel free to taking a stab at doing this project. I would love to see what you came up with! Hope you Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed the designs samples here and that this four part series has given you ideas of how (or how not to) develop your designs. I'm open for suggestions on topics, themes, and the like! By the way, you can find most of these pictures online at sxc.hu. Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time!
Welcome back! We just wrapped up a four week stint on one of my methods for creative graphic design, the R.E.A.D Method (Research, Extract, Apply, Design). Along the way, we were developing a logo for the fictional rebirth of TWA. I wanted to share with you some of the ways the new logo could be used. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and thoughts on the blog about these concepts. Feel free to taking a stab at doing this project. I would love to see what you came up with! Hope you Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed the designs samples here and that this four part series has given you ideas of how (or how not to) develop your designs. I'm open for suggestions on topics, themes, and the like! By the way, you can find most of these pictures online at sxc.hu. Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time!
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