Design Like Crazy

During my current project, I ran into a weird issue with InDesign. All my round text got this black angles behind the text itself. I knew it was an issue in InDesign and not the file itself as when I exported the file the issue was gone. Messing around with every text, font and typography setting I could find, nothing worked. I went to Ezra, we couldn’t work it out, I was at a loss. Matt sat next to me and gave me a very honest reaction “I may not understand design but what’s up”, I showed him the issue and like magic he typed something into Google and found my issue. It was something to do with the GPU settings, do I understand this? No, not at all, but it worked and I won’t complain. I’ve also learnt that Matt has a good way with processing issues as he knew exactly what to Google when Ezra and I did not.

The weird black text before & after fix:

GPU setting, when the black was there this setting was on, turn it off and it should fix the issue.

My blog last week mentioned my current struggle with anxiety and the harm I’ve caused to my hands due to it. I haven’t been cured but I have been coping better. A few ways I’ve been coping are talking to my friends and loved ones about any issues, worries or fears I’m having lately. I try to get out of the house more and treat myself to things, such as I’m planning on going to the movies on Friday! The best thing that I have done to help myself is wearing bracelets to fidget with. My issue is nail biting so the way to get around this is by having a bracelet, that is a zipper, to mess around with and a LEGO bracelet where I can pick on and off the little tiles to mimic my obsession with pulling my nails.

Outside Of The Box has a new episode out which I am featured in! At the end you’ll hear a conversation between myself and Beck as we discuss our different experiences of being wheelchair users in a public school and a school made for kids with disabilities. You can listen to that podcast episode here; Outside Of The Box: Access Denied.

I've got a fun find in the design world, I know I’m late to this rebrand talk but it’s an interesting one. Bolt, an app to connect retailers and shoppers, had a ‘shockingly simple’ redesign done by Koto. You can find the whole article here; Blot: Shockingly Simple. The redesign itself is amazing, I won’t lie, I was surprised that no one else had done a design like this before! Until, I found out it had been done before...

...many times actually.

So it’s not the most unique design choice and that was what got it talked about back in January. I find this brand is going to really struggle with this change, with an overly used redesign and the same name as Bolt the taxi service which is much more well known, they may run into many problems. But I don’t deny the fact that this redesign is so much better than their original design and the added details of their unique font is definitely a positive for this brand.

Lastly, my dad said he’s gonna start reading my blogs so, HI DAD!

Listening to Myself

On Tuesday, I did more InDesign work for the digital inclusivity project I talked about in my last blog. I'm doing a booklet for them which will include all of the digital opportunities in Manchester that are aimed at disabled people. It's been a successful project so far. I've enjoyed learning more about booklet layouts (although I’m still struggling with sizing and the placement of everything to make the whole page read well). Ezra has been his helpful self as always. Something nice I've learnt is that the more Ezra helps me with my first page, the less I need him on the next page; I'm gaining great knowledge and confidence in my work thanks to this mentoring.

Here's an example of one of the page I worked on:

This week has been a bit hard for me, I've had really bad anxiety but can't pinpoint the exact cause at the moment. I know it's bad as I've injured my fingers due to biting them to the point of bleeding. Because of this I haven't been able to draw. It's a bad cycle because I draw to ease my anxiety and now that's the reason why I can't draw at the moment. It's made me so much worse. It's not all bad though as I've been open about this to my boyfriend and he's been really supportive with helping ease my anxiety and stopping my nail biting. I've also purchased fidget items to keep my hands occupied when I'm not doing anything so I don't bite my nails.

Today was really nice and different, I got to meet Kat in person from my KC project to do a photoshoot for their website, I spent most of my day with them which was a lot of fun! I sadly didn't get a chance to work on my website like I hoped to but I have the weekend to work on that.

Overall this week has been nice, apart from the finger injury I've taken time to heal and grow as I try to do every day, I've not been shy to ask for help when I need it and I will continue to be like that! Getting help from my peers and community enables me to keep going. I'm grateful to be at a point in my life where I'm comfortable to ask for what I need and I have a safe community to do so.

Busy Bee

This week has been very fun for me. I've started a new project using InDesign to make a digital brochure and I've been loving every second of that project. I get to work on my InDesign skills and am gaining experience doing graphic design. The colours and designs are so hard to use, but I'm making it work, plus I love a good challenge! Ezra has been super helpful and amazing with the brochure.

Speaking of Ezra, he gave me the best reaction I've ever gotten from a gift I gave him, it was a t-shirt that said 'Design is my Passion' in the worst fonts, graphics and effects. Honestly, as soon as I saw it, I immediately thought of Ezra and had to buy it! It was well worth it for his reaction, plus I thought he should have a gift for helping me so much. I know it's his job but I appreciate him and wanted to show that.

I was also interviewed by WhatMedia for a video they are making about digital inclusivity. DISC offers a lot of digital inclusivity so WhatMedia wanted an Intern to film. I was picked and that went really well! It didn't take too long and I'm getting so much better at it too. Talking to camera makes me so nervous but the people from WhatMedia were so kind and fun to chat with!

Finally, I've begun a new (but similar) 31 days challenge with my friends. I made a prompt list called Monster May where everyday of May we make a Monsters Inc themed drawing! Today is day 4 and so far I've loved doing it. It's really been a nice experience and I don't rush myself or even force myself to do it, if I want to do it that day then I will. Drawing everyday has been great because I'm working on my digital Illustration skills, time management and producing fun content for my social media!