Happy Monday! I'm getting biblical this week with branding of a church that sings to the angel's, black and white photography that brings me back to uni, and the best damn job application I've seen from anyone in the last 2 years. Let's get those creative juices flowing.
Creative Juice is a weekly newsletter published every Monday morning so you can start your week feeling inspired creatively to make cool sh*t and get paid for it. Every Monday I share something gorgeous, a portfolio of the week, three creative finds, one amazing post from social media, and one lesson I learned recently.
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TL:DR
SOMETHING GORGEOUS: International Black & White Photography Contest
PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: All You Really Need Is A Homepage
CREATIVE FIND 01: Branding The Church
CREATIVE FIND 02: Meet Marta, The Product
CREATIVE FIND 03: This Kitty Says Sleep Now!
ONE GRAM: Spring is On The Way
ONE LESSON: How to Drop a Design Client
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Something Gorgeous
International Black & White Photography Contest
Monochrome Awards 2023 Winners Gallery
DRAMA. This is the first word that pops into my mind immediately when I look at any BW photography. Try this test. Take any photo from your camera roll and just apply a BW filter to it. See how it immediately changes the vibe? While sure it can add emotion in some ways. It can also become a crutch if not used correctly.
However, these images from the winners of the 2023 Monochrome Awards are nothing short of phenomenal. Truly masterful examples of the BW genre, composition, and light. Since uni, I have loved the work of Robert Mapplethorpe. And over the years have collected various photographers via Instagram and blogs to inspire my design work. If you have an interest in seeing more work like this just let me know and I'll put together a reference post to share with you.
Portfolio of the Week
All You Really Need Is A Homepage
Lorenzo Rodriguez
YES, you read that right. A homepage is really all you need when it comes to a design portfolio website. Think of it as the big window display of the storefront that is you. Inside that window could be a header introducing you, some sharp thumbnail images of your work, and some trinkets regarding your services.
Lorenzo has done just this. Lorenzo's design portfolio website is only a homepage. It is the only page he spent time and energy to design. Everything else on his page is a link out to either a project on Behance or a social platform. And guess what. There is nothing wrong with this execution. Portfolio websites are all about first impressions. It is about you setting the bar as high as you possibly can for anyone that visits your portfolio website. Lorenzo covers all the basics on his homepage. He has a header, about, work section, things he does, and his contact details. Maybe not in that exact order but they are still there. With those items covered, Lorenzo can then focus on the bigger visual decisions such as his project thumbnails and aesthetic. Which he has done a great job.
Score: 8.4/10
Built with: Webflow
Creative Finds
Branding The Church
Hackney Church Branding by OMSE
Even a church needs a face lift every once in a while. It's not new that churches have taken steps to appeal to a younger generation but this package created by OMSE is angelic to say the least.
Meet Marta, The Product
Meet Marta by Marta Puerto
Across the world right now the jobs market is tough. But Marta Puerto took matters into her own hands to make sure she would get a callback from her next application with this video.
"Desperate times, call for creative measures"
This Kitty Says Sleep Now!
Hello Star Branding by Hellocean
This is probably one of the biggest projects I have ever seen on Behance. Hellocean went through and created what looks like an entire retail store of sleep aid products by Hello Star. If you're stuck thinking of what assets to create for a branding project then definitely take a look at this.
One Gram
Spring is On The Way
@generativeartstudio
Stand up. Stretch those arms, hands, legs, feet and get ready for brighter days. That is of course if you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
Also a nice little reminder, that you don't need a huge brief to experiment and have a little fun with visual exercises just like this.
One Lesson
How to Drop a Design Client
Last week I made the tough decision to end a client project early. **Why? **It just wasn't for me. Let me explain...
Before the end of 2023, I didn't have many new projects lined up. So I went ahead and reached out to previous clients with a few ideas of how we could work together in the new year. One client got back to me and within a few days I had something on the horizon for 2024. Now this wasn't something I would usually sign up for. This was a partnership that involved working together on creating and producing social content over a course of time. To be completely transparent. This was also a good chunk of change that would definitely help with my living expenses. In the four figures range.
So why did I give it up? After the first month of the new year, my current clients started to pop their heads up. Reaching out to see my availability for projects they had in mind. On top of that I gained a few new clients around the co-working space that I was more excited about. And finally. Turns out that my idea to focus more on creating social content for other accounts other than my own was something that I absolutely did not enjoy.
Am I upset? No. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. And on top of that, I think it's a good thing now that I can get back to more of the things I enjoy.
PS. If you haven't noticed I am experimenting with the time this newsletter is sent out on Monday. If you don't mind, what time do you normally read this? Hit me with a reply <3
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