Sunday, April 11, 2010

I'm A Jerk!

I've come to the conclusion that while I may be a seasoned designer, I do NOT take criticism well. I think it goes hand in hand with my pet peeve for being made to feel stupid which stems from dealing with my brother who was the typical middle child, me being the older sister had issues all my own. It's not like I feel like I'm better than everyone else, it's just that I think sometimes people don't know what they're talking about. :) In feeling this way, I often have a tendency to burn my bridges and get mad initially and then relent. Case in point, the site redesign for the CAID found in this post. I had to send the comp to them to get their opinion about it and I was so confident that they'd like it, I didn't give myself any room for real changes and when I get their email back, I was dumbfounded. Plus, the use of the word "circus" in reference to some of the items, I took offense to. So stupid. I need to realize that it's THEIR site, it may be my baby while I'm creating it, but I can't read minds and nothing is ever going to be perfect. My email response to them was a bit on the snarky side and their response was that of surprise for my reaction to their requested changes. Mind you, they are getting this site for the cost of FREE, and some of their requests were a bit excessive so in some case I was right to be frustrated. We've since ironed things out, so it's good and I was given some good advice about thick skin and all.

However, lastnight I was designing my Sully & Marge logo and was at the point where I didn't love it, but I'd guessed it would do. A friend made some suggestions and the outcome was awesome, I am so happy with the results. I really can't wait to get going on this venture, it feels like a really good fit.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

There Is A Plague on My House.


Two weeks ago the stomach flu swept through here and hit all four of us in the matter of about 5 days. It sucked but I did lose like 7-8 pounds so there was a high point. So, we had Easter after that and then Monday I was going to devote my time to creating my final comp for my website redesign. That DIDN'T happen! Stella developed a fever and Cohen refused to go to bed, threw up and his door knob broke but he was finally sacked out at 10:30. Now, that may not seem "late" to some of you out there, but this is the kid who usually can't stay up past 7pm and he's been known on more than one occasion to go to bed by 5:30.

Anywho, I didn't get much time today either to devote to it. Matt took the kids to the doctor and Stella has STREP. YIKES! I really hope I don't get this one, BUT, it could mean a few more pounds lost. lol I headed into class a couple hours early to finish mocking it up. While I was there, I found out that one of my clients, more of a friend really was in a very serious accident and he was finally found, but was unconscious, but they aren't sure how long he's been unconscious because they don't know when the accident occurred. So scary. I really hope he pulls through, he's a really amazing person. I'm praying for you Rob. :(

Here is what I have for the comp, I still have a lot of work to do, but my instructor did say my design was "Awesome!"

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Sully & Marge?

Hello all my Easter Peeps! Dontcha love how I threw that out there? I'm not the biggest fans of that Easter confection, but I thought it fit the mood of the day. After the success of my baseball inspired boy baby shower invitation (found here), I talked with a friend at school and she has agree to help me try to launch an invitation design business. Obviously most of the beginning biz will come from word of mouth, but hopefully it will take off quickly. I really love doing invites and think it could be a fun and profitable venture. What do you think of the name Sully & Marge for it? I got the name from my children's middle names. Sully is short for Sullivan, Cohen's middle name and my MIL's maiden name and Marge is short for Marjorie, my beloved grandmothers name. So, no, it's not the monster from Monsters Inc. or the mom from the Simpson's.

In the mean time, I am thoroughly engrossed in my Dreamweaver final project, a website redesign and to see the monstrosity that I am undertaking, whew, you have no idea the task I've taken on, neither did I. Here it is. It really is a mess, but the people I'm doing it for, they are really nice art people, so it helps. At least they aren't bankers or real estate agents. I've dealt with those kind of folks before and OMG, they are the worst. No offense to any of you out there that are any of those things, sorry.

In addition to all this, I somehow managed to create a flyer for a new found friend. If your on Twitter or happen to be in one of the places hosting this event for the Kentucky Derby, do check here for further information. Thanks for the opportunity Chef, it was a fun little item to create. Until later all, have a very pleasant and enjoyable Easter!