I am so grateful for the amazing amount of learning curves, experiences, hurdles and rewards I was graced with for working with Flosites for as long as I have, but let me tell you– it was probably the most I’d ever been pushed in my life. Having to brand 8-20 clients-at once–and on rotation for 3 years will undoubtedly do that to you.

As I work now, I really relish the idea of taking my time with each project and problem. Getting to truly understand who and what I’m working with to ultimately provide the best service, and really, the best design I can. The clients are paced accordingly so I can devote the necessary time and attention needed for each person and their project, and we both feel totally satisfied with the process at hand.

It’s how I’ve always wanted to work and I finally feel as if I’m able to afford to-mentally and of course financially.

Recently a branding firm I admire (okay, drool over with GOD-HOW-COOL-ARE-THEY envy, but admire also works) posted an amazing load of branding goodness: 50 logos in 2 years.

Knowing myself as the mighty (and adorable!) workhorse I am, I smiled.

I too, had an unbelievable amount of branding goodness to unleash, and I finally felt ready to do it.

Total truth disclaimer time: Not all of these are pretty, or even good. Not even close. Hell, some of them are probably the ugliest things since sin came to Earth, but that’s not the point.

Regardless of what they look like, each logo represents the client; the inspiration they sent over, the conversations we had, and my design process as I’ve developed it through the years.

It’s like a little running scrapbook of how hard I hustled and now knowing these days are  behind me, I’ve got nothing but great design, happy clients, and better results to be focused on now.

It’s the best end-cap to a time in my life and I am so happy to share it with all of you.

Enjoy!

xo, jne

I have this view point, and yet, recently, without any sort of hesitation or negativity at all, engaged in spec work.

While it’s this line of thought is more aligned with justification than I care to admit, I can do work for free if I feel it will benefit ME sometime later on. Can I get future clients/projects with this? Can I attract a new industry, dabble in a new medium, or explore a style that’s always interested me? If the answer is ‘yes’ or even a ‘hmmm, possibly?’ that’s reason enough for me.

The reason for it this time was for the love of movies. Film is probably one of my all time favorite mediums and I love how graphic design can support the separate work, skew the work, or completely demolish it. It seems like a sister medium to design and I have always wanted to get into that.

So I did.

The posting asked for a portfolio, the resumé and all the regular stuff, but also added “if you wanted to take it a step further” (to which I say outloud: I always do) show us what you got.

I don’t think I could have been more excited. I spent the rest of that day pouring through pages and pages of hi-res screen shots from some of my most favorite movies to noodle around with.  I figure if I can spend so much free time doing something, it’s no longer really about the ‘spec’ work. Maybe I’ve got a whole untapped avenue of photoshopping visually sumptuous things around the films I love so much. It really does sound awesome.

Thought I’d share the results of this fun experiment:

This little gem was tucked way deep inside my inspiration folder. I imagine I plucked him from the depths of ffffound.com, but how ever many years it’s been since, cannot imagine what it could be used for inspiration wise. It always makes me laugh, but that’s about it– and that’s probably enough.

I figure this reason is solid enough for me to choose him to be my next subject for the haiku-ing, and so I present to you all: The Mod Cat

Mod Cat loves: bold hues

and writing his pen pal, the

sweet Iris Apfel.

(because doesn’t he just look like the cat version of her? So fabulous!)

Okay, let me compose myself.

Allright. I’m good.

What we have here is some visual inspiration for two women working together in a newly founded production company, designed to help support other women in the entertainment business.

Um, amazing?!

Then you get to the inspiration.

Mixing Art Deco and Art Nouveau might seem strange to some people, but when I saw their inspiration I immediately understood. It represents their distinct (but totally congruent) personalities to a fabulous exactitude. All I had to do was talk to them and the designs came a-flowing.

I’m still waiting on their feedback from our second round, but what’s been happening has made us all feel so happy. I know the final product might even shock me for coming out so damn sexylicious. This one certainly did!

I love how the structural geometric quality of Art Deco can be offset by the flowing languid lines of art nouveau.

Then you get to that pattern. The TEXTURE, the transparency! Sometimes life is just so, so, good.

Maybe it’s because I’m one of these millenials, but I’ve always been comfortable talking to people across the internet as if they were down the street. It started when I was 14 and I made friends with a group of people in an AOL Chatroom (The Nirvana room, thank you very much). The thing is though, I’m still friends with these people. They’re on my Facebook feed, my phonebook, in my cherished memories of my childhood, and have no distinction from school friends, neighborhood friends or any other group.

Now that I’m running a business that handles international clients as well as local ones, I think nothing of sending someone an email on Linked In to compliment them on their commenting styles (literally happened, and resulted in one of my most favorite friendships/working relationships to date),  or striking up a conversation about someone’s choice of color for their purse/shirt/unicycle (it’s Los Angeles, after all).

I thought I’d throw together a useful list to help jar any introverts out there into engaging strangers– who are simply friends you have yet to meet. Whether you’re looking for freelance work, collaborative partners, or just to help round out your time, sending a simple note can really make a huge difference with the tiniest of efforts.

Linked In Groups–Like Minds!

BARELY considered strangers. These are probably the safest ‘strangers’ to approach; be they linked to occupations or hobbies, they’ll get you in touch with like-minded people. Hopefully sending you interesting reading topics, or jarring a heated response with one of the threads, joining groups on Linked In is one of the smartest networking things you can do.

Companies whose work you enjoy–Spread the love!

Double points for emailing art directors, creative directors, or designers at these companies. 

Like a magazine’s font and always wanted to know what it was? Always been a fan of the illustration work featured along the spreads? The fast way to make an amazing impression is by seeking out some answers to your awe-soaked faces. I once contacted an editor over at Jane magazine because I was in LOVE with the typeface they used on the cover (it was this one, btw). Within 30 minutes he had responded with the answer, and also asked if I was available to handle some freelance work. My type nerdiness has helped me over and over again, but it’s been my bubbly (unrelentingly so) outgoing personality tacked right along with it that continually draws people to me. If this seems too outrageous, consider this: Put yourself in the-person-your-sending-this-to-’s shoes, wouldn’t you take nicely to someone emailing you to compliment you? I know I do when someone sends me an email like that.

I’ve had requests for mentorship, been asked advice on how to get a job, for feedback on work, requests for font pairings, and all sorts of other things. While I might be a particularly approachable person, I’m sure contacting your design hero won’t make them lash out sadistically, and at the very least, now they know your existence! Hooray!

For the Advanced:

Proactive attitudes are really (really really!) sexy

I’m sure by now I don’t have to tell anyone I’m not a shy person. I never saw a reason for it, and still don’t, but I understand how other people might. I guess.

Either way, when you approach someone based on what you know and value about yourself, what that other person finds valuable about you will sky rocket ridiculously. Yes there’s something to be said about arrogance, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. What I’m talking about is being able to walk up to someone asking for help, and say ” I am here, and I am exactly what you need”. That person’s mouth will drop open, you will get to waltz in calmly to do the job perfectly, and they will feel like you saved their life–even if we’re just talking about a brochure for the Make A Wish foundation.

I was perusing one of my Linked In groups when I saw a post saying how this person couldn’t find any design talent worth while. While I could have privately messaged the client, or skipped responding at all thinking “Someone worthwhile must have responded by now”, I publicly sent my information along with other people in the thread.  Not only did the original poster reply with an incoming client request (huzzah!) but other people who looked at the post and submitted their own work themselves have contacted me too. You never know who is watching, and you really don’t ever know who’s paying attention, so the absolute best thing you can do is throw out as many seedlings as possible and see what comes back. As long as you treat each opportunity genuinely and with sincerity, nothing but positivity should come out of it.

There’s no such thing as ‘being nosy’, let’s call it “productive eavesdropping”

Brain logged and hungry from sitting in a (truly inspiring) design conference, Jake and I were at a nearby italian restaurant decompressing. The area around us was pretty full, lots of tables with people talking, eating, but all of the sudden I heard someone complaining about their lack of design help.  I must have finely tuned hearing at this point, but regardless I couldn’t help myself leaking into the nearby table’s conversation. After Jake and I had finished eating, I walked over to them and introduced myself. The world is too small, I thought, but first I made sure to apologize for eavesdropping. I get that it’s a nasty habit and I do really tune out (It’s for the best), but when I hear a corresponding conversation, I am jumping on it. Maybe I can blame it on the fact I’m now a fully fledged entrepreneur,  but it’s a fact of my life. I make it work for me.

While it’s fun to explore various looks and styles for a client’s branding, it’s also equally fun to help redefine a client’s taste who is so amazingly consistent. Not everyone knows herself like this particular client, and for someone who’s so in love with variety (why yes, I do mean me!), it’s also fascinating.

Clean lines, bold modern type, and a sassy splash of personality bombards this client’s inspiration.. oh and did I mention pattern?! LOVE how she is attracted to all sorts of pattern: literal linear ones, patterns made out of image, patterns made out of type, just tons of yummy pattern-ness going on all over the place. I have to say it’s been quite an enjoyable ride sifting through her mind-space, and I love the pieces I’ve designed for her. I can’t wait for the rest of this fun brand to be fleshed out so I can see how everything will work together, that’s always one of the best parts.

When the art director side of your brain says “THIS is the style”, then the designer parts that follow say, “WE WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN!” That’s just how this jne rolls.

Back in December, I applied for a Senior Designer position over at this really interesting company in Northern California. In preparation for my second– but first face-to-face– interview, I was asked to put together a solid presentation talking through some of the projects in my portfolio. While most people are put off by public speaking, I’ve had my fair share of exposure to it– what with being the daughter of a director, a member of multiple acting/improv troupes, and okay, one hell of a show woman in general– so I spent the time to really craft my story. Setting up the presentation, I was RIDICULOUSLY nervous. But when I finished presenting,  I was so extremely proud of my accomplishments simply because I had made myself more aware of my actions, and how the questions I asked, and decisions I made, lead to these strong visual and conceptual pieces.

Nothing could have prepared me for the pride I felt after that interview process. I must have done that presentation 6 times across 2 days, not counting my practice runs in the hotel room and to my lovely audience at home (yeah the dog and two cats totally count), and each time I found, and therefore appreciated, something different.

You’re not really supposed to gush about your work, your process, and your talents, but speaking about them to other people makes me think it’s the automatic antidote to unbridled narcissism.

The part that stays with me though, even now that it’s been 2 months since I visited, is the smiles on every single person’s face; the majority of them saying “Wow I AM INSPIRED!” as they walked out of the meeting room towards their desks,  and the curiosity and awe in their questions when I finished. But I think it was their faces and reactions to The Kubrick Project that will always remain the most special to me– it was the first time I truly presented it to a group of people, let alone a group of talented (TALENTED talented) industry people.

If only for this one small purpose presenting to the multiple teams at this company reiterated how special I am in this large crazy industry of design.  Not just because I work hard to master skills, then noodle around to master new skills, or that I am always looking to solve the problem no matter how ridiculous, daunting, or frustrating it seems, but that I’m even more than I even realize I am, perhaps even more than I even give myself credit for being (until my head explodes and I’m back to reality).

When the email came a few weeks ago, letting me know they had made the decision to go with another designer due to budget woes, I felt nothing but happiness. Not necessarily because I ducked out of a bad opportunity– completely on the contrary: any one of the teams I met would have been a warm welcome to the clique-y corporate culture that I’ve shied away from.  But because they loved and respected me so much, it hurt them to have to tell me no. How can I feel rejected by that? On the contrary, I felt extremely respected and appreciated.

Last Friday I attended a conference that encompassed a HUGE selection of visual arts. Filmmakers, designers, artists, and even an “Adobe evangelist” (read: a fancified teacher!) got together to speak and enlighten us heathen Los Angeles-folk. And it. was. amazing.

The first speaker, and by far one of the most inspiring, was photographer Mike Muller. His attitude, ambition, and relentlessness to his craft really resonated with me; along with the heavily reiterated idea that if you just go with your gut and do your own thing, you will be just fine.

As Jake and I walked home from the conference, we were talking about the moments that really wow’ed us, we both got back to Mike Muller. Except that my Mike Muller WOW moment was more to do with the typography on his poster, but that’s just me.

When I first saw this poster advertising the Casey Affleck/Joaquin Phoenix absurd-a-hoax called a documentary, I fell HARD for  the ethereal treatment of the type. Don’t even get me started on the fact that it’s a gorgeous italic serif, which should already be a given here, people.

Another given? The only reason I wanted to see the damn movie was because of this gorgeousness.

So while walking hand in hand with my fiancé/project manager, I declared that I loved that poster so much I could write a love letter to it.

How awesome would that actually be? I thought. Pretty awesome, I enabled. And then the giggling happened.

And here we are.

A haiku for the poster for I’m Still Here:

light type fades in and

out of joaquin’s forrest, to

remind us he’s here. 

Heheheh.

I’ve always been weird. I see crooked yellow teeth instead of first seeing the Batman symbol. I give inanimate objects, animals, plants, typefaces – and a multitude of other things– silly voices complete with personalities. I flourished when I went to art school, surrounded by other weirdos and I’ve thrived since I’ve struck out on my own, and it’s been a lot of fun (but not easy).

While I mentor people on embracing their individuality and making a career out of it, and nurture my clients as they pursue their own passionate career for themselves, I still can find myself waffling on whether it’s better to be a weirdo on the fray or a regular fit in trying to be special.

This morning I read an article that destroyed all possibilities of future waffling. Of course I was driven to the awesome title, being a weirdo, I do love hearing tales of other weirdy’s successes, but this article was more than that. It’s a cheering manifesto for all of us wonks in the world, and how being wonky/weird/off-kilter/GENUINELY quirky (ugh hipsterdom has ruined this word for me) is a wholly positive (albeit it mainly ridiculous) trait.

 

Weirdos see the world as a blank slate for them to paint their masterpiece. Forget marching to their own drums. They make up their own instruments. Forget thinking outside the box. They don’t see boxes. They see circles and horizons and trapezoids.

Weirdos don’t see anything as impossible. Anything is possible. Just give us enough time.

Weirdos are contrarians. They think differently and act even more differently. Normals try to fit in. Weirdos stick out without really trying.

Weirdos aren’t driven by money. Money is a destination. Weirdos are all about the journey.

Weirdos don’t care what others think. They only care THAT they think and want to change HOW they think.

Weirdos come in all shapes and sizes, colors and countries. And they’re not new to the tech industry, or industry in general.

Weirdos thought it made sense to get on the Mayflower from England to settle in a new land.

Weirdos thought we should get rid of slavery.

Weirdos insisted that women should also have a vote.

The world would suck if it weren’t for weirdos.

Instead of trying to get our kids to fit in, we should help them celebrate why they are different.

Let’s start to teach kids to embrace weird. Weird is good.

And let’s not stop until weird is normal.