The Importance of Drawing

Taken from The 99 Percent interview with James Victore:

"My third students [at SVA] aren’t allowed to use computers. It really frustrates them because they don’t know how to use their hands. But I say listen, I know how much time it takes to boot up a computer, and open InDesign, and you get a box, and you type a letter in it. And you make it this big. Then you make it this big. Then you make it this big. Then you make it this big. Then you move it over here. Then you make it red. Then you make it this big. And it’s like: You’re not designing! You’re organizing. That’s easy. Worry about that later.

And this is stuff I learned from heroes. It’s the work you do before you ever put pen to paper. That’s the important part."

Read the rest of his "Don't Become a Design Zombie" interview for a peek into his approach to design (including ordering a dozen baby chicks for a book cover).

Create your own Pop-Up Book

Found this on an internet bunny trail! A blank pop-up book just waiting for your creative touch! You can purchase this here.

Mr. Goldberg Strikes Again

Check out this creative way to allow customers to interact with your product offering! Let the page load and then wait a few seconds...it's worth the wait.

The legend lives...

Finishing what you start

I picked this page because it looked easy! How hard can it be to draw one continuous line all over the page? I learned quickly that wasn't the hard part! Initially, I was creating a smaller pattern and twenty-minutes later I hadn't covered too much ground. I put the book down. Then things began to pile up on top of it and I forgot about it. It was in one of "those" piles that sits out but isn't in the way so you can walk past it while ignoring it eventually never seeing it - selective blindness! The day of reckoning came while cleaning one weekend. Opps! I've prodded others to keep it moving and here it sits. I sat down, decided I needed to finish what I started, and off I went continuing the line until the page was full.

Lessons learned: Finish what you start. Keep your word even in the small things.

The journal will now be traveling out east to visit Jamie and then returns to Wheaton!

Ask A Friend

As I flipped through the journal looking for a page to obey, this one caught my eye: "Ask a friend to do something destructive to this page. Don't look."


Since my fiance (wedding in 3.5 weeks!) and I are at a place where we pretty much do everything together, I thought it would be fitting to have him give the page a whirl. Turns out he was even having a bad day, so the timing worked really well! I didn't look as he destroyed, but it appears permanent markers and ripping were his primary weapons.

Pam's left handed doodles

Please note the upper right hand corner where Geoff (my husband) signed acknowledging I used my left hand ... and the small print reads something about me being left handed! Pam