Starting Fresh

Hey! My site has moved. Please check out my new site at designmorsels.com. Thanks!

Starting a Blog

I found this wonderful article, about why you should blog. The writers at Design Shack were specifically speaking to developers, but this applies to all of us. Whatever profession you are in there are good reasons to begin a blog: it requires you to educate yourself, give back to your community, and it helps you improve your writing skills. Yes, blogs take time and you will probably not be one of the few that become famous and become professional bloggers; but it will be beneficial for your well-being. If you have a blog, and you been away awhile there is no better time than the present to pick up your blog and get back to writing. My favorite quote for the article pretty much sums up why you need to just do it!

"First, begin right away. Believe me, you’ll never have time and you’ll never know enough, so toss out those as reasons to wait. If you can’t manage this now, you’ll never be able to pull it off.  "

Coincidentally, I recently viewed this live chat from Joy Cho from Oh Joy! Joy talks about her new book, but most importantly answers questions from other bloggers about how to have a "successful" blog. If you have the time to view it or just listen to it Joy and Naomi have some great pointers for bloggers.

Avoiding Combustion

Recently I read an article by my former professor (a very talented designer) at KU. Burn-out is a danger for all creatives whether you work for corporation, small business, and freelance (it is probably a little scarier freelance creatives, but not necessarily). Our livelihoods depend on us being creative on command, which is not always possible. His use of honesty with clients and himself is essential to knowing how much work that you can take on at once is essential, but more striking is taking in account that we all need time away from work in order to be creative for work.

I need to work on both of these crucial points. I do not do freelance, but I have trouble telling my boss that I am just too busy to get my work done beautifully. This has made me produce some lack-luster work as of late. I try to counteract that by telling myself I need to work on personal projects at home, but that only results in burn-out. What I really need is time out to enjoy my life around me, because that is what I work so hard for everyday. My wonderful husband, my hyper labs, and my sweet niece are what help me regain focus on what I really want in my life. So cheers to a weekend to focus on my loved ones and giving myself a break!

Turn It Around

I was at a wedding this weekend for a dear friend met with former classmates and there are always the typical questions: What have you been up to, where do you work, and the dreaded are you working on any interesting projects. This maybe is not a dreaded conversation for most people, but it is for me. One of the biggest jokes in this life with be having to making small talk with a socially awkward person, and to have to answer difficult questions. My husband constantly reminds me that I should be working on interesting side projects. I know I should.

Work for friends or make up a project on my own like back in school. It is difficult to take the time to continue working after hours, but I have recently taken a vacation from work. There has been no design work for 5 days and that maybe just what I needed. Taking a break has created the space I needed to make my life more about what I want rather than being incredibly busy. I am looking forward to creating some work I enjoy and can be proud of.

New Blogs to Love

I have come across some new blogs that I have enjoyed:

1) The Great Discontent: A blog about contemporary designers and artists. Truly inspiration to read interviews of other designers in the field and what drives them to create.

"Make more. Make as much as possible"
"Don't compare yourself; you're on your own path"

These are just some of the sweet inspiration from the "Team Parris" interview. There are lots of treasures to inspire throughout the site. (and have you noticed that large image based sites are popping up everywhere, that is how you know internet speeds have just gotten so good they can handle the large data)

2) Revival of a Boring House: this blog is written by a former classmate and his wife. I love their little tips for creating a house to a home. It is great to get inspired from others who are trying to livening up a boring home, just like me.

3. What Katie Ate: Not a brand new blog, but I have just found it. Her beautiful photography is one of favorite blogs to go through my RSS feed. Talk about food porn.

Have you been reading anything interesting lately?

Blogging Takes Passion

With the somewhat anonymity of the internet it becomes easier to post whatever you want to the internet, but continual blogging takes something more than an 100 character update on what you are eating. Blogging takes passion. Unfortunately it is difficult to be continually passionate and motivated to post on a constant basis, and it better to take a break than to force mediocre content on an overcrowded blogosphere. Most people start a blog to discuss a subject that is important to them and think others will be interested on what they have to say.

You can find blogs on every subject: food (probably the most common), design, art, literature, DIY, crafts, games, health, mommy blogs, and much more. Most of us will never become "professional"  bloggers, like dooce (mommy blog), designlovefest (design), designsponge (home design), and besides have to make sure they can pay their employees they are able to take breaks from posting and let others post for them so that their readers don't notice the downtime when creativity has dissipated. Some are able to earn an income off their site, but most never will. What makes us spend countless hours, without pay writing about design, health, literature, crafts...passion.

Passion: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

When passion wanes personal blogs suffer because there is no longer the compelling force driving us to spend or precious personal time writing about a subject that once burned with fire, but is now cooled ashes.

 If passion is so essential, how do we get it back?

Spend time on your other hobbies. Spending time on your other hobbies can reignite your blogging passion when you can come back to it. Most of us are not interested in just one thing, so get out and enjoy your other hobbies as you wait for time to bring back your passion for your blog.

Sleep. Everyone has his or her own sleep requirement usually 6 to 9 hours. Our bodies need time to recharge in order to keep our body functioning as well as creativity.

Brainstorm (remember those writing exercises in grade school) - writing your ideas down quickly can help you come up with many ideas and you can weed out the ones that don't interest you.

Set Goals. when we achieve our goals a small amount of endorphins are released. making you happy and helping your regain passion.

Sandwich Art

I am and admitted food porn addict. I could look through food blogs and cookbooks all day and never cure my lust for food. Jon Chonko has made a blog, videos, and book about the sandwiches he eats for lunch.The art of the sandwich, as well as, the complexity in color and texture raises this from a mundane lunch to coffee table art book.



Scanwiches: The B.L.T. from powerHouse Books on Vimeo.

Design Morsel's New Look

I have a new look for DesignMorsels. There are important steps to consider when you are re-styling your blog:

1) Color Palette: I recommend staring with a color palette because it can really help you create a mood for your blog. You can either make a color palette based on what you feel is right or I like to find imagery that I gravitate towards and choose colors that appeal to me. As you look through imagery and create palettes it becomes very easy to see what colors you keep going back too.

2) Imagery Board: If you didn't use imagery to help define your colors, you can use imagery to help define what your blog will look like from the header to the photos that you include in your posts.

3) Layout: Pay attention to layout. Make sure everything is user friendly. The more  intuitive the navigation the more likely you visitor will stay longer. Layout also ties in keeping things consistent. Headers, links, and navigation should stay consistent throughout the site. This can occasionally be a challenge if your host site like blogger or wordPress is having server issues. You should also keep things easy to read without lots of background noise distracting from your posts.

4) Content: Content is last on my list, but it is clearly the most important. If you don't have content that people want to read/look at what's the point? Admittedly, I do not have a large reader ship, but if something I say or create can inspire one other person than my blog has fulfilled its goal. Make sure to write about things you are passionate about. It makes writing more fun and less of a second job.

What do you think of my new look?

My Starred List

I am stilling gathering the pieces of my life back together after my move. Part of that life is the blogs that I read daily, that I don't have as much time for right now. I have been starring items that interest me and I may want to go and read later. Here are some of the blog posts that I am looking forward to reading further:


Films of William James Murray: Fun Iconography

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake: What's not to love?

The Perfect Paragraph: I love type.
Tad Carpenter Holiday Cards: I am a big fan of his work and was a former student of his.
Gingerbread Faces: So cute I could 'em!
DIY Present Tags: Just the DIY project to get me in the holiday spirit.

Our work in progress kitchen, but it is getting there!

New app

Having recently became addicted to my phone, I try to do everything I can on my phone. I have had the blogger app for a couple months now, but it has been a hassle to post most things. Adding links or type style was something limited to my computer. But the latest update from google has made it easy for me to blog on the go, which is perfect because most of my ideas do not come while I have time to sit by my computer at home.

Not that there aren't dome bugs that still need to be worked out. I am looking forward to the new opportunities this may bring, and hopefully I won't be so engaged that I disengage.

Social Networking

Maybe its because social media has been quickly changing over the last few years, but no one at my school told me how important social networking could be. It can be difficult to network in a distant city. I experienced that myself at the end of my college career. I knew I would be headed back to Wichita, but did no know anyone in my line of work except the design studio I had interned at the summer before. Perhaps if I had learned about tools like linked in and behance sooner I would have been able to utilize those sites to my advantage.

Social networking can be a great tool, but it cannot beat meeting people face to face. Using social media can help you get that foot in the door, as long as you are representing yourself in a positive manner. Potential employers are going to google you so you should make sure there us nothing that degrades your digital appearance. Also making sure you have a uniform look and style at all your online media will help to brand yourself. Using a blog can be a great way to show a lot of personality and knowledge in your line of work. It helps if all you'd social tools link back to one another to help create connections and can simplify the steps a potential employer has to take as well as help design their experience.

Graduation Day

A year ago I was preparing to graduate from the University of Kansas filled with hope for the future. Imagining that soon enough I would land a new job in Wichita with a design studio and do amazing logos and do all the fun hipster graphic design things. I would get married and we would live in apartment, and then make enough money to get a house with a white picket fence and dog. Well it would be 6 months before I did get a job. During that time I became very disheartened that I could not land a job, because I was not good enough. No agencies or studios in Wichita seemed interested. I had taken some long trips, just to interview in Kansas City. I would make it to the last round, but failed to have the experience necessary. No one wants to give you the chance to gain experience. It is risky for a business to hire someone with little to no experience. I did finally get a job. At first it seemed like something different that what I wanted, but that is why they say don't judge a book by its cover.

I began working with car ads, but little by little I proved that I was up to the challenge of doing more. I have created a logo for a company and preparing to work on more collateral pieces. I have had opportunities to expand my illustration skills, do billboards, t-shirts, emails, and some flash work. I am really grateful for the opportunities that my company has given me. It has been to be appreciated for what I do, and I have proven to myself that I am capable of doing graphic design work that can be appreciated at the professional level. I enjoy my fellow employees, and I think that this company can go far. I am really excited about the opportunities that lay before me. So, I still have some of that hope that I had a year ago, but maybe with a bit more wisdom.

Much like high school, not being able to prepare me for college; nor was college able to prepare me for the professional workforce. It did give me the tools and a basic foundation, but my toes where barely even in the water. I guess it is a lot like freshman year with my Design 1 course. I dabbled in the programs and made simple layouts, but by senior year I could see my immature work and its failings. I can look back at my student portfolio and see things I wish I had done differently. I know that my skills have improved. I hope to continue to improve them, because you are really never done learning. Thanks for making me a better designer, and to better understand my craft.

I wished I had engaged in blogging when I had the chance. I am currently struggling to change my actions towards social media, blogging, podcasting, ect… I can’t help to think if I had taken this more seriously when it was REQUIRED for me to blog, listen to podcasts, and social network (for work). So if you are still in school, don’t take what the make you do for granted; you might regret it later. I would have been much better off if I had used the opportunities that the university had given me.

Dealing with the Demons

 

Porn is a big industry in this country, heck this world. Forbes says the porn industry does $10 to $14 billion dollars each year. Now it can be scary to admit it but FOOD porn. I can’t help looking through glossy cookbooks and drooling over the decadent desserts, sassy soups, salivating sandwiches, audacious appetizers, and so on…

Food photography is a growing field, but it is be taken over by freelance and your everyday blogger. Some of my favorite blogs, that appeal to my secret fetish, are: http://big2beautiful.com/ , http://ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/ummummgood/ , http://www.sweetfineday.com/  ,  and a place that allows me to just stare at images (if I choose) http://photograzing.seriouseats.com/ or http://www.carnetsparisiens.com/.

Gourmet food is really the industry pushing the food porn industry. Gourmet has taken leaps in bounds with the development of the food network and the cooking channel. Taking this food for the wealthy to become plebian that anyone can and should take gourmet into his or her own homes. In response blogs have blossomed with abundant photographs of sizzling skillets and scrumptious desserts.

Food and designers have often gone hand-in-hand. Cookbooks need skilled organizers to separate the information in a pleasant and logical way, therefore designers make a clear choice. Food photography draws in designers because food can be a very designed thing: making sure you have a “colorful” salad, texture, or they way the sauce appears on a plate. Pretty much food can combine everything that we, as designers love. Plus, food just tastes good.

Can Anyone Be a Designer?

With the advancement in software and a rebirth in craft movement it seems that everyone wants, and can be a designer. But can they? Lots of designers have the humble start of no schooling and go onto become very successful designer. Some are just crafters looking to make something trendy. Most people ARE capable of being designers. A primary function of a designer is to organize information, but also combining function and aesthetics. Designers need an aptitude for problem solving. Designers can be very talented not going to school, because you are judged by your portfolio not your school and grade.

School has the advantages of teachers being more knowledgeable in the field than you, and they can impart knowledge and skills that would take you much longer to figure out on your own. Fellow students are great assets to your education. Learning along with others creates a common bond, easy networking, and you would be amazed the magnitude of what you can learn from your peers. In our projects we each learned tricks to the different tools, and we able to help each other out. Being a student gives you the foundation to begin learning on your own. School also will provide you the history of graphic design, and knowing the history can help you understand the conventions in design today and better understand your tools.

With motivation you don’t require the aid that teachers and your fellow students can provide, but if you find you need that form of encouragement and supports there are plenty of blogs around that you that can give you the help of your peers in a non-intimidating way. It can be hard to keep the motivation up to learn on your own. I know that I continually endeavor to learn on my own new tips and tricks, but I always become lazy. I have considered taking short classes for support of teachers and the forced commitment of attending class.

Scheduling time, set apart from the rest of your day, can help ensure you take time to learn a new skill. Keeping a clean and distraction free workspace also helps ensure success. My TV and Netflix often distract me from achieving my goal. Put up design inspiration. Engage in alternative activities. Diversity can be a great asset to a designer. Graphic Design is not solely for computers, in decades past they did not have computers to accelerate the design process, so get practice drawing, painting, and if you can I strongly suggest screenprint and letterpress. Letterpress gives you a new appreciation for the simplified way we are able to layout type on a computer, as well as be having more detailed attention toward kerning and leading.

Even after school a designer is not done learning, so it is important to continue growth in your craft with: books, tutorials, lectures, and perhaps more classes! Design, software, and society are continually changing, so always look for an opportunity to learn. It is never too late to begin learning. --Wow how many more clichés can I fit here!? Many people can be successful without school, now she focuses more on her photography and blogging. Check out Heather Armstrong on dooce.com or her interview with Debbie Millman

Self Promotion

The Wichita had an interesting article this morning, about branding yourself in order to help you land that desired job. http://www.kansas.com/2011/03/31/1786918/selling-yourself-tips-on-developing.html

Brands are not just for products and companies any more. They are about making the employers feel a certain way about you. You cannot make up a person’s mind for him or her, but you can help guide their attention in the right direction. This article can help you initiate a plan for your brand and some online marketing tips for yourself. With 8-10% of the public without a job, branding could be crucial get the leg-up and land that job. You can do most of what is necessary for free, which is great if you have been out of a job for awhile. Utilizing tools that you probably already use: facebook, blogs, twitter, linkedIn (similar to facebook but more professional).

If you are going to start using social media to market yourself, make sure you clean up your act. Get rid of questionable photos or posts that might make you unpalatable to a new employer. You should do that anyway, because whether or not you are prepared for it future employers are looking at social media to find out more about you.

Blogging for Design

As a designer it is crucial to be organized and creative. Finding inspiration can be a challenge. Today I have several notable ideas that popped into my head today, after doing some web surfing:

1) Writing and drawing in journals began my freshman year of college, as a forced assignment. By junior year, instructors had moved us from making personal ideas in a written journal to publishing posts a blog that the whole class could read. New intimidation comes when you have to develop cohesive thoughts that appeal to more than just yourself. They have to be relevant and have an educational basis. Now in the ‘real’ world I welcome have a blog. I have lapsed, but we all have to fail and pick ourselves up again. I have been looking into starting a blog for the company I work for and the time and effort we would need to put into the blog, in order for it to be a successful blog. Something struck me while pouring through tens (maybe hundreds) of blogs.

LISTS.

Not everyone is using them, but they were the most appealing to sort through and read. I spent double, sometimes triple, the amount of the time on a blog that used numbered lists. Using text variation rather than large blocks of text made reading a blog that much more enjoyable.

2) Noting the importance of blogs fits into my goal for the week of details. Blogs are built on details. You MUST pay attention to the simple things such as spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and potent material. Blogging is more important than I have given it credit in the past. It can help a company relate to customers, while educating them more on subjects related to your particular field. It allows a conversation to take place; it can and should be personable.

3) Little details such as using headers, italics, and type variety can create visual interests as well as organize the information and apply a tone to the text.

4) I have focused on ways to help making content appealing and organized, but the most vital member of a blog is having content people want to read. We can make a blog as pretty as we want, but if the content is lack-luster it won’t keep our readers’ attentions. Take the time to practice and review your thoughts to make sure they are cohesive and would appeal to your audience; not just more fluff to fill the internet with. It is more than just whipping out your thesaurus for some witty words.

Starting from a Dead Stop

http://the99percent.com/tips/6815/the-art-of-momentum-why-your-ideas-need-speed?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=ALL&utm_campaign=MIH+Sept+1+2010

This is a great article for any creative person. In order to keep our creativity momentum going we can't stop we must continue. With graduation and lack of job availability has made me a lazy designer. I have to start from a dead stop. As the article says I want to set a goal for myself to work on two things: my website and a raw website starting with 1 hour and working myself to increased time totally focused on these two things.

that's my commitment