(This is what it looks like when your focus is as fragile as a soap bubble.)    

This article is in: Creativity, Illustration

Know what you’re building before you start Seeing your good work go unused is one of the most draining things about working as a designer. It’s hard to pour your heart, creativity and time into a piece and then watch it languish in your sketchbook or on your hard drive. There are a number of […]

This article is in: Creativity, Design, Illustration

“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” —Aaron Swartz

This article is in: Books, Creativity, Ideas

Mountain 1 by Laura Brown, as seen through a kaleidoscope “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning […]

This article is in: Creativity, Ideas

There are some clients who are a joy to work with. They have all their material together, a clear idea of the goals of the project, and a definite timeline. They value the designer’s time and sanity, and give clear and constructive feedback in a timely manner.

Then there’s this client.

This article is in: Being Human, Community, Creativity, Design, Layout

This is a continuation of an earlier post, The Creative Process, Part I: The Myth of Orderly Progress. Creative work is non-linear Some work follows a clear path. Step 1 is always followed by Step 2, and if you know how many steps there are you can have a pretty good idea of how the […]

This article is in: Creativity, Design, Ideas, Illustration, The Nerdatorium

I don’t always know what I’m doing When I worked as a house painter, it was easy to figure how the work would go and how long it would take. You have a 2″ brush and 300 feet of trim to paint. There were occasional problems but for the most part the goal was clear, […]

This article is in: Creativity, Design, Ideas, Illustration, The Nerdatorium

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Skip #BlackFriday!

This article is in: Creativity, Illustration

  Don’t overcook your good ideas Design by committee and endless revisions can turn the best idea into a charred, smoking wreck. Most projects begin with a spark of a creative idea, and that spark can grow into a complete, developed finished piece. But the revision process can be brutal on that initial idea, especially […]

This article is in: Creativity, Design, Ideas

I recently borrowed a wide-angle lens from a friend to take some exterior photos of a building and I was reminded of two things about photography, and work in general: Having good equipment makes all the difference. The best equipment in the world can’t take good pictures for you. You still have to be intentional […]

This article is in: Creativity, Design, Photography