Sweep out the old!

1. Clean up your desktop.

Does your desktop look like someone planted icons all over it? Are all the abbreviated mumbo-jumbo titles running together? If so, it’s time to organize. Get rid of that Illustrator file you were playing around with that never became more than a few lines, file similar documents into one folder, and click on the images that are unfamiliar to you. You might discover a new piece of inspiration or remind yourself of an unfinished task.

2. Change the battery on your smoke alarm.

It’s recommended to change this battery twice a year when you also change your clocks. Sunday is Daylight Savings, which means we spring forward! Also check the battery on your carbon monoxide detector.

3. Back up your files.

I cannot stress this enough: As a graphic designer, a freelancer or some other work-at-home person, you are responsible for backing up your work. All it takes is one fried hard drive to erase hundreds of hours of painstaking work. And how will you explain that to your clients?

4. Check your inventory.

Do you have outdated supplies? I’m talking toner for a printer you no longer have or envelopes with your old address. Chuck those into recycling or the trash. Meanwhile, make sure you’re stocked up on all other office supplies. Here’s a supply checklist to get you started.

5. Recycle old magazines and newspapers.

Don’t let your office turn into a fire hazard – get rid of the clutter by clearing out old periodicals. No, don’t even bother to flip through them to find that one article you always thought you’d get to. If you haven’t read it by now, you never will.

6. Clean the coffeepot.

Seriously, it’s gross.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I’m only three episodes in, and I hear graphic designer Sal is off the show! I’ve been trying to avoid why, since I have a couple of seasons to catch up on. But I’ve really been enjoying his sassy bantering during liquor-fueled brainstorming meetings. They even inspired me to learn to make the perfect old-fashioned.

Films and TV shows about graphic designers seem difficult to come by. I can come up with a number of publishing and advertising ones: “All the President’s Men,” “Suddenly Susan,” “The Paper,” “Crazy People” (seriously underrated) and “Just Shoot Me.” But why aren’t there more surrounding the creative process? It seems like a concept that would lend itself to an interesting plot, since designers deal with demanding clients, creative blocks, coffee and cigarette overload, and all-night sessions. But no.

At least graphic design is well represented in a couple of documentaries.

“Art & Copy” is a doc about the advertising world and includes interviews with the people who came up with iconic taglines such as “Got Milk” and “Where’s the beef?” It covers the evolution of product marketing from the ’60s and on. Director Doug Pray states on the film’s website that his goal with “Art & Copy” is to inspire “artists and writers to strive to make more meaningful, more entertaining or more socially uplifting ads.” The movie is not available in mainstream theaters or for rental, but check the website for screenings.

An entire documentary about a font? Yes, “Helvetica” is just that. But, as its website states, the film “looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which recently celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.” There’s a psychology aspect, as Helvetica is the most popular font in the world and therefore the typeface we see more than any other. The movie discusses how it’s used in the different aspects of graphic design. It’s available for rental.

I can’t resist mentioning “American Psycho” in a discussion about the importance of graphic design. My favorite scene is where Patrick Bateman and his companions compare business cards. Bateman is so jealous that Paul Allen has a more attractive card that he decides to kill him. A design worth dying for? Now there’s something to strive for.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Online classes – I know so many people who’ve been laid off in the past couple of years. A number of those folks returned to school, stating they were going to wait out the recession as well as add to their skill sets and make themselves more marketable. And that’s great. But fees are on the rise at universities and community colleges, and it’s questionable for some people to commit to a degree program if they are seeking full-time work. That’s why online classes such as those offered by lynda.com are a great option. I know colleagues who were quickly and cheaply able to add technical proficiency in Dreamweaver and Photoshop to their resumes through online training.

Optimistic stories about print – With magazines and newspapers closing or at least laying off employees in droves, it’s been pretty easy to declare that print is a dying medium.  But I simply can’t imagine morning commuters giving up their daily newspapers. And it seems I’m not the only optimistic one. These stories are all from the past several months:

• “Printed Newspapers Still Holding Audiences”
• “Not the Last Newspaper”
• “Ultra-Niche Magazines Show Print’s Not Dead”
• “The Psychics Are Wrong: Newspapers Are Not Dead”
• “Media: Magazines Aren’t Dead Yet”
• “A Portuguese Success Story: Could ‘i’ Be the Future of Newspapers?”

Most of those articles are cautiously positive about the print industry. At least if print does die, it won’t be going down without a fight.

Freelancing cred – I’ve known plenty of people who mostly work from home and take jobs as they come. Most of those friends are hard workers who hustle to make a comfortable living. But they’ve endured a reputation that paints them as antisocials who survive on Cheetos and emerge from their hovels only to engage in live-action role playing. Now don’t get me wrong – I know those people, too. But the reality is this: In order for most freelancers to enjoy a thriving career, they must be personable enough to be retained for project after project. In this recession, a lot of creative professionals have been forced to – rather than choose to – enter the freelancing field. Because of that, freelancing websites and blogs have popped up. I check out FreelanceSwitch and FreelanceFolder practically every day for news and tips about being a freelancer. With this recession, going freelance has actually gained credibility.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Many of us grew up with the notion that if we earned a diploma, we’d be guaranteed a career in the field in which we studied. But with the United States’ unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, people these days are looking outside their career paths for jobs – something that is not their No. 1 choice but at least might pay the bills. But is it possible to be satisfied that way?

A lot of the members of Generation X and Y have been programmed to have a sense of entitlement – if we work hard enough, we’ll achieve our career goals. But the recession has been quite a blow, and many of us have been forced to learn to expand our job search. How many former colleagues do you know who are now working in grocery stores? As administrative assistants? At temp jobs? Is it such a bad thing to accept a job instead of a career? Can you afford to wait around for a satisfying career opportunity, or is it time to branch out and take on a job?

Matt Cheuvront on the Brazen Careerist declares that loving your job is overrated – love is a word that shouldn’t even be used for work.

Attitude is an extremely powerful thing – some would say it’s everything. If you keep telling yourself that you’re stuck in a rut with no way out, you’ll ultimately always hold yourself back. But if your attitude is that you aren’t putting anything off – that you’re working your way toward achieving your goals and dreams, then you WILL get there.

I’ve come to believe that theory, too. The present is not the be-all, end-all of your career. Also, as long as you find fulfillment in other places – yourself, your family, your friends, your hobbies – then you don’t need to place as much emphasis on your career.

When I’ve gone through a spurt of unemployment, I’ve always marveled at the beaming attitude of the clerks at Trader Joe’s – the people who get to wear Hawaiian shirts and interact with people all day. Hmmm … maybe it’s me who chose the wrong career path! Just maybe there’s something to be said for taking on a job for a while rather than a career – especially one that offers a discount on groceries.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Get your work in the official Best Designs of 2009 book put out by Design and Design

Young Talent Award via I.D. Mag – worth a cool $10,000

A really cool contest by HUGO that has few rules and a lot of potential

A chance to create art for laptops and get paid for it … sweet!

This contest awards the best use of stock imagery in design

Do you design posters? Enter the poster of the year competition

Image use CC License via Flickr.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Coloring skin and body in Photoshop and how to mimic the natural play of light upon the body.

How to create a professional Twitter background – a quick-and-easy tutorial for customizing your Twitter page.

Remember how fun watercolors used to be?  You can recreate a watercolor effect with Photoshop!

Pop art a la Lichtenstein – really cool stuff for the poppy designer!

Very, very cool Photoshop tutorial on how to transform a woman’s photograph into an eerie doll face and more.

How to design a website using the 960 Grid System, an oft-employed web design technique that looks great. This tutorial includes a free 960 GS download so you can quickly deploy an original 960 design.

A tutorial that covers how to make a DVD cover with Photoshop.  The techniques used here could also be applied to movie posters.

Dioramas are cool, especially when you combine several images and blur/focus PS techniques to highlight your subject.

Want to master the Photoshop warp tool?  This tutorial shows you the way…

Paint splashed over the face of a photographic subject – nice. What’s really neat is that this liquid Photoshop technique can be used in many, many design applications.

Yet another awesome website design tutorial.  This has a clean Web 2.0 feel that many designers like to emulate.

A very unique and creative – yet clean and easy-to-follow – website design.  The techniques employed here are invaluable.

Learn how to use the Photoshop mask tool to create this model effect from a photo.

When the outer glow blending option doesn’t quite cut it – use these tips to achieve an outstanding glow emanating from your subjects.

Super cool fallen angel tutorial that shows you how to blend a woman and a bird on a textured background.

What are your favorite Photoshop techniques?

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.