When I arrived at work this morning I found this little beauty waiting for me on my desk. My friend and co-worker Nathan Smith was kind enough to let me borrow it. I am expecting great things from the knowledge contained within its pages.
So while I get to reading I will leave you with this inspiring quote:
- Everything written symbols can say has already passed by. They are like tracks left by animals. That is why the masters of meditation refuse to accept that writings are final. The aim is to reach true being by means of those tracks, those letters, those sings - but reality itself is not a sign, and it leaves no tracks. It doesn't come to us by way of letters or words. We can go toward it, by following those words and letters back to what they came from. But so long as we are preoccupied with symbols, theories and opinions, we will fail to reach the principle.
Kimura Kyuho, Kenjutsu Fushigi Hen
[On the Mysteries of Swordsmanship], 1768
Quite frankly I'm tired of the ongoing debate over whether a designer should use Photoshop or Fireworks. They are only one tool a designer carriers in his/her design toolbox. So why then do we continue to stay in our corners defending the reputation of one app over another? An app is an app is an app. Meaning, if you've got the goods to make the hotness then it shouldn't matter what app you're using to design with.
I read an article this morning on a very popular design blog telling us why we should "stick with" Photoshop. I'm sure the author has all the best intentions in the world, but comes across quite naive in my opinion. The sum of the article wasn't even a good one, arguing why we should design with photoshop instead of in the markup. I feel like that's comparing apples with a top sirloin steak. They aren't even in the same food group.
At the end of the day we just have to use what works for us. Design is not about choosing sides in “defense” of one particular app. Design is about making the best visual decisions to help communicate the message of our clients.
You guys rock. That's the first thing I want to say. After my last post about leaving my current job in a step of faith I have received nothing but encouragement. So now that I have a clear plan of what I'm going to be doing next on my professional journey I thought the least I could do would be to fill you in.
Stable Environment
I will be taking two weeks off after my last day at my current job to catch up on some freelance work as well as spend some time resting with my wife. But starting June 01 I will become the 4th member on the UX team at Fellowship Technologies. After much prayer and consideration I see this opportunity as the right move for me and my family right now. But that's not to say I didn't struggle with feeling like I was selling out to "the man" or anything. The notion of freelancing full-time still intrigues me and is something I want to pursue someday, but right now we need something stable while my wife finishes her degree.
The UX Team that has already been assembled at Fellowship is something I am looking forward to. For the past 2 1/2 years I have been a lone ranger figuring things out for myself. Not to say that it hasn't had its perks, but one can only go so far on his own. So this transition into a team environment is something I'm really looking forward to. Plus, I will be working with people my own age that I will actually have something in common with. My fellow team members include: Matt Vasquez, Nathan Smith and David Brooks.
Walk by Faith not by Sight
I am continually blown away by the grace and favor that God has given me. By continuing to seek His will, I made a decision of faith last week without any secure plans ahead of me to quit my job. I knew that a position with Fellowship was in the cards, but they still hadn't given me a firm decision. So my plan was to work freelance full-time. To which I received an immense amount of support and encouragement in. But in following my heart I found something better than I expected. Sorry, I don't mean to keep repeating myself here, but I just hope to encourage you to stop being afraid, trust God, and let go of all that's holding you back. I don't mean quit today, not by any means, but start praying and see where God might lead you. I know I've waited for over a year now before making this move.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 4:6-7
Last but not least
I still plan to do side work, but more than likely I will be very picky about what projects I work on. (If you have already contacted me about freelance work or would like to you can email me at: hello[at]kylesteed[dot]com.) I think that's one of the greatest advantages to working full-time, you can pick and choose very carefully about what other projects you want to work on. Also, I have no immediate plans of returning to school. This last semester really proved to me that school is a waste of time. Being in my current situation I can see how school is only slowing me down from what I really want to be doing, and what I'm already doing. It's sad to me that we put so much pressure on kids to go to college and get a degree. I don't want to go off on a huge tangent, I will write a post on this topic, but I know people who have their degrees and either (A) aren't using them or (B) still don't have a job.
I know this much. I am blessed to have a vision for my life, a wife that supports me and the skills that pay that bills. Or something like that. ;)
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
- James 1:17
After 2 1/2 years at my employer I am taking a step of faith out on my own. Yep, in just 2 weeks I will no longer be working in a cubicle. This definitely hasn't been an easy decision to come to, but I feel like this is where God is calling me. I have spent an enormous amount of time praying and patiently waiting for the right time. Am I nervous? I don't think I would be human if I wasn't. Am I scared? No. God has always provided for me and my family and I trust that He will continue to do so.
So What's Next?
Right now I have a month's worth of freelance ahead of me, and after that I'm not sure. I do have a couple of leads right now with some other companies but nothing set in stone. I hold fast to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-27,34 -
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Community
Of course I wouldn't be where I am today without the great community I'm connected to. You know who you are. And a few of you I've already reached out to asking if you have any upcoming design work. I feel like this is a big part of not only my future, but all of ours. As one has a need another can help out. Sometimes that will be in the form of a job and sometimes not. I'm not interested in meeting people just to have a connection, but to build a relationship. And I don't expect anyone to give me hand-outs, please hear me on this. When I say community, I'm talking about a group of people who have the same vision, goals and aspirations as their peers and can depend on each other.
How You Can Help
You can pray. If you don't pray you can start. ;) Just kidding. But seriously, I would love your prayers. Thank you.
My seahorse is in the center of my upper back. I had always been fascinated with seahorses since I was a small child and I first read about them in this book I had about sea life. At the time that I got this it represented my openness to find a partner in life that could be my equal. I am now a decade older than I was at the time of getting this seahorse and have since found that partner, in a way the tattoo has become about him (and us) and in a way it is also about all of my life's great romances.
The heart on my left arm, I got 3 years ago for one of the great loves in my life — my cat, Cthulhu. He taught me so much about myself, about my capacity to love and about what it means to be selfless. Cthulhu died in June of 2009 after a 2 year battle with Chronic Renal Failure, and I am so glad that I will forever have a piece of him with me wherever life takes me!
I really see my tattoos as an outward representation to something within me.
Hold Fast is an old sailor term, that was used to remind the crew to buckle down and hold on when they were coming against rough waters and storms.
This piece has a ton of meaning to me. This last year or so has been quite a ride, amazing ups and some pretty rough times as well.
I had to remind myself to hold fast to the things that make me who I am. My faith in God, and my family.
Ever since I can remember I've been obsessed with tattoos, and from the age of about 10 I knew I wanted one. My parents will tell you just how much I wanted one, because for the next 6 years I asked for permission to get one just about every single day.
When I turned 16 I decided I couldn't wait any longer, and despite not having my parents' permission I went ahead and got my first one - which was a very large custom tribal piece between my shoulders. If I wasn't already sure that I loved tattoos before then, I was now.
Nowadays I have tattoos covering my entire left arm, my back, my hips, both legs, my feet, my ankles, and I've got lots more planned.
Tattoos for me are just as much about the process as they are about the end result, sometimes even more so. There's something very therapeutic about the burning sensation that comes with being tattooed, it's almost like a physical outlet for any emotion that you have inside. Regardless of what ends up on your skin, it's also a time-stamp in your life; the days, weeks, and years of day-to-day life may eventually blend together - but you never forget what was happening in your life when you got a tattoo. I look back at each and every one of my tattoos and remember that period of my life, and how I felt at the time. That's probably the most meaningful part of the process for me - the memories that are held in my skin forever.
The tattoo pictured here is my full sleeve, which was a collaborative design between myself and my tattoo artist (Barb, Inka Tattoo, Brighton, England). The subject is a combination of styles that I've been obsessed with for many years; BioMechanical art inspired by H.R. Giger, organic art, and snakes. The whole piece is basically a Garden of Eden meets 21st century technological doomsday, combining vines with pipes, leaves with cogs, and of course several serpents and the legendary apple.
Full sleeve tattoos take many, many hours to complete - which is why it was pretty handy that I spent several years working as a tattoo artist so I had a great group of friends at Inka Tattoo in Brighton who I spent a lot of time with. The pictures here show the progression of the sleeve from 2007 through to 2010, including my favourite ever session where Barb's old mentor came into town to visit for a few weeks, and I had both of them tattoo me at the same time for 6 hours. It was kind of cool having 3 generation of master/apprentice all being a part of one piece at the same time - but I can't lie, after 6 hours I was pretty much knocked out. After that long, your body has gone through so much that your nerves become totally overloaded - as a result your brain starts releasing huge quantities of endorphins. It's basically like being very, very drunk - but thankfully it wore off again fairly quickly afterwards.
I've been into the idea of tattoos from a fairly young age. I can remember decorating, er defacing, desks at school, always drawing in my books instead of taking notes and drawing on my hands. Perhaps it was the diet of punkrock and Slayer along with spending every waking moment in the water surfing or finding places to skate that has influenced me to go down the road of ink. I've always enjoyed being a little different, coloured hair, odd illustrations on my boards, was never content with being normal, and deciding to get tattooed up always appealed to me. Granted having lots of tattoo's these days doesn't make me that different, I'm happy with the fact that I've got an ever growing illustrated history of my life that I wear with pride everyday. A big thank you to Tyler Murhpy (Cape Town, South Africa) and Nick Reid (London, UK) for the inkage over the years. I thought I'd share a little bit of info on some of my ink.
Truth
This was my very first tattoo. It took me a few months of visiting various tattooists before I found an artist that really understood me and didn't just view me as yet another pay cheque. I like to do things properly and decided starting out on my stomach would be a good test to see if tattoos were really for me... I'd say it worked out quite well. Out of all my tattoo's this is the one I get asked about the most, "Why 'truth'?". Simple really. No matter what happens in our lives, doesn't matter what is said or done, we know what the truth is in our own hearts.
The Green Mask
Perhaps the most vividly coloured piece I have so far, and still one that makes me smile every time I catch a glimpse of it. People often say or claim that they wear their hearts on their sleeves, I like to wear my mask on mine.
Good Evil vs. Evil Good
Nothing is black and white these days, we live in a constant state of grey. Sometimes doing the wrong thing is the right thing to do, know what I mean? This whole piece is my take on the way the world works. The artwork depicts angels doing bad things while the demons are being good. I think that me not being religious and using this type of imagery also shows you that not everything is as it seems.
An Apology
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finalize this post, but life doesn't seem to slow down. I won't list all my excuses here, but please know that I'm thankful for everyone who contributed to this series and continues to show their support. I hope you all out there are living each day to the fullest. I hope you're chasing after your dreams and not settling for 2nd best. I'm right here beside you in this race called life.
I'm afraid that the creativity will run out. Just dry up. Like one days it's here and the next it's gone. Of course this is a silly thought. But don't most of us who make a living designing things depend on our creativity? Well, some would disagree. But you see my point? If our creativity were to just dry up where would that leave us?
Then it's a good thing we're not responsible for our creativity. We do not have control over our own creative ingenuity. It comes to us as a gift in many different forms and fashions. And thinking of it in this way helps free us from any guilt or judgements we want to put on ourselves. Like I've said before, let's allow ourselves to have all the stupid ideas we can muster, so when the good ones come along we can make room.
When I arrived at work this morning I found this little beauty waiting for me on my desk. My friend and co-worker Nathan Smith was kind enough to let me borrow it. I am expecting great things from the knowledge contained within its pages.
I wonder if we really understand the true meaning of social networking or if we are getting lost in the numbers.
I'm afraid that the creativity will run out. Just dry up. Like one days it's here and the next it's gone. Of course this is a silly thought. But don't most of us who make a living designing things depend on our creativity? Well,