What is Graphic Design?

Veerle Pieters held a "What is Graphic Design?" competition on her blog earlier this month. Users where directed to this Flickr group to upload their submissions. The first piece I designed was the 9th submissions out of 654 total that got submitted and the second piece I designed actually caught the eye of Veerle as seen here on her blog.

So needless to say I am ecstatic to have one of my designs as a possible winner of the competition. Is that being too cocky? Oh well.

So congrats to all the other people who caught her eye as well and best of luck to everyone.

A time to be creative

Laying in bed this morning, half awake/half asleep, my mind was flooded with better, more creative, ways that I could be spending my time when I'm bored. Then I thought it would be a good idea to make a list and share them here with you. So here, in no particular order, are creative ways I (you) could spend my (your) time when I'm (you're) bored.

1. Make a collage out of found objects from walking my dog
2. make a map of my thoughts
3. watch 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' for the hundredth time
4. draw in a journal
5. take a walk
6. work through a photoshop tutorial
7. cook some food
8. find new illustrations online
9. flip through the pages of Hand Job: A Catalog of Type
10. visit ffffound.com
11. plan a new vacation
12. paint that empty canvas I stretched 4 months ago
13. relax

Okay so obviously I couldn't list every possible idea that came to mind this morning. For one I don't remember half of them, since I was half asleep, and also this could go on forever.

But maybe you could share some of your ideas. I would like to here what keeps your creative mind working.

A FRESH START

So I've been thinking for a while now that I should focus more on writing actual articles instead of just spitting out random blurbs of my life. I want to focus on creativity and design (web, graphic, etc.). That seems obvious enough since those are the two things that take up most of my time during any given weekday. So what do I need first? I need a new name by which to call my blog. If anyone has a suggestion that would be great. I like to get input from other people; it helps expand my creative thinking process. But in the meantime, I'll leave this under the monikor of "Kyle Steed's Weblog".

So why waste any more time? Let's begin.

From my experience a fresh start is something that carries both a benefit and a curse. On the one side you get to start somewhere new, and that's exciting. The sky is the limit when you start a new project, or you move to a new location. You can almost become a new person. I think this is true for me when I clean. I feel like I'm getting a fresh start when everything is organized and in its right place. (My wife thinks I have OCD. Well... maybe just a little.) But I can't concentrate when I know there's a mess in the kitchen or if my work area isn't organized.

On the flip side of this coin, starting fresh can bring doubt and fear of the unknown. Perfect example, for me, is moving back to America after the military. I didn't have any plans for a job or where we would live or how we would get back and forth. I would lay in bed at night the months leading up to my separation and think we would be living in a box, with only lent in our pockets and some canned tomatoes to eat that the Japanese people packed up. Yet within a month after moving back we had a car, an apartment and new jobs. But that's enough for a whole other post.

So I think it's important, no matter how you handle a fresh start, to have faith that you will come through in the end. Whether it's a new project at work, or moving half-way around the world, we are constantly being called to the arms of grace. And in that grace we can rest that nothing in this life is worth stressing about.

"There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds." - Matthew 6:25-26 (The Message)

Staying on track

Okay, I have to be a little honest right now, if that's okay. I'm having trouble staying on track here at work. I have a number of projects to work on, but most of them are on hold or are awaiting approval. So what do I do in the mean time? I'm the type of person who needs clear direction in my life. If I don't have a plan to follow on a daily basis I get easily sidetracked or worse, bored. I used to think something was wrong with me. But I'm learning that if I'm not challenged enough then I become bored. Is this bad? Maybe, maybe not. I guess it could be bad if I don't learn to manage my time and know how and where to use my strengths.

All of this is a learning process. Trial and error.

So what does it take for me to stay on track? Besides a path to follow, I need an outline listing what projects I have to work on, and detailed directions for each of those projects. Also I need the time requirements for when they are expecting to see the first draft and when they would like the final draft done. Right now I'm not directly involved in the financial aspect of my job, but I still have the responsibility of tracking my time and giving quotes on how long it should take to accomplish a task. But how do these guidelines apply when I'm waiting for approval or waiting on the next project? How can I better use my time so I don't feel like I'm just wasting it?

I feel alone out here in the vast cubicle wasteland.

Also, where have all the mentors gone? I think we should resort back to the master/apprentice teaching method.

Breadcrumbs

We all leave a trail behind us. But what do you want people to find? On the way home from Austin today we were listening to NPR. I don't remember the guys name who was speaking. I don't remember exactly what he was talking about. But I remember what I thought about when I heard it.

I considered my life, and what exactly I was living for. Not in a sentimental sort of way either. But a blunt stare in the face of what my life has been so far and where I'm headed. I thought about what kind of traditions I would pass on to my kids, and their kids, and their kids kids. I wondered if what I did in this life would leave a lasting impression on anyone.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I'm so blessed to have one, but am I living to my full potential in a cubicle? These are the types of things I consider.

And at the same time I am happy with where I'm at in life. Things are moving fast, falling in to place at an incredible rate. I never thought three/four months ago that I'd be where I am today. I was so scared to leave the military. (Scared in a sense that it had come to be the only way of life I knew for four years, and leaving it behind for the unknown was scary.) But my wife and I are so blessed to both have good jobs, a car, a nice apartment, food, clothes, running water, the list goes on.

My point is that in the midst of life happening I want to pause and make sure that what I do today makes a positive and lasting impression on generations to come.

-stay creative-

Maker Faire Austin 2007

If you missed this year, they've already made plans for Maker Faire Austin 2008. We arrived Saturday morning a little after 10 AM. The sky was clear, the air was warm, it was a perfect day for Maker Faire.

After handing our tickets over we proceeded into the fair grounds where everything was set up. Mostly everything was set up under a tent. Then there was the main "Make Magazine" building where they held "how-to" demos and had books and stuff for sale. But the best stuff was under the main tent outside.

My favorite booths were the ETSY booth, the booth for local artist Patricia Zapata (Please check out her website for examples of her wonderful artwork), and the swap-o-rama-rama section was awesome. I actually learned how to alter a XXL t-shirt to fit me. They also had a booth set up for free screen printing.

On Sunday we headed back to Maker Faire to visit some of our favorite booths again.

The first tent we headed to was the Toyota HEYA tent. I learned how to make my own buttons. That was really cool. Next, we headed back under the main tent to visit some of our favorites from the day before. However, we got side-tracked at the booth where we made our own greeting cards. The girl there, Chelsea Martinez, was really cool. She's a local artist who does a lot of collage work. I left her the card I made though. I thought maybe someone else could use it. Then before I knew it, I was sucked in to the "Junk Booth". Basically they had tons of old junk that you could bend, brake, destroy to use to make anything you wanted.

I spent at least an hour at the junk booth working, but it was well worth it. By the time I was done though we were good to go. We hadn't planned to spend all day anyways, we were going to stop by IKEA on the way out of town. There was a whole section I didn't even see, the technology section, but I was more interested in the arts and crafts section anyways.

Overall, the whole experience was great. I feel inspired to get started on making more of my box art. And I feel grateful for getting to meet some really great artist. I'm sad I had to leave Maker Faire though. I thrive around creative people.

So look for me next year at Maker Faire Austin 2008. My friends and I are already planning on getting a booth of our own and being "Makers". So mark your calendars and clear your schedules. This is one event you don't want to miss.

-stay creative-

The WalMart Experience

First off, you have to understand that I consider Wal-Mart to be the devil one of the leading causes to the downfall of our economy. With that said, my friends, Alex and Jennifer, and I were in the car on the way to Austin, TX (for Maker Faire) when Jennifer remembered that she forgot their toiletries. Alex got flustered about not having his Toni&Guy hair gel and Jennifer politely apologized. I figure it's nothing to get terribly upset about. But then Alex pulled out their "tom-tom" (which is a cool little GPS device) and searched for a CVS pharmacy nearby the house we were staying in. When we finally reached our exit off the interstate I offered to just go to Wal-Mart since it's right there and we knew it would be open anyways.

So we go in and I can't believe I'm actually in the dreaded place. With it's larger than life size and prices so low you hardly believe your eyes. I proceed to use the restroom. Don't wash my hands. Pick up some anti-bacterial hand wipes. Then head to the check out line.

Here's where the whole experience happened.

As I'm standing in line this Indian man approaches me from behind. I just assume he wants to check out, but he's standing unusually close to me. As I turn to see what it's all about he ask me if I'm a student here. "No" I replied. (For whatever reason I lied to him.) And he says "Oh, so where do you work?" I told him I work for a company in Dallas and that I like my job. All the while he has this sort of nervous habit of shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He smiles a lot too.  When I finally asked what he does, he told me "Do you know amazon.com?" "Yeah" I replied. "Well I have a web company similar to that" he says. I said that's cool. And then he was saying how I must enjoy my job a lot making six figures and all. I told him I don't make that much, but I'm still happy with my pay.

He never comes out and says what he wants from me. He never asks if I want more information about his business. He never offers me a business card. Nothing. All I got from him was random questions about what I did for a living and a seemingly friendly conversation. In the end I walked away not knowing very much about my encounter with the Indian guy from Virginia.

-stay creative-