Timing...

Life is all about timing..

I have come to the conclusion that this statement is so very true. Obviously, it's not all that decides your fate but I believe it has something to do with outcomes now more than ever.

I got fired from a job as a receptionist, I was NEVER late for more than six months except the day after my 21st birthday. I went out some friends from work and apparently they couldn't keep their mouths shut about it, ipso facto, my manager found out about it. I drove the whole way there to just get fired on the spot. They had no reason to fire me. My personal life is none of their business and I was late ONCE, you have to give the person at least a warning before you take such drastic measures.. Well it seems that's just my rational mind being kerazy again! Oh silly me. Going on another tangent.

I haven't had a job for two months. God only knows how I have been able to pay for stuff (i.e. my unpaid internship where I have to drive more than 30 minutes each morning AND pay for parking four days out of seven) but because all of these college student are still here in Indy every place I've applied to is well staffed if not over staffed. I got fired in late May, I wish they would've fired me BEFORE the summer started. I have like zero time to fit in a job and I made my schedule around that damn job. I have 20 hours a week at the IBJ then a summer class, which takes up a lot of time, so it is difficult for me to find times that I can be available to employers, except on weekends.

Once the college students go back to school I am hoping it will be a little easier to find something. Although, I am not too hopeful because there was a point I was in limbo and it took me forever to find a job (the next job I got was only because I knew someone who knew someone that worked there). For me it's timing.

I dropped off some clothes at Plato's Closet, obviously because I am so broke I can't think, and in the past they have taken everything unless it was really worn or was damaged in some way shape or form. I dropped off some clothes I have had in my closet for more than a year that I only wore twice (some abercrombie stuff and bebe stufff) it was about 25 articles of clothing, I thought for sure that I would get minimum 40$. I walk up to the register excited to finally have some money to think straight. She gives me back a full bag... ummm what the fuck? There is nothing wrong with this clothing, I think to myself. She tips the bin towards me to show me what they want to buy from me. One A&F sweater in navy and white, a HCO hoodie (I hated that thing) & idk about the rest.. non-descript.
She goes, "We'll give you $12.17"
I thought to myself.. For real? What the hell? Normally, they tell you whats wrong with the stuff but she just said,
"We are looking for denim with embellishments.."
then proceeds to point to herself showing where the embellishments would normally be on pants and says
"You know, like rhinestones."

Good thing I am a complete idiot and I nooo earthly idea what embellishments could be.. I was just so spell bound that my bebe stuff wasn't 'purchased' from me. I thought those would be the items they would definitely take. I thought about it a little more and thought to my past experiences.. And came to the realization if I had given this stuff to them a year ago all of it would've been bought from me. Rawr.. How annoying.. It's that timing thing again!

Design?

Q:What is good design? 

What constitutes are great poster? A great logo? Brochure? Etc. This was a serious question I was asking myself.  I began to think about it a lot. I even thought to myself, what did I think about the font 'Brush Script" (I despise that font and I see it everywhere) before I became a designer? And from there are was supposed to come up with some enlightened sense of design. From the answer to this question I will be able to design anything and it will be loved by all. I kept branching from that single thought "What is good design?" 

For that matter what is good music? What is fashion, What is a cute outfit?

My experiences:

When I re-create stuff for others they say well I like this but I don't know if the client will. So many times I have had to make very readable and well-designed things 'dumbed-down' (that's what I call it) just so the ad can be approved by the client the first time around.  
Marcie's Solution: Educate the client as to why this design works over the one that's is not so successful, but this is for another discussion.

I've had many opportunities to re-design things for clients, but I've found that 're-designing' really means re-make the ad but keep the same look as their old ad so it will be approved. There have been times when I have disregarded their version of 're-designing' and used my own version of it to only be shunned by the middle person that is the connection to the client. I want to say, " How about you send it to them anyways and see what they think."

Example. I got this ad from a representative and the client wanted to change the previous ad, it was heinous in every sense of the word. The lack of imagery made it difficult to understand what the ad was for. So the client wants us to add in some imagery that relates to golf. It was a thank-you ad to thank their sponsors for some event. For some reason they included a roster they had from the event, it made me confused. But whatever, I am going to re-design this ad and blow their socks off, well I still had to exercise restraint but it finally wasn't some dinky text change.

I design three versions of the ad.. show it to the rep. and they say, "Oh, make it look like their roster." Good grief.. Their roster wasn't ugly but I made one ad look like the roster except so beyond ugly there was nooo way they were going to pick it. I made another one where their logo was on the golf ball and the text was Bookman Old Style and it all nicely fit in the lay out (my favorite of course). The other ad was similar to the one I created but with a different image (I wasn't in love with it, but it was bad either). The picked the Bookman Old Style text (yay!) but the other image. (????) I had to force the rep to send all three versions to the client (how annoying!). It came to my attention that the design was, in fact, to the sales reps liking, not the clients. I think this is so backwards.

I've made some things for and arts & entertainment sort of thing, I made three versions, as always. One of my ideas was so outrageously awesome that it's a portfolio piece, for realsies! Every designer I have shown it to thinks it's the best concept EVAR! But is it going to be used for that? NOPE. One of the people that pretty much do everything (write the editorial, decide the theme, etc.) for the supplement didn't like the idea. Either that or it was never shown to him. Frustration at it's high.

I am OBSESSED with a certain collection of fonts.. One being Georgia because of it's old style numbers. I am not particularly fond of sans-serif because I think that they can start to blend and look the same. Whereas with serif fonts there are a numerous amount of options to experiment with serifs, stress on letters, etc. (love) A lot of people like sans-serif which is completely fine but not my cup of tea. I especially don't like the mix of sans-serif and serif. It just doesn't fit to me, but I see it all the time...  
Q: What is a great font?
A: What are you using it for?

Ultimately, I came to this conclusion...

A: Who are you talking to??