Skip to main content

On not being afraid to scrap a design.

Part of being a graphic designer is learning when to scrap something and start over and when to just keep pushing through. You have to weigh how much time and energy you've put in vs. whether or not what you're doing is actually working. It's like when you're knitting and you're about halfway done with a pattern and realize that you did something wrong on the 2nd row. Is it worth it to start over? Will it make a difference or can you hide it? Sometimes it really is better to start over. Sometimes you can fix it. It just depends.

Last night I spent hours trying to illustrate the bicycle from my travel poster and it was still turning out rather dodgy (sorry, I've been watching Australian television again). Between that and being tired, I just set it aside and went to bed. Maybe there's something to be said for working out your problems in your sleep because when I woke up I knew that I'd been making it way too complicated for myself. The solution was too obvious. Instead of cutting out the counterspaces, like I had been doing, why didn't I just draw the actual object? Seems obvious in retrospect...

And so, in about a half hour flat, I redid the entire wheel that had taken me 5 hours to do yesterday. It looks so much better though! Sometimes starting over is exactly the right method.

First attempt

Second attempt
{Travel Poster updates: 1 . 2 . 3 }

Comments

  1. Awesome. I've so been there. Sometimes it will all just work out in the nick of time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just stopping by to say hi and show your blog some love.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Don't even try to leave a link in your comment... it will be deleted without warning.

Popular posts from this blog

Meet a Designer: Stephanie Kubo

I stumbled across a completely fascinating artist today, Stephanie Kubo . Her portfolio doesn't state if she's a working designer, illustrator, etc, but her work is exquisite so I think she fits the bill for including in my Meet a Designer series. Enjoy! (Linking up with Kristen Victoria ).

Etsy Giveaway: Desert Rose Knit Shop

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!! 39 comments are entered - if there are any more at a later time added, they will NOT count. ********** Today I'm christening my new(ish) blog with an Etsy giveaway! I'm offering one lucky winner a cabled beanie of their choice ( pick your favorite color !). This giveaway will run for a week - so you have until next Monday, January 23rd, to put your name in the hat. 6 ways to enter: Comment below about which color beanie is your favorite. Subscribe to my blog on Google Friend Connect . Blog about this giveaway on your own blog. " Like " my Facebook fan page . Follow me on Twitter . Tweet about this giveaway. Please leave a separate comment below for each entry. At the end of the contest, I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner!! Here's a look at some of the color options available. Browse other color options over at  my Etsy shop ! ***** Thank you for enteri

DIY Art Journal

Hi, my name is Linda and I am a 25 year old law student living in Manhattan. I blog over at My Passion Is... about my life, scrapbooking, DIY crafts, photography, exploring NYC & more. I am honored to be sharing a post with you today on Jen's blog, so thanks for having me! I recently completed a mini album that I made out of a pasta box so I wanted to share a tutorial with you so you could make your own! What you need: empty pasta box [I used a whole foods penne pasta] scrapbook papers & embellishments a single hole punch sturdy tape [like packaging tape] a paper cutter and/or scissors some sort of binding, either binding rings or ribbon First, you are going to flatten out your pasta box. Then you are going to cut it down to two 6x6 squares [or whatever size album you want to make]. If the box doesn’t fit perfectly in those shapes that’s alright, just piece them together using packaging tape to hold the squares together. Once you cover them i