Christian Labels

We've put our labels on music, art, design, radio, television, plumbing, real estate, t-shirts, active sports, posters, books, education, government, shall I go on? You get the point. Here are some things I've yet to see "Christian" labels on, but are things still created by God. Sex, Water, Air. Honestly, there isn't much left that we haven't put our dirty paws on. And those that do remain I feel are basic essential to living. I mean, who would really watch "Christian" porn? Or who would really buy "Christian" bottled water? I hope you see how ridiculous those last two statements were.

I guess I just want to ask the question, "Why do we feel the need to separate ourselves by putting a Christian label on what we do?" It reminds me of that popular Portlandia skit, "Put a Bird on It." And in the same way that the "bird" is a marketing tool, so too is "Christian" when applied to anything other than a person.

Freelance Week #27

Original : adjective

1. present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest
2. created directly and personally by a particular artist; not a copy or imitation
3. not dependent on other people's ideas; inventive and unusual

The topic of originality has been on my mind a lot lately. How do we create from that place? Is it even possible to make something truly original anymore? Does technology help or hinder our abilities to think for ourselves and create something original? Or are all our ideas and creations just building blocks on top of what was there before us?

I can only speak from personal experience and share with you my own perspective. When I sit down to draw I am not just staring a blank piece of paper. I sit down with an idea in my head and see a million different ideas on that piece of paper in front of me. But it isn't until I make that first mark on the paper that it becomes reality. I guess maybe this is what we can call originality.

The act of taking your idea and making something out of nothing is Holy. I feel it's the same way in which God created the heavens and earth. So if we, the church, have the creator living in us why have we not yet begun to tap into the great depths of eternal creative inspiration? Are we afraid of what we'll find stored in the deep places of the heart of God? Are we scared that it won't be marketable?

So this is where my head has been lately. Can you relate? I feel like asking more questions is more important than pretending to know it all. Hope you're having a good week working hard, trusting God and enjoying life.

Freelance Week #26

I had the chance to visit Atlanta this past week, for the first time in over a decade, and speak not once but twice to a great group of people. On Thursday night I spoke at the AWDG (Atlanta Wed Design Group) meetup. They had a good turnout of people who were really gracious enough to listen to what I had to say. I still feel like I learn something new every time I speak, and I think this time it was learning not to judge people's level of interest based on their facial expressions. One guy, in particular, who I thought was shooting me eye daggers the whole night turned out to enjoy my talk and wanted to buy me a beer. That was pretty awesome. The second day in Atlanta I had the great pleasure of heading over to MailChimp and speaking to their team. I don't know about my talk, but their offices were pretty awesome. Plus, they have some of the coolest people working for them. Big hugs to the MailChimp team for having me out and listening to me ramble on. Something else that's been on my mind lately is this notion of myself as a person vs. myself as a brand. Is there a difference? Should there be a difference? As self-employed people should we be more careful about what we do and say on social networks? Or is it more rewarding to see people just being themselves, in all areas. I know I talk about my faith a lot, and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it just to prove a point or because it comes from the heart. I don't ever feel like I'm trying to prove a point or judge people. And if I tried to please everybody then I would be totally missing the point. Like in design, if you try and design for everyone, you end up designing for no one. You have to know who you're designing for. So too in life, you have to know who you're living for. That for me, is Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Freelance Week #25

When I stop and look around at the current landscape of this profession I'm in it makes me smile and frown all at the same time. Don't get me wrong, there are so many awesome people doing so many awesome things it makes my head spin. And now we can see it all in seconds thanks to this thing called the internet. But for all that is good about the internet I feel is also what makes it bad. Instant comparisons. Instant likes. Instant stats. How much of what we see on any given day is straight from the source information and what has just been repurposed and reformatted to fit someone else's website? We share, tweet, link everyone else's stuff. So when do we have time to actually make something? We've got to step away. We've got to shut the lid. We've got to turn it off.

Only after we stop looking to everyone else for inspiration and ideas will we find our own voice. Not to say that we don't need each other, that would be foolish, but we don't need to be a bunch of copies. We each have a unique way of how we view the world around us. It's through that process of learning how to be comfortable with who we are that takes our work to the next level.

So I say just stop worrying about all the likes, comments and stats on your website and just start making stuff you like. Because at the end of the day if you aren't happy then what what's the point?

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

The Past Three Weeks

Keeping a blog post series going is not an easy task. Life is full of things to do and see. Who has time to write a blog anymore? Well I'm trying. I have a huge amount of gratitude for those of you that continue to spare five to ten minutes of your week and read my ramblings. For that I must say thank you. The past three weeks have been non-stop fun. The week leading up to my birthday I had a huge rush job to complete, eight illustrations for a new blog. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work in a small amount of time. But I enjoy a good challenge. Plus, I've worked with these guys before and they already knew my skill set would fit perfectly with this project. More than the work though, I learned a valuable lesson here: Just because someone gives you a figure for their budget doesn't mean you should lower your rate. By sticking to my guns and knowing my worth, I replied with a quote that was double their budget, and it was approved. Just further proves the old saying, "ask and you shall receive."

Then my birthday week was amazing, yes that's right, a whole week. My best friend, and co-founder at Folly, Matt flew in from Alabama to help me celebrate this new decade of life. We did what any responsible people would do on such occasion; drink, skate, ride bikes and grill. But that's not the whole story. My wife had an amazing surprise planned for my birthday, actually two amazing surprises. One was a dinner with friends at Union Bear. From which now I am the proud owner of a small fortune of scotch. And the second was an amazing evening out on a boat with a few close friends.

(exhale)

This brings us up to the present. I'm settling back in to the groove of things. Getting caught up on emails. Creating lots of cool new stuff. Remembering to keep my calendar up to date. Making a list of things to accomplish. Feeling like there's too much work. Feeling like there's not enough work. All the thoughts of things that happen in a day. So now, as I take in the last remaining sips of coffee I prepare myself for the day ahead. I hope you continue to work hard to pursue your passion. I hope you trust God to provide and give you peace in all things. I hope you enjoy life because we are never promised tomorrow.

A letter to my thirties

Dear thirty,

It's nice to finally meet you. I don't believe I've ever felt as good as I do right now. Working for myself doing what I love. Being married for six and a half years to a beautiful woman who loves me. If I look back to where I was ten years ago and compare it to where I am today I am in awe. It just goes to show you that a lot of hard work mixed with a little bit of faith makes for an incredible life.

I don't know what the next ten years will bring my way. But I'll be honest, I'm expecting nothing less than the best. Sure there will be challenges to overcome, but if life was easy then what would be the point? Plus I have awesome people that love me and support me that I can lean on. That's the most anyone could ask for I believe.

So now that you're here thirty I just want to say don't ever feel like you know it all. Remain humble and always ready to learn. Life is full of surprises and no one has it all figured out. Even those that act like it are doing just that, acting. Be true to yourself and laugh a lot.

Sincerely,

Kyle Steed

Freelance Week #21

Here are some things I felt, learned and struggled with this past week: 1. Art is something that shouldn't have to be explained to enjoy, design is something that's irritating when not properly understood

2. I feel caught in between life as an artist and designer. My hope is that the artist wins out in the end.

3. I feel, more than ever before, the desire to start a family

On Art

I feel like I've always been aware of the world around me. I think that's important for an artist. To find beauty in the ordinary. To ask questions about the things we can't explain. But it's in finding one's own artistic voice that I've found to be most difficult. I still struggle with my own style. But you do something great every once in a while that let's you know you're making progress. And then you move on. Testing, failing, experimenting, working hard on your next big breakthrough. Right now I'm just working hard.

On Life

The grass always seems greener on the other side. For me, in this moment, it means looking over the fence at my friends in ATX or NYC working for cool companies, making great things and wondering what the hell I'm doing here in Dallas working for myself. But I have a vision, a goal if you will, that involves much greater things than the right here and now. And it's this goal, however uncertain at times, that keeps driving me to work harder and do better. I have to remember just one foot in front of the other.