Design, Style, and food for thought???

What is stye?? Is it something you design, something you do? Is anyone ever able to analyze his or her self and figure out what he or she does badly, does greatly, or is even just plain good at? If I knew the answer to that question, I probabaly wouldn’t be writing this blog and asking that question.

I seem to have developed my own style and come into my niche as a designer, but I am stumped as to what that niche is. I can design, program, code, animate, advertise, run a business, raise children, keep a clean house, cook, and still manage to be a wife. Does that mean I am good at any of it? I hope so. Especially the part I am paid for. I would like to know what it is I am good at, what my style even is, and what I should be perfecting. I love everything I do as far as my expertise. I may love a design one minute and hate it the next. As my skills and technique evolve, it is bound to happen. But you know how pretty much everyone has that one thing they are outstanding at? I am really bad at doing anything other than being critical of my own work and finding ways to make it better.

Seriously, I will desing something, not leave it alone till I THINK it is perfect and if I can redesign it, (and have the time to do so) I will. So…what does that leave me good at. Being a perfectionist. A DESIGN SPECIALIST? Really, I want to know. It’s always nice to know what others think, as a whole.  At the same time, I don’t really care. I know that sounds bad, but the reality of this industry is as long as the client and myself (the designer) is happy with the work I put out, that is really what counts. I mean that I am not going to base what I do or should be doing on the opinion of what others think of my work. It would just be nice to know where (if anywhere in particular) I excell at and maybe focus on that area. I love photography. I know what I have a passion for, but what I am good at and what I love are two different things.

Have you ever wondered if you are really viewed as good at what you do. I have clients, I am bringing im money, running my business, they like my work. But am I good at anything? Just pondering…If you have comments, please leave them. Be critical, be judgemental, be honest. I need it. I rarely ever get feedback or input from anyone other that J. She knows who she is I will take more though.

For those of you reading this, thanks for stopping by, oh and stop by again soon!

Design is Everywhere, it’s Everything!

I am a total insomniac, which is probably great for the industry I am in, considering I have to pull a lot of all nighter’s to get things done by deadline. I have decided to implement a few things to keep my brain on task and not so scattered. For starters, I decided to organize my office. I have file folders for each client with all things pertaining to the job, and work that I am doing for an organization, client, or company, in individual file folders. I also organized my computer, and last but not least, drum-roll please…my brain. This was probably the hardest thing to implement. The only thing I can complain about is not having a secretary to file things away, answer the phones, and run errands. Sometimes I wish there were two of me! The only drawback I can think of is not having a boss to tell me to take a break. I have to force myself to walk away at times, otherwise, I won’t sleep, eat, or even shower. Okay, I take that back, I always shower. I am just so driven, I tend to put myself last.

I also realized that of a lot of my great design ideas, improvements to existing design, and just plain great ideas occur at night during my bouts of insomnia. My brain spins with thoughts of design 24/7 even when I really need to, or even want to sleep. But, alas, I usually wake up with these thoughts long gone. Problem solved, I put a lamp and a notebook next to my bed and carry my camera everywhere I go for inspiration.

I mean it, I live, eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff, even when I am not sleeping or eating. I really think…no, I know that I am in the right industry. For a long time, I second guessed myself, wondered if this will ever pan out for me, if I could ever make money doing this, and if this is REALLY what I want to do. In my heart of hearts…the answer is yes! I have done a lot of soul searching over the years and always come back to design. Art is where I feel most comfortable. It’s like all of my vulnerabilities just fly out the window when I can be creative. Yeah, sure I will always look at other designer’s work and think, wow, that is so much better than I could ever do. But…I have also learned that all of us (designer’s) do it.

Truly great designers, are always modest about their work, and always thinking of, looking for, and implementing ideas, to improve design, or even his or herself as a designer. To stay ahead of the game, I have determined that I need a lot of continuing education. This will never change. Just when you think you know every piece of software, design technique, and tool, Adobe comes along and changes it all. Web 2.0, new software, CSS, latest industry standards…I am spinning.

I was thinking; however, with all this advancement in technology and constant changes in the design world, at least I won’t get bored. I won’t have a chance! I love this industry and am learning and growing as a designer, on a daily basis and wouldn’t do anything else, even if I was better at something else! Who can say that about their career. Maybe some people can say the same thing, but most would love more time with their family, or would like to be their own boss.

There are so many positives, off the top of my head…staying home with my kids, making my own schedule, working for myself, getting to be creative, helping other businesses succeed. Those are just a few…

I LOVE MY JOB!

The Value of a Lesson Learned (and the importance of sleep)

In this industry, I am always learning new things. The most simple of tasks can always seem to turn into a mess. Let me elaborate. today I visited my local printer to get some business cards printed for a client. Simple right? Create file, check, burn to CD, check, drive to printer, check. I managed to forget a few very important things and make a very significant, amateur mistake. Allow me to elaborate…

I have had a few very tight deadlines for two clients, not so tight deadlines for 3 more. Needless to say, I am not without things to do. In the rush of trying to get these priority deadlines met, I had an unexpected visit from a client, the next thing I know we were talking business, design needs, and color and 2 hours later I had designed his business cards and was way behind on my other work. Stu[id me, I had also opened my mouth and told the client that the designer should always handle the printing aspect so that there are no muddied waters in the communication with the printer. This ensures the print job will be satisfactory for the client and prevents unnecessary mistakes.

I had also failed to notice that when we started I was working on a web document and had my document settings to 72 dpi, print resolution is at least 260 dpi. Oh, and the major kicker was that I didn’t have the color setting switched to CMYK.

 If you are unfamiliar with these terms, they can take up a whole other blog. Short explanation. C=Cyan, M=Magenta, Y=Yellow, and B=Black, the percentage in these color values make up the colors that printers print from. I was able to fix both problems, well sort of…I drove to the printer first thing in the morning and found out that they changed their hours. They didn’t open for another hour, so I drove home and waited.

I drove back to the printer, explained the problem, and great news, they can get the color a really close match to the RGB values in the color mode that we choose (before I realized the mistake), that we cannot print from. The client then calls and asks if we can put a rush on the job, he needs them Tuesday. The printer requires 50 percent down to start the job and now I can’t get a hold of him.

On to the next problem. The printer loads my disk and asks me what software version I am using. Turns out, I am using a newer version of software that they do not have and I need to go back home and create the files in a different way and come back to drop off the disk. I have to be back by four, with the necessary changes and have the money from the client to pay the dp.

I make the changes, get a hold of the client, he drops off the money, I drop off the files, you guessed it, another problem. They don’t have the font I used on their computer so I have to drive home and get it. This time; however my very tired, sleep and food deprived brain kicks in and realizes that there is this modern invention called email that I could have been using all along…I am now more behind than I was before. UGH!

 Even computers need to shut down for updates!

…3 trips to the printer-A waste of time but free-

…4 gallons of gas in my tank of an SUV -13.90-

…Designing business cards $150 -overworked and underpaid, today very!-

The value of an amateur mistake teaching me I am still human and need to slow down, sleep, really need an occasional break, food, and more time in the day…PRICELESS!

CONTEST ends 5/15 & Photography Restorations by Webb Grafix

From the designer…

After speaking with some of my greatest supporters, I have decided to expand more on my photography, which has always been one of my passions. I have been wanting to expand on my photography and implement an online photography gallery to my site for quite some time. After a lot of brainstorming, expaning my skills, and a little planning, I have decided to open up our online gallery later this year.

Our gallery will include high-resolution stock photography that you can purchase for cheap to download to use in your own projects. I will also be creating digital art pieces for wall hangings and other decorative purposes, also available for download. Along with this gallery, we will be launching a photo sharing service for those who have limited funds. Users will be able to login and upload their art and download art in return, comment on other’s submissions, and ask questions.

This photo sharing portion of this service will be free as long as you upload and share your favorite photography, tips, or digital art.  Think of us as your Kazza (music sharing service) of photography. There will also be photography tips, photoshop tutorials, links and resources, my personal photography portfolio, contests, you name it, it will be here.

Speaking of contests, we need your help! In order to create a Photography restorations album, we need examples to re-touch and showcase. Are there any family photos that you would like to display at home or online that are damaged (damage can consist of cracks, fading, tears, mold, seperation, water damage,scratches, or other damage)? If you have pictures like this or know anyone who does that would like to have their photos restored free of charge email them to us at webbgrafix@hotmail.com. No originals please, we will take scans in any format (.jpeg, .psd, .pdf, .tiff, .bmp, .gif etc…). Send with a brief description of the photo and why it is important to you along with an email address for contact purposes.

After submission, we will send you a confirmation email. We will choose the first 20 or best 20 (depending on how many submissions we get). We will then re-touch and restore your photo free of charge, and upon completion email you before and (high-resolution) after pictures. We will showcase both the before and after shots on our site starting May 15th, allowing a user to vote for his or her favorite. The restoration with the most votes will recieve $500 worth of free design work.

Think this prize is not for me, think again! Design is everything, it is everywhere. It can be as simple as a gift to a family member or friend such as an online recipe book, electronic scrapbook, photo compilation slide show with music and titles, a business website, marketing or other advertising.

If you are in doubt as to weather or not we design it, just ask us. If you have any questions let us know. Thank you for your interest and submissions.

Welcome to our Blog!

Webb Grafix Design Solutions is starting on many exciting new business ventures and adding some very cool additions to our site in the upcoming year.

About the launch of our new site…if you have visited us before, you probabaly noticed that this is a new site for us. We are very excited and still adding some of our work, content and tweaking it a little. Browse our site, Look around, notice the changes, check out our services, pricing, etc…

As we add new features we will point them out in our blog. Sign up, join, comment and as always, check back with us again for our latest information, news, work, and design tips. Thank you so much for stopping by, come again!