I am going to come right out and say it. You need to vote for my panel, Making the Web by Hand, for SXSWi 2011 if you know what’s good for you. Seriously though, I am excited at the possibility of being able to share my passion of making things by hand with a group of my peers in hopes that it will inspire innovation and awesome hand-drawn uniqueness. Please try and get your vote in before they close on August 27. Thank you.

When I arrived at work this morning I found this little beauty waiting for me on my desk. My friend and co-worker Nathan Smith was kind enough to let me borrow it. I am expecting great things from the knowledge contained within its pages.

So while I get to reading I will leave you with this inspiring quote:

- Everything written symbols can say has already passed by. They are like tracks left by animals. That is why the masters of meditation refuse to accept that writings are final. The aim is to reach true being by means of those tracks, those letters, those sings – but reality itself is not a sign, and it leaves no tracks. It doesn’t come to us by way of letters or words. We can go toward it, by following those words and letters back to what they came from. But so long as we are preoccupied with symbols, theories and opinions, we will fail to reach the principle.

Kimura Kyuho, Kenjutsu Fushigi Hen
[On the Mysteries of Swordsmanship], 1768

I read an article this morning on a very popular design blog telling us why we should “stick with” Photoshop. I’m sure the author has all the best intentions in the world, but comes across quite naive in my opinion. The sum of the article wasn’t even a good one, arguing why we should design with photoshop instead of in the markup. I feel like that’s comparing apples with a top sirloin steak. They aren’t even in the same food group.

At the end of the day we just have to use what works for us. Design is not about choosing sides in “defense” of one particular app. Design is about making the best visual decisions to help communicate the message of our clients.

a clean slate

I always like to clean the kitchen before I start cooking. I enjoy picking up and organizing the house before company arrives. And I love the crisp first page of a new journal. I think cleanliness has been ingrained in me from day one. So the more I grow as a designer the more I find an attraction to the simple things in life. And the best part about designing for the web is you get to start over as often as you want. You aren’t stuck with a thousand copies of your identity in a box that will just go to waste.

doing more with less

Now that I’ve stripped down to the bare essentials I am able to focus on what’s important, the content. I was never fully satisfied with how my content was presented before. The multi-column approach on the web I think is good for companies and magazines that have a need for it. But for a personal site, I don’t see the purpose. That’s why I rid myself of all link lists, social links and any other silly sidebar meta data. I don’t feel the need to tell people I’m on twitter, dribbble or [insert new social hotness here] anymore. If someone is really interested in finding out more about me there’s something called google that handles that.

Also, you won’t find any tags or categories listed anymore. I tried really hard to harness their power in my last design, even to the point of splitting up my site for each category. But I wasn’t ever fully satisfied with that approach, whether it worked or not. Again, I think it comes down to knowing what’s appropriate for your site and what isn’t. And I see now that having all my content split up was a waste of space. Even if I try and write about three different topics (ie. life, design and faith) it all comes from me. And now I don’t mind letting it all flow together in harmony.

looking ahead

As I continue to learn and grow as a person, husband, designer my palette will change along with it. This is just a temporary look at my life right now. I believe that in all we do we reflect our personalities. Whether it’s in art, music, writing or designing. We all have our own little quirks that reflect who we are inside. So while I’d like to say this is the final revison of my site, I know that isn’t true. Like the saying goes:

You are your own worst client.

I’m not giving up!

I still have six more months to go on my Daily 365 photo project. I still have twenty-six more weeks of my 52 Profiles project. I don’t want to reach the end of this year with an apology and a poor excuse on why I didn’t finish what I started. I want to reach the end with my arms raised in victory and a smile on my face. I want to prove to myself that I am capable of more than my past mistakes.

Inside Left

Inside Right

Back Cover

Overview

The Chair and Microphone series from Enter the Worship Circle are as unique as each artist that is featured. I was honored to be a part of the creative process for Volume 4. Working with Ben Pasley and Tim Coons (the featured musician) was a joy. I had a ton of creative freedom right from the start. Some of you may remember the initial concept I posted on dribbble. Well that came from listening to some of the rough mixes of Tim’s songs. I really felt a theme of surrender and water from Tim’s music. The story of Moses parting the Red Sea kept coming to mind.

Based on the past three chair and microphone albums I knew everything had to be done by hand. And that made me feel all tingly inside. If you didn’t know already, I’m a huge fan of the DIY/Hand-crafted style. So I started with some soft sketches on post-it notes and sketch books. After receiving feedback I moved into Illustrator and started my refining process. The whole project went pretty seamless and I’m very proud of how it all turned out.

Links

Chair and Microphone, Vol. 1
Chair and Microphone, Vol. 2
Chair and Microphone, Vol. 3

A new hand-crafted logo for a new simple Bible app.

Check them out at holiwrit.com or in the iTunes App Store.

Side note: The icon that’s used in the App Store was done by another designer.

Stable Environment

I will be taking two weeks off after my last day at my current job to catch up on some freelance work as well as spend some time resting with my wife. But starting June 01 I will become the 4th member on the UX team at Fellowship Technologies. After much prayer and consideration I see this opportunity as the right move for me and my family right now. But that’s not to say I didn’t struggle with feeling like I was selling out to “the man” or anything. The notion of freelancing full-time still intrigues me and is something I want to pursue someday, but right now we need something stable while my wife finishes her degree.

The UX Team that has already been assembled at Fellowship is something I am looking forward to. For the past 2 1/2 years I have been a lone ranger figuring things out for myself. Not to say that it hasn’t had its perks, but one can only go so far on his own. So this transition into a team environment is something I’m really looking forward to. Plus, I will be working with people my own age that I will actually have something in common with. My fellow team members include: Matt Vasquez, Nathan Smith and David Brooks.

Walk by Faith not by Sight

I am continually blown away by the grace and favor that God has given me. By continuing to seek His will, I made a decision of faith last week without any secure plans ahead of me to quit my job. I knew that a position with Fellowship was in the cards, but they still hadn’t given me a firm decision. So my plan was to work freelance full-time. To which I received an immense amount of support and encouragement in. But in following my heart I found something better than I expected. Sorry, I don’t mean to keep repeating myself here, but I just hope to encourage you to stop being afraid, trust God, and let go of all that’s holding you back. I don’t mean quit today, not by any means, but start praying and see where God might lead you. I know I’ve waited for over a year now before making this move.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
- Philippians 4:6-7

Last but not least

I still plan to do side work, but more than likely I will be very picky about what projects I work on. (If you have already contacted me about freelance work or would like to you can email me at: hello[at]kylesteed[dot]com.) I think that’s one of the greatest advantages to working full-time, you can pick and choose very carefully about what other projects you want to work on. Also, I have no immediate plans of returning to school. This last semester really proved to me that school is a waste of time. Being in my current situation I can see how school is only slowing me down from what I really want to be doing, and what I’m already doing. It’s sad to me that we put so much pressure on kids to go to college and get a degree. I don’t want to go off on a huge tangent, I will write a post on this topic, but I know people who have their degrees and either (A) aren’t using them or (B) still don’t have a job.

I know this much. I am blessed to have a vision for my life, a wife that supports me and the skills that pay that bills. Or something like that.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
- James 1:17