Design Process: Sketching
The simple use of a pen (or pencil) and paper, helps you clarify your thoughts, and in turn, reach your goal more quickly.
Suck it Up
Don’t have a pity party, don’t cry over the mistakes you made, and don’t give up.
Design Process: Research & Brainstorming
The research and brainstorming stages will be the most time-consuming but most worth it of all your steps.
Design Process: The Brief
The [design] brief is the single most important step in the design process. Without it, you will be lost.
Have a Passion Project
You will never lack for a sense of fulfillment in your work as long as you have your own passion projects to pursue.
Design Process: The Initial Client Meeting
The goal of the first client meeting for me is get to know the client and their business
It’s Okay to Not Know
Because admitting that you don’t know is not the same thing as admitting defeat.
Being a Designer Means: Never Settling
What does it mean to be restless? Most of the things that come to mind when people think of being restless are perceived as negative. Words like, nervous, agitated, anxious, or unsettled. I think th ...
9 Ways Photography Can Make You a Better Designer
I love that the fact that knowing how to do great design, can also help me take great photos. And now it can do the same for you if you make the connection.
Treat Yourself Like a Client
Brand yourself. Why you should be your own client even if it’s scary.
How to Fill Your Blank Pages
We follow family members to keep up with their lives, we follow friends to see what they’re up to, and we follow interesting people for entertainment. But as creatives, we should have a more intentional group of individuals to follow.
Success takes patience
Being patient and consistent and not giving up while waiting for success will yield some amazing benefits.
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 ...
Creative Risks Not Taken are Just Misses
There can be perfection and amazing beauty in the imperfect, in the abstract and messy-take risks.
Why Logo Design is not Cheap
Before they even get to the “about us” portion of your website, they are already deciding what kind of business you are based solely on your logo.
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.
Trust the Process: Full Branding Project Completed in 24 Hours
I will likely do a detailed case study of our client, TIASO, in the future, but this post should show briefly how trusting the process made the most out of our 24 hours.
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 ...
A Brief Intro to My Design Process
(This post was written in 2015. I'm working on an updated version with new photos and some new resources)This week I decided to do something a little different. I wanted to show you one of my project ...
Why Boundaries Make You More Creative
It’s easy to come up with an idea when you can do whatever you want, but often the best ideas can come from forced margins.
Just Go with It
It’s okay to follow your whims sometimes. If you feel like making something, then make it. If you feel like writing something, then write it.
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.
Delete, Delete, Delete
You always start with addition (put everything in your design that you think you need), but to get to the end you must think in subtraction.
Why Being a Critic is a Good Thing
Critiquing and directing other peoples’ creative work creates an endorphin-like rush that motivates ME to do better work.
How to Handle Client Interference
While I was quite literally right in the middle of writing what I was planning on writing for this weeks post, I took a break. I decided to check out a designer whose work I really love and see what ...