CREATED
THE JOURNEY BUT WILL NO YOUR DESK Over 10 years in from finishing uni and getting that degree and I am still none the wiser about what that course actually taught me other than design was then and still is to this day, something I am passionate about. No one every told me that I could possibly end up in a job that I don’t like, with “designer” in the title but very little design actually taking place. Don’t be alarmed; it gets better! That horrid 9-5 desk job was not exactly what you had in mind and you are praying for those lunch breaks to take your notebook and pen and go and see the outdoors, read your favourite design blog, troll social media for inspiration and just get out from behind that DESK.
Photo by Remy_Loz on Unsplash
Here’s the truth! Your job is as good as you make it and my first desk job gave me one of the best connections I have ever had and still have to this day... Working with someone who is passionate about the things you are passionate about is a gift. Working freelance for over 10 years has given me opportunities and put me in front of incredible people all around the world. BUT without that 9-5 desk job none of that would have happened. SOMETIMES YOU NEED YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER. Are you that creative that is behind a desk and longing to get out? Well my friend, I hear you. Be encouraged. You’re not going to be here forever. Hone your skills, explore your craft, don’t neglect the things you
Y STARTS OT END AT love the most because you think you don’t have time - make time! Never let anyone tell you you can’t do something. If everyone else is doing it, great, but they aren’t you and you have something to say and something to give. Never give up on your dreams. Start today. Even if it is little and often or even every now and then. Losing your passion is the worst thing you can do. Your journey might be behind a desk now, but it won’t stay there forever!
NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS
a job we
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
ell done
IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE
PLAY ON Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash
Music can boost your productivity and your creativity. Listening to music can help people manage anxiety, become motivated and stay productive. Our homes use to be places of sanctuary but now they have become schools, offices, playgrounds and weekend entertainment all in one. Music can be the source to take us on a journey of rememberance, of freshness, of exploration of emotions and enjoyment - these keys are vital to sustaining productivity. As creatives, we need passion to be at the forefront of everything we do. If we lose our LOVE for our work then we can feel like we are wandering and lost. Stuck in a rut? Research found an increase in both mood and quality of work while listening to music. So if you’re feeling low then find some music that can boost you. Maybe, like me, you have a go to playlist or artist that just sets you up for the day and gives you your smile back. Then get that one. One of the greatest upsides to working from home is that for some it can mean that you can control your atmosphere. So get hold of that remote, grab that speaker, connect your phone and play that music loud and proud. Disclaimer: this may not work for everyone and exploring different music genres is critical. Have fun finding out what works for you!
“The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing you’ve found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered.”
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Photo by Loverna Journey on Unsplash
A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES AND FLASH FICTION SET IN A WORLD OF TECH, CORPORATIONS AND ROGUES. You shouldn’t trust me. But you will. It’s inevitable. And I only need a few minutes carelessly spent. Don’t think about it too hard; follow my instruction. A click here, a password there. Nobody needs to know. Some days I’m a foreign prince with a ‘gift’, misspelt to see if you’re careless enough to join me. Other days I’m that reassuring voice on the end of a call, or a website pop up with a free prize. “You’ve won!” Perhaps today I caught you off guard or maybe you were feeling lucky. But in reality, you’re greedy. You lust for success without work, so you suspend your better judgement for the sake of your own fantasy. You’ll trick yourself long enough to give me what I need. You shouldn’t trust me. But you will. And even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter. Your data is already out there, somewhere, sitting on a server waiting for a raider. Let me introduce myself. I’m Judas Crook, and I’m a Data Pirate.
I AM A UNIQUE DESIGNER
wear it
You are a master craftsman. You have blueprints on the inside of you. You are a skilled artisan. Weaving words, ideas, and creative design into the fabric of society and family. Your experiences will not defeat you but instead help you invent new inroads into unchartered realms. A treasure map will open like a scroll within you to reveal the richness of glory and wonder for your future! Your life on this earth will be a continued journey of discovering joy and contentment.
DECLARE: Declarations of Hope for the Modern Soul by Roma Waterman Buy your copy here
DESIGNER DIVULGE
INSIGHT FROM A DESIGNER 1.
Never try to be like someone else. That isn’t you and the world needs you.
2.
Hone your craft. Never be too big headed that you can’t learn from others. Sharpen your skills, keep learning and seek out advice.
3.
Believe in yourself. Quit the comparisons.
4. 5.
Connect with others. Whether that be connecting with likeminded people or connecting with people who inspire you, never lose touch with the outside world. Take breaks. Get out into nature. Don’t sit at your desk all day long and watch the world go by. Your inspiration is not on this screen.
w o r l d
Calling the ones who sit and doodle;
b u i l d
y o u r
All fantasy lovers.
o w n
Calling all dreamers.
The ones who write.
Calling all who build their own worlds; Who imagine stories, And the ones who picture a multiverse of opportunity.
This is your time.
Not only now, But also in the years to come.
So don’t stress. Don’t fret if life doesn’t happen as you imagine, Or the story feels too big and hides from the page you’re writing.
It’ll come.
There is a time for eaverything. It’ll come.
Keep dreaming. Keep doodling. Keep writing.
Be the master of your own world.
Create races. Plan cities.
m a p
Draw maps.
Welcome to the Worldbuilding School.
excerpt from vancano.com
b u i l d
You rule.
y o u r
Build a place you don’t just belong;
During 2020, we all went through a turbulent year; so much uncertainty and for many so much loss. People lost jobs, lost homes, lost loved ones and lost themselves in the chaos; so when schools closed and my then 2 year old and 5 year old were both at home all day every day; my world was on the edge of taking a nose dive. What home use to look like
HOW A WORKING AT HOME MUM SURVIVED A PANDEMIC
In previous years, having young children, I have spent most of my days and weeks focused on them, looking after them, entertaining and feeding them; my freelance design business was always a secondary thought and I worked adhock with no fixed hours, no plan – I just worked when the jobs came in. At the start of 2018, I had started to build a structure that on the day when I was child free (childcare!) I would work in-house for one of my highest clients who required more regular work which lead me to being their sole designer. This meant I could really focus in on the branding of this client; building their identity and themes across all their events and promotion. Sept 2019 brought about FULL TIME school and boy, that began a great adventure. New routine, more free time to focus on work with a 2 year old in toe…UNTIL 2020 and the world-wide pandemic and everything I had started to build went to pot. The structure went out of the window as I became full-time Mum, Part-time primary school teacher and part-time designer. The balance was definitely NOT in balance and the hours were all over the place. And like many people around the world, a “new normal” began. What home looked like in 2020 I spent late night hours catching up with work when the little people slept, staring into a glowing screen, praying the internet wouldn’t cut out because we were using 4 times as much now two little people needed digital entertainment and mummy & daddy needed to zoom endlessly. The little people often appeared on screen during my work video calls asking for snacks, trying to show people they know the pictures they’d drawn, the things they had made from duplo bricks and lego and also to tell mummy that the other one had done something they shouldn’t have, or that they had spilt cereal all over the floor or that they had a dump on their head; all whilst trying to take in all the information I needed in order to do my job. My job! This once part-time role which involved about 4 to 6 new clients a year; regular logo designs and event promotion doing flyers, brochures, posters, and social media design and scheduling collided with a sudden need to take
ALL events, ALL promotion and ALL social media online at an accelerated rate and video editing, live streaming and weekly studio set up and take down in my living room was the NEW normal. On a regular basis I would put the 2 year old down 30 minutes before the hubby needed to do his video recording; and then keep the 5 year old busy with school work and craft in the conservatory in order to create the most silent working environment. And as the weather improved and the 5 year old learned to ride his bike without stabilisers, we would vacate the house completely and head to the park….
My business didn’t necessarily grow numerically in client number but my skills grew, my knowledge grew, my desire to learn more about what I want to do in the future grew and my strategies started to take shape. I worked more hours during 2020 than I would have if I had just had a regular 9-5 office job; most days I worked from 5am til 10pm but this work included being Mum, being a Wife, being the cook, the cleaner, the Primary school teacher AND the creative designer, trying to earn a small living so that the kids could get treats when we did our daily walk and discovered a new local shop or that we could get more paper and ink when we ran out, saving for bigger treats to see us through not being with So evenings would then become my working time and family and cherishing the moments of being together in I hate working in evenings; my kids get up anywhere a year where the diary said we should have spent most between 5am – 6am, so having already been up for 12 of it apart. hours by tea time, and then working – editing video after video after video; keeping up with more regular jobs…this What working from home looks like now new normal was taking it’s toll! 2021 rolled in and lockdown no.3 could have seriously How home changed hindered the plans I had and am making for the year ahead; but if surviving 2020 has taught me anything it BUT after all this chaos and all this uncertainty, the pleasure is to embrace the moments, look back with fondness of working from home surrounded by mess, toys, noise and not sadness, thriving is not always financial and that and boys; what got me through it was the reality check things that can wait must wait. Some things are not as that we were, are and continue to survive this thing. We important as they once were. Perspective is everything survived each day without killing each other, we survived as as a WAHM who survived 2020, my perspective is to the mess and in fact we packed up the chaos and the keep learning, push when the door appears, live in each mess and moved house. We survived the late nights and moment, enjoy the spontaneous, cherish family and only the homeschool hardships and even made things to post do what you love because life is too short to be bored! to family and friends. We survived loneliness and missing people. AND WE THRIVED.
IN JANUARY 2021, I SAT IN A THINK TANK SESSION AND THESE WORDS CHANGED MY YEAR “IS THIS GOING TO BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET? ” I DECIDED THAT 2021 WAS GOING TO BE MY BEST YEAR YET. I DECIDED THAT I WAS GOING TO PUSH ON DOORS, SEEK NEW OPPORTUNITES AND LAUNCH IDEAS I HAVE LEFT ON THE BACK BURNER. SO FAR IT ’S GOING WELL ...HOW ABOUT YOU?
YOUR BEST YEAR YET
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WE NEED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH LIGHT
Photograpy Article from Max D Boyes
I’m often asked ‘what’s the best camera?’
So, here’s a few tips to wet your appetite.
And my standard answer is ‘the one I have in my hand’! We get tangled in the drive
‘The Golden Hour’. That first hour after
for
‘upgrading’,
sunrise and that last hour before sunset
when what we really need is to make the
will give a beautiful soft light. When a
most of the equipment we already have.
light source is a long way off it produces
Very few photographers ever reach the full
harsh shadows - and 93 million miles to
potential or capacity of their existing gear.
the sun is a long way off. When sunlight
Unfortunately this does not satisfy the ‘retail
passes through more atmosphere it
therapy monster’!
will defuse into a very complimentary
‘better’
equipment
or
soft light. So if I don’t need more gear to take better photos, what do I need? The obvious answer
Do you want to show off your partners
is to firstly ‘get to know the gear you already
great looks with nasty shadows or dark,
have’. A good understanding of how it all
underexposed features? Make sure the
works and how each element relates to each,
light source in in front and 45 degrees to
will reduce mistakes. But we need more
one side. This will produce an attractive
than just technical knowledge and more
‘Rembrant Light’ - you might have to
expensive gear.
Google that one!
WE NEED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH LIGHT!
But sometimes you just get lucky. I once went out early one morning to catch
So what do we do with light? Apart from light
that ‘Golden Hour’ to try for an image
being the foundation of all photography
I’d had in mind for a while. And I’m glad
there some basic ‘rules’ that help us create
to say it worked - a full length portrait
stunning images with even the most basic
in a rapeseed field. But it was while
photographic equipment - or even a phone
walking home I snapped one of my all
camera dare I say!
time favourite shots. Quickly pulled my camera back out of its back and ‘snap’!
But I’ll start with a warning - as well as being
No Photoshop required - the morning
our friend, light can also be our enemy.
light had done all the work for me.
Ever taken a photo of your lovely partner, framed by a stunning sunset, only to find
HAPPY SNAPPING.
their face has disappeared into darkness and not everyone is adept at Photoshop! So, remember, your camera is attracted to light and, if left to its own devices, will automatically expose to the dominant light source.
~ MAX D BOYES
NEXT RE IN NOV
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ELEASE VEMBER
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