Side Tracked

I promise I will start posting my work, soon even. Rather than posting work today though, I decided I would talk about the lecture I went to tonight. At first I was hesitant about the new programming at the Design Exchange, but the Stefan Sagmeister exhibit and accompanying lectures have been great.

Tonight's talk C'MON GET HAPPY: Happy people and what they know, was a series of short talks from a variety of multi-disciplinary designers on what makes them happy. There were a number of different ideas about the pursuit of happiness as well as a unanimous decision that children are the greatest source of happiness. One of my favourite parts of the whole night was when Christine Ralphs of Lloyd Ralphs Design put up a slide of the Olsen twins. At first I was skeptical, then she gave her reasoning, she said she put the slide in because it is crazy that will all of their success they look so depressed in all of their photos. The host, Gabe Gonda, Editor of the Arts section at The Globe and Mail, talked about how mastering your craft and being passionate is a reliable path to enduring happiness. All of the speakers are well known in their field and their passion for their work came through in all of the talks whether that was their intention or not. There were a ton of other great moments that I will surely forget in a couple of days, but overall I think it was a great way to spend an evening.

Yet Another Plan

I have been thinking for a couple of months about what to do with my personal website (amy-eaton.com). While I enjoy the design and the way it works, I don't like that all of my work on the site it from school and that I haven't maintained it throughout the past couple of years. I started a free site while on hold (for an hour and a half) with my current hosting company, but soon realized that it would be just another site I would dread updating. Instead I have decided to go with the most simple and streamlined solution, I will post my work on this blog. This will make it easy for me to post new projects that I have finished, and at the same time will provide content for blog posts. Overall I think it is a win-win situation and one that I won't find as daunting.

I have decided to start at the beginning with my school work and eventually catch up to the work I am doing now. I look forward to writing about my older projects, but am even more excited to finally show off some of my new pieces.

The Happy Show

This past Tuesday an old graphic design friend and I went to see Stefan Sagmeister's The Happy Show at the Design Exchange. I received many emails prior to the show explaining what it was about, but I was still surprised by how much fun the exhibit was to visit. The first interactive asked visitors to take a gum ball from one of 10 machines representing how happy they were. This created an interesting visual that allowed you to see how happy other visitors were when they entered the exhibit (I kind of wish they had a second set at the end to see how the exhibit affected people). While my friend and I agreed that being with other people was likely to taint your decision, I was still excited to see that the 8, 9, and 10 machines had the most missing from them.

In lieu of panels, vinyl graphics and typography were applied directly to the wall with Sagmeister's hand written notes added below. The information presented was succinct and interesting, and I loved the streamlined illustrations accompanying the stats and stories. I thought that the interactives were a lot of fun and really enjoyed the personal touches such as Sagmeister's favourite candy and his stories that were added throughout the exhibit.

I would highly recommend this exhibit and am excited about the direction the Design Exchange is taking for the upcoming year.

Post Holiday Excitement

Now that the holidays are over I need something to look forward to again. Thankfully I solidified plans with my Mom over the break for an exciting trip to Europe in June!

After an all night flight we will land in London, England on June 9th and spend four days exploring. It is my first time to England and my Mom's first time to Europe so we will likely do all of the typical tourist things (suggestions are welcome!).

After our short time in London we will fly to Split, a coastal town in Croatia, for 6 days. I'm excited for lazing on the beach, water sports and hopefully a sailing trip to some of the Dalmatian islands off of the coast. I am also looking into nearby national parks, architecture and ruins as options for day trips. Lastly we will travel to Croatia's capital, Zagreb. I know the least about Zagreb but look forward to finding out what the city has to offer. I'm sure I will post more details as we make decisions but after the booking frenzy last week I couldn't wait any longer.

Family Tradition

I started a new job a little less than 5 months ago and it feels like I've been working on our holiday card the entire time. While I have probably only worked on it seriously the past month, talk of the card has been going on for ages. One of the most important criteria is to make it holiday neutral, respectful of all cultures and religions.

After many iterations of the card and careful cropping of photos for the calendars, we have our final concepts. I excitedly received our holiday calendars during our work party Friday and look forward to finishing up our e-card this week.

In the process of getting everything approved and in light of the time of year, my co-workers and I have been sharing our family traditions. Everyone has a different way of celebrating the holidays but I feel extremely lucky when I talk about all of the time I am able to spend with my family. Most co-workers were shocked that I had such large gatherings (even more shocked by my abundance of first cousins), and thought that my family had it all figured out. I am so happy to be spending another year with my close knit family and hope that everyone has a great holiday.

Postal Designer

Designing a stamp for Canada is a prestigious project and only the best artists and designers are commissioned to do so. Much thought goes into the design of stamps; will the image be strong at stamp size, how will the details print, will the subject offend any citizens, and so on. From my experience projects with government organizations generally involve working with a committee which makes the process even more difficult as you have more than one person to please with your design.

You can now avoid the hassle of working your way to the top and being asked to design a stamp by using Canada Post's Picture Postage application that helps you create personalized stamps for you and your loved ones. While stamps are thoroughly checked over and inappropriate designs are rejected, it is a fun opportunity to put an extra personal touch on your holiday cards and mail.

Please enjoy my latest design below.

The Plan Ran Out

A friend from work posted a link today to a great article about millennial women in the workplace. (Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30). After reading the article I quickly checked that I was in the age bracket then continued worrying that I might let this happen to me.

The article explains that while young professional women may not be dealing with difficult financial struggles, they are still frustrated that their lives are not turning out how they expected. These women may seem to have it all, but before they reach 30, many are burning out at work. Like me, many women plan how to do well in highschool and post secondary but stop short of planning for what will come after they have graduated or secured their first job in their field.

I remember being excited to graduate but extremely nervous about what would come after. I had been planning for college graduation since grade 10 when I took an aptitude test and discovered graphic design as a career option. From then on I chose courses that would help me get into the school of my choice, and I happily accepted when I was offered a spot at Conestoga, my top choice. After getting into Conestoga I pushed myself to do the best I could so that I would have a great portfolio at the end of the program. What I didn't do was plan how I would secure a job and keep my dream of becoming a magazine designer on track.

After a little more than a year I am happily settled in Toronto and have come to realize that I thought about what to do after graduation quite a bit. When I didn't get a job immediately, I decided to take an internship at a magazine publishing house. After a few months of interning and a short contract I had enough experience to get a job in production at a book publishing company. I thought that I would like production, but realized I wouldn't be happy working if I wasn't designing full time. This led me to look for a new position, taking me to my current position as a junior designer at an architecture and exhibit design firm. The stress level is much higher, but I am really enjoying being busy and useful as a designer. Co-workers come to me and trust that I can design their next presentation or proposal and are happy to work with me to get what they want.

While the article has me a little worried that I will take on too much and make myself crazy, my record of strong, smart decisions has me hopeful that I won't let that happen to me. The article concluded by saying that getting a long sought-after job is unlikely to be the end of the journey. Instead imput from new friends, new places and new experiences will change the end goal and desired career outcomes. From what I have experienced so far I definitely agree. If I had stuck with my original goal I never would have learned about the book industry, nor would I have thought about becoming an exhibit designer. With so many options within my field, I anticipate a long meandering design career.