Building a Better Book
Tuesday, June 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Whether you have a full-time job, are a freelancer, or are a student who just graduated you have a portfolio. Let’s be honest, some of those books are in better shape and have been updated more recently than others. There are always ways to improve your portfolio (physical and online) as well as your resume and personal brand and it’s far better to go through the process before you need it for a proposal or an interview. At Fco. we have gathered some resources to help the discussion and we hope you’ll join us for an evening of Building a Better Book. We’ll look through the book Flaunt from the staff at Under Consideration, review some online portfolio solutions, and discuss the key points of successful designer resumes.

The event will be hosted at Irving Bible Church and if you’re able to come please e-mail us at contact@flipbookco.com to RSVP (so we’ll have plenty of snacks). Guests are welcome – feel free to spread the word.

So first off: Nummisha, please try again!

And secondly: As a Creative (or just about anything else) you can’t do it all and be good at anything. While you may have some great talent in several areas, you will fail to excel at any of them if you do not focus on one (or two) areas. Preferably one, but I’m still hoping I can make two work out.

Begin by sorting out what you do well. Land on a short (1-item!) list and then work at that. And let the other stuff fade away. In non-profits, personnel are often called to carry out many different jobs. That’s ok. But don’t forget, you may have to “get the job done” at a few so you can “blow everyone’s minds” at the one you are focused on.

There is simply not enough room in my head to remember all of the standard envelope sizes out there. So that means I go to Google and search “standard envelope sizes” whenever I need. But wouldn’t it be nice if you had a place to go to grab info you need to help you with stuff like standard web-safe dimensions, proofreading marks, and postcard sizes?

Designers Toolbox (www.designerstoolbox.com) is a handy resource that does just that. The site is well laid out and clean. Granted, there’s the usual advertiser falderal and the blog hasn’t been updated in a while (nor has ours till now!) but the information is priceless.

Ready to brush up on your logo skills?

Fco. will be hosting LOGO CAMP starting Tuesday, October 20 and you can also follow the project and participate online. Based on our experience and training from design programs at the University of North Texas and Texas Tech University, we’ll walk through the process of creating variations and review the beginning steps of creating lasting identites.

You’ll need your felt tip pens and paper for our first stage, because we will focus on the basics of designing marks. Experienced designers benefit from revisiting the basics and those new to design will enjoy learning the process. Afterwards, we will all upload our work to share and critique. The process will end with participants working together to create a new mark for an IBC Partner Ministry working to promote tutoring in D/FW schools.

Visit the LOGO CAMP page to participate online.

Whether you think global warming is a bunch of hooey or you’re an Al Gore fanboy, no one can deny that the changes in habits that impact global climate change are good ones. And designers, especially those who are Christians, are responsible for making better choices and making an impact. Whether we use our communicative skills as creatives to spread the word and influence the culture to make a difference or we focus on making choices in our daily jobs to make an impact, we have a great deal of power. It just comes down to the question: do you even think about it?

Last I checked, we all (as humankind) were tasked by God to take care of the Earth and not to waste it. Stewards of the Earth and all of the creatures. So as a Creative, there are ways to make a difference way more than swearing off driving, forever (which, in the DFW Metroplex would be lunacy).

• Choose papers that are FSC certified. You’ll use fewer trees, and you can put the nifty FSC Certified log on your client’s job. They’ll love how responsible they look and you’ll keep more oxygen in the air.
• Design smart packaging. Remember how gaudy software packaging used to be? The disc was five or three and a half inches long, tops. But the box was always huge. Choose to design size-appropriate packaging so it’s easier to ship, pack, and uses fewer resources.
• Give your time. You have a unique skill: you’re a communicator. Use that talent to help organizations who need to share their environmental message in an effective way.

And that’s the tip of the melting iceberg. Creatives are the voice of our modern culture. We tell people what to believe and what to buy. And the message of taking care of our planet is not too shabby.

This post is part of Blog Action Day. To read what others are blogging about on climate change in celebration of Blog Action Day 2009, check out their site at www.blogactionday.org.

Jonathan Abowd shared his web portfolio set up using Cargo, a CMS that is painfully easy for creatives to use to set up portfolios online. As you’ll see in Jonathan’s portfolio, it can produce some elegant results and is a nice alternative to the entry-level Flickr portfolio.

We’re holding an Fco. Open House on Thursday, October 8 at 5:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m. Everyone’s welcome and we hope you’ll take the chance to drop by and gnosh.

“So, what’s wrong with making a profit? I mean, people gotta put food on the table and get a check somehow. If you’re for-profit, it places you in a spot to share some of that with those who need or to provide jobs for those who don’t have them.”

And I was dumbfounded. Sure, what designer doesn’t want to start his or her own shop someday? But making profit means that you’re in it completely for yourself and there’s no helping anyone unless it’s on your own time and own dime. Not so. It seems that, if done with the right heart and depending on how one directs the spending of that extra coin, one can make a buck, and help others too.

And for the rest of you reading: this is for Christina, not you! But since I have you, here’s what we have to say to folks who are interested in being a Creative with Flipbook Co. – joining our effort to change the world.

If Christina were to have been able to receive my response, this is what it would have said. But this goes for you who are interested, as well:

Thanks for your e-mail and your interest! What are we? That’s a good question (are we a ministry? A business? A business ministry?)… we’ve started to hash that out and the site says it well – though it’s definitely a new idea in doing what we do.

Simply?

We want anyone with design, writing, photography, web talent of any level to join us in helping others through design. We’re a ministry of Creatives who aren’t the ministry types and we do all of the design and writing for IBC but also for partner ministries and eventually more non-profits who do good for others and make a difference (and I secretly want to be part of designing something pro-bono for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra or the Fort Worth Symphony someday).

In the process, we’re here to teach (grow Creatives’ skills) and help them grow and stretch in new directions. Too often designers have to do the same thing, the same style, the same feel over and over. Our hope is Fco. is a place to do something different.

So – if you want to get better at something – we’ll do our best to help. We have several Creatives working on building their portfolios – we want to help any way we can with that. And we also like learning from others so we get better and try new things. (My ruts have grown kinda deep at times).

Oh – and we want to go out and do fun stuff too. (the work is just a ruse, really).

So – tell me about you – what are your talents? What do you like to do and where do you want to get better? I’d love to meet you if you’d like to gab and if you have some work you’d like to show.

Dennis

And that’s the long and short of it (so far). Again, Christina, please e-mail me back – sorry I dropped the php ball.