Here is your freshly squeezed design inspiration for the week of June 26 2023.
- SOMETHING GORGEOUS: The Nomad\[E\] by Work Louder
- PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: Y2K Meets Design Portfolio
- Misfits Rebrand by Paper Crowns
- Sol Reader
- Quickbooks by Rondesignlab
- ONE TOK: Messing with Peeps
- ONE LEARNING: Mind, Body, and Creativity
If you would like the Creative Juice newsletter sent directly to your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe here.
Resource of the Week
Front Page Portfolio Template
Over the last couple of months I have been reviewing portfolios from designers, writers, strategists, and other creatives. It is my belief that a successful creative career all starts with your portfolio. Whether that is a website or slideshow presentation. How you present yourself and your work can really contribute to your growth as a creative.
As I have reviewed more and more portfolios I have seen too many creatives fall to the complexities of the existing tools in the market. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start creating a template that I think can give designers and creatives the advantage they need to stand out.
Front Page is my first ever portfolio website template that I've built using Framer. It's not completely done yet, but this week I shared on my TikTok page that I will be working with a few designers and creatives closely to help finalize Front Page and update their portfolio completely for free. You can learn more about my template Front Page in the videos below.
If you would like to apply for the chance to be selected and work with me closely on updating your portfolio completely for free then click the button below and fill out the form.
Get Started with Front Page Portfolio Template Today
Something Gorgeous
The Nomad\[E\] by Work Louder
I'm sorry to be late on this but Work Louder launched a kickstarter for THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KEYBOARD I EVER DID SEE and I am sad I didn't know about it sooner!
Introducing the Nomad\[E\] keyboard which looks like if Apple and Teenage Engineering had a baby. The keyboard features a beautiful sleek design, a new configurator called Input to allow for customizing your keyboard hot keys, and an integrated screen that will come with 3 widgets including a pomodoro timer, tamagotchi, and clock.
Oh how I am so sad that I didn't get an early bird opportunity for this 😭
I have been a big fan of the team at Work Louder since the inception of their Creator Keyboard. While I would've loved to give it a go, I thought it was a little too bulky for me to carry around while traveling. However, this Nomad\[E\] looks absolutely perfect me.
Oh, and did I mention, the little thingy on the back of the keyboard to make it angled is a magnetic ruler! 🤓🤓🤓
Again, sorry to be late on this but I will be pre-ordering the atomic colorway and patiently waiting till I fly home to open it up!
Portfolio Of The Week
Y2K Meets Design Portfolio
Igor Mahr is a designer and creative developer with 9+ years of experience and his portfolio is filled with lovely animations, easter eggs, and beautiful work.
Now while Igor is definitely a seasoned veteran when it comes to creating and presenting, I think his portfolio is a great example of letting your personality shine through on your design portfolio website while maintaining a focus on the work.
Another notable point I want to make is that Igor's portfolio website doesn't just show client work. He has also sprinkled in personal work including his illustrations or 'passion projects'. This has created a balanced mix of professional and personal work and as a viewer who would potentially hire Igor, has given me a really good idea what his strengths and interests are.
Portfolio Rating: 9.5/10
Built With: Unsure what Igor's portfolio website is built with but I am guessing a lot of it is custom coded as he is also a developer. However something similar to this could be achieved with something like Webflow if you're up for the challenge.
View Y2K Meets Design Portfolio's portfolio here.
Creative Finds
Misfits Rebrand by Paper Crowns
Misfits esports team gets a complete overhaul from Paper Crowns aligning the brand's look and feel with their mission creating a very playful and mischievous identity.
Sol Reader
Sol is a 'reading technology' company that is betting that there will be a market for goggles that do one 'Sol' thing such as only reading e-books. I don't know, sounds a little crazy to me 😅
Quickbooks by Rondesignlab
Rondesignlab partnered with Quickbooks to bring new life into their brand. Focusing on typography and color usage throughout their products and now I'm drooling.
ONE TOK
Messing with Peeps
"This might be the most divisive thing I've ever made" - Joshua Ellingson
I'm not sure what else to say other than I love the weirdness and creativity of this experiment by Joshua. Whether you love it or hate it, you gotta admire the ability to commit and explore to weird ideas like this.
One Thing I Learned
Mind, Body, and Creativity
Still recovering from being sick the last couple of weeks but feeling much better now. Over the last couple of days I have been super super strict about my sleep routine. I've been getting into the habit of ending work around 7PM, having as minimal screen time as possible during dinner, and getting to bed before 10PM to lock in a solid 7 hours of sleep. To give a little insight on why I am so focused on this, from January to May I averaged about 5 1/2 hours of sleep. That is awful! Not to mention how this was effecting my work, creativity, and enthusiasm to make. With all that said I am hoping to stay on track with this and will share some updates in the coming juices.
This week, I shared that I have been working on my first portfolio website template built with Framer. As I continue to help designers and creatives strengthen their portfolios to build better careers for themselves. I wanted to give the opportunity to work with a few designers and creatives closely using this new portfolio template I developed completely for free. If you would like to learn more about the template check out this video here. And if you would like to apply for the chance to be selected to receive the template for free, just fill out this survey here.
A little more seriously, I'd like to share some client work that I recently completed. I had the opportunity to work with the amazing duo of Love Injection on the Helix Health & Life Sciences Exchange located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This project was not only interesting for me as I went to university in New Brunswick, but I also was able to work more in a development role rather than a designer. That was only possible because I had been building websites for myself and other clients for the last couple of years on Webflow. And if you have been reading the newsletter for a little or viewed any of the content on my TikTok. You know how much I advocate for learning tools like this as they can add so much value and depth to your career.
PS. If you've been thinking about learning a tool like Webflow or Framer, feel free to send me a reply and I'd be more than happy to point in the right direction of where to start.
PPS. If you'd like to apply to work with me and potentially be selected to receive my first ever portfolio template for free then don't forget to fill out the form here!
Have a great week!
If you would like Creative Juice sent directly to your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe here.
