Hey friends
Been thinking about the different mediums I work in.
Video, Writing, and Design
I haven’t thought much about how helpful they are to each other, until now…
1. To Brainstorm
I have been writing this newsletter for a while now and I enjoy it regardless of it benefitting my design skills or career in any way. I have slowly realized though that writing has made me a better designer and helps me come up with creative ideas.
I used to be very visual and sketch out ideas I had or things I Saw. Nowadays though I carry around field notes or just my basic iPhone notes app and fill it with potential seeds (Rick Rubin’s concept for ideas).
These ideas don’t always manifest into anything important but when they do it is some of my best personal artwork. I also think the skill of being able to convey things you want to do visually in a written form is very helpful.
I am in no way a good writer, but if writing down ideas and communicating with letters can help you be a better storyteller and designer… then I think it’s worth giving it a try.
2. To Figure yourself out
I have never been good at keeping a journal or getting my thoughts onto paper. Since writing this newsletter though It has kind of forced me to create a weekly journal type of thing.
It’s pretty cool that I can go back and look at the small glimpses of things I was working on, how I was feeling, or even what YouTube video I posted on any given week.
I think opening myself up to you all has allowed me to be okay with being vulnerable and helped me deal with different things going on in my life.
The fact that people like reading my newsletter too is pretty validating and helps me realize “Maybe I do have things worth saying”
I suggest all of you start writing in a weekly or nightly journal of some sort. It can be online or more private that doesn’t matter but eh act of trying to convey what you think or feel is very helpful for all aspects of your life and creativity.
3. To be more professional
I never want the way I communicate to be what stops me from advancing and getting better in my career as a designer. However at times when emailing and talking with clients I think if I had a little more experience in conveying situations with words things would have been better.
Being able to clearly communicate with clients can be the simple step in fewer revisions and a better experience for everyone involved.
I also think if you can write in a professional matter in emails it can help you land more clients, charge more, and overall come across as a professional and reliable person to work with.
4. To Connect
The quick-to-consume and quick-to-forget nature of most social media sites leaves a lot to be desired. How can you really convey genuine emotions and connect with your fellow creatives through a 140-character tweet or subway surfers’ Tiktok video?
I feel like writing this newsletter and building this dope community of creatives online has been so rewarding and it would have never happened if I didn’t force myself to write each week.
The more you say about yourself, your work, and the ideas you are cooking the more other creatives can resonate with you. Some of my favorite creators online have some long-form content like an email newsletter or podcast and I think I enjoy them so much because it’s hard to be fake for long periods of time.
Writing from the heart in a longer format than an Instagram caption lets the audience into how you genuinely feel and helps connect on a community type of level.
I appreciate each and every one of you who reads this newsletter and I would love for more designers to start them so I can too take a deeper look into your worlds.
Much love.
This week’s post is in collaboration with Lauren who writes Field Trip. She is an amazing creative and much better writer than me lol. Go check out her post for 4 more reasons you should write.
Stuff to Check Out
Been loving I think you should leave, so made this meme
IG Post of the week below
Closing Thoughts
Writing a few sentences each day isn’t going to hurt.
Weekly Wrap Up
Trip to Adobe Video if ya haven’t seen it!
Secret Channel upload :)
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I actually just launched my own Substack because I thought ones like yours and Field Trip just look like a neat outlet. 🧡✌️ Crazy you’ve kept it up every week for so long. Kudos.
Especially because of how niche something long form like this and the audience isnt as big is I feel more free to just do whatever I want with it without much worry.
loved this and lauren's post as well! it was exactly the reassurance and motivation i needed. if you have any tips on staying consistent, please help a bestie out. creativity is such an ebb and flow for me and i would love to hear any suggestions you may have on staying consistent with creative projects. tysm!