I entered a contest hosted by FreelanceSwitch awhile back.  The goal was to create an aesthetically dynamic portfolio through CarbonMade’s free portfolio service (they also have a killer paid service available for those looking for more).  I had never even looked at CarbonMade prior to this contest, but was interested.  After setting up an account and messing around with the service I was thoroughly impressed.  I’ve dabbled with different ways of maintaining a portfolio online and have never been too happy with the results.  The key to CarbonMade’s success in my book, is their understated, simple interface.  There are no ads and the interface is extremely minimally branded (this is key).

Anyway, to make a long story short, the panel selected my portfolio design as their #2 pick in the Creative use of technology category.  I am deeply honored, especially considering that the panel was made up of: Spencer Fry and Dave Gorum (the CarbonMade creators), Collis Ta’eed (creator of Envato, Blog Action Day, and well known entreprenuer/designer), and Skellie (amazing blogger and writer).  Thanks to FreelanceSwitch and CarbonMade for the awesome prizes and pick!

I am finding myself compelled to dedicate an entire post to Mirificam Press.  As a fellow designer holding to a reformed (classical) Christian worldview this weblog is a breath of fresh air.  Matthew Griffin of Six House Design truly hits the nail on the head when he rightly points out that, as Christians, it ought to be apparent that our faith permeates every aspect of our lives… including our creative professions.  This is not a popular notion amongst society today, nor will it ever be.  What a great encouragement to fellow Christian creative professionals who are all too often shunned, scolded, or blacklisted for allowing their faith to shine.  I strongly encourage you to check this site out and read some of Matthew’s articles.

“It is… the purpose of Mirificam Press to deliberately pursue a holistic Christian approach to the vocation of web design. This holistic Christian worldview is exactly what the label implies—all-encompassing. No mental sector is off limits, no secular forum out of bounds, no second unclaimed. The Christian worldview has something to say about absolutely everything. Mirificam Press challenges its readers to pursue excellence in craft and holiness in approach.”

Edit:  I also received a link today pointing me to RootsRain, the blog of Jeff Gray, another Reformed, Christian graphic designer with some spectacular stuff on his blog.  Cool!

This question has become a rite of passage for the creative individual; sometimes occuring annually and sometimes bi-anually.  That’s right folks CS4 is coming out very, very soon.  Adobe ran a live videocast earlier this morning which demoed the newest versions of it’s product line.  There are definitely some great new features packed into this robust sampling of creative tools, but let’s get right down to the only question that matters- “Should I shell out the cash and upgrade?”  Here’s my answer thus far: “No… well Yes… Maybe…”  It may be cliche, but the age old adage rings true in this case: different strokes for different folks.  Here’s a subjective list of 3 reasons TO upgrade and 3 reasons NOT TO upgrade to CS4 according to… well, me.

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When I launched Sonata Creative, I came in with the intent of revamping the way I approached blogging.  I wanted to make the posts less mundane, and focus on being more purposeful and professional.  This still holds true, but I realized recently that I can’t afford to lose the personal flavor that a blog like this affords.  My friend, and fellow designer Drew Dunlap, has been posting some excellent examples of his work recently (check him out) and this got me thinking- “When was the last time I posted some recent work?”

For fun I recently entered a design pool going on over at MyInkBlog.  The goal was to create a big typography poster using the quote “What we do in life, echoes in eternity.” (Gladiator anyone?)  I love these type of side-projects because they really help me focus on being creative just for creativity’s sake and not for a paying client.  I fervently believe that its important to take time out of the daily design grind to just have fun and let your creative juices simmer.  If you’re ever feeling burned out or lacking inspiration, be sure to call a timeout and do the work you want to do.  When you’re not getting paid for creativity it can often make a world of difference.  Let me know what you think of the following pieces…

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For those of you who have had any experience working with a non-profit organization in the course of your career, I’m sure you’d agree with me when I say that non-profits are a ‘different beast’.  I am aware of schools of thought that suggest you should treat non-profits as you would any other paying design client.  While I can appreciate my colleagues’ desires to simplify the equation, I politely disagree.  Let’s be honest- clients run the gamut in our industry.  There is no one-size-fits all approach to addressing client needs and circumstances. Because of this, our communication style and actions must adjust according to the needs of our client; especially when our client is a non-profit.

As designers, there are universal obstacles that we all must face from time to time: the tight deadline, the hard-to-please client, bouts of lacking inspiration… on and on the list goes.  This article is the first in a three-part series dedicated to addressing obstacles that, while relevant to the graphic design profession as a whole, pose an especially unique challenge to designers who find themselves working for non-profit organizations.  In today’s article we are going address an obstacle that uniquely challenges non-profit designers across the globe: dealing with an extremely restrictive budget.

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