Keep Working

In Chapter 10 of Steal Like an Artist I was reminded of the importance of working hard but still creatively. When creative work comes limitations mean freedom. There are no limitations. Do what you feel is right and what you like to do with the materials you are provided with. There shouldn't be excuses for not trying something out. Constraints can help you be creative by pushing you to develop something bigger starting with something smaller. For example, Dr. Seuss initially wrote The Cat and The Hat with 236 words. He was constrained by his editor to write it in 50 words and that lead to one of the most popular children's book of all time. Sometimes being constrained helps us get our point and work across better. 

Editing photography with cool effects has been something I wanted to do. This was a test shot for my project 4 collaboration. I was only given one photograph so I decided to add fire to each hand to give a surreal superhero look.

Be Active

In chapter 9 of Steal Like An Artist, the author Austin Kleon talks about the importance of staying active. He also talks about staying out of debt and enjoying the job you do. It also talks about the importance of marrying well. A good partner motivates you and believes that you can accomplish any goal you set your mind to. Throughout my routine I like to stay very active. Its also very repetitive but its also because I'm pursuing long term goals that I've set up. From the time I wake up at 5:30am I am already active. I head to my job at a large factory called Libman. Yes it isn't the greatest job because the pay isn't what I want but I am also a part-timer and it has its benefits. I like to look at the positives in every situation because in truth, it could always be worse. For example, the job works around my school schedule every semester so when I have class I can clock-out earlier. However, when I don't have class I am there until 3:30pm. As soon as I leave work I head home and change to gym apparel. At this point I'm very exhausted but I motivate myself at times by watching motivational videos, or looking at gym memes. I leave the gym around 6:30 and head home to eat, shower, and work on homework or projects. Usually the only free time that I have is the weekend, but even then I still try to maintain an active life. I don't like to stay in and nap all the time because I feel like once I start doing that I find it harder to go back to my routine. I think an active routine benefits greatly. It lets the mind be more active as well and its also better for your health. I don't currently have a calendar to keep organized but I think its something to explore from reading the book. I think being orderly helps being creative because it gives you time to think ahead at what coming and reminds you to keep an open mind. I think a log book can help be more creative by looking back on past events that occurred that helped your mind develop ideas. For example, if you found a book, site, or even a place that inspired you, it would be a good idea to write it in your logbook to look back on. I don't have a logbook currently but I will use it for the week and add it to my next homework assignment.

Make Friends Ignore Enemies

In chapter 8 of Steal Like An Artist I was reminded of the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people. The type of people that you look up to and want to learn from. It is important to surround yourself with these people in order to grow and become better. Many people find themselves getting hurt with negative comments and we should learn to ignore and erase those from our lives. Its important to use your energy on your work instead of trying to please someone else that feeds off of negativity. If you focus on the positive comments your work will benefit. You will develop more confidence and find yourself too busy to care about the negative comments. This chapter talks a lot about the difference between what people would say in person to online. Many people can be twice as hurtful online so it is important to be able to block out those naysayers. Following positive people can help your creativity. It can lead people to be inspired by what they have done. They will serve as role models to you and you will benefit from following them. I follow many positive people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, and Cristiano Ronaldo to name a few. These people share many positive stories of what hard work and dedication does. I think that is important when scrolling through a news feed on Facebook for example, coming across a positive post makes a big impact. It gets the mind thinking and sparks motivation.

Letter:

Dear Mr. Ronaldo,

I am writing this letter to thank you for the positive impact that you have had in my life. I greatly look up to you because of your hard work and determination. I strongly admire that you started from struggling in a small neighborhood to becoming the best soccer player in the world for 3 years. It shows great determination and inspires me. I appreciate all the good stories and posts you share. They are a good reminder of what you can become with hard work and dedication. Thank you for being a good role model and having a positive impact in my life.

Thanks,

Homero Garza

Cristiano Ronaldo

Go Out, Explore

In chapter 7 of Steal Like An Artist I was reminded of the importance of being out and doing things. I was reminded that what we choose to do and where we choose to be at has a huge impact on the work we do. Traveling and keeping an open mind is something designers need. You need to revolve yourself around new things, new ideas, new people, and new surroundings in order to get inspired. If you are stuck in one place all day you will find it difficult to develop inspiration or motivation to even do something. Although sometimes you can help it due to weather and you must stay inside your home it is still important to be productive when staying home. One of the good things nowadays is that you can communicate with people without even having to leave your home. It is still though important to go out and explore. When the author says, "the brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings", he means that the brain gets too used to what you do and see everyday that you find it difficult to find creativity sometimes. It is good to make your brain uncomfortable, surround it with new things, that is the best way to develop new ideas. Surround yourself with old things and you'll only get reminded of old things. However if you surround yourself with innovation then your creativity will expand. Another good thing to surround yourself around is interesting people. It helps to live around people that are motivated and drive to succeed. If you surround yourself with people who aren't very interesting most of the time you aren't going to have such an interesting life. 

Pricing Estimating & Budgeting - Theo Stephan Williams

This book has great tips about charging for your work correctly. It is important to know what to do once you created a design or when you are about to start a job so analyzing what others charge and the amount of time and work you are going to be doing is important. This book is a great way to learn about how to handle hourly pay. The book also gives good tips on talking to clients about budgets and giving them and estimate that wont scare them away to another designer. I think if you are going to be a freelancer this book would be a great read!

Research

Barcelona Festival

Fitness banner

Motion Theatre Ad

Kinetic Fashion Festival

Share Good Work

In Chapter 6 of Steal Like An Artist I gathered many important points that the author brought up that I can agree with. First things first I agree that college is a great way to have a captive audience. Soon after college and depending on the job you take, we will be learn that we don't always have so many opinions and people to rely on when editing work. School is a great way to gather ideas from others and learn other peoples processes. I agree that sometimes its beneficial not to have such an audience after school until you develop great work. You want people to see your work and pay attention to you when you're developing things people are jealous of. Once you start sharing those good works your network will grow much more. Another point that I can agree with is that sharing your stuff on the internet is beneficial. The more you share your passions the more people will feel closer to your work and your name will become memorable. 

I think that the internet is a great place for ideas. The author Austin Kleon writes that it can be an incubator for ideas. I think that what the author is trying to say is that its okay to copy other peoples ideas. That the internet is a great source for developing work inspired by things people have shared in the past. When the author says that having a public online presence can be a kick in the pants I think he means that it can be a way of knowing if your designs have evolved based on peoples comments. These comments can sometimes be nice and sometimes be bad. Many times though, they serve as a way of finding what people prefer and what you still need to work on.

BLOG: Homero Design 

Other Work is Important

In Chapter 5 of Steal Like an Artist, the author states many important tips that I agree with regarding procrastination. I think for a designer it is important to procrastinate in order to develop ideas. When one pushes something aside they give themselves time to think things through, that is where ideas can spark. When I find myself being bored doing nothing, such as when I'm about to go to bed and I struggle to fall asleep, I find myself generating ideas. In that moment I find myself thinking of ways I could improve, which is also a reason I think I find it hard to fall asleep so quick. I think finding a time to do nothing and be just bored gives you the time to just focus on one thing. In the chapter the author mentions practicing productive procrastination. I think that doing nothing but thinking falls into that category. Another point that I got out of the chapter is the importance of having multiple hobbies. Hobbies are things that make you feel happy, its something that gives and doesn't take. Some of my hobbies that make me happy include playing soccer and lifting weights. I think if I didn't have these things in my life it wouldn't be as fun and exciting.  Everyone should have a hobby whether thats playing an instrument, exercising, or drawing, to name a few. 

Use Your Hands

After reading Chapter 4 of Steal Like An Artist I kept thinking of all the true points the author had. Austin Kleon is absolutely right when he says that computers are alienating us from using our body to create things. He is right when he says that you never really get to touch things until they are printed and all you ever really use when designing is your mind because you're stuck sitting on a desk. I think that getting away from a computer desk can help generate ideas and the main reason you should use your computer is to edit your ideas. I think that engaging more of your senses through things that are more physical such as sketching your ideas will save you time as well as help generate more ideas. When you also incorporate things like the sound of music you are more involved in your process and it doesn't feel as boring. The reason a computer is not good for generating ideas is because they aren't as easy to start over on. For example, with sketches you can simply just turn the page and start sketching again. On the other hand, with a computer, you have to be more detailed and it just simply works better for editing ideas you sketched out. 

PROCESS

FINISHED ART

Go Make That Stuff

Chapter 3 of Steal Like an Artist can be summarized as motivation. The author, Austin Kleon, writes about the importance of being yourself. He writes about the importance of doing what you want. What I got out of it was pretty much inspiration to the things I want to get done started. The author says to write the story you want to read. If I were ever to re-write my life it would possibly be in a bigger city. I come from a small town of 3000 and I believe that living in a bigger city would also mean their would be bigger opportunities. In this story, I would hope my career as a graphic designer would take off. I would want to have enough experience to work for a big corporation such as Nike or Adidas in the future. I don't think I would change many other things about my life besides the place where I live because of the opportunities.

Dont Wait Until You Know Who You Are To Get Started

The author, Austin Kleon, brings up many important points in Chapter two of Steal Like an Artist. An important point mentioned that struck me was when Kleon writes that the act of making things and doing work is the way that we will figure out who we truly are. He is absolutely right, we must know ourselves and what we are capable of to truly figure out who we want to be. For example, some people may not be capable of dealing with hurt people so they should not become doctors. A positive example would be someone who is very creative, they should dedicate their creativity in the Art field. Another point that I got out of the reading was that is okay to copy. Its okay to copy how others work, act, or even think. Copying can lead to the development of even better works and ideas. In life there is good theft and there is bad theft. Good theft includes, honoring, studying, and transforming what once was. Bad theft includes degrading, stealing from one, plagiarizing, and imitating. Basically, what the author says is that we need to give credit to the people who deserve it.

You must understand where a style is coming from in order to steal the thinking behind a style. It is also possible to do so by not imitating a work. You can steal the thinking behind a style by starting a different project with similar characteristics of the style you were inspired from. Imitating is copying oneself after and emulating is trying to be as good or successful as something or someone else.

A way to emulate my mentors work is by studying his style. Studying his background, his inspirations, and his way of thinking. Herb Lubalin is known for many clever logo creations and I take great inspiration from his work. When designing my logo for project 2 I took the time to study his designs and tried to be clever. A way I did that was by designing a 0 on a horizontal plane to look as if it was buried underground for the program Ground-Zero.


Inspiration:

Creation: 

Books

Ive been asked many times what my favorite book is. Can I answer that? Honestly, no. I find myself telling myself I should read a lot more than I do but I live such a busy schedule that I don't find the time to fit reading in anymore. The author of Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon, states that there is magic in being surrounded by books. It is true, there is so much more you get from reading a book than from watching a movie. Reading develops the imagination and the mind. It is such an important activity that I plan on getting back to soon. There are many books I wish I had time to read and will surely check out further in the future. These are some of the books that I look forward to checking out.

Pricing Estimating & Budgeting - Theo Stephan Williams

Chip Kidd: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design

Lubalin - Adrian Shaughnessy

Workbook38

Animation Unleashed - Ellen Besen

The Art of Pixar - Amid Amidi

I want to read these books for various reasons revolving around graphic design. The reason I want to go into depth on Pricing, Estimating, and Budgeting is because I don't have a good understanding of what to charge clients for designs. I also don't have any idea the cost to print things and those are a few of the things I plan on learning from reading this book. After reading Chip Kidd's books I hope to have a better understanding of how he approaches his designs and what he gets inspired from. I think he is one of the best book cover designers and I hope to find out more about him. I also want to learn more about Herb Lubalin. I know that he works with communicative typography but I want to learn more about his works and influences. The reason I want to check out the Workbook38 is because I saw some brilliant designs that I hope to use as inspiration in the future. I hope to learn a lot more about animation this semester so I am planning on checking out the book Animaton Unleashed and The Art of Pixar. I saw a lot of interesting things from flipping through these books and I know reading them will benefit me a lot in the future.

On page 20, the author quotes John Waters as saying "nothing is more important than an unread library." I agree many times we should find ourselves separating and collecting books to read for later dates. I have seen many books that have been turned into movies that I have never read and hope to soon. A couple of the books that I plan to read in the future include: 

My research for project 2 includes:

Influences

In my life I have let many things influence what I do. On page 11, the author of the book "Steal like an Artist", Justin Kleon, states "You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let in your life. You are the sum of your influences." I can agree with the statement because in my life I have let many things and people influence my decisions and what I do. I believe that a person can be influenced to become a better person by surrounding themselves with positive things. Some of my influences include family, friends, sports, and music.

One of my biggest influences is family. My family and friends are very supportive and I wouldn't be who I am today without them. My parents and my 3 siblings mean the world to me and we always find a way to help each other out. Its really motivating when I see my younger siblings ask me how school is going and what projects I'm currently working on. My friends are also very driven and thats always something good to have. Surrounding yourself with people with a good mindset and a good future plan is always a good influence. 

I think that sports play a big influence in my life. They teach you so many valuable things. For example when I played soccer a few years back I lost a very important championship game. I felt as if I could've done so much better to help my team out so I trained more. Last year, my team won that championship. The lesson I learned from this was that failure is an opportunity to do better. I also became more motivated through this. I realized that everyday is a chance for yourself to become better at something. This is something I use in design today. Everyday is another day to learn something new, and to become a better designer. 

Music plays a big impact in my life. I don't necessarily have a favorite genre because I find myself listen to everything depending on where I'm at and my mood. I think music plays a big impact because if I find myself feeling tired I can always listen to something loud and electronic. If I find myself needing to concentrate on something more I listen to more instrumental. I have different music for many different occasions. Music for working out, studying, cruising, and just chilling with friends. I think that music plays a similar role in most people's lives and is something that can influence you everyday.

I am satisfied with the sum of my influences. I don't think I would change anything about my life right now. I live a happy life and my influences play a big part in that. I wouldn't be who I am today without my current influences. 

Herb Lublin collaborated with Ralph Ginzburg, George Lois, and John Pistilli. Lubalin and Ginzburg played a big role in the creative visual beauty of the magazine designs for Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. These magazines were an important part of Lubalin's work. Lubalin also worked with designers George Lois and John Pistilli. George Lois was an art director, designer, and author best known for his 92 covers he designed for Esquire magazine. John Pistilli was a type designer who also created work with Herb Lubalin. 

Ralph Ginzburg

George Lois

John Pistilli

Steal Like An Artist

Talk about your first impressions of the textbook

My first impression of the textbook was that its got a unique shape. It also has a unique overall design. It uses many interesting contrasting images, text, and illustrations. It gets its point across pretty well and from reading the first chapter I can tell that it includes very good information.

How do you feel about stealing other people's ideas? Is this legal? Is this moral?

I think stealing peoples ideas is a must in graphic design. I think its important to be able to steal from other designers in order to draw inspiration from them. I think it should be legal to an extent. You cant completely steal someones idea but you can steal bits and pieces and design something similar or better. All creative work starts from somewhere and each work builds on what came before.

Isn't originality valued in art? How can you be more original?

Originality in art is valued, however, rarely anything is original anymore. Everything is a mixture of something that was once original. Its so hard to develop something original but I think the best possible way to take various ideas and combine them into your own unique style.

How can you be a better collector? Where do you stash your non-digital collection so that you can access them later?

You can be a better collector by actually collecting stuff and having a spot to put them in for future use. I don't really have a non-digital collection but I think they can be important for future inspiration.

Where do you stash your Internet links? If you're not using a cloud-based bookmarking app, start now and share your stash of links. 

I have a digital collection though. I bookmark things on Pinterest that I think might be important to look back on. I also have a folder on my laptop where I save screenshots of designs.


Creative Typography | Pinterest

Choose a thinker as a mentor for this semester and begin studying him/her. Start by posting a sample of your mentor's work.

A designer I really look up to is Herb Lubalin. His work with type is so creative and has played a big impact in typography in the modern day.

Which is your favorite quote from this chapter? Why?

My favorite quote from chapter 1 is David Bowie's "The only art I'll ever study is stuff that I can steal from." The quote is so true to me. I don't really like to keep art that I wont be able to use and take inspiration from later. 

Introduction

Hey guys,

I want to start off my blog by introducing myself and by discussing what led me to choose Graphic Design as my major.

I grew up and went to high school in Arcola, a small town 35 miles South of Champaign. It is very different from Champaign. Many people say Champaign is small but have no idea what its like to live in a town of only 3,000. The community is very close and thats something I love about living in a small town. However, there aren’t very many opportunities there which is why I plan to move somewhere bigger in the future. I plan to get my degree and move somewhere where I can find a good job in graphic design.

There are several reasons why I decided to choose Graphic Design as my major. The first one being that I love Photoshop. The amount of things you can create are limitless. I also really like working with computers and using other Adobe programs. I have always thought that using creative visual graphics for communication is something I would like to do someday. The main reason that I chose it is because I love being able to use ideas and create them visually.

My creative process starts with writing down key words the topic I am designing for. Once I have most of them down I try to find a way I can incorporate them in a design. I start to researching designs similar to the one I am going to be working on. I then begin sketching ideas and then attempting to do a quick mockup of my top ideas on the computer. Once I find an idea that I feel confident with I stick to it and try to come up with the best final design.

There are many places I get my ideas from some include social media, Pinterest, or just simply googling key words. Much of my inspiration comes simply by seeing designs on the web. I see many advertisements and graphics on social media and I save them on my phone. I don't follow one specific designer but I do admire creative people. I usually search around and just grab ideas from different designers but I don't usually stick to just one person's style. 

I really look forward to working on project 1 and I also plan on beginning research for project 3 as soon as I can because it seems like it will be a bit more lengthy.

One of the designs that I consider adding to my portfolio is a billboard advertisement that I designed for Chladny Orthodontics. I consider it creative because of the humor between adding braces to animals. I think the humor makes it more memorable.

This is my research for project 1.

I think these designs are very successful because they are very attention grabbing and colorful. I also like that they are very abstract. I look forward to working on this project.