There is always hope

Under a skylight in her tin-ceilinged loft near Union Square in Manhattan, the abstract painter Carmen Herrera, 94, nursed a flute of Champagne last week, sitting regally in the wheelchair she resents.

Carmen Herrera at work. She has painted for six decades, and since her first sale in 2004, collectors have avidly pursued her. More Photos »

After six decades of very private painting, Ms. Herrera sold her first artwork five years ago, at 89.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/arts/design/20herrera.html

The Design Process in All Its Glory

to see the rest of it, visit:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off | Video on TED.com

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off | Video on TED.com

On the money

I love it when targeted advertising works. This one made me tear up a little bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymtMjwZN7A

Owen and his Robot

Save. Print. Play!

In honor of the upcoming holiday, and as a thank you to the people who have helped me through this interesting year, I created a Thanksgiving Turkey Track Pilgrim. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

I am most definitely thankFUL.

Gravy Boat in honor of Thanksgiving.

Corporate type revisited

http://tinyurl.com/yfcfvll

Annual Design Site List

I sent out a call for websites that are useful and inspire, and below is what I have received this year from professionals in the field. Hopefully you will find some sites that you have never heard of, and will find some inspiration in these picks. NOTE: I have not had a chance to visit all of the websites, so please be wary of content.

Have fun!


PROMOTE YOURSELF
behance.com
blogcatalog.com
blurb.com
boonika.com
collabfinder.com
coroflot.com
covers.fwis.com
del.icio.us
designrelated.com
facebook.com
flickr.com
graphics.com
krop.com
kuler.adobe.com
linkedin.com
logopond.com
makefive.com
new.myfonts.com
qbn.com
stlyeboost.com
taxi.com
twitter.com
typophile.com
undrln.com
veer.com

INSPIRATION
40fakes.com
artdirectors.org
aaf.com
aiga.org
coudal.com
cssimport.com
cssloaf.com
creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog
designcollector.com
designcreme.com
designflakes.com
designfridge.com
designgrabs.com
designobserver.com
designersreviewofbooks.com
dezinspriation.com
andyrutledge.com (designview.com)
dirtymouse.com
dropular.com
ffffound.com
forfiftyfive.com
fourfifthsdesign.com
grainedit.com
howdesign.com
informationarchitects.jp
itevenhasawatermark.com
juststuffifind.com
kreativos.com
kottke.org
leclubclub.com
linkgrab.com
logomoose.com
mostinspired.com
netdiver.com
nicefuckinggraphics.com
originallinkage.com
packagingworld.com
patterntap.com
printmag.com
somerandomdude.com
speckyboy.com
smashingmagazine.com
straightline_bookmark.com
styleinspriation.com
swiss-miss.com
thebestdesigns.com
thedailyslurp.com
thinkingforaliving.com
typographyserved.com
typojungle.com
ult.dex.com
underconsideration.com
visualsafe.com
weheartit.com
webcreame.com
zeldman.com

TYPE
ilovetypography.com
typojungle.com
fontfont.com
typographyserved.com
typedirectorsclub.com
typenuts.com

FIND A JOB
talentzoo.com
kcdesignjobs.com
creativehotlist.com
careerbuilder.com
monster.com
aaf.com
aiga.org
freelanceexchangekc.com
linkedin.com
twitter.com

Advice for Young Designers

Only Pretty Things (from now on!)

My fore into the world of the Account Executive ends this week. With it I have learned some valuable life lessons:
1. Used car salesmen are rarely wonderful people
2. Always have your car looked at by an independent mechanic before you decide to buy
3. Commissioned sales positions are a bit of a racket
4. Always have the client pay up front
5. The lady who manages the Waffle House in my home city makes over $60k a year

With these new life lessons under my belt, I will be teaching 3 college level classes and posting only inspirational, pretty or fun things to my blog.

Hopefully no more from the world of the Account Executive.

Creativity and Failure

In order to become a working member of society again, I started a new job as an Account Executive at a magazine that targets local auto dealers for their revenue. One would think that in an economy where in the last two weeks, Chrysler has declared bankruptcy, GM is closing half of thier dealerships nation wide, and brands such as Saturn and Pontiac have been abandoned that there would be little resistance in selling advertising space to paniced dealer owners and general managers. For the first time since I have started this job, my commissions are equal to what I was making on unemployement. Ironic isn't it? It is really making me second guess my decision to come on board in this capacity. Afterall, creating beautiful pieces of advertising is much different than selling them.

So, here is where my optimism kicks in. Dealerships historically see a dramatic up-tick in sales during their summer months. Translating to more revenue and hopefully slightly bigger advertising budgets. The loss of under-producing dealerships thins the herd, but may increase traffic at the remaining stores - again, hopefully padding the pockets of the decision makers and giving me room to grow.

Although the environment in which I have signed myself up to sell in is extremely difficult, I am hoping at the end of this I have polished my marketing acumen, my ability to budget, forcast and make recommendations to clients, and of course gained more marketability for myself. Those things are universal and will translate as I go forward on this crazy career ride.

One more week

This is my last week as an unemployed worker and it is definitely a double edged sword. I have excited to be moving forward in a new career, but am hear-broken at having to put my son into daycare full time again. This morning when I dropped him off, he started crying in the parking lot and was completely inconsolable by his teachers.

Losing my position in the advertising world has definitely served as a wake-up call for me on many levels, none so much as the amount of time that I was dedicating to a career that obviously didn't share my devotion. Although I am still passionate about art, design and advertising, I am putting the breaks on a break-neck pace and an over-filled schedule. Last Friday I went to dinner with a friend and was completely shocked at being unable to recall the last time that I had gone to a restaurant on a Friday night for dinner. I simply couldn't remember the occasion, and was flabbergasted by how little I have devoted my time to my family and friends over the past three years. My new position will hopefully help me bring some of that missing balance back into my social and family lives.

So, goodbye crazy career with an unclear and uncertain ladder. Goodbye 12-15 hour days and little opportunity for advancement. Hello creative collaboration, inspired teaching and building bridges. I will now be working on design for fun(!) as a way to help causes that I am interested in and a way to express my creativity. My work life will be centered on my teaching and building business relationships; and quite frankly I am looking forward to the change with a great deal of excitement and anticipation.

Right now I am working on putting together my new home office and will have images posted in my next update. Wish me luck and most of all balance!

Onward!

I have officially joined this century in design. I have posted my resume and samples on my own website! I know, I know, such technological wonders to be found. If you would like to take a look at what I have been working on and what I can do, please visit www.colegraphicdesign.com.
As for the experience, I am picking up more and more web knowledge as I go. I am hoping in a month or so to have a deep enought skill set to make my site fun and engaging for the end user. Right now it is in its infancy and a little on the utilitarian side. If you know of any good books on the subject, please shoot me an email-I am always up for learning something new.

Adapt, Adjust

I am now going into week two of unemployment, and things have settled down quite a bit for me. Tuesday was quite the event. I met with my former boss for lunch at a sushi restaurant near my old job. The food was delicious and he definitely put my mind at ease as to why I was let go. Apparently it was a strictly financial decision - so that softened the blow a little bit. He is a blue to the bone KU fan, so I also took a great deal of joy in giving him a MU coffee mug as a parting memento. We laughed about him covering the mug up with a paper bag to drink from it. I was pretty proud of myself, I didn't cry once, I only teared up a little a couple of times into our conversation. There was more laughing than anything.

After lunch, I met with a recruiter who specializes in placing marketing people into full time jobs. She seemed really enthusiastic about my resume, but didn't really know what a studio artist was. I am hoping that she will find me a good fit or at least something where I can learn some skills that will make me a little more marketable. After meeting with her I was a little overwhelmed, and at the Quick Trip in Lees Summit, I locked my keys in my car. Go figure! Luckily, a police officer was there to open the car door for me. And David, my brother-in-law came to check on me. So sweet! I did cry though after my car was unlocked. I must have looked like an emotionally crazy person!

I still haven't nailed down any leads on an interview or a job prospect. I am picking up another freelance job but it probably won't pay out for a couple of months. I am meeting with the event coordinator on Tuesday, hopefully it will be a substantial project. I'm also working on making an online portfolio. Yes, I am officially joining the design of this century!

This week I have spent a lot of time playing with my son, Owen. He is definitely the silver lining to all of this madness. We went "sledding" today. At one point he was "swimming" in the snow; laying on his stomach kicking his arms and legs. It was really fun.

In all, I am trying to keep optimistic and hold on to my belief (even if it is a little cliche) that everything happens for a reason. Wish me luck!

Unemployment = Ice Cream

As I am scrambling to put together an updated resume and portfolio after an unexpected layoff, I have found that for me, unemployment is filled with bowls of ice cream. The day that I found out that I was chosen to be let go (along with 34 other unsuspecting people), I soothed my fears, anxiety and sadness in Oreo cookie ice cream. I was actually told by a good friend to "Put down the ice cream and step away from Facebook!"After that first day, much soul searching and a rapid fire release of my resume on every possible job website, I have become more hopeful in my ice cream choices. Moving from Oreo cookie, to the classic vanilla, to premium chocolate and now strawberry swirl.

This latest turn of events in my life is a double whammy for my lifestyle. Not only am I embracing my tendency to be an emotional eater, but I have also be forced to cut "unnecessary expenses" out of my budget. Namely, my gym membership. Goodbye spinning class! Hello yoga pants and pullovers.

Tomorrow I have my first of what I am sure will be many interviews. This one is with a creative recruiter that will hopefully have a hidden list of clients who are looking for an employee like me. If that doesn't work out, I am hoping with all of my might that my Plan C will prove itself to be a wise investment. For those of you who don't know, my Plan A was to be a graphic designer (design is a passion, love and source of joy for me), Plan B was to be a production artist (still was in touch with design, but not as directly as I would have liked), and Plan C is to utilize that back-up Masters in Marketing that I sought out after realizing how volatile an artistic career can be. Wish me luck! I have yet to come up with a Plan D, but am definitely open to suggestions.