Note to self

Dear future self, If there's one thing you will continue to stumble over again and again, it's being right. Your soul thrives on having the right answers, directions, advice, etc. and fears the thought of ever being wrong and looking like an idiot.

But trust the words of wisdom your friend/pastor said to you this morning, "being right is overrated." Your heart was encouraged by that truth. So as you walk, day by day, in the newness of Christ, remember to go to the Father in prayer and ask Him to handle whatever situation you're in according to His will.

That's the place where true freedom reigns. In forgiveness.

Face to face

The internet offers us so many new relationships on any given day. We can chat, tweet, skype, etc. to anyone in the world. But if you only ever stay behind a computer and don't make your way to meet up with anyone face-to-face, then you're missing the whole point. The whole value of the internet is people. But we can often lose sight of that with all the other distractions going on. I feel like I may be repeating myself here, but I don't care, people are the point. Not your stats, feeds, likes or whatever constantly has you checking your phone while you're out to dinner with another living, breathing human being.

Once we learn to rule our technology instead of letting it rule our day-to-day lives we will be much happier. The internet, in all it's vastness, is just another tool. It doesn't define us, never was meant to and could never contain what makes us who we are. The human heart pumps warm red blood through our veins, and we should respect that.

Charting my course

Finding ones own voice in the midst of a million other people is not an easy task. There are many mountains to climb and many valleys to walk through. But I don't think anything compares to that voice inside your head that makes you think you're not any good. It's the doubt that stands in the way for all of us most of the time. We have that "blank page" fear of starting something new. But if we never made the first mark then how would we know it's any good? Like riding a bike, so has it been for drawing in my life. As a child I loved to draw all the time, but growing up I found other things to keep me busy. So I didn't draw as much. Starting a journal was the best I could do at times. Making doodles on the edges of the paper. And not until a few years ago did I finally wake up to the reality that I am most comfortable with a pen in my hand. Just like riding a bike, it came back so natural for me.

My recent redesign of my website, kylesteed.com, is more about who I am as a person than what I do as a designer.  I wanted/needed it to reflect who I am and still showcase the work I have done. But, for me, the work is secondary. My biggest challenge was making sure the work reflected who I am and not the other way around. Thus is the challenge in all things I do.

I feel like this is a major milestone in my journey as a designer. One that I will look back on 10 years from now with a smile on my face. It feels like I've climbed a mountain and now I can look out over the valleys below, catch my breath, and take in the beautiful sight. Surely I would be a fool to think this is the highest peak along my journey, I know harder and more rewarding challenges await, but for now I am happy with where my feet are standing.

Why I quit shooting

I know that title has a few different connotations, but I will be sticking to the topic of dribbble for this blog post. So if you were hoping for a story about why I stopped shooting heroin or playing some b-ball then feel free to go grab a root beer and enjoy the rest of your day. But if you're actually interested in reading why I've stopped posting my designs to dribbble then by all means you've found the right place on the internet. So welcome. It all started a couple months ago when I was preparing for a worship retreat in Colorado and I made a vow, for one week, to sit in silence any time I sat down to draw or design and see what happened without any auditory influence. What I found has now shifted my whole paradigm. And I know it's been there all along, whispering in my ear, pulling on my heartstrings. But not until I shut off the music could I really listen. The still small voice was speaking to me about my identity and where, or rather where not, to find it.

I know dribbble wasn't created to be a place where people find validation but it sure seemed to be heading that direction last I checked. And who could stop it from happening? With so many good design(er)s out there all coming together a popularity contest was bound to happen. Throw in the comments and you're sure to start a war of words. Throw in the ability to like something and there you go puffing up people's egos. I'm not being cynical, I'm just being honest, whether you agree with me or not.

So I packed my bags and headed home. I still love the design community though, please understand that. I believe that no man is an island and I need others around me just like you do. But I want the work I do to reflect who I am through and through, not by others comments and likes. It's tough though. And a process. I'm still walking it out day by day.

It's been over 2 months since I last posted anything to dribbble and I'm still breathing. I don't hope to influence you one way or another. Just wanted to share some of my life with you. Thanks for reading.

The greatest investment

One of the greatest things I've learned about myself is that I really enjoy people. Not only getting to meet people, but getting to connect people also. My friend Tim Coons was telling me about this book The Tipping Point that describes the main factor in any new trend, people. The author places people into three basic categories: connectors mavens and salesmen. Now I won't attempt to delve into the explanations of each type, you can read for yourself if interested, but I am most certainly a maven. However, I think there is a little connector inside me as well. Because as much as I enjoy the sacredness of a few personal relationships, I also enjoy connecting people with other people on a much larger scale. This connector part of me really came to light last weekend at my art show. Seeing the response I got from people who turned out for the evening was overwhelming. I can't put into words how much it means to me to have the support of family and friends and even people I've never met before. But what I really thought was cool was seeing all these people getting introduced to other people who they've never met, and I believe that was the real success of the evening. My art, more or less, acted as a conduit for people to flow in and out of the coffee shop and bump into one another and make connections. Those connections are priceless because of the people. That's why I believe people are the greatest investment we can make.

Art Show Extravaganza

You are invited to experience the entire collection of my 52 profiles project I completed last year. The opening "art show extravaganza" will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 7 PM at Crooked Tree Coffee House here in Dallas, Texas. If you'd like to come early around 6 PM there will be wine and finger food.

My friend Sean Springer, of Springer Design Studios, is building custom frames for the show, so you don't want to miss that, his work is amazing. My friend Tim Coons will also be there providing the listening experience for the evening. You won't want to miss this.

This is my greatest collection of work to date. I am very proud of it. I hope you can make it to the opening, or at the very least make it during the couple months it will be up. See you there.

Droid Life

For almost the past two years I have been stranded on the sinking ship of the U.S.S. Blackberry. Last week I made the jump on to the rescue boat that is Android. But what should've been a quick decision actually took a lot longer than I had hoped. You see, I always like to do my research before buying any type of new technology. Plus I had been holding my breath for most of last year thinking that Apple was finally going to release the iPhone on Verizon. And now since the water is muddy from all the speculation I decided to set my sites on something new and head for "open" waters.

Why Droid

When I first started my new job here at Fellowship Tech one of my co-workers had just picked up the HTC Droid Incredible. It was all the rage. His persistence in showing me all the cool things that Droid can do started to pique my interests. So I began to take notice of Droid and even spent a few lunch hours at the Verizon store getting some hands-on experience. I spent time looking at reviews and write-ups about the Droid X and the new Samsung Fascinate. But what they both offered in style I didn't feel they offered in stability. They seem to be all looks and no brains, especially with the decision to put Bing as the default search for the Samsung Fascinate (That made my heart sink).

So since I want to stay on Verizon and have given up on Apple getting out of bed with AT&T I feel that Android is where the future starts.

Why the Droid 2

From all the reviews I read there was one phone that kept being quoted as the best Android phone on the market, and that was the original Droid by Motorolla. At first this took me by surprsie, if for no other reason because of the qwerty keyboard. And I only say that because I used to have the LG Chocolate, and it was one of the worst phones I've ever used. So with the Droid toting around it's full qwerty keyboard as a big selling point, I was a little hesitant. But when I got some hand-on experience with the Droid 2, I was impressed by the upgrades they made to it and how solid it felt in my hands. Unlike the Droid X it felt more durable. I didn't like that the Droid X made the menu buttons clickable and how the camera bevels out from the rest of the phone.

Overall, the Droid 2 is one solid phone with incredible speed and a fully reliable keyboard. Just in the past week I have already found the keyboard being incredibly useful when typing out an email or updating twitter. If you're in the market for a new phone and value function over form then I would recommend going Android. But I know haters gonna hate, especially you Apple fan boys, but I have no beef with you. I would probably already own an iPhone if I didn't love Verizon's service and network. So to you all I say let's all just be friends, a phone is just a phone not a social ranking device. BOOM!