graphic design

Viva Magenta!

web design, Work life

Welcome 2023 and the Pantone color of the year is Viva Magenta! As a graphic and web designer I have lived by the color bible that is the Pantone color books. If you do not know what they are, look it up, they help a lot in different media. This year’s color make me happy as it is one of my very favorite colors and really sets the positive and exciting tone for the year.

Along with being a web nerd I am also a tech geek and have my eye on the new Motorola Edge 30 Fusion which has collaborated with Pantone for a color of the year mobile device.

As we enter this new year, I wanted to remind myself (and anyone who indulges in my shenanigans here) to focus on what you can control. Make goals – professional, personal, recreational, etc. – that are realistic but elevate your life somehow, and make a plan. It is easy to make new years resolutions or wishes, but to turn them into an attainable goal requires a road map, a plan, a pathway. And it is okay to not know right at the top of the calendar year what those goals are. These timelines, after all, are social constructs, but they serve as a reminder to recollect and regroup, regain perspective, and clear your head.

To be honest, I do not know what my goals are yet. I have been mulling over some form of continuing education. Developing my skills to a higher level of ability with video editing and content creation. There is always room to grow with graphic design as technology advances and programs update. I would also like to work on personal health development and perhaps return to light jogging on a regular basis. What are your goals?

The value in continuing education…

design, web design

Recently I encountered a web team who had little to no familiarity with WordPress, Gutenberg, visual design rules, or recent tools used by the website community within their industry. This was both shocking and frustrating. It was uncomfortable to have to train “experts in their field” on the latest tools, styles, and security measures used by the webmasters of their industry. This made me wonder why they were behind in their industry and frustrated to learn that they were behind because they expected any additional training needed to be handed to them on a silver platter. I explained that I do independent continuing education (CE) because technology and trends move so fast that in order to keep up, I do independent research, take online tutorials, etc. This concept seemed foreign to them – taking their own personal time to refine and update the skills they are paid to be trained professionals at!? The audacity of my suggestion!

I am a huge advocate for education… Well, let’s face it, I’m a BIG NERD. But while some people see CE on their own time as company theft of their personal time and space, I see it as an investment in yourself. Much like going to college – it is a price we pay to learn tools and trades that help us stand out in a competitive market. Frankly, it’s even better than college because you can do it from home and many online tutorials are free! Plus there is the added bonus of learning to use tools that help make your work faster and more efficient – and that alone repays you for the time spent learning with CE.

Remember friends, as the old saying goes, work smart not hard!

The design double-standard…

design, graphic design

Recently I saw a post of people celebrating a magazine cover of a Kardashian sister. I will be honest in sharing that I did not read said article or know which Kardashian it was, but that is not the point. My point is, people were congratulating her on how she looked on the magazine and it made me wonder – where is the kudos for the designer of the cover? Okay, so, not literally. But also… A little literally. It seems that there is this design double-standard that we do not pretend exists when it comes to celebrities images and the designers who fix them. It is not rare for an audience, or even the celebrity themselves, to publicly shame a magazine for the designer’s heavy handed editing. People stand up on their soapbox about unfair beauty standards (which for the record, I agree which is why I do not work in that particular industry contributing to the false imagery). But what about when the design is gorgeous and the person looks flawless? Is that somehow magical genetics? No. It is simply someone who to use the terms of popular culture, “knew the assignment.” This means, they were able to edit a design to a level that is both flawless, but socially acceptable – which believe it or not, is not always easy. Nonetheless, where is the love for the designers? It is a difficult and delicate balance between heavy handed editing that leads to complaints, or heavy handed editing that leads to celebrity or model praise; but one thing I can promise you is, it was heavy handed.