Here is your freshly squeezed design inspiration for the week of September 25th, 2023.
- SOMETHING GORGEOUS: Ceramic Twinkies and 90s Nostalgia by Stephanie Shih
- PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: Nailing Simplicity and Focusing on Work
- BIGGER Installation by Studio Spass
- Dott by Berriel Brands
- Loot by Seachange
- ONE TOK: Seeing Faces Everywhere
- ONE LESSON: Traveling and Designing
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Resource of the Week
Micro Volume's Gumroad
Microvolume is a resource I found through TikTok and after having a look, I knew I needed to share this with you. They have a ton of great free mockup downloads that you can use for your portfolio as well as some additional paid mockup packages in case you need more variety. Another great mockup resource to have bookmarked for future projects.
Get Started with Micro Volume's Gumroad Today
Something Gorgeous
Ceramic Twinkies and 90s Nostalgia by Stephanie Shih
Ceramicist Stephanie Shih creates hand-molded replicas of familiar household items from the ’80s and ’90s using stoneware clay. She has an new exhibition coming up titled "American Gothic", which explores the connections and differences between Asian immigrants and their children through these items.
While her website is limited in the work displayed, you can check out more of her recent pieces in this article on Colossal here. Call me a boomer but I love Stephanie's work because it explores so many items that were such a big part of my life growing up in the 90s. While Stephanie isn't only interested in exploring the nostalgia associated with these items, it teleports me back to childhood and begging my Mom to purchase some of these while we would shop for groceries.
Portfolio Of The Week
Nailing Simplicity and Focusing on Work
Tori Hinn is a freelance designer and creative director based in Brooklyn New York currently working with Apple. Prior to Apple she was a creative director at Figma and before that a designer at Google Creative Labs. While her resume alone says a lot about her skill, the restraint she has exemplified with the overall design of her portfolio website also tells me she believes in letting the work speak for itself.
Portfolio Rating: 7.8/10
Built With: Cargo
View Nailing Simplicity and Focusing on Work's portfolio here.
Creative Finds
BIGGER Installation by Studio Spass
An interactive installation built with 264 books for an art book fair in Shenzhen. The end result is beautiful.
Dott by Berriel Brands
One of my favorite wordmark's produced for a brand identity that I've seen while publishing CJ.
Loot by Seachange
My second favorite wordmark created for a brand identity while publishing CJ.
One Tok
Seeing Faces Everywhere
I really enjoyed this video from Cody as it reminded me of the time I met Brian Collins during a workshop at a conference. He had our group walk around the conference hall taking pictures of doors, windows, and really anything that we could form a face out of using our imagination and phones. This exercise served as a reminder to always have a sense of play and wonder no matter how old or mature we are in our creative endeavors.
One Lesson
Traveling and Designing
For the last month I have been traveling through Europe visiting friends, walking around aimlessly, trying new food, and reviewing the quality of McDonald's. I have visited 4 different countries, 6 different cities, and have 1 more stop before heading back to Asia. I have been able to do this and support myself entirely through my career as a graphic designer. It was 2 years ago that I made the decision to go fully freelance and before that it was about 7 years ago when I had said to myself that I wanted to work and travel around the world full time.
I am really grateful at the moment and proud of myself. There was no easy 5 step process that I followed to do this as it took me about 8 years to finally make the leap. But if you are interested in hearing more and one day doing the same for yourself, feel free to email me directly. If there is enough response, perhaps I'll make a larger series out of this or some videos to answer any questions.
I hope you have a great start to your week and you're feeling inspired to make some cool sh*t!
PS. Sorry if this week is a little brief. I am running on 2 hours of sleep 🫠
PPS. If you are enjoying Creative Juice or hating it, please consider sending me some feedback here to help improve it!
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