I'm not a super popular blogger, but I get plenty of email pitches from people who want me to link to their stuff. (I can only imagine what it’s like for people whose readership is much bigger.) Today I've decided to get on my soapbox and tell all those marketers how I feel about their outreach campaign. Read more...
When I tried watercolor for the first time after elementary school, I hated them. When I tried them for the second time, I was frustrated. When I made an attempt at my third watercolor painting, I was hooked. Read more...
Good ideas are cheap – you hear a dozen new ideas every morning before breakfast as you’re scrolling through your newsfeed. They don’t change you. They don’t turn you into a better person. Positive change requires conscious effort. It requires you to think, implement, test and evaluate, and it requires you to make difficult decisions. Read more...
A big part of being human is running into things that make us feel sad, angry, helpless, betrayed, guilty, or any of the rich spectrum of the so-called “negative” emotions. Sometimes, things are just not good. And you’re allowed to not feel good. At the same time, we also don’t want to not feel good forever. We want things to get better. We want to get better. This is what this post is about – all the things I do to make myself feel better. Read more...
What makes a brand premium? What does premium even mean? Premium brands have value propositions that are so different from other products or services in the market, that the comparisons don’t make sense. This enables premium brands to charge 10 times or a 100 times more than their competitors, because they offer something that competitors can’t match. While it may seem like creating a premium brand would be more expensive, it actually doesn’t have to be. Read more...
Productivity tips can only offer you so much. If blog posts could change your thought patterns and habits in an instant, I'd be a mix of Buddha and Neil Gaiman by now. We all know that if you want something to happen, you need to put in the work every day. It's so simple. For this reason I decided to tackle this topic from a different angle, one that is more geared toward understanding yourself and your reluctance to, you know, actually doing the friggin’ work. Read more...
Being an artist as well as a designer, I have some unique insight into what skills are needed in each field. Unfortunately, most artists take on design jobs that are way above their skill level, and this can seriously compromise a project. In this post I explain how a designer's job is different from that of an artist's, and how to make sure you hire the right person. Read more...
If you’ve liked the hand lettered quotes I’ve been sharing over the past months here on the blog, you’re in luck – I’m making them available as wallpapers that you can use on your desktop, tablet or phone! Get them all here. Read more...
Typically when we think about business and marketing, we think about adding and optimizing stuff, not eliminating. However, the process of removing things from our plate is just as important. Not all marketing tactics are suited for all people, and no matter what the “experts” say, not all of them will work for every business. Read more...
You may be wondering what having a morning ritual has to do with fostering creative productivity. There is a connection, and I've found out through practice that a fulfilling morning ritual makes your whole day infinitely better. Read more...