Author: Josten Dooley

How develop your style from the past, present and future

Developing ones style is sometimes a difficult thing. The reason being is because a lot of people just start out copying one another. Well let me be the first to say copying is something that we all do. Copying is a way of studying. But you should never try to pass someones work as your own.

Because the reason you do not want to pass the work of someone else as your own is because it will discredit you immediately. You will have the label that you are a copycat. Trust me you do not want to ruin your reputation as a designer or whatever profession you are in.

So the first thing you should do is learn the history. When I started learning graphic design and going to school for it I learned a bit here and there. But it was me who took it upon myself to learn what has happened before. Then I learned the different styles of graphic design. Because every place in the world the design work has a certain aesthetic to it that makes it unique.

A lot of designers are influenced by the swiss design principles. Because the swiss design principles are what is very attractive. By attractive I mean simple and easy to understand from my point of view. For others it may be completely different. Which is good to be able to understand what works and what does not.

Just because a style of work looks cool to you there is not a reason for you to start doing it in everything.  You have to realize that just  because it looks cool to you that does not mean it will work for everything. Because a lot of designers fall into this trap.

So after learning about the past you want to learn about the present. By the present I mean you want to take time to learn about what is going on now. By learning what is currently happening you will be more in the now. Being in the now you will not get left behind and have a more familiar vision of how the industry is evolving and growing.

Learning about the future well there is not a way to do such a thing. By that I mean there is no better way to draw style from the future other than to develop your own style after learning from the past present and the now. Because with all this said your work should reflect the thoughts that you put down with your pencil or whatever tool and or tools you use to do your work.

 

Why as a creative person you need to understand business

So I was contacted recently to sell my artwork on a site. The idea of me selling my calligraphy  is always a great thing. By my artwork I was referring to my calligraphy work and etc. At first I was like “oh yeah” why not? Well let me tell you why I am not going to do it.

Being a creative person whether your a designer or not you need to understand business. By business understanding profit/loss and many other things. If you are ever offered to do business or sell your artwork take the time to understand what you are giving up. You could be giving up rights and even profits.

So the organization said that I would receive 10% of profits. Ten percent is a joke especially when there are other places where I can get 95% or even greater of the profits. This is where a lot of people get taken advantage of and or they think the artist is not knowledgeable.

I want you to avoid having the mindset of I cannot do such a thing on my own. Well you can if you are willing to educate yourself. Do not fall into the trap of letting other people decide things for you. If you are in business as a freelancer or wherever there is nothing wrong with asking for advice on things. But you need to do what you feel is right.

Then learn the difference between a crappy deal and a good deal. There are a lot of people who will give you crappy deals just because. Know your value and worth stop selling yourself short. Because there is not a reason in the world you are not good enough. But all of this boils down to how much you believe in yourself and how much you value your work.

What has happened in my life recently

Well a lot of good things have happened in my life recently. I have started a new job at FedEx office. Before I was working at officemax. At officemax I worked in the print department. The experience that I gained from working at officeMax as not bad. A lot of the things I learned I still will continue to use.

The coworkers that I had from officeMax especially my supervisor he trained me very well. We had a great relationship because he taught me a lot about designing in the real world. Another thing was the types of jobs that we did for customers. I also while working at officemax I was freelancing at Herman advertising for awhile.

The other day I just sat back and thought about how my life has been over this past year. When I all of the trials and tribulations that I experienced wanted to break me I smile. I smile because they are nothing to me now and are so easy. Then I take time and appreciate myself for surviving them.

At FedEx the culture is so much better and it at first was overwhelming. By overwhelming I was pretty touched by the amount of care that is taken into consideration when hiring people, the training and also how my coworkers take the job serious.

The Moral of the story is that you may be going through a tough time or in a job that you’ve been with for awhile and no longer enjoy, but you know what get out of there. There should be no reason for you to go into your job and get emotionally upset. The major thing I would say is to go where you are appreciated and not tolerated.

Learn to use what you’ve learned in a current position to propel you forward. Also do not be afraid to talk with people and network. When you take the time to talk to people and get to know them you will have an even better life. Remember that the conversation is not always about you.

Why I stopped Caring about Followers and Focused more on the content

We all know those who want to be seen as famous or popular with tons of followers on their social media accounts. The impression that I get is that the people are forgetting the content is whats most important. Also I also like to have the correct mindset and let the people know I appreciate them for taking the time to follow me and etc.

One thing I like to do is surprise them by checking out what it is that they are doing. This is as if I am connecting with them on a more personal basis. I also do not like to follow people just for no reason. The misconception about it being a numbers game is very wrong. Well lets get this straight there are people behind those screens (not unless you buy your followers or just do follow 4 follow).

When I stopped caring about how many followers I have I feel my work and approach improved to connecting with people. Because the connecting is whats most important. I also took the approach about putting out better work each time. At times  feel when I post something “what the hell was I thinking posting that?” then I say “I could’ve put more time into it”.

The reason is I do not want to waste anyone’s time who decided to hit the follow button. Because I made the dedication to go above and beyond what other people who use social media do. A lot of people just get followers and only post things about themselves and never reply or converse with those who they follow and etc.

When your following starts to grow it can be a little overwhelming as if you’ve got to be someone who you were not previous. By that I mean you feel you have a standard you have to live up to. Well first off you should remain the same way that you have been. Just that over time you have to continue to improve. Because we all want to improve to get better and better. When we notice that we are improving its all worth it.

So stop focusing on getting so many followers. The way that you get followers is by posting regularly, connecting with people in your profession and talking with them. Then its really just keeping up when no one is watching or you’re not getting likes or subscribers. You have to learn what you have to do and put in the work. Nothing is going to happen overnight so if you think its going to be overnight you’re in the wrong game.

My 2 years of posting on Instagram and new things

When I first started posting my calligraphy work to instagram I had first the idea of I was going to do it  just for a year and I’ll be done. But the more I kept at it and the better I started to get I could not quit. The reason I did not quit after a year was because I learned the saying show up for two years and then people will start to notice you.

Well It has been working out pretty good for me. At first I was a little upset when I did not see growth. But you know what I am going to keep going no matter what. Because what I do with it will be up to me. On November 10th that is the date when I will be launching my store to sell calligraphy prints and etc.

And one more thing i will be starting to post youtube videos in about a week or so. I have currently 4 videos queued up to post. So make sure you follow me on twitter, instagram, facebook, twitter youtube

Why confidence is key

If you do not possess the skill of being confident in yourself then lets talk for a sec. Because confidence stems from you having belief in yourself and what you are doing. If you have belief in yourself it will give you the mental strength to move forward towards your goals.

A lot of people don’t have confidence to stick with what they are doing. The people start out doing for example creating youtube videos. They post everyday and then they just fall off the face off of the earth it seems.

One of the main things I see time and time again is people not wanting do stick with something until they see a result. Just imagine how much more confident you would be if you stuck with that hobby you picked up. Maybe if you stuck with writing those blog posts you would get somewhere.

But with this said people do not have the correct mindframe that I am going to keep doing this until it works. Another way is that I am going to keep doing this and figure out how I can do it full time. Because when you start something its difficult and you do not have loads of confidence. As time goes on you will develop more confidence.

Confidence gets stronger over time just as if you were lifting weights. The simple exercises you can do is by doing that thing you are scared to do. By this I am referencing to getting out of your comfort zone. Being in your comfort zone is not allowing you to experience the full capability of what your confidence can do for you. Confidence can be mistaken for arrogance.

Yes there is a difference being a confident person and an arrogant person. An arrogant person is one who is all about themselves and not helping others. A confident person is fine with helping others achieve their goals.

When I was younger I will be the first to admit I was not confident. I was not confident in what I was doing. Then I was not confident in myself in any way shape or form. But you know I learned to use the experiences to help me develop the confidence in myself. One day I realized that I needed to stop hanging around certain groups of people.

Because confidence is key. If you are hanging around people who are not confident in themselves you will not be confident in yourself. If you are a creative person such as a graphic designer you more than likely will not have confidence in showing your work. No matter what way you try to spin it you want to do your best to protect your work and not get put down or criticized.

But once you learn that those who are critiquing your work are only trying to help you. The results of what you do with it depends upon you. Learn quickly to use your experiences and surroundings to a positive advantage for yourself.

Time is precious

Recently I got hired for a new position at a way better company than where I was currently. But you know what I had to do was be honest with myself and believe I deserved better. Because things started to take a turn for the worse.

Then I had to be honest with myself and say you know what I need to be somewhere where you are appreciated and not tolerated. You know when you have the feeling as if I am being taken advantage of. But you cannot take the time to let that keep happening over and over again.

The reason you may let this happen over and again is because you have gotten used to the way things are. Another thing is the money how its so easily obtainable and etc. But let me tell you first that money is easy to be replaced and time is not.

So you want to either focus on your happiness and or your current financial situation. Because I for one know what finances are important. But you do not want to die with your dreams in you. There is a difference in regards to go about doing something the smart way and or the stupid way.

You for one do not want to say you know what fuck it I’m quitting my job and have no money saved up. That would be absolutely asinine and stupid to do. You want to go about doing certain things a special way. I for one will continue to use the overlap technique to achieve what my all time desired goal is which is to be a full time freelancer.

You cannot knock the hustle

If you have heard this phrase before you may or may not know what it means. But let me explain this to you. Because hustling has many different meanings. The one I am talking about is people who are putting in the work to achieve their goals.

When you are a person who puts in the time to achieve your set goals then you are hustling. Because you can sit and think about what it would be like to achieve the goal or work and get it done. So you do not want to knock or in other words dampen their progress.