I Shot the Serif

No good design ever is done in a vacuum.

In the time I’ve been a designer, I believe it would have been nearly impossible for me to illustrate all the complex concepts and not-quite-visually-friendly stories I have without a great team of people to work with.

In our pod, we brainstorm, look at work of designers we admire, bounce ideas back and forth and offer constructive criticism as we go. As designers, we have to have thick skin — not everyone is going to like what you do every time, and that’s okay. You can’t please ‘em all, right?

I think a common mistake visual people (myself included) make comes when dealing with so-named “word people.” We often think that because they aren’t trained in visual communication specifically, their ideas can automatically be written off. This is a huge waste of resources.

Even if not everyone understands the thought process, technical skill and practical aspect of a design, it doesn’t make their ideas necessarily bad. More often it means they need to be worked with, turning a good idea into a great one. 

It’s important, especially in news publication, to consider the whole package of the stories being presented. When I get an assignment for a graphic or illustration, I try and make sure to talk to the reporter and editor in charge of the story every step of the way so our images are congruent with the message we’re giving the reader.

It’s not always easy. Some stories are inherently visually boring, but I think the challenge is part of the fun. I can’t tell you the number of ways we’ve come up with to illustrate budget stories, for example. 

I’m not saying there’s no added value in having an extensive visual background — it’s exactly the opposite. The more you know about design, the more ways you have to explain why something will or won’t work, and how and why.

Not every idea a nonvisual person has is good, but that’s where you have to build a relationship based on trust. If you give them the benefit of the doubt and work with them to help develop their ideas, they’ll keep coming to you when they want some expert advice. If you offer alternative, better solutions, the work is more likely to be a conversation, as opposed to a “you do this for me.”

I think one of the pitfalls designers face is that we so often work with other designers in mind. We essentially forget about the reader. This is where your nonvisual peers are so helpful — if they don’t “get it,” that’s a red flag. Everyone, at some point, gets too design-heavy, making things that look beautiful and artistic, forgetting that design should correspond to content. The general public hasn’t been trained to decipher our work. 

That’s why the best design happens when everyone chimes in — your fellow designers help you develop your concept and solve technical problems, and your wordy peers make sure you’re not the only one who understands exactly what story you’re trying to tell.  

If you were in Indianapolis during the Final Four, you might have been lucky enough to pick up Friday’s edition of The Indianapolis Star that featured an illustration of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski looking vandalized.

The Star’s centerpiece illustration ran with a story angled to highlight the polarizing effect of Krzyzewski — you love him, or you really, REALLY hate him.

The state edition, the Star’s first run of the day, ran with a photo of Krzyzewski that appeared to have been scribbled on by a Duke anti-fan. The illustration featured the coach with penned-on blue hair, horns, a mustache and even a target on his forehead.

You can see the first illustration here. 

Charles Apple covers the issue extensively in his blog, explaining the three different options of centerpiece art The Indianapolis Star ran, and why.

He also includes the reactions of the newspaper, including presentation editor Scott Goldman, who told Apple that Krzyzewski had accepted the Star’s apology for running the illustration. 

Yeah, you read that correctly — the Star apologized because, editors told Apple, the illustration was not up to their standards.

Maybe I’m the only one (I have a feeling I’m not) but the whole debacle leaves me feeling confused.

I don’t really see what’s so bad about the illustration.

I’ve read plenty of comments that say it’s juvenile or unprofessional, but isn’t that the point?

From what I can tell, the illustration shows how childish the Duke haters can be. It’s trying to mimic exactly what an anti-fan would do.

And come on, it’s pretty funny.

So as an up and coming designer, the situation troubles me a bit. The fact that the editors and writer of the story were so quick to discount the illustration and jump ship on an illustrator who, in my opinion, had a pretty good concept bothers me.

I would have been happier if they’d given the illustrator the chance to defend the thinking behind it. I haven’t read one comment from the Indy Star that defends the illustration in any way, but surely it didn’t just appear on the page.

At some point, someone had to hear about this, look at it, and give it the green light. It seems to me that everyone was quick to throw the concept under the bus without a second thought.

At least the illustration ran without credit, so nobody had to throw a colleague under the bus, but I wonder if that would have made a difference. I hope it would have.

As others have noted, the illustration evokes emotion. It draws readers into the story. It makes you want to pick up the paper and see what’s going on. In essence, it is everything good design is supposed to be, isn’t it?  

I don’t know what the complete reasoning was to switch to the watered-down “Boo Devils” cover, but it seems like journalism is rolling over at first sign of controversy.

And it results in a weaker product.
 

It’s March, and everyone is stepping up their game — even those of us who have never touched a basketball in our lives. 

It’s hard to work for a college paper and not get drawn into the excitement of March Madness, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. It’s playoff time for college sports, and even though Spartan hockey has broken my heart again this year, the onset of March Madness feels like the return of the sun after a winter of drudgery. I feel like a 5-year-old kid hooting and hollering for the return of my sneakers after months of heavy boots. 

It’s time to shed all the budget, finance, construction, locator maps and bar graphs like so many layers of heavy winter clothing and break free.

March Madness is a time to feature huge photos from travel-worn, adrenaline-filled photographers.

It’s an opportunity to play stories differently and work with exciting, compelling content.

It’s time for beautiful art heads that proudly announce to your reader that today, there is exciting stuff going on.

It happens every year, sure, but this year could be different in so many ways.

It’s time to do all those cliché things: step out of the box, break the mold, try something new, because if the team you’re covering is fighting hard to put on a good show, you sure as hell want to reflect that in your coverage.

They already know what happened in the game. They watched the buzzer beater and screamed with their friends while they were jumping around in victory, or shed their tears into a drink after that tough loss. Give them something more. A reason to pick up your paper. A page that’s so cool they want to hang it on their walls, or pass it on to their friends.

Every day when your reader has a choice between your front page and everyone else’s, make March Madness your own competition. 

I know that our goal is to create compelling pages, daily. But I’ll be the first to admit that it’s really hard to design a story or a page you’re not personally invested in. So I’m springboarding, from the inspiration of the excitement of March Madness, right onto the newsstand.

Whether you like basketball or not, I think everyone needs to find some inspiration to wake up their work every once in a while. 

I like playoff time because much like the teams we’re covering, what I’ve done all semester doesn’t matter anymore. It’s what I do now that counts. Winter’s over, and I feel like a whole new designer.
 

For my last blog in the Design Jobs series, my friend and fellow designer, MSU alumnus Daniel Thai suggested that I cover networking. Connections made online and job tips found on Twitter can lead to freelance work and valuable contacts.

Unfortunately, I’ve never had this experience myself, and I felt the advice would be more useful coming from someone who has.

For the final installment regarding design jobs, I asked Daniel to write a guest blog detailing his experiences with networking.
 
If you’re looking for a job, you’ve probably fine-tuned your cover letter, tweaked your resume and put together the perfect interview outfit. After answering the employer’s questions and asking some of your own, you leave the interview and wait for the decision. The phone call eventually comes, and the employer chooses someone else over you.

This result doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning of your search. You’ve actually taken an important step in finding employment: networking. I’m a freelance designer, which might sound glamorous, but all it really means is that I’m constantly searching for that next gig, and I always find it through one form of networking or another.

Inter-personal networking
For the job seeker: don’t be spiteful toward the employer who didn’t hire you, in fact, do the opposite. Keep in close contact with that person: He or she didn’t hire you, but that person might know someone who will, and word of mouth is the strongest (and cheapest) form of advertising.

The opportunities for networking are endless: friends, family, employers, co-workers, professors and, for freelancers like me, clients, are some places to start. Networking isn’t hard, it just takes dedication and a lot of confidence. Know your goals and show people your work. I don’t have business cards, but I always carry some leave behinds with me if anyone ever asks what I do. I’ve basically given them a mini-portfolio, which saves them the time of looking me up online, and lets them know immediately that I’m not a talentless hack. The next time they hear of someone looking for a designer, I’ll already have a foot in the door.

Create an online presence
That’s basic, old-school networking. Now, in the age of social media, networking is easier than ever. In fact, I’ve never met any of my clients in person. As a freelancer, I might define “job” differently than a soon-to-be college graduate would, but the principles of networking online are similar for all designers. Make your name and work available in the proper channels, and jobs will find you.

The first and most important step is to have a good portfolio. Obviously anyone looking to hire a designer wants to see examples of previous work, but you won’t always have your binder of clips with you. Now potential clients need only a URL instead of a stack of papers. If they like what they see, they can easily access and pass it along.

Another networking point lies in blogs. Many of the best designers have their own blogs and the design community is a very friendly one. I look to design blogs for tutorials as well as for inspiration.

Some focus on topics such as logos and typography while others discuss design trends in general. The commonality among them all is that they create forums for discussion. Join that discussion by commenting on other people’s blogs with some insights of your own.

People will notice your involvement, and they’ll return the favor by visiting your blog, which is important. Your blog gives your clips context. It gives clients a better idea of who you are as a designer and as a person. I use my blog as a digital playground to experiment with new techniques as well as reveal my growth as a designer. Clients usually are impressed by the initiative and creativity necessary to maintain such a project outside of normal working hours.

It takes time and work to incorporate blogs into your routine, but there’s the short and quick (and real-time) version of it all: Twitter. I follow a gaggle of designers and I mostly glean (and often re-tweet) links from them. I’ve also found most of my jobs on Twitter. The search ‘looking for a graphic designer’ brings up tweets looking for contract jobs and full-time jobs. A few replies and direct messages later, I can have a full schedule of projects from across the country.

Prioritize networking
My most successful project so far actually is one I did for free because it’s a prime example of good networking. Someone posted on Twitter they were looking for a graphic designer to create a flyer for their friend. I replied and got the contact information for that client, which happened to be an Alzheimer’s care center with little money to spare.

I did the project pro bono to help my portfolio, but it turns out the marketing director is highly connected in San Francisco. In exchange for my work, she emailed a recommendation to the 500 members of her networking group. As a result, I now have a few projects on my docket.

Not every connection will turn into a job, but like many other industries, there’s a premium on who you know, so make it an important part of your job search. Be confident in yourself and your skills, and the word will spread. You have a service that people want, but they can’t pay for it if they don’t know about it. With more quality connections, you’ll have a higher chance of finding that person who knows about that place looking for a designer like you. 

Daniel Thai, a 2007 graduate of Michigan State, is a freelance graphic designer who moonlights as a photographer and traveling salesman. You can check out his portfolio or follow him on Twitter.
 

I’ve been on both sides of the interview table, or in many cases, the phone line. 

I can honestly say I have no idea why the people I talked to hired me or didn’t, which things I said impressed them, which made them cringe or what made me stand out for good or bad reasons.

The only things I have to go on are the patterns I’ve noticed and how I felt personally when I was an employer doing the interviews.
 
It’s always a gamble. 
You never know who’s going to be on the other side of that table. If you’re lucky enough to be close to where you’re interviewing and have a face-to-face interview, you have the added advantage of reading body language and facial expressions. Use it.

If your potential employer is interviewing you through the phone (as I’ve found typical for summer internships), all you have to rely on is their tone and any prior knowledge of them or their company you may have. It’s important to prepare in any way you can.
 
Research.
Prior knowledge is important. Really important. Especially if the job you want is with a newspaper, but I think it helps no matter where you want to go. Be a good journalist. Research. Investigate. If the company you want to work for recently cut some design jobs, ask why. Ask how it’s changed their work process, or if it has.

The more you know going into the interview the more you have to offer in the way of conversation. At the very least, take five minutes to Google the organization you’re interviewing with. If you don’t know anything about them, how do you know you want to work there?

As the interviewer, I always like it when candidates ask about design decision we made, the work process we go through each day, who they will work with, anything that shows me they want this job, and not just any job.
 
Ask questions. 
Show some interest. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’m way more comfortable hiring somebody if I think they have a good understanding of exactly what they’re getting into. If you’re super shy, write down some questions before the interview begins.

Ask about dress code, hours, software available, anything that shows a little initiative. Not only does it prove you’ve come prepared, it also helps the interviewer connect with you on a more personal level. You become a face and not just the piece of paper that is your résumé.
 
Stick to your guns.
Employers want to know what your design eye is like, and if you know what you’re talking about. It’s one thing to produce good clips and another to be able to spot good or bad design and justify your judgment.

Many design jobs will ask you to critique some of their work — do you think this is done well or not, and why? Don’t be afraid to say you don’t like it, as long as you can back it up. You never know who was in charge of the project or what went into the process that made it turn out in that specific way. Maybe some changes had to be done last-minute.

Maybe the client was extremely picky about that neon orange color scheme. Trust your instincts. If you don’t like their newsletter, tell them, but offer good, thought-out explanations. If you think something is brilliant, say that, too, but make sure you can say why. 
 
Be nice. 
I know this sounds obvious, but I can’t tell you the number of times people’s personalities were their biggest turn-off. You can have all the talent, all the skills in the world, and not get a job because nobody wants to work with you.

There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness, and your job is to balance on it perfectly. If you’re afraid you sound cocky, you probably do. Remember, the people you’re talking in that interview are going to be the ones critiquing your work, telling you what to do and making the final decisions.

They want to know you’re willing to compromise, take constructive criticism and be part of a team. They don’t want you to come in thinking you have nothing to learn.
 
Don’t give up.
I certainly haven’t gotten a job offer from every interview I’ve had, but interviews are tricky, and every employer is different. The key is to do all those things that everybody knows (smile, be polite, speak confidently) but also prove that you’re an intelligent person that would be a valuable addition to a design team, as well as somebody everyone can work with.
 

When you’re a kid, your family puts every finger-painted masterpiece you produce on the fridge and displays it for the world to see. Although you are honored on the fridge with only the best of intentions, this is crippling in ways you may not notice.

The fridge display makes you feel like a top-notch artist, an original, and all of your work is creative gold. Your inflated ego has lost the ability to self-critique.
 
Every single design job is going to ask to see your work. It’s hands down the most important part of your application.

Although portfolio Web sites with unlimited space are becoming increasingly more common, many of the internships I’ve applied for have asked for printed copies of my clips. I’ve been asked to send in anywhere from 5-20 clips with an application. 

I, too, was a fridge kid. It’s really hard for me to decide what’s portfolio and application worthy, and what should remain as a .pdf hidden on my computer to look back at and see how far I’ve come. Of course everything I’ve done is my best work, right? It’s hard for me to pick the top 20 samples of my work. Five simply is painful. 

First, and most obvious, the clips you submit should fit the job you want. If you want to work for a newspaper, submit some pages you’ve done.

These can be pages for publication, or just mock newspaper pages you’ve done as a class project. If you want to work as a graphic artist, a variety of illustration, typography and layout will probably be your best bet.

I really think this is pretty subjective and pretty hard to decide. Your best bet is to call the organization you are applying to and ask what kind of work they are looking for.
 
The clips that should ALWAYS be included in your portfolio are the ones that have won awards or been recognized in some way. If they’ve made it into a student show or placed in a design contest — if someone with a design eye other than you thinks they’re good, they probably are. If you’ve listed “awards” on your résumé, you want to include the clips that won them. 

But not everyone has published work or enters contests. Many students only have class work, and I think that’s fine. If you don’t have a lot to choose from, it comes down to choosing the very best of what you do have, which can be difficult.

The process often leaves student designers sitting in front of a pile of class projects, wondering which ones will catch an employer’s eye. 

This is where a second opinion comes in. 

If you can’t choose your best work from that pile of clips, I’m betting your design professors can give you some helpful feedback. Take everything you’re thinking about submitting and get some feedback.

Ask your creative advertising, cartography, photography, typography, infographic, page design, anything visual professors what they would submit. Chances are they’re all going to have slightly different opinions, so make sure to ask them why. They’ll be able to look at your work with a more critical and objective eye than you would.

Even if you disagree, they’ll help you see positive and negative aspects of your clips that you may not have considered before. Plus, most of your design professors have been in the same situation, and may offer insight into which clips work best or show your style in the best light. 
 
On the technical side, since I’ve never encountered an application that asks for more than 20 clips, I made a single .pdf of my top 20 pieces. If the application asks for less, I simply remove the ones I feel fit that specific job the least until I have the desired amount.

I never send in hard copies of the published work, or tearsheets unless they are specifically asked for. I’ve found most people don’t mind if you reprint your work onto manageable 8.5-by-11 copies. 

Whatever job you’re applying for, make sure the work you submit is representative of your style, and that you’re familiar enough with it to answer any questions about the design decisions you made while producing it.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Last year, I sent out about 10 design applications to various newspapers. I got two interviews and no internship. Since then, I’ve seen a bajillion design applications to work at The State News, and sent out a million more of my own. Getting an interview never is a guarantee, but I’ve learned how to put together a design application from two angles — as the employer and the applicant.
 
Often times, I feel less than qualified having to choose one person to hire from as much as 12 applications. There is so much talent out there, and a plenty of people with buckets of potential. Because of this, I’ve developed a system. I also use what I’ve learned from looking at the work of other designers to prepare my own applications.

The most important part of any design application is your set of clips. It’s the first thing an employer flips to. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read Newsweek since you were 6 months old — your work had better be top-notch.

Most internships I’ve seen ask for a specific number of clips, but as a default I usually go with between five and seven. How to choose which clips to send is a whole different blog, though, so more on that at a later date. 

The next thing I look at when I’m going through applications is the résumé. If you’re a designer, your résumé sure as hell better be well-designed. It doesn’t have to be kitschy, or overdone. You don’t have to go as far as to make your résumé an infographic or anything like that. (I’m not completely against the idea, though.)

A designer’s résumé, in my humble opinion, should have a nice, clear typographic hierarchy. It should be simple, clean and show your personality. The rest of your packet should match it. If you have your contact information stylized very nicely in the top left corner, use the same text treatment on your cover letter.
 
The contents of your résumé are not quite as important as your clips, but it’s valuable information. If you don’t have a lot of professional experience, that’s OK.

You always can put design classes you’ve taken, or student shows you’ve been featured in, just make sure to include descriptions. Nobody cares that you took JRN 336; they want to know why that class was valuable and how it helped you improve as a designer.
 
If I’ve gotten through your clips and résumé, the next place I’m going to look is your cover letter. I know there are folks out there who say the cover letter is obsolete, and nobody actually is reading them, and that’s partially true. I don’t read cover letters very often — unless I really like the work of two people and am having trouble deciding which one I want to work with. Then the cover letter is key. 

Your cover letter should tell your potential employer more about you. Talk about experiences you’ve had in design, why you love what you do, and why you want to work for that employer specifically. Don’t just say what you hope to gain, talk about what you can do for them.

And NEVER, under any circumstances, do I think it is acceptable to not include a cover letter. Regardless of its content, the fact that you took the time to write one is significant. An application without a cover letter just looks lazy. It never hurts to schmooze a little, either. When it comes to cover letters, it’s better to land on the goody-two-shoes side than the arrogant one.

This is, of course, just one girl’s opinion. I’m sure there are employers out there who read every cover letter, or don’t care if a designer didn’t design their own résumé.

These aren’t hard and fast rules, just general guidelines. I’ve seen a dozen applications, and sent out a dozen more — and at the end of the day it’s always a gamble. Just give yourself the best odds possible.
 

“One field mouse is cute, but 100,000 of them …” reads a newspaper graphics guide produced by the Detroit Free Press in 2006. And when it comes to locator maps, this mantra couldn’t ring truer.
 
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with locator maps, and in the age of interactive, I have come to respect the value of a map even more. The New York Times is known for the elegant way they use maps, like this interactive of peoples’ Netflix rental patterns.

Linking information that shows a geographic pattern can be a powerful thing. 

Maps, according to my cartography professor, show geographic phenomena. More simply, maps show us how geography influences natural variables such as temperature and elevation. On a human level, the right map can show distribution of poverty, political affiliation or even travel time between two points. Maps help explain how where we live affects our experiences. A good map can make sense of a story in ways a Pulitzer-winning writer would never dream.

Not every newspaper is The New York Times and, as a result, not all maps are created equal. In newspapers (particularly this newspaper), maps are more often used to supplement a story. If there is a new railway planned, a map can help show its path. If a number of houses are being foreclosed on, a map helps readers see the distribution of the properties. And most of the time, that’s a very helpful thing.

In comes the field mouse analogy. Maps can be surprising helpful, but too many can be overwhelming. Locator maps should be used wisely and only when the geography is relevant. If your audience is familiar with the area in which an incident takes place, a map might not be necessary. An accident on the corner of Grand River Avenue and Hagadorn Road? In East Lansing, most of your readers don’t need a map telling them the location of the intersection. Give your readers a little credit and use maps to show them something useful. 

The power of a simple map often is overlooked. If your design is simple, it can be created quickly and efficiently. In a longer project, a map can be a story in and of itself. Just be careful not to let maps become an addiction — too many of them, and your readers won’t bother even looking anymore. 

I know I’m not the only one who saw the new MSU Spartans helmet logo and asked what in the world the university was thinking. 

The logo, reported to be unveiled in April, can be summarized in one word — ugly. I hate to be too cliché, but MSU, if it ain’t broke, please don’t fix it.
 
The MSU Spartans helmet is a powerful, internationally recognized brand. It sets us apart from the myriad of other schools who utilize some sort of block ‘S’.

Not to mention that redesigns are expensive. Think of all the letterheads, business cards, uniforms, and existing branding that will need to be changed before everyone is on the same page and using the new Spartans helmet. Rumor has it that MSU worked with Nike’s top designers on this project, and if that’s true, you know they forked over a pretty chunk of change. Should we really be spending money on an ugly redesign when entire programs are facing cuts?

There’s also the problem of inconsistency. Maybe the university has a great plan to unite all the different factions of campus life through this new brand. Maybe. But it’s going to take time. If the switch to the new logo isn’t made mandatory, effective immediately come April, the old logo could be around for a long time.

People will continue to use the old one on their business cards, promotional T-shirts, and letterheads until they have to reorder those products. It could take years for the new helmet to completely take the place of the old one on campus. 

Did I mention I think the redesign is ugly? The curves seem childish, and the shape is just not as appealing as the strong lines and simple curves of the Spartans helmet we all know and love.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who will disagree as to which logo is more aesthetically pleasing, and that’s fine. My main gripe is that I think MSU could allocate its resources toward something other than a redesign of a successful brand. 
 

Every designer, at one point or another, has a day when everything looks the same and nothing seems to click. 

You feel stumped and frustrated. Someone’s asking you to visualize a completely abstract concept (such as Michigan’s failing economy, or the state budget), you’ve made what seems like your ten-thousandth locator map, and no matter what you do you just can’t seem to find any inspiration.

I’ve been there more times than I’d like to remember, and found that my surroundings affect everything I do. Everything from my mood to what I’ve eaten can affect how I look at a project, and sometimes those things can’t be helped. Not everyone has the luxury of working with who they want, whenever they want. You’re not going to be in a good mood every day you have a project due or every time you need to solve a problem.

What you can do is create a design-friendly workspace. It’ll make a world of difference.

Step one: Find examples of good design.

My favorite publication is Redeye Chicago. It’s a free, tabloid-size paper published Monday through Friday and is distributed throughout the city. I’ve always liked the covers of tabloid-sized papers, because they tend to have interesting illustrations and graphic fronts on a more regular basis than a newspaper would. The great thing about Redeye is it’s geared toward young people, so the design is new, fresh and a little off the wall. Magnets secure Redeye covers all around my work space, along with covers from various other publications I enjoy. If I’m feeling discouraged, I only have to glance up to remember why I like my job. 

Step two: Find examples of bad design.

A professor once told me the reason we share our work in front of the class for critique is not to embarrass us in front of our peers. Instead, it’s because we learn so much more from the mistakes of others, which is true. If you make a mistake or a poor design decision, I’m sure you have a good reason for it. But if someone else did something you find laughable, in the back of your mind you’re making a note to never, ever be the guy you’re laughing at.

Step three: Find ways it’s been done before.

The Society for News Design (www.snd.org) puts out an annual “Best of” book, featuring the best news design of the previous year. I own four of these, and they just weren’t getting enough love on the shelf in my bedroom. I brought them into work, and we use them all the time. If we need a new way to place three photos with one main headline on a page, we look for someone who’s already done it successfully. If we want to do an illustration about Michigan’s budget, we look for finance pages that might spark an idea. We don’t copy the pages that already have been done. In most cases, we’ll run across something in the books that will spark a solution to our own problem, and end up with a page that looks completely different. The books provide a nice plank to dive off of.

Step four: Don’t be afraid to give yourself kudos.

If you or your staff have won awards, hang them up. If you have a page you’ve done that you put a lot of work into, or a piece you’re especially proud of, bring it in. Remind yourself that you’ve done this before. Design because you love it. On days when you think you never want to touch a computer again, looking at past successes can be very encouraging. 

Step five: Have fun!

Listen to music. Doodle funny pictures of your co-workers. Play with Legos. (I’m not the only one who has Legos at work, right?) Fill out your calendar in crayon or colored pencil. Just whatever you do, don’t ever stop being the creative little kid who wanted to be an artist.