step away from design and design
17 CommentsOn the topic of design on December 4th
I’ve made up my mind — every Friday, give or take my work load of the week, I am going to dedicate 1–2 hours to just designing (and no I don’t mean designing for a client).
I aim to invest time to bring life and excitement into the work that I want to do, not only what is told of me and briefed upon. So today (Friday), I set aside an hour or so, opened up Photoshop and played around a bit. The poster seen below is the result.
if content is king…
A few days ago I saw an article floating around on Twitter titled “If Content Is King, Then What Is Design?” After thinking about the question my response was, “Design is the land of which the king rules.” My love for old vintage posters, with their quirky typography, complimentary colors and bold statements mixed with the article headline and my response led me to some exploration, letting go and about an hour and a half of fun.
Besides having a bit of fun at the end of a grueling work week, it also inspired me to jump back into the clients website design fully inspired again.
The poster reads If Content is King then Design is the Land of which the King Rules. Might go back into this at a later time and polish it up, but this is what my allotted time would allow this Friday.
Randy Major said on December 4, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
This is sweet!! Thanks for sharing!
Dwyndal said on December 4, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
I love this man, it’s great to have that feeling to re-inspire ones self. I was talking this over with a friend saying it’s hard to find that spark in a life where all you do is design for others. Sure it’s creation but it’s yours into another’s piece. You don’t always get the full satisfaction. Props to you for opening up your creativity and sharing your plans.
3 Cheers
~D
Daniel Whyte said on December 4, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
Its always good to jump away from client briefs and explore, i watched a video a little while back on a designer who shut down his studio for 1 year every 8 years i believe, and explored design methods traveled and made awesome things which greatly improved the design style for the next 8 years, look forward to seeing what you post up, I’m sure it will be inspirational :)
Also it reminds me i should get back into photo manipulations for fun :D here are some of my older things i did for fun http://danielwhyte.com/old/ hahaha.
Kyle Steed said on December 4, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
Damn! That is hot. I can’t hate. In fact, this whole new site is one brewing pot of hotness. I love what you’ve done with it. I really like your idea of taking an hour or two on Friday to just sit and do what you love, not for someone else, but for yourself.
Kyle Gallant said on December 4, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
Excellent post, nice work on the poster – love the colours you used. I couldn’t agree more that it’s good to step away and do something fun to recharge. This has been quite inspiring, going to make sure to set some time away and give it shot.
Elias Cerdenares said on December 4, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
Thanks man. I’m just starting into this and you have been very inspiring, I will check you site in a regular basis. (i’m also following you in Twitter). Have a great weekend.
Aaron Irizarry said on December 4, 2009 @ 2:56 pm
Great concept man! I love this idea, and am going to give it a try myself.
Again… loving the new look and feel of the blog!
Keep it up,
~ Aaron I
admin said on December 4, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Laura,
Glad you like the poster. I’m going to fix it up some and add it to my online store in upcoming months, so stayed tuned.
admin said on December 4, 2009 @ 7:15 pm
Elias,
I appreciate your follow on Twitter and reading my blogs. I look forward to hearing more from you. Enjoy your weekend as well.
Aaron,
Thanks man. I’ve been receiving way beyond I would have ever imagined feedback on the new blog, and the design of the blog so I greatly appreciate your kind words. Hope all has been well.
imhiddendesign said on December 4, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
Awesome entry Brian! I definitely need to do this everyweek, I feel myself getting burnt out sometimes and I also can use that time to work on my own projects that I want to complete.
ps the new blog is awesome. Like seriously.
Giles Talbot said on December 4, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
inspiring piece,
it reminded me of why i’m in this game.
‘I am going to dedicate 1–2 hours to just designing’
Great idea….
SOLD!!
Joe said on December 4, 2009 @ 10:49 pm
Nice poster, Brian.
This is nit-picky, and sorry in advance for being the annoying grammar correction guy, but shouldn’t that phrase be “Design is the land IN which the king rules”?
Corinne said on December 4, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
Love the poster! Your answer is quite satisfying, I think.
I actually take time to completely step away from design. Lately, I’ve found time to do pixel art again. What a breath of fresh air! I certainly needed it because I’ve had to spend all day today designing.
Brian Hoff said on December 5, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Joe,
I double checked, and the way I have it as “of” is correct. If you rephrase it saying such as “The king is the ruler OF the land” not The king is the ruler IN the land.” You cannot rule IN something but rather be the ruler OF something.
Douglas Bonneville said on December 6, 2009 @ 8:01 pm
Kudos to forcing creative time in your schedule Brian! A few months back I joined the Arthouse Sketchbook project, which requires you to fill a moleskine and send it back in (but I’m scanning and posting the pages to my blog and the Arthouse website). The only way I could get it done was to draw every day at lunch. I have 30 pages left to go. What a wonder that drawing everyday – pure creativity – has done for all the other areas of design. The fun bleeds over into many other areas of life…
Funny though…with 80 pages to fill up freestyle, I have found myself gravitated towards typographic art!
furacoua said on December 7, 2009 @ 11:20 am
I love that idea! I`m going to give it a try. Thanks
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Laura V said on December 4, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Awesome post, Brian! And a very good idea for designers…recharging your creativity is an essential part of staying inspired and motivated! Love the poster too!