Over the summer, I needed a creative kickstart. I felt like my portfolio was lacking and I was the only one who could do anything about it…but what?
So that’s when I got this idea—what if I, before I started my work day each morning, got on the computer and just opened a program, picked a skill to refine and spend 1-2 hours working on a quick project. I dubbed these “Design Quickies”.
These Design Quickies, or DQs for short, had three jobs: keep myself in practice or learn how to do something new, build up my portfolio, and keep my creative juices flowing. My job, at the time of this conception, allowed me more creative release than the last, but was not nearly enough to keep me happy as a designer.
I kept up with this for a little while, trying to add humor to my work. I experimented with size and scale (as shown in the two examples on the left), type treatment, color, and ideas. Each session, I’d do a web search for random things that popped into my head, gather the items I’d need and go to town. The only rule was each DQ could only be worked on during that session. Once the session was over, I would never touch the piece again.
Needless to say, a few pieces remain unfinished, like the family portrait I took form my personal photo library and attempted to replace everyone’s face, including my own, with Gary Busey’s.
I’ll pick DQs back up soon, as I have a few things I want to try out. They’ll be shared in the blog in the future and will possibly earn a spot in the portfolio if they really rock my socks.
