Trusting the Process, Like Kacey
I am wrapping up a large branding and site design project for a local Jacksonville neighborhood association. I am sooooo proud of the work. To be dramatic about it, it feels like my magnum opus, and...
Books Over Browsers
Last week, I forced myself to gather brand design inspiration without the internet. I went for a walk to the bookstore. I took pictures of plants and signs and interesting shapes on the way there. At the bookstore, I browsed dusty used books about gardening, post-modern art, regional architecture and botany.
I came home and sketched some illustrations within the margins of one of the books I bought.
Yep, I held a physical pen to physical paper, and it honestly was really scary. Without limitless browser tabs in the background for reference, the endless possibility of it all felt scary and daunting.
But I pushed through, and I ended up designing quite a few concepts for two different clients that I am really proud of. It also turned out nothing like what I thought it would based on a Pinterest inspiration board, but in a good way.
It is the practice of starting something from scratch, struggling, and pushing past failure that actually teaches you a skill, builds confidence and shows you a pathway to true creativity. My lesson? More books, fewer tabs.
A Resource
I finally broke up with Dropbox and converted to Air this week.
As someone with thousands (maybe millions, even?) of images and fonts and client assets, its tagging system is pretty amazing. Air automatically tags every asset you upload using artificial intelligence, so you can do a search for something like "dog" or "tree illustration" and it will pull up any asset you have that matches, lightning fast.
The interface is also just a joy. It's really visual compared to Dropbox and I found myself really enjoying the process of getting my digital life tidied up.
Random Roundup
- I stumbled across a NYT article with the headline "Skeptics Cite Overload Of Useless Information: Internet Arrives At a Crossroad" and honestly thought it was going to be about Threads. Turns out, it was written in 1997.
- I'm on a Greek yogurt kick, and I just ordered this jam (from a client of mine!) for a little change-up.
- If trendy wellness and therapy culture makes you feel lonely, you are not alone.
Have a great week!
Ashli
