Mr. Ivan J. Melendez, I enjoyed your message.
Can you write something about your dreams,
it will also help to design your card. Trust me.
AS

Being of hispanic heritage my dream would be to promote social change. Minorities are often depicted in an unfavorable way, this is due to the fact that minorities have not taken a true interest in promoting a good self-image. Often the image displayed are from people who have no idea what it means to be a minority. This depiction become our an unwanted representation of who we are. example: I find it desturbing to see minorities in movies cast as "maintenance workers" or "waiters" things like that. I would also like to be able to help design better products for companies who export their goods to the USA. I belive better design promotes economic growth. This is my goal.

I would also like to be able to design good typefaces. I love fonts! I'm old school. I like to design my font by sketching them out. then make a tight drawing and finally scanning them into illustrator. I don't have fontographer or fontlab yet.

IM

Nice post! I wish you good luck Mr. Ivan J. Melendez.
That's me working as a waiter two years ago :-)
AS

You made me think of a work by Alexander Brodsky, "The Bed"
http://www.feldmangallery.com/media/brodsky/broexh_99/bed-01.jpg
Check also the typewriter:
http://www.feldmangallery.com/media/brodsky/broexh_99/typewriter-01.jpg
AS

I hope you don't feel my comment about minorities being depicted as waiters was offensive. I was just trying to make a point about minority stereotypes. Thanks for your post. interesting work.
Question: what do you do when you have creative block or are depressed?

IM

I have designed many business cards and logos for myself over the past 40 or so years. I have never had any of them printed. I look at them a few weeks later and say, "I can do better." What you have to realize is that you grow as a person and a designer every day so you will never design something good enough for the you who will see it a few months from now. There is a place where you have to say, "This will work for today." and just accept your human failings as they are. You cannot ever be perfect but you can be satisfied to know you tried your best in the amount of time you had. Remember, a business card, above all, is just a place to put your name and phone number, not your soul. Take the pressure off of yourself.
Take 4 hours only and design a card. Print it on a Laser printer, that way it does not seem so precious or so permanent. If in 6 months, you can't stand it, do another 4 hour maximim card and go about your life.

My family came here to the US from Greece. We are such a small minority that nobody even knows we exist. I have worked sweeping floors in a resturant, as a laborer in a steel mill, and as a laborer in a construction job. It was hard, dirty, tiring work but it was honest work and nothing to be ashamed of. I worked my way through college and now work in an office as a designer but I am the same person I was in the steel mill scraping slag with a pick and shovel.

Don't worry what biggotted fools may think of your herritage. You know better. Be proud of who you are inside right now, today. Don't measure your success as a human being by the size of your bank account--certainly not by the comments of fools.
The way you talk about your dreams to make the world a better place tells me you have the soul of a great man. The best thing you can do in this world is help others and love your family. You can do that as a designer as well as anything else.

Best of good luck to you,

ChrisL

Question: what do you do when you have creative block or are depressed?

When I'm particuIarly happy with something, I have a tendency to let criticism put me in such a black mood that I'm unable to continue. And blocks happen all the time!

The old standbys help: mow the lawn, wash the dishes, go for a drive or a walk, putter aimlessly with a personal, pet project. Ideas seem to come best when you're not trying, not trying to "work."

I know what you mean by not being satisfied. I tend to think that nothing is ever finished and that there's always room for improvement. Thank god for deadlines.

yes, good luck, don't settle but don't give up, either.

My last two designs for cards.
The first is a Trodat rubber stamp http://tinyurl.com/6dkgh
7 x 2.5 cm. The second is printed on Fuji photographic paper
and the size is 6.5 x 4.3 cm.
Nice to read your post Mr. Chris Lozos.
I always find inspirations talking with women,
and observing the nature and its repetitions.
AS

There is an established link between depression and crerativity. Depression is most dangerous when you lose touch with your feelings. Because you are aware of the issue and are talking about it you are already addressing it in the most productive way there is.

Don't be so hard on yourself! Of course your business cards aren't perfect -- nothing is perfect. Enjoy the process and do the best you can.

-Being of hispanic heritage my dream would be to promote social change

Ivan, you got something in common with many other hispanic and latin american people...an Amazing Culture!!!!!!!

Please be cool, and discover and learn to love hispanic revolutionary posters, cuban music, precolumbian amazing design heritage (thousands of years), latin food, mexican music, bossanova, vernacular signpaint, etc, etc.. hispanic Graphic designers have a rich heritage, pre and post columbian, in my point of view, this richness is almost undiscovered as visual language.

You will find an incredible amount of motivation if you put all your love and passion in your day by day work, please dont forget to show us your business cards here, in typophile, of course ; )

-Question: what do you do when you have creative block or are depressed?

In my personal experience, i discover a passion in typography during a depresion in my first time in college, related to a non motivated state.
Typography, typedesign and graphic design, for me, are a therapy. Typophile is a great place, thanks for been a such a wonderful community.

Un abrazo Hermano,

mh

Mr. Tom Christensen, grazie, writing that "nothing is perfect"
you made me think that the problem is not if there's or not
something perfect -- in typographic design as well as under
other human perspectives & relations.
This link is interesting http://seeing.nypl.org/
but would you dare to say that God is not perfect?
It is also interesting to note that the actual Greek root
of the word 'problem,' namely, 'probalein,' means 'to throw'
or 'to thrust forward.'
Problems are the very means by which God drives us forward.
Without problems, there would be no growth.
So, the problem is not if something is "not perfect:"
I'd advice to try hard to seek for where and when to act.
I'm saying that if you love a flower which is upon a star
then the night is gonna be sweet, looking at the sky.
AS

Thank you everyone! Alessandro, Chris, Tracy, Tom, and Miguel; your thoughtfull and deep words have both comforted and inspired me. Iam currently playing with some designs that I will post here soon so I can get feedback.

I hope other designers can make more comments about this topic.

I do have one question. What do you think about including latin punctuation on an otherwise english buiseness card. You see my name in spanish has an accent over the (a) while in english it doesn't. I think leaving the punctuation will ad a bit of destinction but then again I want to be typographically true to the design. Suggestions?

keep the accent, keep the chili.

mh

A friend just passed me this song by AntonovYuriy,
the title in Russian is "Esli Lubov Ne Sbudetsia,"
"If love does not come true."

"If the love not come true - please act according your desires,
But do not betray your sadness to anybody on the world.
A new meeting is the best remedy against loneliness.
But also do not forget, remember all that was."

ftp://freemp3:khg8Hgz5p3x2sBYsml@mp3zone.ru/mp3/Antonov_Yuriy_-_Esli_Lubov_Ne_Sbudetsia.mp3

AS

I myself have gone through a major depression due to my obssesive nature about design,typography and life. So much so, that all sense of rationale and logic was lost in my wee little brain. I was forced, by my own mind, to stop designing all together(and go fishing ). Once I did that, the design bug came back to bite me in the ••• a year later. I learned a great deal about myself when I was depressed. The main thing I realized is that I am sad some days and happy others. As I have gotten a little older I have learned to embrace the depression. I feel sad when I am sad. I feel happy when I am happy. Don't suppress your feelings. Breathing (and Design) ultimatey will make you feel alive. Alive doesn't have to be happy or sad it can be both....Enjoy both. This is just my personal expierience. Everyone is different, but judging from this thread, alot of us are the same. Let pain and joy guide you simultaniously. All the best

DG

Definitely keep the accent..
Accents.: Keepin' typography alive and breathin'�..

I am pretty sure that every single designer or related professional has had these problems and ( depressing ) thoughts every now and then and knows them well..

( I, for myself, have had good times and too many bad times in the recent past.. Sometimes I was even close to leaving, quitting and ending the whole design 'thing', alltogether.. I did not.. Never.. Now I think it was a good choice that I kept believing in what I did and still do.. Design and typography is what I love and I would not want to miss it.. )

And.: Never stop believing in your dreams..
I am still 'dreaming' about ( commercially ) re establishing my own design bureau, in the hopefully near future, and, especially, maybe being able to make a living out of it..

Wow David I've never thought of it that way. thanks for the words.

By the way do you work for a design firm or do you freelance?

Thank you..

Edit, the wrong person to answer the question.. Sorry, but, Thank you, anyway..

My apologies I meant the question for David Goldstein. He lives in New York like I do.
but thank you Mr. Hubner I think I will leave that accent. It's also comforting to see other designers strugle with the same problems.

IM

Ooh, hmm, sorry, then..
Thats the main problem with all these 'David's in here..

Currently a little of both. I work full time
(Not a great job) and do as much freelance as I can. Profit or non-profit. It doesn't matter to me just as long as I am doing what I love....Thinking and designing. If I don't have projects to do, I make them up. There are many people out there who will can benefit from good design. If they can't find you, GO FIND THEM. Practice effeciency. It's better to make any decision (good or bad) than no decision. Go out and find something that looks like s**t and redesign it. Why not! If you don't finish, so what! At least you are keeping your mind active and alive.


When it comes to your identity here is a trick.

Think of it as though you are designing an identity for someone you met who is exactly like you. Sounds strange but hopefully it might help you look at it from a different angle. It did for me.

The transition from doing something you love and doing something you love for money can seem extremely awkward and strange. Feel fortunate that you have passion. Embrace the process. GO GO GO

Hey Mr. Hubner, your work is great! how long have you've been doing this?

Ok, so its me again..
Thank you, very much.. I am doing 'this' since around '97 or so..

Mr. Goldstein where in NY are you located maybe someday when can get together and design stuff. you're just about my age. where did you study design

Astoria, Queens
SVA

Shoot me an e-mail. DJGD79@yahoo.com

I designed this poster in the midst of a mini-crisis of self-doubt. We all have it, and it drives us on to better things.

http://www.moreducks.com/index.php?page=selfdoubt

http://fkc.futaba-chan.net/images/375.gif

Cool Mr. Joe Pemberton.
http://carlarussello.supereva.it/giorno/geni_statua.jpg :-D
AS

AH AH!
Thanks.
At first I wanted to post the image,
but then Miss Tiffany gets mad because of the size :-D
Good boy,
AS

because of the size *snickering*

Makes me think of a "Before & After" puzzle for Jeopardy:
MAJOR WOOD TYPE

hhp

� Between the hands & the memory there is a tight link.
The script is the script of the memory,
because the memory is the fruit of whatever other thoughts,
no matter if moral or philosophic:
it is the remembrance of the antique, the wish of love,
the hark back of the past, the design of a moral world,
and at the same time it is everyday life.
Writing allows to multiply feelings, images,
fantasies, wishes, fuss and desires, discoveries,
acceptation of the different, of the other.
There is no memory without attention,
and the memory is the general guard of the habits.
And a poet is always a man who dreams. �

Giacomo Jeopardy, 1798-1837.

"Che gelida manina"
Giacomo Puccini

I tend to doubt about myself when facing a challenging project. I start to digress between design books and magazines, look at some top design studios portfolios and to repeat my ideas over and over again in sketches. I get obsessive about details and then wonder if anyone will ever nottice them.

I know that if I were more self confident I could have much better ideas and feel satisfied by my work. But I could go forever with a design project and never feel satisfied with it so then I complete the work when I realize the deadline is getting close. Ego is so compromised in design.

I liked both Oglivy�s and Luke�s phrases.

Mr. Alessandro Segalini:

> would you dare to say that God is not perfect?

Perfect in the sense that the distinction between perfection and imperfection is ultimately meaningless, which is not the sense I was employing. Of course before there were yin and yang there was the undifferentiated tao, and ji pervades all.

On the subject of whether God is perfect, consider this passage from the NY Times, which suggests that we may in fact be inhabiting a universe of one of the lesser gods (sorry to sidetrack the conversation, but this is too remarkable a quote to pass up). The context is a campaign appearance by Bush in Florida:

In Niceville, Mr. Bush's appearance took on the air of a revival meeting as the audience chanted affirmation to his description of the rationale for his antiterror efforts and roared at any religious reference. Gary Walby, a resident of nearby Destin, told the president during a question-and-answer session that though he always voted Republican, "this is the very first time I felt God was in the White House."

(But don't get depressed. Really.)

Depression was always a great inspiration for me. I might add many others, Mozart for example. Happy people are a friggin bore. Don't allow depression to get in your way.

Go kick butt.

Uh, uh, depression is such an ambigue word. Step out of "psychoanalitic" language and in general you'll see it's a signal of needed internal growth.

I don't want to sound superficial: almost all the few typefaces I have on sale (except the initial Ottomat, in part, and the latter Ogilve) were designed in a constant state of disgust and continuous doubt. As I was working of them (and in many moments I gave up) they seemed just worthless and ugly.
Only after regaining balance I became able to look at them objectively, and see what was good in them.

My only advice (which is probably the best I always received from many people) is to finish each thing you start, no matter how ugly or senseless it may seem.
It's not easy (I'm rarely able to do so myself) but it's the only way to reacquire a critical perspective.

>>I get obsessive about details and then wonder if anyone will ever nottice them.

Yep.

>>almost all the few typefaces I have on sale (except the initial Ottomat, in part, and the latter Ogilve) were designed in a constant state of disgust and continuous doubt.

Agreed.

I am in an interesting place. People come in wanting "business cards printed". Totally unaware of design. I could just slap something up, shudder and print it. But it is much more exciting trying to explain in 5 mins or less what I can do that is much better. It might cost a little more, but the business card will be better for it. I feel like this is the front line, as it were. Sometimes I get waverings of depression thinking "Garrgh, no-one cares!" but choose to ignore it and get stuck in. I like the challenge of severe time restraints now, quoting and charging accurately are very interesting. I was also afraid that my type desiging time will get eaten into, but have decided to do some of my proofs on small signage jobs! Pretty cheeky, but I reckon it will be effective.

> I was also afraid that my type desiging time will get eaten into, <

We all have to eat (food as well as time). You will find ways to do the things that are important to you. Those will be the precious moments that brighten your day.

ChrisL

Hey everyone, thank you so much for you insight. It has been helping me quite a bit. Now if you can give your insoght on a personal desigh project, it would be greatly appreciated. I am currently designing a buiseness card for myself. It includes simple yet elegant type letterpressed on 100 percent cotton card stock. Now the design element I want to incorporate is the use of custom made rubber stamps of some of my "type" specimens and artwork. Since I will make several rubber stamps I'll have a few unique cards I can distribute to clients. I feel this will give the design a feeling of individuality and imagination. And if I ever get tired of a specific image I can just have new rubbrestamps made. What do you think?

Ivan -- some words of advice from an abuelo who has been involved in every way to get ink and color on paper for 55 years. My late colleague and fellow member of the National Cartoonists Society, Charles Schulz, suffered from severe depression despite the fact that he made the Forbes list of the richest people in the world. Clinical depression is a medical condition that should be treated. Occasional depression is something else. Perhaps we take ourselves too seriously at times and that we should find ways to lighten up. I'm sure Mr. Lozos, who was in Vietnam would agree, that there are so many more opportunities to enjoy life when one isn't being shot at. Even then, things could always be worse, no matter the present situation. Descartes, a brilliant mind of the enlightened 17th century, said: I think, therefore I am. It may sound trite to you but it works. I hope this helps. Good luck.
PG
http://giam.typepad.com/the_branding_of_polaroid_/

I think you should just make the cards and then see if you like them yourself. Embrace the process dude.

> there are so many more opportunities to enjoy life when one isn't being shot at.

Actually, surviving being shot at was one of my most memorable joys of childhood.

hhp

Paul,
Yes, it is amazing the difference it makes when daily survival is not an issue.

Hrant,
If getting shot at was a high point of your childhood, what was a lowpoint? :-)

> what was a lowpoint?

Losing electricity halfway into writing a program on my C64? I guess not. Worse still was when the fighting was so bad around our building that we'd have to go down to the bomb shelter. Usually I could convince my parents that we were essentially safe in this central room in our 6th floor apartment*, but I remember the time my mother went to the kitchen to get some hot water for tea, and the light from the candle she was holding attracted an RPG straight into the laundry room next to the kitchen. We all ran to her, she was OK, but then a second one hit the division between our floor and the lower floor - basically half a meter higher and we would of all been toast. We were all deaf for a few minutes. Then my father glared at me and said "We're going down to the shelter now"... But that was just a bit frightening, not a "lowpoint". The major lowpoint was when a close uncle got assasinated. His son recently wrote a great book, though - I highly recommend it:
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0743222830.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

* Some of my best work painting D&D miniatures was done by candle-light in that room, with Kalashnikovs and mortars raging in the neighborhood, with the beautiful, primordial prayers from the mosques blasting to encourage the fighters.

My theory is that you miss anything that happened during your childhood. And if your childhood was messed up, that simply results in you having a messed up sense of what's healthy.

hhp

amazing story, Hrant.

And regarding the topic of this post, I heard this saying the other day and it applies so nice in here: " lo mejor es enemigo de lo bueno" ( The Best is the Good�s enemy). let�s do it, let�s have fun with it and if it doesn�t come up perfect, let�s try again next time.