dealing with the dreaded imposter syndrome
Do you ever feel like an imposter? How do you know if you are being confident or just arrogant? I’ve met lots of designers and creatives over the years and one thing is certain, we all doubt ourselves.
Make Milk (how to problem solve when you’re not actively working))
What does a cow have to do with being creative? #designmatters #makemilk
Use Colored Pencils
https://youtu.be/Wq4zhAhvtVo With all the amazing new technologies we have at our disposal as designers, we start to rely on the computer to create things that are supposed to be something else. We ...
Ask Why
Asking why, or questioning your decisions, tests your motive for every design decision you make. Knowing your reasons requires that you, have gone through some questions and had to answer for them. T ...
What You Can Learn from the Hipster Mindset
There's a phenomenon that has gripped the country (and possibly the world); it's the hipster. Whether you love them, hate them, tolerate them, or maybe you don't even really get what a hipster ...
Creativity is a Work Ethic
Creative people are not magicians. Ideas are not something that you need special skill to find. Someone may be born with talent but that doesn't make them idea makers. Have you ever wondered why cer ...
How to Use Music to Unlock Your Creativity
Music is my secret weapon in the arsenal of my creative process.  As I am writing this post I have music playing in my headphones. My music choices vary dramatically based on what I am doing or wh ...
The Motivation Myth
Much like love, creativity is a choice, you have to choose to be creative, you need to decide in your own mind that you will be creative, and the feelings of excitement and motivation will follow.
Leave Your Comfort Zone
It's really important to recognize when you have become too cozy where you are creatively. Leaving your comfort zone doesn't just mean learning something new. It can also mean pushing yourself into ...
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 ...
Design Process: Presenting Your Ideas
Presenting is actually a crucial design skill, one that you can be good at with intentional practice.
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 ...
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.
How to Follow Trends Without Becoming a Sellout
Avoid the trauma to your creative self, and learn how to use trends to your advantage without selling your artistic soul.
Creative Risks Not Taken are Just Misses
There can be perfection and amazing beauty in the imperfect, in the abstract and messy-take risks.
Show Yourself – let them see who you are
People will understand you and your creative journeys even better if you show yourself. Don’t be afraid to let the world see you, they want to see you.
Be Willing to Be Weird
Especially as creatives, we really need to explore and be confident in our weirdness.
Design Better with The Right Music
Music is an important component to creative innovation. I have never met a creative who didn’t have a special connection to some type of music.
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.
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.
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 ...