Summer is more than half over. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! Sometimes I feel like Joey on Friends when he goes "Why God WHY". I hate when times flies when there is plentiful to-dos to complete; I call it, the punishment of aging. 

It's been awhile since I last typed a letter on this blog. Felt like this page deserves an update. 

Currently, I am frustrated with time management. Sometimes I feel isolated from the rest of the working population, in terms of our timeline. I wish I can start the day at 8:30 and work continuously and efficiently till 5; like "regular" jobs. But I always have to remind myself, creatives work differently. Don't fret. When ideas don't flow, it's just as clogged as a toilet. There is nothing that can speed up the process once we hit the cul-de-sac but I can guarantee when the idea is realized, it's non-stop, tiresome process; no sleep no eat, just 100% pure, non-concentrated procrastination-driven work. Yes, 90% of the time it is wasting time, 10% hard work. The ironic bits come as we achieve productivity and the important matters and distractions decide to make their appearance (meanwhile the 90% procrastination is uninterrupted). Nothing bursts our bubble more than distractions, especially for the creatives. Somehow it breaks our pattern like a sleepless night (sleep, wake, sleep, wake). The stereotype of a maniac artist, locked in his/her studio for weeks, unfed, dirty and unresponsive, is convincing. 

Here is 22 things creative people do differently (from multiple sources):

1. They get inspired at the least expected moment.

They can’t decide when the next big idea will come. It just will, in the least expected way, at the least expected moment.

2. They daydream. A lot.

They are here, but they’re not. They can fly away with their mind at any given moment during a conversation. Don’t be mad at them, it’s just the way they are.

3. They get easily bored.

They need to stay stimulated in order to stay active. They won’t focus on something they don’t like. Call them ADHD or whatever you like, this is just part of their genius.

4. They watch the world with the eyes of a child

There’s a part of them that never grows up, and maybe this is the real secret, observing the world with the eyes of a child.

5. They will fail, and you can be sure they will try again

Life it’s not always easy for a creative, especially for the professional ones. They will fail one thousand time in their life, then they will rise and succeed, only to fail again. Every creative, even the most successful one, has failed and has been rejected one million times. But they finally did it.

6. They are told to get a real job

It’s not easy to be accepted as a creative, especially when your loved ones expect something different from you. Real creatives will follow their dreams.

7. They will follow their heart, even if often their mind thinks otherwise

It’s said that creative people are more likely to worry less about problems and take more risks. This can brings to a thousand fails, but a million satisfactions.

8. They get lost in time

When they are creating they get lost in time and space, they can forget to eat, to drink and even to sleep. When words, colors or ideas start to flow out of their mind there’s nothing else that really matters to them.

9. They work when you sleep and they sleep when you work

Like we said at n. 1, inspiration comes at the most unexpected times. Just take it and make something great out of it.

10. Where most people see a difficulty, they see an opportunity

They can see the bright side of things, and brilliantly come out of troubles in unusual ways.

11. They fall in love with their pieces of work, and hate them the day after

This is still a mystery, but there is some kind of process that makes them extremely fickle about their creations.

12. They hate what they’ve just created, but will totally love it 12 hours later

Just like n. 11, this can happen too.

13. They are humble and proud at the same time

They are always willing to learn, but will be extremely proud and confident when it comes to their ideas and creations.

14. They are always looking to new ways to express themselves

Both if you do it as a job or you are just a creative person, you know there isn’t just one way to express creativity. If you are a photographer you’ll probably love to create in so many other ways. The same applies to painters, art directors, writers and every creative person in general.

15. They procrastinate

Give them a deadline and they will comply with it, but you can be sure they will do 90% of the work the night before the term.

16. They see the other side of the coin

They can always observe situations from a different point of view.

17. They don’t like boundaries

Rules and boundaries are not for them. Many popular creatives in history have even been labeled as rebels.

18. They often don’t like numbers

They are brilliant and can really amaze you at times, but try to let them do the math and you will be surprised by how much they dislike numbers.

19. They are great observers

They often are great people watchers and notice even the smallest detail. People and basically everything can be the inspiration for their next idea.

20. They always make new experiences

As we said before, they need to be stimulated to stay creative. Is there a better way to escape from routine by trying something you never did before?

21. They do it all over again

No matter how far they’ve come with their last creation. If at a given point they don’t like, they won’t think twice and will trash it just to start all over again. And again. And again.

22. They love

They love. Everything. They love life, they love people, they love emotions, they love animals, they love beauty. They can stay in silence watching the most beautiful sunset they’ve ever seen, or be excited for the next big art exhibit in town.
No matter what, their love for life is contagious, and if you have some friends like this, stick with them. They will make your life a little more beautiful.

----- Today's Favourite Finds -----

----- Today's Favorite Finds -----

Business cards

awesome cut out of flyer

wedding invitation

"details aren't just details, they make the design"

hehe, witty.

fuck yeah!

right up my alley, hello :)

----- Comic Without Sans! -----

What if Comic Sans took over logos?

For those readers who don't speak French — but, seriously who is even reading my blog— 'sans' in French mean 'without'; in type, it means without serif, which are the little stroke in the letters. In my world, Comic Sans is ironically named because we really can go "without" it. I remember in my childhood days, when home desktop computers were happening, Comic Sans was kind of cool because honestly there wasn't much to offer in the font book. Now it has become the world's most hated font. There are so many jokes, mockery and essays against it (there is even a ban comic sans group); the reason? Comin Sans is like an indirect, kick in the groin insult to typographers. The time it takes to design a set of typeface is so strenuous and detailed, accurate and planned, the job is not haphazard, and it is what Comic Sans look like: a lazy, child job. We have no excuse now for lazy-looking fonts; yesteryear, we didn't have many fonts to begin with; todayyear, floods of excellent, I-could-cry-because-it's-so-beautiful fonts bombard our repertoire, and hand-written font look less lazy.

Comic Sans, designed by Vincent Connare, was modeled after comic books (no way!), and introduced it in Windows 95 (ah, the good old days). Connare, while on job, discovered the wrong use of Time News Roman in a software that is meant to be casual, Times News Roman seemed too serious. Thus he created the softer font with curves. Initially the results were positive, like I said, there weren't anything similar back then. Type was not not a priority at offices and homes, people never thought emotions can be projected through the choice of font.

Office workers unfortunately still use it, probably to send spam mail to each other (remember the crazy ones telling you must send it to 20 friends else you will have no love life, IN COMIC SANS). To me, Comic Sans cannot be used for text due to its lack of readability, and be seldom used as header. Children is probably the only exception; though there are much better suited fonts today.

Time to waste? Youtube: comic sans.

I'm Comic Sans, Asshole from joehollier on Vimeo.

BBC Article
Ban Comic Sans

----- Shot Glasses, Get it? -----

Fooled the eyes? These may look like photo lenses but they're shot glasses or small container to hold miscellaneous items such as paper clips in the image. Clever. Though, I probably buy them as temporary fun and use them as an office accessory rather than drinking a shot from it; slightly too kitchy for me; belongs to that area at Urban Outfitters.

Source

Meet Mr. Left and Monsieur Right

----- Visual Fun # 2 -----

Yeah im wasting time, but I shouldn't be... got a lot of things to do!

So in case you don't know what the picture is, it's showing how most of my socks have holes in them and I continuously wear them.

----- To Tumblr or not to Tumblr -----

It's hard to resist converting into a Tumblr blogger; there are so many interesting blogs with gigantic archive of lovely photographs, dedicated to one subject, and a magnitude of interesting personalities, it's hard not to follow and reblog their posts, which is how I like to define Tumblr: a space where you mostly reblog likeable and admirable things you find. Eventually, the whole blog becomes a personal collection of the person's favorite things. Not much words are exchanged or expressed, the images will do that for them. Understandably addictive. Then there's the attractive selection of page layouts (Listen up Blogger.com) offered for their members. Here's one blog all about winter. So cozy and warm. Makes all the winter blues go away.

These pictures inspire me to walk out, camera in hand, mind alerted and snap away a million photos. Winter is one of the best time to take pictures; lighting is gorgeous.

----- Things that Make Me Smile -----

This: on the surface, yes reality makes me sad, but makes me laugh because it's SO true.

----- I Love Stripes Shirts -----

Here's a random post: I've realized my closet is filled with copious amount of striped shirts, after, of course, adding another one to it. Is there something synonymous about designers and stripes, like Jean-Paul Gautier's work? I just naturally love the look of lines, in all widths and lengths. Maybe it's the spacing between the lines? Like leading in typography? Can this be a good way to justify my shopaholic tendencies? Lines are geometric, balanced, and are always harmonized—straight, indefinite, and perfect. In life, they can give directions (maps), set rules (on roads), make boundaries (sport courts). On bodies, stripes take off extra pounds or even add curves to small frames. Stripes carry many connotations and are used, or were used in different context throughout history. See: American flag, prison uniform (note: nazi concentration camps), sailors. The topic of stripes is a very appealing one and i am keen on reading more about it because there is an enigmatic magic that consistently draws us to them— well for me. Speaking of which ----> The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes ----> future coffee table book.

50 reasons not to date a graphic designer

(Things that relate to me are in bold)

Source

1. They are very weird people.
2. There are billions of them in the world, like colors on the screen of your computer.
3. They will analyse conversations in layers.
4. You will spend the day assembling furniture from IKEA.
5. They drink and eat all kinds of weird shit just because they like the packaging.
6. They hate each other.
7. You’ll come out the last out of the movies because you have to see the full list of credits.
8. They cant change a light bulb or without making a sketch.
9. They fuck up all the tables with their cutters.
10. They rather study the paisley pattern on your outfit than listen to what you have to say.
11. They will fill your house with magazines and whatever is out there that has drawings.
12. You never know if it is really an original or a copy.
13. They make collages with your photos.
14. They do not know how to add and subtract, they just understand letters.
15. They idolize people who nobody knows and speak of them as if they were his colleagues.
16. They take pictures almost daily and all are cut in weird shapes.
17. They ask your opinion about everything but they do whatever they want.
18. Everything is left justified, right or center unless they arrive late.
19. They hate Comic Sans with the same passion they love Helvetica.
20. They use iPhone for everything, because everyone has one.
21. You can not decorate the house without consulting them.
22. They steal street signs.
23. Always carry their hands painted with something.
24. They buy dolls unfinished for them to paint.
25. Everything becomes something other than what it really is: cards as tickets, cards as …
26. When arguing, you will be nicknamed like the OSX spinning wheel (not affectionately)
27. Do not know how to dress without consulting the Pantone book.
28. They hate Excel.
29. They read comics.
30. They want to save the world only with a poster.
31. You will spend the day brainstorming.
32. On vacation they will take you to countries that you do not know exist and have no beach.
33. Museums are their second home.
34. They know more positions than the Kamasutra.
35. They can’t go to a restaurant without secretly critiquing the menu design.
36. They listen to music you have never heard of.
37. They can´t cook a normal dish, they always have to experiment with new ingredients.
38. They read rare books: stories of children, Semiotics …
39. When you are going to tell you something, everyone has read it in their facebook and twitter.
40. They have own iPods before you knew they existed.
41. The orgasm they remember is when they heard that Adobe was acquiring Macromedia.
42. They have their own shops just for them and there are the most expensive in the city.
43. They want to spend all the money in the Apple Store.
44. You will never understand their gifts.
45. They see ordinary objects and laugh.
46. You wake up in the middle of the night hearim them screaming “When is the deadline?”
47. They see CMYK and RGB like Neo sees the Matrix.
48. They dream of the day nobody will make a single change to their designs.
49. They rather pay for a font than for a special birthday gift.
50. They are always sleepy because they work 24/7.

----- Visual Fun -----

I usually keep a folder on my desktop where I would save images that I come across on the internet that inspires me, make me laugh out loud, make me in awe, make me smirk. So there are some I haven't shared. I apologize for not sourcing the images, I sometimes forget to (or lazy to) jot down the name of the owner. Always give credit where credit is due.

enjoy

You know you're a designer when you know your favorite colour in pantone: mine is A3DAD5.

Isn't this clever? hehe

I'm obsessed with organization.

If you're good with details, by now you would have realized that is a glazed doughnut burger. If not, I apologize for clogging your arteries just now.

Brilliant, just brilliant.

I love street art.

I Heart Beatles

RAWR

----- My New York Party Favor Bag ----

nyc part trois



Kid Robot's BFF series 2 by Travis Cain



Documentary on Helvetica


Keith Harring Journals. Forwarded by Shepard Fairley. An inside look at his personal work and life through his writings. Excited to read.

Another great book by Adrian Shaughnessy, can't wait to read it. A must for all designers.

Serendipitous encounter lead me and my friends to load cases onto the car before departure. Why? Because this stuff is de-li-cious. Since I can't really drink alcohol, this helps me blend right in, looks like beer. Bruce Cost's Ginger Ale, unfiltered, means the real ginger flesh remains floating inside. It's sweetened with sugar cane, so I guess it's "healthy" soda?!


Vapur foldable "anti-bottle" water bottle. Roll it up and store in your bag. Promoting tap water to reduce water bottles.
Buy

Ceramic "blueberry basket" bowl. You know the carton ones from your farmer markets?