2011 World Series

I am a very happy person right now. I reign from St. Louis, MO. It is where I was born, and where I feel most at home. I love the St. Louis for many reasons. The people, the sports, the weather, the culture and the activities. However, what I love right now, are the Cardinals. I grew up watching the Cardinals in the old Busch Stadium. My sister and I however never really watched the games, we would walk around the never ending maze of the stadium, talking. Now that I am older, I actually care about the games, and the Cardinals have been playing a mean game of baseball this past week.

And, watching the games, makes me miss home more than ever. I see the arch and downtown, and all I think of are wonderful memories with my family and friends. Thus, I am hoping and praying that the Cards will win game 7 of the World Series in my home of St. Louis, MO!!

Maid of Honor Speech

I am currently in the process of brainstorming/writing my Maid-of-Honor speech for my sister's wedding. I probably should have started this much sooner, as my sister's wedding is only a week and a half away, but I was and still am dreading it. There are a few reasons why I am nervous about this speech. First of all, whenever I get up and talk in front of a large crowd, no matter how practiced I am, my voice shakes. Second, I don't know whether I can be sappy or funny in my speech. And depending on which way I go...I hope people respond to what I'm saying. So if I try to be funny, what if people don't laugh? And if I try to be sappy/sentimental, what if people think its fake, or not touching. I'm hoping that by the time I give the speech of course, I'll have had a few cocktails and so will everyone else. This will of course loosen everyone up. Either way, I've already written 2 drafts...and when I practice them to myself...they just don't feel right. And I want it to feel right, I want it to be sweet, and memorable and I want it to be meaningful to my sister and brother-in-law. So, needless to say I'm feeling the pressure.

So wish me luck in this endeavor, as I continue to search through love poems and quotes on marriages, and watch as many wedding movies as possible in hopes to get an idea of what to say. I'm almost tempted to snag the wedding speech J. Lo delivers to the best man in "The Wedding Planner"...but I know it wouldn't be true to me...so here goes nothing! And lets hope my writers block goes away pretty quickly!

"Branding 10,000 Lakes" Project

Another great thing I heard about today on NPR is about a designer named Nicole Meyer who lives in Phoenix. Basically what this designer is doing is spending time each day to create a different logo, each day of a different Minnesota lake. I found it really inspiring that she is taking this on, and the idea that to do something like this each day means a lot of play, a lot of creativity, and the ability to realize that sometimes play is better than perfection. I think that as designers (or at least myself as a designer) its hard to ever feel done with a project. We could have all of the time in the world to design something, but at the end of the day you always feel like maybe if you move this here and maybe change this here that your design could be better. In fact, there are projects from 2 years ago that when I look at them again...I think man if only I'd done this! However, some of the most fun work I've ever done were projects I had to do in a day!

I remember there was one day my sophomore year in college in studio at NC State where our class was feeling drained and uninspired. So our professor decided to give us the 3 hour time slot to create one small project. It was fun, boosted my creativity and got me motivated to keep working on my longer, more in depth project. So check out Nicole's website on her project! Sometimes the best ideas and designs happen when playfulness is the key factor. (I would definitely suggest this if you have feel like you are having a 'design block').

designed by Nicole Meyer

Becoming a Noun

I was listening to NPR this morning, and there was a story about people's names becoming nouns, and how each one of these people has become immortal due to their inventions. I thought it was really interesting, because there are so many every day objects we use that come from someone's last name, but we never think of the person behind it, or do we even know that the name of the object comes from the name of a person. Adam Cole and Robert Krulwich took the topic one step further and made a great song and music video to go along with it...so enjoy! Its fun, and you learn a lot!

(as a side note, I only could get this video to work in Safari, not in Firefox)

Deep Surface @ CAM Raleigh

Hansje van Halem, Doily Type, 2009, Fineliner drawing

Gavilan, from Historia: A Type Specimen, Designed by Rudy VanderLans (Emigre), 2010

The Job Market

I have been watching some videos about the "hidden job market" today and I'm not sure if it makes me feel better or worse about the current job market. Yes, this is good news because it means there are tons of jobs out there that you won't find on-line or on postings on professional websites. But bad news, those big name companies that are impossible to get real person contact with, you will probably have even a harder time getting those jobs.

In the video, she mentions hiring managers. However, for my field, the hiring managers are the fellow graphic designers working at the design agency, or the owners of the agency. Typically in smaller design firms, there isn't someone else doing the leg work. However, I am quite confident that these design firms have already talked to many people and received personal recommendations for the job, and by the time someone like myself finds the posting on-line, at least three people have been interviewed for the job I'm just learning about.

Fairness is not a factor here. Companies have to make a profit, and they have to find someone they are confident can fill the position. So companies are watching their backs, using connections and recommendations over a random person found on-line. So what does it mean for people without connections in the companies they want to work for? Its hard to say.

First of all, applicants now a days have to be extremely pro-active, outgoing and willing to work hard. They have to network and make connections any way they can. Some ways to do this are through contacting firms and companies you like or respect their work and get some informational interviews. This way there isn't pressure on either side, but your getting face time with someone. Another way, professional organizations. Start getting involved in the community of the career your working towards. Then your face and name will start to be familiar around people who may already being doing what you hope to do. Another big way, when you meet someone, talk to them, ask them questions about what they do, who they know, and their background. This can be a huge help, because maybe they know someone who can help you, or maybe they themselves can be of help.

Basically get out there! The job market today is rough, and its not easy. But if you start to tap in to the hidden job market, you may find opportunities that never would have been available to you before.

To be a good designer...

To be a good designer, which is what every designer wants to be, does not come easy. It requires dedication, hard work, and time (and really great time management). I have struggled with myself for years as to whether or not I am a good designer. Compared to some of my classmates, I always felt sub-par. I never (and still) do not feel like I am a good designer. An alright one sure, and I am proud of a few projects here and there, but I don't ever see myself as a good designer. I think a lot of it is my perfectionism talking, and another part is fear, and another is because I know good design, and I can't even begin to compare myself.

I recently read this post on the AIGA website, and it helped me put a lot of this in perspective. Maybe right now, I am in a very long period of making what I believe is "semi-okay" design, and that the more I turn out what I think is (pardon my french), "crap", the closer I will become to making those great designs. I just need to keep working, and working more and harder at it than I am now.


http://www.aiga.org/interior.aspx?pageid=3079&id=1862

Motivation Part Dos

So I have been thinking about motivation some more, and I realized how much of a mental game it is. It is about how you choose to spend your time, and what you decide is important to you. It is also about how you mentally prepare for your day. In high school and in college, I always had motivation to do work, because I had people telling me I had to do it. Teachers, coaches, bosses, studio mates. Now the only coach I have to push me farther and to get me to work harder is myself (and maybe my cat, but he's more in to relaxing than working). I have to start depending on myself to push me to the next level. To get me to work a little bit harder and honestly it is not an easy task, but one that if you work at a little bit each day will become easier and easier.

I found this video on YouTube last night, and while it is a bit corny, it also had a good message.

So I basically need a coach yelling at me to keep working harder, to keep up a good attitude and to not stop until I've tried my hardest.

Or of course there's this type of motivation. Where maybe I just need someone chasing me with a pitchfork to keep me going towards my goal. Though this version may be a little harsher. But its about what works for you I suppose.

So this morning to motivate myself, I went to the gym, where my instructor kicked my ass, then got a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, opened my window to the cloudy September day and started working. Here's to a hopeful productive day!

Motivation

Motivation. Motivation is an interesting thing. In high school, I was motivated to be a part of everything. I was in theater, played volleyball, basketball, ran track, president of Amnesty International, played piano and hand bells at church, participated in various/many community service activities, and on top of that laundry list I was able to be a straight A student. Then in college, I continued my strong will for involvement. I joined a sorority, was a member of various clubs and organizations, had a part time job, was a straight A student and managed to have a social life. Now, I am in the "real world" and my motivation has gone to the way side, or at least outside of work.

Its interesting, because I looked up the synonyms of motivation, and the words "incentive, inspiration, reason, ambition and determination" show up. I feel like I have a lot of these words. I have ambition and determination. And I have a reason for my ambition. I want a successful career. I want to challenge myself every day. I want to find something I enjoy. I want to learn and travel. I have plans. General plans, but plans, and a dream. Yet, apparently (despite what the thesaurus) I lack motivation to get to where I want to go. I am learning that motivation in school, can be very different than motivation in life. I am trying to get back to the productiveness of my college/high school days, however, it seems to be taking time.

I'm not sure if its an adjustment period. I'm not sure if its me. However, I do know, that my productivity levels have changed significantly. I stay busy of course. Still doing many different activities, however, the activities never seem to involve any sort of motivation to actually finding a new job. Even though I desperately want one. Some people tell me I should just enjoy life for right now. Others tell me I just need to make time for working on my portfolio and job applications. I'm not sure which one I should be focusing on, however, if it is the latter, than where do I find the motivation to use my time towards this? How do I get there? And where did it go in the first place? 

Motivation. How do you stay motivated? 

Shoes seem to be a theme

I realized that in the year since I have posted on my blog....the theme seems to be the same. Shoes. Apparently, shoes are more important to me than I ever realized, but what a great way to segue from one time of blogging to the next.

And for your information, I did go shoe shopping and bought two different pairs of classic boots. One black and one brown. And while I was ever so excited to purchase them for my new job, I am now at a different job and unable to enjoy them as much. Funny how things can change in a year, and yet not change at all.

My Inner Fashionista

Once again I have been a poor blogger. It has been close to a year since my last post...so I'm sure no one is even reading my blog, or this post for that matter. But my goal is to start being better. Being better about staying active in the design world, being better at controlling my life and being better about being happy in my career path (or the lack there of).

My current obsession is my inability to dress the way I crave to. It sounds petty, but when things don't go the way I planned, its easy to turn to things that make me feel good: clothes, shoes and bags! However, it is unfortunate that my current job requires me to wear the same shoes EVERY DAY and where it is acceptable and appropriate to wear a t-shirt and jeans with no make-up. Thus, my current guilty pleasure is the fall VOGUE magazine. Granted the thousand page magazine is mainly ads...but I love looking at it all and just hoping that one day I'll have the chance to wear shoes like these

some where at some point in my life. Although, being a 5'10" woman doesn't ever leave me with much opportunity, as already I tower over many people even if I'm in flats.

So while I currently an unable to indulge in my inner fashionista, it is at least inspirational to be able to look, admire and be inspired by the colors, textures and fabrics of America's fashion industry.

And here's to my attempt to get back to blogging...and expressing my many thoughts.