A Few of My Favorite (Free) Things
 The creative process can be full of small speed bumps to huge mountains. Some things can make the actual execution of your ideas be so much easier. I've often been asked where I get my fonts or vecto ...
Ask Why
One of the most important parts of design thinking that you will ever need is knowing the importance of asking why. Simon Sinek, inspirational author, says that it's easy to figure out what ...
Design Process: Presenting Your Ideas
Presenting is actually a crucial design skill, one that you can be good at with intentional practice.
Use the Color Wheel to “Cheat”
Incorporating color into a design of any kind can be a delicate operation. You want to be sure that you are giving the right message with color. That the viewers conscious and subconscious will get ...
Be Committed
It's a bit ironic that I've been wanting this as my tip for today. I was committed to posting while it was actually Tuesday, instead of a few minutes after midnight going into Wednesday, but that's e ...
It’s Good to Question
This one is important to practice from time to time. I don't know about you but I tend to like rules, at least at first. Then I want to question the rules and ask where I might be wrong. Much like wa ...
Design for the Content
You will save yourself a ton of time and headaches if you are sure to get content before you start to design or layout anything.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Dirty
{ Get Dirty } Don’t be an OCD Designer, always doing what looks clean.
Be Ready to Always Explain Yourself
Sometimes I think we forget that our clients don't really understand what we do. Whether it's out of arrogance or passion we sometimes get carried away with our jargon about fonts or printing terms a ...
Walk Away
Just like its best to walk away from a disagreement or heated argument because we aren't seeing clearly, sometimes we get too close to the work we do. Leave your design to chill out, move away from ...
Bad Design is Always Easy
But so many people make things and think they are designers. If you want to be a designer and have your work be respected by others, you will never be able to take the easy way out.
Print is Not Dead
 Remember to learn about physical printing and don't just design for the web. Chances are even if you are a web only designer you will encounter a print project at some point or work with a project th ...
Collect Stuff That You Love
Collect things. Collect quotes or portions of texts you find inspiring. Save textures and patterns you find interesting. Gather intriguing photography or shots you take of unique places. If you coll ...
Take a Break
Put it down, close it down, put it away, shut it down, press pause, get up, walk away and don't think about it for awhile. You will be amazed and thrilled at the clarity a break will bring when you g ...
Why “simple” design isn’t easy, quick, or cheap
Bad design is easy. Bad design is quick and cheap. But good design takes time, and has value. Anything good is worth something. And good design is worth a lot.
Stop Trying to Be Original
Literally nothing is new, there are no original ideas. Even King Solomon wrote, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Someone will ...
Change is Good
Never hesitate to start over if what you have already done is not the right thing. A blank page can be daunting but beautiful! Try something different, do something you wouldn't normally do. Stretch ...
What is Design Sense?
Unlike common sense, design sense is a sort of intuition combined with education about design. It’s knowing when and why to choose Bodoni or Goudy, and it’s very important.
Blog Post Zero
After many years of thoughts and discussions on the topic, I decided to start a blog. A blog about my thoughts on why design matters. I find it frustrating every time I have to "convince" someone, whe ...