Poetry…which I do write from time to time

For you, for me, I like to inspire. I write most of what I write from true life experience. It is all an outlet for me. I love to write, I should write much more…I love to think, to clear my head, it sets me free!

Obsession, Possession, Subjective, Submissive, Explosive,

Thoughts and sacred dysfunctions

But I can dream

The perfect life, I never wanted more

Then you arrived, I can dream

Twisted thoughts, though broken…I can scream

Bitter emotions, In between

The life I have always wanted

And the one I have never known

The way I see it

It all exists, In dreams

I can liberate

I am one, I won’t give a shit

I bear you, emptiness by my side

Went to fast, way to soon

Disrupted by the sight of you

Interupted by the thought of you

I should have known how it would end

In pieces, scarred and broken

I want to hold you

I would never let you go

I need a minute, which I was never allowed

Of what is written on my scars

 

When you see it coming down, I will force it underground

Tattered and torn

Do you believe in love like I believe in pain

If I told you I love you, would you stay?
I love you tomorrow, even if time stood still today
Will I ever know the feeling?

Is there nothing I can say?

It is nice to know the seething, someone who wants you for a change…

Although it’s not enough

How does it feel as you shun me aside?

If I told you would you stay?

If I held you, would you walk away?

No matter how I try, your mark won’t seem to fade

Just yesterday I was whole

I knew who I was, what I wanted

Then you came to me and took my heart away

 

I am one but what am I?

Another number that isn’t equal to the self righteous version of you

I alone can learn to live without the torment of what you create

My justification, happy, sick, solace, malice

Don’t condescend, don’t even disagree

No toleration in vain

Decide, disappoint, be grateful, be mine…

 

 

Portfolio’s and resume’s oh my…

I have recently entered the job search pool. What a deep pool it is. I have been applying for jobs in the industry and have realized that there are two reasons why I am not getting higher profile jobs and clients, (in my opinion anyway).  I don’t at all believe it is a lack of confidence, skills, technique, or knowledge. I have a well-rounded portfolio and can design using multiple styles, coding options, and technique. I desperatly need to update my resume. I haven’t really had the need for a resume as I have owned my own company and been working for myself for the better part of two years. My current business runs off of word of mouth, references, and referral.

I primarily design using Adobe CS 3 which is industry standard. I find that I don’t get most development jobs as I only have basic skills in types of coding and programming other than HTML, and CSS. I love web design and coding. I love to work from design to implementation. I am consistantly learning new design technique, coding, and programming skills. I love to learn, I love to take on challenges and hit the ground running. I find that you could almost say I am miserable if I am not being challenged. In the past, I have taken on jobs that are over my head and SO FAR, have always pulled them off. It is a good feeling to be able to troubleshoot and figure things out as I go.

I am interested in creating a version of my resume with a focus on bigger fish so to speak, so I wondered what types of information designers who get the job list on their resumes, as well as what employers look for. I was also looking for advice regarding online portfolios. Do people prefer online to paper? What types of work should I include?

I know having an online resume and portfolio is important. Although, I must admit that my own website is probabaly my weakest portfolio piece as a designer. I spend so much time working for paid clients and my off time marketing my both mine and my husband’s home-based businesses, at the end of the day, I just don’t seem to ever find time to complete a redesign. I will start one and it will take me months to get to the point where I can devote enough time to develop it and by that time, I am already bored with the style or the design or features are outdated. so I scrap my design and never finish. 

My mind is now racing with ideas for my site. My original plan was to modify my existing, business owner-driven resume and portfolio, but I’ve since decided to start from scratch, I am really debating about which conent I should use.  Starting from scratch will allow me to better incorporate fresh thoughts and ideas to my new resume, portfolio, and website. If only ther was a way to tailor my online resume and portfolio for each job opportunity and have it adapt over time.

The problem with this is it’s hard to tailor your website, portfolio, and résumé to the role for which you’re applying, when your putting together a permanant website. I spend time looking at job requirements to determine how my skills match the skills required in the job posting. My skills rarely fit the ones listed. If they do, I am usually underqualified in the education field. I find that looking for a job and marketing myself is a full time job. I found a lot of advice and info to add in a portfolio and resume. They are listed below.

• A portfolio is a physical or virtual example of work whereas a résumé or cover letter highlights skills and experiences. A portfolio would give viewable evidence of your abilities. It should contain actual product deliverables and examples of the processes needed to achieve them.
• It is ideal to have an online portfolio, so that you can send a link to prospective employers within your résumé and cover letter. Be sure to bring a paper version to interviews, in order to have something to refer to while you talk about projects you have worked on. Be sure to create backups of the paper version so that you have more than one copy. Leave a copy with the potential employer for further review.
• When including samples from group projects, be sure to indicate exactly what you were responsible for. It is expected that you will not create everything. “I was a member of a team who did this project. My responsibilities were… You can see the effect of my work here…”
• If you do not have professional work to display, you may use course projects. Show initiative by taking on volunteer projects to demonstrate professional abilities.
• Include information that demonstrates how you created in addition to what you created, such as notes, rough sketches, old iterations, pictures of products “in work,” or lo-fi prototypes.
• Include behind-the-scenes documentation such as wire frames, site maps, user research findings, feature/functionality matrices, and examples of design, development, and analysis.
• Do not include anything that:
  • You did not have a substantial role in creating.
  • Contains mistakes and is not your best work.Proprietary or copyright-protected.
  • Does not showcase the level of experience and skill you are at currently.

If you have any other advice or thoughts on what to add to a portfolio, resusme, or tricks that help to land a job, feel free to comment. I am in need of some good advice. Maybe this could work itself into a money making opportunity. Downloadable .PDF or EBook??? LOL.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3, um 12

What is all this for?

Have you ever been at a certian turning point or crossroads in your life where you felt that you were being tested?  I know everything is supposed to happen for a reason, I truly believe that in my soal, but there are some things that really seem unfair. Maybe later on in life we will all come to terms with or find answers for questions regarding why things turned out to be a certian way.

I try my damdest to find a silver lining in every cloud, I pick out and even at times invent a lesson, or an answer, or a possible good reason behind, even the bad. I have faith, basic, simple, human faith, that there is a God, and there is good in this world, and that after years of bad luck, (due in part by my own self fufillig prophecy), that I am being rewarded for hanging in there. I do right by my family, making the best of what I have had, and always trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have found faith through the years. I am not a particularly religious person, persay, but I have found things that make sence over time and tend to gravitiate to my own spiritual beliefs. I have found that I am a very non-religious spiritual person. I believe in faith, karma, eternity, life, good, happiness, numerology, astrology, old world belief’s, and a whole lot more that would take a very long time to explain. I find a particular thing or idea that makes sence, do some extensive research, and if I cant discount it as untrue and it feels right, then I believe.

Over the years, through this process, I have developed a method of dealing with problems when they have come my way that has become very useful for me to say the least. I guess you could call it a coping or reasoning mechanism, here is a small explination.

For the past two months or so, our family has  been trying to buy our first home. The very first day, I said outloud, “if it is meant to be, it will happen.” Here is another philosophy that helps to aid in my belief system, “every person you meet comes into your life to stay for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.”

I have a client I have been working with for a few months who is a real estate agent. I feel really comfortable with him, he is the kind of person who seems to go the extra mile. I asked him a few real estate questions, he put me in touch with a lender, and after a month or so of cleaning up our credit and looking at houses I felt like, wow, this is why Kris (my real estate client) came into my life. We had a few bumps along the way, but we put an offer in on our first house.

I again, said to myself, “if this is meant to be it will happen.” Just like I thought, all the pieces began falling into place one by one. We got our escrow money together and then some and have been saving, which we have NEVER been able to do. We have a few credit snags with the State of Washington, a fallonious lien, and child support and we got them taken care of instantly, (which is unheard of). Every time there was another hurdle, we seemed to move right through it.

Its been very stressful; however, I have held the upmost positive attitude, have been unwaveringly optimistic throughout the whole process, when it got to the very end, the very last step fell through. We didn’t get our financing, which means we didn’t get our house. We fell in love, maybe moved too quickly, I don’t know. I do know that we gave notice on our current rental and have to be out and, for now, seemingly have no place to go.

Holding true to my faith and optimistic “everything happens for a reason” outlook, what is the reason behind this? Its a little hard to fathom or come up with a reasoning behind this. Its all a little hard to swallow. I am greiving for something I never had and wondering why…

The music in my head

I have a million things going through my head right now, and oddly enough most of them are lyrics. It is amazing to me how powerful music can be, how enlightening, mood altering, beautiful, poetic, blissful, empowering, and even trajic it can be. I remember so many meaningful things in my life from a song.

For me, I can turn a CD or depending on my mood and the time of the day the radio (but usually Yahoo music) and song/ station surf to find something that makes me feel better, makes me laugh, or even just simply stop and say “what the ____” and change the station or skip to a different song (i love the skip button on Yahoo radio. I also love how mood altering music can be. I have a very wide range of musical tastes and listen to everything from smooth Jazz to country, to heavy metal.  My yahoo radio station plays just about every category of music they have to offer, spanish, techno, you name it, its in there. To say I am musically challenged, is an understatement.

I would definatly have to say my favorite of all music would have to be mood metal. Music like Evanescense, Stone Sour, and Deftones to name a few. My all time favorite of all bands is Pink Floyd. I can turn on a song of theirs and I instantly go into a trance type, numb, feel better state.

Do you have a favorite song, band, or type of music that does that for you? Something you can turn on to tune the world out. If you don’t you should, or even something that does the same thing for you, a hobby, painting, exercising, whatever works for you. My personal favorite is Yahoo music, you can create a mood by the music you choose to play. You get to rank songs, artisits, and can even pick a genre of music to set your thoughts to beats. It works wonders for the soal.

Lyrics in my head now. These are actually pieces of songs I have in my head, all at the same time. Its almost like a broken record, or I am listening to a dj spin a record that he is skipping around. This is very random and  like a window into my thoughts…

~Us and them, and after all were all just ordinary men. Me and you, and who knows which is which and who is who…out of the way its a busy day, Ive got things on my mind..over and over and over again all this confusion is doing me in…I am one but what am I, another number that isn’t equal to any of you, I haven’t slept since I woke up and found my whole life was a lie…A vacation is a countdown T minus your life and counting, Time to drag your tongue across the sugar cube and hope you get a taste, Dont Blink…

-and last but not least-

Freedom’s just a word today
Freedom’s just a word
When someone takes your word away it’s seldom ever heard
So take a sentence full of things you’re not supposed to say
Carry on, but don’t write it down or you’ll be gone

Love is just a song today
Love is just a song
When someone takes the song away
you seldom sing along
So take those lyrics serious and sing your life away
Carry on, but don’t write ‘em down or they’ll be gone

All we ever do is talk
We like to ride but we never walk
We make it so damn easy
We get bored
Why can’t anybody see what’s good for you is bad for me
I can’t take your sillyworld
I can’t take your sillyworld no more

We fight our instincts
We go to extremes
We fight our instincts
We go to extremes
We fought a lot~

Some of the lyrics I jotted down are from the bands I mentioned, some are not. The order is random, the pieces were leaked from my mind long enough to make room for new ones and forget the old. Maybe you know the songs, the artists, maybe you don’t. Maybe they mean something to you or you can relate to them like I can. Life is a story, I like to set it to music and sit back and enjoy this crazy ride.
~Thanks for reading my poetic rant.

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!