2024 Goals

Graphic Design & Beyond

Jan 07, 2024

Hey friends

Hope the new year has been treating you well and you are starting to plan what you want this year to look like. I have been thinking a lot about what i want to accomplish in 2024 and thought I’d share some thoughts with y’all.

Goal 001. Design official album art

one of my fav concepts from my hardcore series so far

I have always wanted to design official album art that gets pressed on vinyl. I have done some smaller artists’ digital stuff in the past and obviously a ton of concept work but I still have not gotten the opportunity to do an official physical release.

I was always fascinated by vinyl record design and thought the idea of seeing and touching something that I created in its entirety would be so rewarding.

In 2023 I talked to probably 5-6 artists about jobs like this and they all ended up falling through for various reasons.

Since I love typography and layout design so much too I think a project like this would be perfect for my skill set, especially when it comes to designing the details on the inside sleeves, back of the LP, and gatefold stuff.

So this year I am going to continue to design my concept work and develop my skills as a designer who can work within the music industry.

Goal 002. 100k on YouTube

I have been posting videos on YouTube since July 2020. It is honestly crazy that it’s been over 3 years now but I’m so happy with the current state of the channel.

The first year and a half were honestly such a grind and hard to post video after video with little to no audience.

Now that we are cooking a little more though and have a decent community it feels a lot more rewarding and I am grateful for the slow and consistent growth

for a while I wanted a viral hit that would make my channel “blow up” but I think this type of development was a blessing in disguise.

I was able to stay true to myself and make stuff that I enjoy (and hopefully all of you do too)

in 2023 I grew 46,000 subscribers. That is honestly insane and this has been the most exponential growth my channel has seen since its inception.

If that momentum and math check out this year, then we should def be able to hit 100k.

I know it is just a meaningless number count on a digital screen but I always thought it would be so cool to get that silver play button and share that win with all of you.

Goal 003. Journal Everyday

In May of 2023, I got this amazing journal called the Midori 5-year Diary.

I always struggle to stay consistent with writing stuff down every day but the format of this specific journal really caught my attention.

Each day you only have to write a small amount and each page has slots for 5 years of entries. So as I start to get to May 2024 each day I will get to revisit what I wrote the year before and that experience will only get better as the years go on.

I never would go back and read my old journal entries when I did it the traditional way but this layout kind of forces you too and I’m so excited for that introspection I’ll get to have each day.

So this year my goal is to just simply stay consistent like I have been with the small daily entries.

I think this has helped me a lot and has been pretty therapeutic and just a nice new nightly habit to have that is actually helpful and not destructive lol

I highly suggest checking out the Midori journal if you are someone who has always been interested in writing but intimidated by long diary entries or what kind of format to use.

Goal 004. Eat Healthier and Workout

I have never been the best at keeping a good diet and honestly didn’t start being active consistently until this past year.

I have been getting sick so much in 2023 so I really want to prioritize my diet and make sure I am being as healthy as possible.

honestly, it was easier to eat healthier when I was broke because ordering out shitty food was not an option. In college all I could afford was chicken, richer and broccoli so believe it or not I was probably healthier then lol

In addition to the diet, I am trying to keep up a good regimen for movement.

I started doing a lot more rock climbing in 2023 and it has been amazing for my physical health. As someone who sits and works at a desk all day it is nice to find a physical hobby that is not only good for working out but actually fun.

I was never someone who could just go to the gym and do boring lift workouts so this is a perfect option for me.

In 2024 I am also want to ride my bike more and do kettlebell/bodyweight workouts. Something that will keep me fit and also help me get stronger a bit.

I have always been super skinny so anything that can help me build muscle and isn’t mind-numbing is a plus lol

Goal 005. Work on at least 20 client projects

This goal is simple and I am not going to be too strict on what constitutes a “project”

anything from a full brand identity to a one-off poster design for an event.

towards the end of 2023, client work was pretty slow and even though I made more money this year off better projects and also content creation opportunities I was a bit disappointed with the amount of client projects i got to work on.

I am going to channel more of my energy this year into honest design work and a bit less on the stuff that isn’t as rewarding like short-form content.

I think 20 is a very reasonable goal to hit for client projects this year and I’m stoked to see what kind of opportunities come my way!

So hit me up clients:)

Goal 006. Do more speaking gigs

I had the amazing opportunity to speak to the senior design class of my old college this year.

This experience was honestly super rewarding and I realized it is something I would love to do more of.

I think doing all the speaking in front of a camera for YouTube has actually prepared me for things like this and I believe I have a lot to offer in specific niches of the design world.

I would love to do more talks on content creation as a designer, freelancing, and overall building your brand within this Gen Z and millennial design space online.

If you or anyone has any leads on getting into more stuff like this, feel free to reach out to me and we could chat more!

What are some of your goals for 2024?