Sometimes You Just Have To Write It All Out — 2020 Year In Rearview
Hindsight is 2020…alright, now that I’ve got that out of the way.
I’ve tended to stay away from the notion of “verbal diarrhea” because, well it just doesn’t sound fun. But I’ve noticed that some of the most transformative, soul-searching, enlightening, times have been from just spilling my thoughts onto a piece of paper, or in this case a digital piece of paper. I don’t want to stop myself from writing because of an ideology in my head that tells me its not put together enough. Because perfection takes practice.
So here goes nothing.
I’m a 24 year old graphic designer who is a lover of God, lover of people, lover of productivity, reading history, philosophy, theology, poetry, classics, and a lot of productivity hacking. I love music, I play the drums, guitar, some piano (want to learn it more) I can sing, not anything special but my lungs are there. I enjoy art. Of many forms. I appreciate art of many varieties, I’d say it’s the spice of life, that the artist can take the abstract and make meaning of it in this confusing world.
And what a confusing year its been.
It was already bad enough with WWIII on the horizon, but then came the wildfires, and practically hell on earth for Australia. Then came killer bees, multiple acts of violence in America, and along with that came civil unrest. A couple of babies on a podium yelling at each other like they wanted to win the argument for the sake of being right. Stock-markets plummeting then skyrocketing, planes crashing, mini atomic bombs exploding, people flying (using jet propulsion) and just about anything you can think of happened. In the midst of all this though, humanity has seemed to “retreat to the cave” so to speak to find clarity, find purpose, find meaning. Family ties have been restored, lost loves have come back together, communities growing stronger, faith restored. There has been a lot of good going on behind the scenes of all the front page of bad thats been going on. But this looks to be like another year of growth.
I was fortune enough to keep my job throughout the entire year as many had major job cuts and a lot just lost their jobs completely. I took another stab at youtube for a little bit, making some longer format tutorial videos for beautiful website development program called “Webflow”. The future (and present) of easy website development with tons of features and application support and integration within the ecosystem. I took some e-courses being that we gained all the time in the world from the pandemic, I did not want to stay idle, so I took to the interwebs to see what was available and what skills did I need or want to brush up on, or learn new altogether. It started off with Flux Academy’s “Webflow Masterclass” but soon tumbled into a refresher on colour theory with Greg Gunn’s “Colour For Creatives”, and then I was infected with the Flux Academy virus of learning, so I invested (and of course I use that word because of how much money I earned after applying the skills I learned) in both the “10k Website Process” and “The Six-Figure Freelance Designer” and although not completing the latter, they have already both paid dividends when using those skills in my freelance work. Anyone who has felt like they’ve wasted their time this past year, I would highly recommend purchasing an e-course to get you going in the right direction. After investing into a couple Domestika courses and a couple more Futur courses, 1 Udemy course, I basically became the desirable “T-shaped” freelancer any employee would want…just wishful thinking. I found the best moments were in a focused period of iteration. Sketching that logo 30 times in 30 different ways, using a colour palette and slightly shifting saturation and brightness 50 different ways, changing a line of code, or a block of text, one word and boom the copy was there.
Ideate then iterate.
At the start of 2020, I had sailed out from the port of 2019 with some goals,
Did I complete all of them? No.
Did I do some of them? No.
Did I try at all of them? Yes.
By the end of the year, I had read 10 books. All the veteran bibliophiles are laughing intensely right now, I can hear it.
But for the past 5 or so years before, I had been as inactive at reading (physical books) as Mount Kilimanjaro. Finally, the literary and infonerd side of me erupted. I remember when I was younger how much I loved to read. Particularly the bible, with all its stories, layered with riddles and parables, life lessons, and if you are a believer, you understand the power that those words have. But I also loved series like Narnia, and Hunger Games, worlds unimaginable to the human eye, but so imaginable to the human mind. For the most part, when I was a child, I thought like a child. I read like a child, but as I grow older, I understand the need to invest. The need to invest informatively, and grow in knowledge and wisdom. Therefore I have turned to theology, history, poems, and productivity books these days. Theology as the study of God pulls me closer to the depths and riches of knowing the One. History because it sets me straight on how, when and where we got to where we are now. History is so undervalued these days, but I am bent on upholding the sanctity of it. Its like a linear puzzle that guides the trajectory on mankind based on the past. Poems because it is yet another form of art, and art using words is something so visceral and tangible when read. Specifically drawn towards the words of George Herbert recently, a Welsh-born poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. He was known for being a leader in “devotional lyricism”, a term that a guy like Jon Guerra uses when writing his songs.
So I read 10 books, a healthy start but one that can be triumphed upon this year. I did not pay off my debt fully. But I did manage to cut it down a significant amount (this is what you say when you don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of numbers) and with that momentum I plan on completing this goal this year, before the middle of the year which will be a feat of sorts. One that has positive side-effects such as financial discipline and freedom.
My website. Oh portfolios, if any of you reading this are designers or creatives in general you may understand my struggle. Design v1…not cool…oh! What about dark mode? Design v2…theres no colour, where’s the draw? Design v3…ahh let’s start fresh. And so on. You get the point. Always a work in progress while doing actual freelance work.
Goal #4. Not ever possible without completing Goal #3 first, but the impetus behind that goal was more so a dream to aspire to. I believe goals should be at the threshold of challenging enough to get, but rewarding enough in the process. Maybe one day.
Goal #5. Technically I did, but my desires to run a teespring shop only grew so far. I didn’t run or train enough with it, and lost desire as my gears shifted towards another cool project idea. You can check it out so far here.
And finally goal #6…covid hit. So that’s a no go. Although I did drive through a lot of Ontario this year which was still pretty awesome.
I will be writing a whole other post on my goals for 2021, in the very near future (I’ve already started writing about it of course). Which brings me to my next point. Writing.
I had a blog a few years ago, and squarespace had it simple enough that I could come in any time I wanted to and just have a go. I’m still learning the blogging ropes with Webflow but once I have that up and running, you will be sure to find me over there writing and then uploading it here. In fact, that’s what I’ll do right now.
Check it out here.
In the mean time, you’re still reading this. (By the way, if you’ve made it this far. Thank you, I appreciate that you take precious time from your life to read these words of mine. Comment with “❤” if you’ve made it here so I know who’s a true one.)
Three main skills I would love to practice vigorously are focusing (entering into a state of flow), reading (digesting), and writing(expelling). I believe these practices will help me produce some of my best work up until this point in my life. I’ve been journalling ever since I can remember, and when I look back and read from earlier times in my life, I’m always thankful that I did that cause I can see where I’ve been and how far I’ve come and what I still need to work on. You can also see practically, how your craft has improved and what still can get better. Iterate.
I’m excited, hopeful, and yet again amazed at the path of this year set before us, and with 2020 in the rearview, use it as a pillar marking a year of change, growth, pain & loss, and hope of a brighter more beautiful future.
The best is yet to come. I believe it. I hope you do too.
Cheers to what’s to come.
Afterword
If you’ve made it this far. Thank you.
It’s just the life of an everyday graphic designer, sharing his thoughts. So I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read about someone else. Just goes to show how caring you are.
If you feel like this resonates with you or helps you in any way, let me know by hitting the “love” button, leaving a comment, and sharing with someone who might benefit from it!
If you want to follow me around like a creep (just kidding) you can catch me on Instagram, Twitter, Behance, LinkedIn, and Dribbble.
I am a freelance graphic design based out of Barrie, ON — check out my website: alexpresa.studio
