Archive for the ‘misc’ Category
So according to the Gospel That Is the Internet, I have an ambidextrous brain. (See: pretty balanced between the left and the right sides.) As with most self-evaluations, this came as a monster of a revelation to me. Suddenly, all my years of confusion and ambivalence seem less like a personal failure. For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt like I’ve been constantly fluctuating between two ends of a dichotomy, and it caused me a great deal of anxiety when I was a kid. (I still haven’t learned that I have better things to worry about than my self-identity.) I like math and art. I’m inherently chaotic, but always hyper-detail-oriented, and, every now and again, neurotically organized. I always assumed it had something to do with my bipolar nature. I’m a woman of extremes, and don’t often do the Middle Ground.
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Tags: balance, books, business, design, pretty
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For someone who spends such an extensive amount of her day online, I ignored the “Social Networking Revolution” for a surprisingly long time, mostly for the same reasons that I never owned a television—I tend to be a little wary of things that suck up time without creating anything tangible.
Oh, and I’m not particularly social as it is. And networking? I’m starting to think I’m biologically incapable of doing it.
But hey, I own a television now. I’m no less productive (probably because it’s off almost all the time) than I was before. So the social networking thing? I could bite the bullet.
I’ve been making use of both Facebook and LinkedIn for a while now. I recently broke down and got on MySpace, which gives me headaches to look at, but lets me keep a list of bands I should check out on hand. I’ve been starting to take a look at Facebook’s developer tools—I’m interested in the prospect of being able to integrate the sites I build with such a widely-used site. And, as I was doing it, I came across Facebook Pages, a new feature that allows you to list your business. Neat!
In short: Triggers & Sparks is now on Facebook.
As everyone who knows me is aware, I am a complete feedback junky. I’m hoping that this will give me a venue to present some works-in-progress and get some other opinions…sort of like a focus group for designs, which is something I could really use.
Interested? Well, of course you are! Feel free to become a “fan” (the egomaniac in me likes that term) and shower me with thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Harsh criticism always welcomed—I like the idea of making design a more interactive sport. Get involved here!
Oh, and if you’re more interested in completed projects, I’ve added another logo redesign to my portfolio.
Tags: business, design, projects
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So here’s the thing. I realize in advance that I’m going to come off as a crazy cat lady here. I’ll admit I’ve always been a little nervous about the crazy-cat-lady thing. People tell me that three cats is enough to make you a CCL, and given my penchant for losing my beloved familiars, I’ve always managed to stay far away from that line.
Of course, I forgot to spay my kitten, and she hit puberty one day when I wasn’t home. Suddenly she was weighing about ninety pounds and her belly was the size of a football. Bob Barker would have my head.
So Kalliope is a young, unwed mother. She gave birth to three kittens on September 28th. She was considerate enough to choose my bed as her birthing room, so I came home to find three tiny closed-eyed little rodenty creatures in a pile on my duvet, a bloody mess on my pillow, and a stillborn under my sheet. I did a lot of laundry.
I’ve always been infatuated with creation. Given the option, I’d almost always rather create than consume, which is why I tend to gravitate towards writing, drawing, painting, Lego sets, etc. Watching another life be created, though? That puts everything else to shame. I suppose this is the sort of thing people usually realize when they have children, but, well, I’m too much of a child myself to ever go that route.
While I’ve been feeling unproductive because most of my projects are stalled in some midphase, or they’re behind-the-scenes sorts of pieces that I can’t really add to my portfolio, Kallie’s been raising three beautiful, healthy, and only marginally psychotic tiger-striped felines.
And I’m trying hard not to get attached, but I’ve watched them quadruple in size. I was there when their eyes started to open, I knew them when their ears were closed flat, and I taught them to eat solid food. Two weeks ago, they all had earned names.
This is Copernicus at about three weeks old:
Sabine, today, posing with her favourite plaything (after her Mum’s tail):
And Matilda boning up on her typography:
More crazy-cat-lady photos can be found on my flickr page, if you’re really so inclined.
Oh, and in actual news, I’ve added two new projects—digitaledge.ca and a logo for Comfort & Joy (website in production!). But, really, neither of those attack my shoes when I walk into the room, so they really just seem less thrilling, somehow.
Tags: design, felines, life, projects, typography, websites
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Everything seems to be in a bit of a lull. I have so many projects that are almost finished, but need that last little bit of content or that last cycle of feedback. I’m told that this is normal for the design industry in the summertime. Regardless, it makes me feel as though I’m not being productive, even though that isn’t the case in the least. In fact, I seem to be getting a lot of my long-term to-do-items crossed off my list, which is a fantastic feeling!
Well, I’ve been talking about it forever, and, finally, it’s official—resumes are on sale! Get all the details here.
I’m doing a whole host of revisions to my custom client admin panel codebase, so anyone getting one of those with their new website in the upcoming months will be seeing a more elegantly designed and more user-friendly interface there. While I’m in there, I’ll also be overhauling the code base so that it’s cleaner and stabler, meaning better, stronger, faster websites for everyone!
Oh, and there is one new project I can show for the time being: another newspaper ad for the post office space. Coming up soon: an explanation for why I’ve been stealing stickers off all the apples in the grocery store, and all sorts more.
Tags: design, industry, projects, websites
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It seems like it’s been forever since I actually added new pieces to my portfolio—as it is, it’s getting overstuffed. (See the website thumbnail pull-down. Must fix that.) Leaving it all to do in bulk like this makes it a bit of a painful process.
So, in answer to the burning “so what exactly have you been doing all this time, Sarah?” question, I have the following: a logo for Bill Smith, novascotialobstercouncil.com, atlanticgatewayalliance.com, lunenburgframing.ca, an online quilt store, a volunteer project for a Senegalese non-profit, a business card and a brochure for Smuggler’s Cove Inn, and, just in case you’re interested, a look at my own branding efforts. As usual, there’s a boatload of other stuff in the works.
Tags: business, design, process, websites
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I realized early this morning when accidentally entering the date wrongly on an estimate that it was T&S’s official first birthday yesterday. By sheer luck of the draw, my official date of business registration happened to be 06/06/06. Not that I’m a raging Satanist or anything, but the fifteen-year-old-boy who lives inside me thinks that’s cool. (I also like the trinity aspect that seems to be sneaking into my business—my door number is going to be 3, there are three rooms and three doors in my studio…)
Mind you, numbers confuse me so much sometimes, I needed to edit this post three times to make it factually accurate.
In celebration, I would like everyone to light a firework, sparkler, or a match at some point today. (Because I only just now realized that it is now the 7th, and no longer the 6th, and thus I actually have nothing to celebrate and am probably a bad parent for missing my firstborn’s first birthday.) And then go look at this website, because I really like it and had a lot of fun trying to make it work.
Tags: business, design, websites
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I think I’m finally starting to see how everything balances out. I spent a ridiculous amount of effort getting everything ready for my launch party, and ended up accidentally locking myself out of my studio at 7am in the pouring rain. I had one nasty cold, but everyone who came to the launch (and there weren’t many, given that I’m a moron and set it in the middle of a long weekend) came in the door with a bottle of wine and I ended my night happy, blissful, and with a studio that actually looks like a studio now, and is full of colour and art and all those other things I like so much. On the other hand, the internet’s out, so I can’t seem to actually make use of it.
This morning I took my beloved Etta (my Civic) in for her MVI and was told she’s no good anymore, and it’s time to buy a new car. But this afternoon? I officially got my LGDC, which means I am now a professional portfolio-reviewed member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. Time for another party!
And in other news, I think I am becoming a better designer. Lots and lots of projects are in the making, and I can’t wait to show them off.
Tags: balance, design, projects
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My business has so many birthdays, it’s ridiculous. At any rate, my official “holy cow how long can you put that thing off, sarah?” launch party begins tonight at seven. 118 Lincoln Street (Lunenburg), and everyone’s welcome. There will be goody bags and maybe a door prize and some wine and cheese, plus good design-y talk with a sleep-deprived over-stressed sarah. There may or may not be fireworks.
Tags: business, design, life
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It’s only the most popular question asked by anyone who knows me over the past few months. And it’s always hard to answer—my stock response is “It’s too soon to tell”. And it really is, but I’m definitely keeping busy, and new projects keep coming through the door. Every now and again I sit back for a moment and think how lucky I am to be 23 years old and supporting myself doing what I love, being my own boss, keeping my own hours, and setting my own rules. I never thought this would be what I wanted to do, but I’m utterly thrilled that I get to do it. (continue »)
Tags: business, design, illustration, logos, projects, websites
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So business is good, I think. It’s still too early to tell, and there’s so much going on that I’m trying to stay on top of. Quickbooks, in particular, is eating up my time like some sort of monster. I used to think I liked numbers, but I think it’s time we broke up.
Lots of new work in the pipeline, along with some old projects that are being wrapped up. I finished a logo and website for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party Leadership (rather a mouthful) and am maintaining it as the campaign progresses. A few new things should be cropping up soon, but I’m going to set precedence by staying quiet about them until they’re finished.
Going from a part-time to a full-time business is as much of a challenge as I expected, but I’m getting lots of support from people, and I’m learning as I go. And being able to work at 4am, and take a noontime nap? Yeah, it’s nice.
Tags: books, business, design, projects, websites
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