Pssst...we're over here.

I'm no longer doing big things under the name Pixel Dust. We've gone minimal even in our studio name. Find us here.

Ira Glass said...

"All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work … It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions … It’s gonna take awhile … You’ve just gotta fight your way through."

word.

Project 365

A few days ago I was challenged with the daily task of finishing the statement "I am..." with a short, but creative, response (as if my responses would be anything but). I've been doing it on Facebook and Twitter, but now I think I have loftier goals. I was given no real time frame on this task. It was simply a "Hey, I did this and TAG, you're it." sort of thing. Yesterday (or the day before...who knows as all my days run together right now), I contemplated taking the responses and creating a typographic poster out of it. Today, I've decided to go one further...enter Project 365.

I've seen challenges where people are tasked with taking a photo per day for a year. I like this...a lot. It will likely be the next Project 365 unless something fancier steals my affections. I say "next" because every 365 days I will start a new Project lasting, you guessed it, 365 days. Check out the link on my website to follow my progress.

I am...inspired. What are you?

Things Are Bloomin'

Things are really taking off around here lately. Around every corner is something new to work on and I couldn't be happier or more appreciative. It's so fulfilling to be doing the work you love. I thought I should start getting back in the habit of blogging and putting up shots of what I'm working on...

I've been working with Bloomin' Delights to finally give them a web presence. They have a farm and nursery in Woodburn and sell flower baskets, live wreaths, fresh cut flowers, herb pots and other bits of eye candy at farmer's markets and places like New Seasons. They had a logo they wanted to stick with, but had me recreate it so that we could actually do something with it. The tiny little .gif was a mess to use at anything bigger than a half-inch. While doing so I changed up their typeface and gave them something more reminiscent of what you'd find on the chalkboards of the very farmer's markets they sell at.

I took all of the photos used on the site. On the right is a slideshow of various things they grow from year to year and on the left are smaller shots that simply show a few bits of what they currently have available. I'll be going back to take photos often and switch those up for them. In addition there is a link to contact them and check out a list of what they have available (which changes biweekly it seems).

I launched the site a few days ago and am moving on to other projects. I'm nearly done with a logo for Steel Mountain Electric and will post the result soon.

Logos and Websites and Photos, Oh My.

The quick and dirty of what's been happening is that I have been super busy being creative. Above is a painting I did based on some of the virtual photography I had mentioned in my last post. I hadn't painted in about 15 years and broke out the oil paints one day and braved it. I've also been writing again (obviously not in here). I've missed both creative outlets and I'm not entirely sure why I stopped other than life getting in the way. Life must stop that STAT.

I also have projects. Sweet, glorious, money paying projects. I don't mean the dreaded "Urban Legend" projects, either. You fellow designers know what I'm talking about. The ones you keep hearing mention of, but you can't ever find anyone with any solid proof that they actually exist? Nay, I mean contracts signed, deposits being paid, firing up the Adobe software as we speak type projects. The kind that make our swatches panels sing and our Selection Tools weep. The kind that make Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver collide in ways that make clouds part and angels sing. Ok, that might have been a bit over the top, but you get the gist...I'm excited. Even if they are small projects, I heart them!

I was in the habit of posting what I've been reading on my blog because for the longest while it was all design related books and blogs; however, I just finished reading The Power by Rhonda Byrne a few weeks ago. She was responsible for The Secret that I'm sure most people have been unable to avoid hearing about. The Secret, The Power, Law of Attraction...all the same subject matter, but this book sort of just brings it all together in a much more comprehensible manner. I'm by no means a new age kind of girl (so much so that I couldn't find the book in the bookstore because it was in the New Age section and I've never set foot in it) so some of the reading is a little out there for me, but I have always believed that people who are chronically negative bring even more negativity to their lives. I'm not talking about someone going through a bad stretch and not dealing with it especially well. I'm talking about the people that spend 95% of their lives all woes me and bringing everyone down with them. The Debbie Downers of every situation. So, conversely, people that are consistently positive bring more positivity to their lives. When my accountant suggests these books and tells me stories about how they've worked for her (she may or may not have also given me discounts on getting my taxes done if I promised to read them)...I read them. What I know is that my sister and I have put some of these principles to work in the past and had crazy things happen (call them coincidence, I don't care). What I know is that I have started to get legit projects. What I know is that the absolute worst thing that could happen if you were to read it (and subsequently practice it) is that you throw a few less pity parties and are far less "Woes me." about everything. That's Win/Win right there.

Virtual Design

After graduation I stumbled across something that, for the sake of time and sanity, we'll call a big giant virtual chat room. Instead of only being represented by text on a screen like, say, Yahoo...you are also represented by an avatar that you create. I'm not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination so you will have to make sense of all that on your own. What I know is that people spend a lot of time and money making their avatars look as realistic as possible (not realistically "them" because everyone is flawless, just realistically human).

Here is where I come in...there are businesses that want logos and character/avatars/whatevers that want photos to put in their profiles or whatever they intend to do with them. I have no desire to explain all the silliness that is this new way of designing so I will just show some things I've done in the way of virtual photography and then leave you to wrap your heads around it.

Master of my domain

I've had a lot of web domains in my short time as a web designer. Either because I didn't know what my business name should be or I just thought it would be a funny one to add to the repertoire. Most have long ago expired, but now I've added another one to the mix.

www.designinspiredlife.com

I haven't done much with it and I'm not entirely sure what I will do with it, but the possibilities are endless doncha know. It was the result of a wicked 10th anniversary sale with the host I use and allows me enough bells and whistles to start experimenting with Wordpress.

In other news...

My Pixel Dust site has a slideshow...finally. It still needs some fine tuning, but voila.

A custom + handmade jewelry designer asked me to do a logo for her and requested that I somehow incorporate the cherry blossom illustration I did for the wedding invitation project. Since it was only a school project and not for a client I happily agreed. This is the version she chose. I will be making some simple hang tags for her pieces as well as business cards and doing her website + photography.