the inaugural post for sharpbox. pretty rad right?
i contemplated what i would write in this space and had several ideas swirl around in my head. do i start outlining the talk tracks for my future ted talks? do i do a deep dive into my day-to-day at work? how about a highlight reel of my week?
nah. none of those.
instead i began to think about my why. why did i create this site?
i began my design journey in fifth grade. my father was a programmer who began dabbling in html. i shadowed his work and was fascinated by the fact that keystrokes could create. so i began to dabble in it myself. and you know what? i was good at it.
after that, i was a graphic and web design maven. i found inspiration everywhere and could translate my vision into design in no time.
then i became an adult. with classes. and bills. and responsibilities.
and my design took a back seat to life.
surely, a designer can’t make a living in the real world?
instead, i transitioned into “business” and became a marketer. and dammit, i became great at it. i exceled in marketing leadership, strategy, digital, and copywriting, among other things.
but my design brain was unfulfilled.
it took the work and guidance of a graphic design colleague to re-spark the fire that i had long lost. i started researching proper design theory and made myself learn the correct techniques related to creation.
and i felt the best that i had in years.
even though i wasn’t as great as i wanted to be and hadn’t defined my style.
but i was learning. and with the learning, i was getting better.
fast forward to today. i still feel like i have a lot to learn in design. during the creative process, i beat myself up trying to develop the perfect piece of collateral. but any time i begin to feel down, i am reminded of how far i’ve come and given consistent praise from clients and colleagues.
that keeps me going.
and seeing everything together makes me proud of the journey i’ve made so far.
oh, and you’re also probably wondering what the hell a “sharpbox” is. if you look at the golden ratio and determine the exact dimensions of-
ok, that’s a lie.
when i was in high school i owned this name and domain. the name was chosen by a random word generator, with me clicking “refresh” until two words that i thought were cool populated.
not exciting in the slightest, but it does provide me with a connection to the younger designer version of me, and frankly that works for me.
-f