Yes, believe it or not you will need to be good at communicating verbally as well as visually if you hope to make it as a designer. If you’ve ever wondered how designers with less ability than you have managed to surpass you professionally, this may very well be the deciding factor. Many designers take for granted strong communication skills in writing, as well as confident and articulate public speaking skills. This means when asked to discuss their work in interviews they are hesitant or stiff, something that interviewers don’t respond well too. You have to be willing and able to discuss your work at length, while being engaging and confident.

Additionally, you will need strong written communication skills as well. You will be dealing with clients, co-workers, and collaborators mostly through email and IM, in which case your ability to make yourself clear and perfectly understood in type is essential. This includes not only using proper grammar and punctuation, but the ability to communicate “tone”, and “context” when expressing yourself. This is not something that just anyone can do. I would recommend that anyone going into Graphic or Web Design take an Expository Writing class, and 1-2 Public Speaking classes to improve their overall ability to communicate. This is something that may seem tedious, but in the long run it will give a very distinct advantage in the job market, and help you to create better resumes, and perform confidently in interviews.

Too often designers are other creatives jump right into the computer and fire up Photoshop or InDesign and complete forget pen, paper, and little brainstorming. Laying out your ideas on paper first will save you time because you can work out problems and ideas much more quickly and change them without a lot of effort. Not to mention that you will also have a guide or road map rather having to complete trust your memory.

If a client gives you a creative brief go over it with a fine tooth comb and make sure you didn’t miss anything. Its better to kill a small amount of time going over this document and making sure you understand exactly what the client wants, than making simple mistakes and oversights, and having to reproduce your work.

In the event that your boss or supervisor ask you why you haven’t started a project yet, just calmly let them know that you are going over the brief to make sure you didn’t miss anything. It’s entirely too easy to have gotten the wrong dimensions for a document, or misread the context of an assignment.

In the event a client hasn’t given you a brief, you should have a standard one that you use; either submit it to the client to fill out, or give them a call, ask the necessary questions and fill out the brief yourself. This may seem like adding another step and more time to your design process, but the time it will save you can’t be overlooked.

I’m not the only one that was impressed, Kyle’s work actually ended up being featured on Pixar’s official blog!

U.K.-based visual artist Kyle Lambert usually creates sensational artwork using professional graphics tablets. But for his latest piece, he drew the Toy Story gang in the “New Toys!” scene from Toy Story 3 using Apple’s iPad. At first glance, I almost couldn’t believe this was done by hand, never mind on a touchscreen. -From The Pixar Blog

If you haven’t seen the video for how he accomplished this you are really missing out. It’s really great to see Kyle’s process and the details of his work like this, and I’m glad he takes the time to show it to us. You can read a full account from Kyle himself about this artwork on his website.

Direct Link: http://www.kylelambert.co.uk/ipad/toystory3/video.html

Kyle Lambert Toy Story 3 iPad Painting on Youtube

There are several skills that all graphic designers should have under their belt. However some of these exist outside learning the Adobe Programs, color theory and the principles of typography. Sometimes designers and the people who work with them struggle with either technical or administrative skills. Over the next few days I will cover some of these skills and provide you with some resources to help you.

What is FTP and why we use it.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is completely irrelevant but now if anyone ask you can say you know what it means, the bottom line is that its the most common method other than email for delivering files and projects to clients, and collaborators. Now many of you will ask, why can’t I just email it? Most email applications have a file size limit of 10-20MB. Those of you who have done high resolution print work know that sometimes this is not nearly a big enough limit when it comes to layered PSD files. In other cases the client will need the files to be stored in an accessible location to be downloaded and used by many people internally.

Not knowing how to use an FTP site, and not being familiar with several different FTP programs will definitely hinder you and your clients, and its a skill that most of your employers will expect you to have. One Alternative people have been known to utilize is YouSendIt.com but even this service has its limitations and drawbacks.

Free FTP Programs (EASY)

I’ve listed below some of the free FTP programs that I’ve used on a regular basis and found the easiest to handle. Most novices can use the basic settings to get through this and just enter in a domain, username and password, more advanced users will have no trouble getting to other things they need either, like upload and download rates/limits connection timeout settings and file permissions.

For those of graphic designers who have learned there is no drawback to using Windows PCs, I suggest that you check out WinSCP, its a very easy to use freeware FTP program that will get the job done.
You can also try out Filezilla, its not terrible, but the way it handles directories can be annoying sometime, but it is fairly reliable and is available for PC, Mac OSX and Linux.
If you’re using the Firefox browser you can always utilize the nifty plug-in FireFTP. This is actually really convenient.

Also remember that if you’re designing in Adobe Dreamweaver that it has FTP as a feature of Site Management, but this is something that really applies only to web designers.

If you have anymore questions about FTP, or you know of some great easy to use FTP programs that I didn’t mention here, please feel free to drop me a comment!

Melody of SexiDesign.com

Why hello to all you sexy readers out there, my name is Melody Nieves (nee evv ess) and I’m originally from Long Island, NY. I am the flirty and eccentric author to two design and marketing sites, MelodyNieves.com–my personal blog, and SexiDesign, which covers the influence of sex in marketing and design. I consider myself an artist first and foremost, but it was when I joined a financial services company at 18 that I developed my second love for marketing.  I majored in architecture for a year in Philadelphia but moved onto opportunities with that company. From there I would experience really unpredictable and diverse experiences as a young business person.
What made you decide to be a designer and how did you get into this field?

[Forgive me for my long story LOL] Well I started learning about design back when I was 12 years old. There were early blog-like sites back then that teens designed with Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro that I had a fascination for. Since I was always into art I started to learn about web design, but lost computer access about 2 years after. It wouldn’t be until I got to college in 06 that I started messing with PS again. I’ve really just gotten back into design because of my diverse experiences from the last couple of years and decided in the past year that I would take a break and try to pursue life as a digital artist and design blogger.

Tell us about the blog “A Walk In My Shoes” and how that got started?

AWalkInMyShoes.com was the journey of my crazy business life as well as my advice with a real personal touch. Here’s how it really started: When I left college I landed an opportunity to work for a startup financial services company via a video resume I sent to its CEO. I would go on to work as a marketing trainee/coordinator/designer/everything you could possibly think of for that company. Because of my initial interest in the company’s investment products as well as my hard work, I moved on to create my own subsidiary company in partnership with my former boss. Incentivest, Inc. launched in early June 08′ when I was only 19 years old, in pursuit of “Financial Therapy.” AWIMS was originally my blog for Incentivest, in recognition of my “confessions as a young entrepreneur.” However, 6 months after it’s launch, I decided to dissolve Incentivest. I maintained AWIMS as a look into my journey, but now as a digital artist and marketing enthusiast. Most recently I’ve sold the domain for AWIMS, and transferred the site to my new domain of MelodyNieves.com.

You’ve mentioned that you are an entrepreneur, can you tell us about some the success you’ve had, and how you went about it?

I owned my first company at 18 (Incentivest, Inc.) as mentioned previously. Prior to that, my work led to little personal successes like having articles written about the company I worked for as well as my own. When I got into digital art, soon after I won a trip to the Playboy Mansion via a tshirt design contest. I also have a print & tshirt line through zazzle.com. Also, the recent sale of my AWIMS domain is by far the biggest business deal I’ve encountered so far online. But I must say that my biggest success is that I continue to learn from all the good times, battles, and mistakes I’ve made.

Tell us what’s so sexy about SexiDesign.com?

SexiDesign is so (damn) sexy because it is unlike any other design and marketing site around. Here, I have a no holds barred approach to the wide array of topics that I write about. The purpose of the site is to educate its readers on how prevalent sex is in design, and specifically which marketing techniques are utilized to learn from. The site has also become an outlet for beautiful sexy artwork and I can’t wait to really get into the discussion I have in store for it.

It’s funny, SD is actually spawn from originally wanting to write about porn site designs, but thinking how it would be so randomly racy for the AWIMS blog. =P

What would you say has been the greatest difficulty you’ve encountered as a designer?

Dealing with clients can irk me like the next designer. The lack of appreciation for a designer’s work is probably what will make me crossover more into a design blogger and less of a designer.

Can you tell us about any special skills you’ve had to develop outside of design?

Well I love to write so blogging has helped that tons. I have really strong interests in body language, NLP, and anything related. I do believe though that marketing is my calling and I find myself becoming more intuitive to campaigns each day.

What is your favorite piece of artwork that you’ve produced?

My favorite piece is Clouded Vision–the revised digital version. I originally painted it when I was 15, but when I got back into PS I fell in love with digital painting. The revised version was a personal breakthrough of finally beginning to understand all my years of training and trial and error as an artist. I think many artists overly critique their own works like myself, so it was nice to step back and actually admire my own work.

Who are some of your favorite Designers and Artist, and some of your favorite work from them?

I don’t think I have a favorite designer. However, my favorite artist is Frida Kahlo. I grew up learning about her life and artwork, and finally saw her exhibit in Philly. My favorite piece of hers is “Unos Cuantos Piquetitos” (A Few Small Nips). You might think I’m crazy when you see it (lol) but I view it as a look into her disturbed character and a reflection of the hardships she endured throughout her life. Plus she gave meaning and purpose to every component of her art, so I find that fascinating.

How do you feel about the current state of the Design Industry?

I think there is a difference between the design industry as a whole and the online design industry. The online design industry is currently unable to branch off from design unrelated to graphics design, web design, etc. Aside from the list posts many have grown to despise, there aren’t really sites out there to explore the other design industries in depth such as architecture, interior design, product design etc. Eventually those voids will be filled, but it’s a perspective that is lacking, and that’s probably do to the fact that no one can just become a freelance architect overnight via online tutorials. As a result, I think the online design industry is a little stagnant at times.

Have you been effective by the recession at all?

Absolutely. I lost my original business mostly due to my concerns with the recession. I’ve also had to downsize and really take a look into my goals for the future. It’s not so much a big deal to live without some luxuries or gadgets, I just want to make sure that I’m confident in my future decisions.

What advice would you give to designers starting out this year?

If design is what you want to do for your career, don’t start off designing. Seriously. Make an effort to develop your craft and technique first. Design is easy for people to turn to because they think it’s easy–just pick up PS and mess with it a bit. No. It would seriously help yourself, your future clients, as well as the design industry to go out and learn something about it first.

What would you say are the most important skills for a designer to have?

My biggest pet peeve is when people have a poor foundation in the principles of design. You’ll probably see me pointing it out on many tutorial sites, but I know from experience how  enlightening it is to just begin to understand and properly utilize a design principle. So it’s important to get out, off your computer, and take a class. Again, in reference to advice for designers, if it’s something you really want to do you’re going to have to invest some real time and money into understanding design.

How has twitter changed your life?

Twitter has definitely made my site(s) more accessible to different readers. It’s also given me a wonderful avenue to get great feedback from people. Sometimes I wonder if people are nervous to comment on SexiDesign, but I get awesome feedback that helps me understand my potential impact on the blog world. On a side note, I met my boyfriend through twitter as well as some new friends. So it has made even an impact on my personal life.

If you had to do something else with your life, what would it be and why?

Eventually I will be doing something different. Design and art in general will always be a part of my life, but I choose not to remain a designer for long. I grew up introverted so I always wanted a career that would force me to persevere beyond that, and being in the cut throat financial industry helped a lot.  In many ways, I feel like if I stay a designer then I will stay indoors, very introverted. So I want a career in marketing, PR, or some form of motivational speaking.

What are some of your plans for the future?

I definitely plan on embodying the lessons of SexiDesign. I know its potential and I think it’s important for fellow designers to hear a new, even sexy, perspective towards design. I’m sure I’ll own marketing related businesses in the future but as unpredictable as my life has been–I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m 21 now, so I want to get back to living life and enjoying the little things that really matter.

I’m really excited to have come across some influential people and opportunities, so I can only say for now to follow my journey. And perhaps with my journey I can reward my readers with some guidance and understanding. Thanks bunches for the interview Roberto!

So in this review I’m not just going tell you about the new features and do a cut and paste job from Adobe’s website, I’m going to walk you through why these features are useful and how they help with general task that would be more frustrating otherwise, I’m also going to cover some of the old features and a few ways you can do things you may have overlooked in the past when using InDesign.

Simple Selection (Finally Made Simple).

I can’t begin to explain to those of you who have never had to put together a layout with multiple image with InDesign how frustrating it used to be when you wanted to resize your images once you’ve put them into frames, and to be sure you selected the image itself an not the frame. This used to be nowhere near intuitive as it needed to be. Thankfully that is no longer the case! Now they give you circle icon that makes a clear distinction between when you are editing the object rather than the frame it resides in, and they also give you distinctively different color guides.

Multiple Pages and the Page Tool
(What God Always Intended!)

One of things that used to annoy me was that if I was working on a campaign that I would have to have multiple files to deal with different layouts and sizes that all essentially were going to use the same elements and colors and type faces. What really got me was that it made it difficult to really appreciate the impact of all the pieces and how they work and look together. I’d find myself having print things out or wait of my sample proofs before I could do this, which was such a waste of time. Now if I want to produce a poster, flyer, business card, letterhead, and envelope I can have all the different page sizes I need in one document and send them out to a client as a single PDF presentation. All thanks to the nifty little page tool. Now I not only can have multiple pages in my documents but can control the individual sizes, margins etc.  It makes it so much easier to verify that all the colors are consistent, that everything has the right fonts, settings, and it just saves time having to only manage one file and one set of assets. This is what a page layout program was always meant to be. Most of us who use InDesign are working with high priority print projects, anything from story boards, movie posters, marketing collateral, or outdoor media, consistency is a big deal,  time is always in short supply, and organization is a must. This one seemingly simple feature makes all the difference.

It also means we can make creative task that used to require a trick and little bit a faith, much more intuitively. Ever dream of designing a pullout poster for a magazine, but gave up because of the shear frustration involved in figuring that sort of thing out? Now its incredibly simple. Every wanted to do an inside flap or spine for a mock-up book cover or magazine cover? Again, now its so much simpler than it was to get it to be the right dimensions. You finally can design the way you always meant.

Closing the Gap

The Gap tool is something that is going to be underestimated by people left and right. If you’ve ever wanted to do something like adjust a grid of images or work with a complicated image grid in a newspaper layout, this tool is your savior. You can now do this quickly and intuitively and see the live results.

Spanning and Splitting Columns (Not Splitting Hairs!)

In earlier older versions of InDesign, if you wanted a heading to span multiple columns you had agonize over the need to create a separate text frame for the heading. This of course would cause trouble with consistent leading with your headings throughout the document. Now you can span a heading across multiple columns to create a straddle head. You can also split a paragraph into multiple columns—especially useful for a list within an article. Any of you who have to do magazine or newspaper layouts can now breath a little easier and can get really creative and flexible while being precise. I find this new feature to be really refreshing because it specifically caters to people working withing the newspaper and magazine medium, and shows that Adobe has really begun to think about HOW people actually use the software, the same goes for the Page Tool feature.

Layers Panel
(Onions Aren’t the Only Thing That Come in Layers!)

Adobe finally allowed this member of the trinity (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) to come to the party! The layers panel finally works in a similar fashion to the way it does in Photoshop and Illustrator. Not a HUGE deal mind you, but I like having the ability to approach design the same way with the same options and not feeling like I lost too much when working between different programs. I think that really is part of the reason why some designers get stuck on working in one program vs. another, that feeling of dealing with something unfamiliar or being stripped of too many of the tools or options they’ve come to rely on. I know that sometime I can’t stand the subtle changes in how I have to behave or approach things just because this one program has too many time saving features to ignore, while forcing me into a new interface and taking away things that I’ve become attached to. CS5 as a whole just feels more together, more cohesive that previous Creative Suite releases.

Conclusions

Now many of you may be wondering why I haven’t commented on the great interactive features and animation portion of InDesign CS5. Honestly I haven’t had the chance to use them for anything practical yet, which will be the case with most people using InDesign, I’m sure they will come up with reasons to use it or work it into a project. One of the more practical ways I could see it being used is in a Story Board or a mock up for a Live One Sheet or Digital Billboard. I honestly think a client would be blown away and shocked by an animated Story Board and you could even set the voice overs to have actual audio. but this may be someone over the top or “gimmicky”. If there is a feature I haven’t used that I would really like to I would have to say that it is the E-book capabilities that InDesign offers in CS5. Overall I think that the new version of InDesign is a game changer in the fact that it will make much of the work that layout and production artist do for pre-press a world easier and simpler and really allow them to push the envelope on top of saving time.

The feeling of creative block is one of the most frustrating things and artistic person can encounter. The key is to take little breaks that help you boost your creativity so you can move forward. In order to avoid burnout, you need to learn to avoid or work through your creative blocks.

HOW TO AVOID CREATIVE BURN OUT

Just walk away

Sometimes we can be too close to something, are start looking at it too hard. Getting some distance and perspective may be for the best. Take a break, go for a walk, work on something completely fun, listen to music or take in a movie. All work and no play won’t just make you dull, it will make you crash and burn-out. Taking the time to relax may allow you to come across inspiration from an unexpected source, so that when you get back to the grind the ideas will flow more freely.

Look for inspiration wherever you can

Sometimes looking for inspiration can be as simple as keeping an amazing desktop background, browsing deviantart and behance or even looking through some of your old work. You could also take inspiration by taking a stroll through you local bookstore and checking out the cover at and typography on magazines, books, or DVDs. Personally I prefer to find inspiration by listening to music and reading comic books.

Do something else

Take sometime to do something else. You may secretly be preoccupied with other things, take the time to do them and if not find something else to do to take your mind off the task at hand. Even if you love what you do, it could be a case of “too much of a good thing”. Sometimes I find that I’m getting tired of Photoshop, but rather than just not do any digital art or design I will do something like take a poem and do some creative typography in Indesign, or work on some new vectors in Illustrator for a change of pace.

Learn something new

There’s nothing more draining than a monotonous tasks. It’s important for your growth as a creative to find new challenges. Tackle a skill you’ve never developed, or a piece of software you don’t know like the back of your hand. Try putting a new spin on a piece of old work that could have been a little better.

Power through

Sometimes when nothing else works you simply have to give yourself a breather and just power through. This is easier said than done.

What many of them will not be able to tell you is how Social Media Marketing has helped them achieve their goals, what those goals are, and what figures they can use to support it. They will not be able to tell you how many visitors they converted from their twitter account to their website in the last 6 months, and how much of that traffic resulted in sales or advertising revenue.

What most don’t realize is that Social Media Marketing and Social Networking is about more than being an “Attention Whore”. Though many would have us believe that is what it has been reduced to. A very basic understanding of traditional marketing can’t be taken for granted. The random post to your twitter account or blog simply isn’t going to cut it! Its why many people believe that Social Media Marketing is a scam despite the fact it elected President Obama. When it is done correctly and approached in a way to track results, what Social Media Marketing can accomplish is mind boggling!

Social Media Marketing: Goal Setting

Before you can develop a strategy you need to clearly define some goals that you want to accomplish through Social Media Marketing, most of the common goals of SMM are as follows:

• Build Brand Awareness
• Establish Creditability and Authority
• Link Building Campaign
• Inform and Educate a Community or Audience
• Monitor Your Brand’s Reputation/Identity
• Improving Customer Service
• Learning More About Your Customers and Target Market

Social Media Marketing: Strategy

Once you’ve clearly defined your goals you can properly begin the task of developing an effective strategy for you Social Media Marketing Campaign. When doing this I strongly suggest that you consider your audience before deciding on what tactics and platforms you want to you use.

Example 1: Tactic- Viral Video Marketing. Platforms: Youtube, Vimeo, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter. Audience: Ages 16-30. Media: Music Video.

When you look at this it makes perfect sense. If you are handling the marketing for an up and coming musician, your audience is obviously the MTV generation. Launching a viral video campaign using the websites mentioned is putting your media where your audience is likely to be, and where it can be easily shared, discussed, tracked, and redistributed. It would make sense to include Linkedin, in your strategy because of the nature of your audience and media. Many people waste energy by trying to use ineffective platforms that will not reach the proper audience, try to put some thought into this.

Always consider the following and do your research when developing your strategy:

• Identify your audience and where they are online.
• Understand the needs and desires of your audience.
• Set timelines for achieving your goals.
• Determine ways to track your progress, such as Google Analytics.

Once you’ve done your homework you can get into actually implementing your Social Media Marketing Strategy!

Building relationships is the key.
Don’t just jump onto a social network and start marketing yourself, its the perfect way to damage your online reputation. Take the time get know people and contribute to the online community in a positive way. Establish a tone and a position from which to start discussions and identify individuals whom you can help and who will be helpful to you.

Schedule your task, and stay focused.
Just posting randomly to your blog, twitter account or online forum won’t cut it. You have to set a schedule and stick with it, and be consistent. Being sporadic or taking extended breaks will cause you following to diminish, where as being reliable will grow your following and your reputation. People will come to rely on the information, resources or entertainment you provide. In the case of a blog, try writing several article while keeping them as drafts so that if you don’t finish an article in time or are too busy you have something in reserve to post. You can also schedule tweetdeck to make timely post to your twitter and facebook accounts. In the case of Youtube you can set videos to private and move them to being public at another time.

Monitoring your progress.
Social Media Marketing is not a quick fix, and you can’t expect overnight results. Additionally you need to monitor your progress and determine what is working and what is not, evaluate and re-evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and spread out your attention accordingly. Using tools like Google Alerts, and Google Analytics is a good place to start.

Conclusions.
Through planning, research and a general understand of basic marketing, and learning how to properly use Social Media platforms like twitter, you can effectively leverage Social Media to help you achieve your goals. If you jump into this without thinking about it, you are simply setting yourself up for failure.

Tip #1 Getting your Viral Video Seen.

You need to be in a position to promote your viral video. Start with people you know and get them to really help you. It’s better if these people have hundreds of friends on myspace, facebook and twitter that they can share the video with. As for yourself, you need to take an honest look at your ability to promote your video. You need to have a strong presence and following in the social media community to have a shot at making your video go viral. You also will need to understand that you will need to post it EVERYWHERE in the first 24-48 hours. Being connected to some high traffic blogs is also helpful, if necessary be willing to pay them to allow you to post the video. Presence trumps content or concept here. I strongly suggest building some type of huge network and a support system to help you before you launch your videos.

Try to relax, even in a crisis.

There will be those days that your boss or you supervisor is flipping out, either a deadline will becoming up or something will have gone wrong. You have to understand that becoming stressed or agitated is a CHOICE. If a supervisor or co-worker decides to make big deal out of something, you can simply choose not to.

Get some perspective and remember that no matter what they say, its not the end of the world. Regardless of weather a deadline is met, a typo is fixed or a project is completed, or a client is lost, tomorrow will come and go just like the day before, nobody is going to die, lose a limb, or go blind.

Take a deep breath and just work through whatever is needed, and focus on solving the problem, not stressing out about it. If you’re asked why you’re not moving more urgently or why you “aren’t taking this seriously”, simply reply that “I’m focusing all my energy on the task, worrying about it won’t help anything.” It’s the most reasonable and mature answer you can give and demonstrates a problem solving mentality.

Understanding the reality (or zen principle) that there is actual very little that is really important will help you at work and in your life, focus on your health, and your family and your happiness, no job is with hurting any of those things, always remember that!

Keep a small stash of candy or healthy snacks.

This next tip may not make sense to some of you until you really think about it. Part of managing stress is creating situations where you feel good rather than bad. Having a sweet or a piece of chocolate or candy when you are feeling a little stressed can be helpful, just don’t overdo it or make it a bad habit. Its a quick way to take the edge off and its cheaper than cigarettes or coffee.

Listen to music when possible.

If your job doesn’t have a policy against it I recommend listening to music when you can especially after lunch. Everyone knows by now that listening to music effects our personality, mood and energy. If you’re feeling worked up you can throw on something relaxing, or if you’re feeling down you can throw on something that will hype you up or put a smile on your face.  After a large lunch I prefer to  put on something that will make me feel energetic rather than tired.  You may also want to try listening to some music just before you head into work to set your mood for the day.

Talking to someone.

Sometimes we all need to vent. The truth is unfortunately venting to co-workers is more often than not a mistake. Try talking to a friend or a family member about your situation and how you are feeling, and don’t wait till you get home, holding in your negative feelings all day, try and do it during a lunch break, or if you go out to smoke or if you’re running an office errand. It’s important to deal with your stress quickly and appropriately so it effects you less.

You also never know what perspective or insight an outsider will have for you. Don’t underestimate people’s ability to understand your situation or be helpful. Also don’t convince yourself you’re a burden to anyone, people want to help you and people seem to love giving advice, take advantage of it.

Take care of yourself, even at work.

When on the job people are prone to neglect themselves. They do silly things like work through lunch, don’t bother to stretch, let themselves become dehydrated, and a number of other things. Honestly this is just silly. You may have a job to do, but you are still a human being and have all the basic human needs that go along with that. You’re not any good to anyone if you’re not at a hundred percent, and you can’t be motivated to do your best work if you’re working through discomfort.

If there is anything your body needs when you’re at work, make sure you deal with it. Don’t let yourself work so long without eating anything that your blood sugar drops and you feel light headed. Don’t hold your bladder just to get through a task, it will get done just as quickly when you come back from the restroom. It’s silly for people to put themselves through this and even more so for employers to expect it. Its enough that you give your time, commitment and energy, to the job, do not under any circumstance give your health.

Create a positive environment.

If at all possible create the most positive environment you can. If you’re allowed to put a picture of your family on your desk, give yourself and inspirational desktop on your computer, even buy a potted planted if its allowed. Do whatever it takes to create an area gives you comfort and makes you feel safe and relaxed. This also means building good relationships with the people you work with, be kind and polite whenever possible and take a genuine interest in people and let them know they are appreciated. More often than not they will return the favor.

A positive and healthy employee who enjoys their days at work is more likely to be loyal and productive, they are also likely to live longer happy lives, which of course is simply just more important at the end of the day.

Roberto Blake Featured in Photoshop Creative 60

Hey everyone, I”m really excited about this post. I was recently featured in another photoshop magazine. Photoshop Creative recently started a Reader’s Gallery section and was kind enough to include some of my artwork in issue 60 of the magazine, which you can find at pretty much any book store in the magazine section or oder from their website. I can’t tell you how happy I am about tall the wonderful exposure my art has been getting lately.

As creatives we always seek some level of validation from our peers and the people who inspire us. We also have a desire to share our work with as many people as possible. In this way seeing your work published in a major venue is a great boost to morale for any artist or designer. The pieces selected were some of my own personal favorites.

Roberto Blake- Photo Manipulation Energetic

Roberto Blake Photo Manipulation Touched

Roberto Blake Photo Manipulation Catch U If I Can

Roberto Blake Photo Manipulation Celestial Being