Melissahead - A Geek's Journey through the World of Design

Working for the Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:06:00 +0000

"Everyone's watching, to see what you will do
Everyone's looking at you, oh"

Loverboy must have attended a Startup Weekend at some point. What else could have inspired such profound lyrics?

I've gushed on and on about how Startup Weekend Changed My Life, but really, it's the gift that keeps on giving. We had the third Philly Startup Weekend on April 20–22, and this time I was there as an organizer instead of a participant. Since I can only attest to the second, I can confidently say that 3.0 blew that one out of the water. The quality of the projects was so high that I'm certain Hangplan wouldn't have come close to placing in the top three.

My organizer duties were two fold. One, I had to get designers there. The previous event had so few, and it was my job to change this. This was NOT an easy task. I basically hustled my ass off, telling every designer I could get near about what an AMAZING opportunity it is, annoying the crap out of a few people along the way. But I've come to the conclusion that the majority of people would rather spend a weekend on their couch than bettering themselves. Fine, I can accept that. There's only so much I can do to push people. I was lucky enough to recruit a handful of superstars that really made the event spectacular.

The second part of my duties included creating materials for the event. T-shirts, programs, posters, name badges, slide decks. It was fun to put my own little touch on these things.

The weekend itself was a riot, a blast, exhausting, educational (Mel and 5-Hour Energies don't mix), motivating, inspiring, and satisfying. On one hand, I was glad that I didn't participate this time around. Last October was so freaking intense. I honestly didn't think I had it in me. But on the other hand, I was a bit jealous of the designers who spent a crazy amount of time building something legitimate. I kinda wanted to play too. No regrets though. I had the best time. Meeting new people, getting to know some others, and spending much needed quality time with my partner in crime. What could be better?

Well, I guess I'll find out. Philly Startup Weekend 4.0 isn't that far away. There's a lot to plan. And in the meantime, I'll be helping out with SW Health Philadelphia. That'll give this junkie a fix in the meantime. One thing's for sure, I love this team of misfits that I was lucky enough to join.

Feeling Proud

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:44:00 +0000

In the ten years at my previous job, I rarely worked on anything that I wanted to share. My friends and family didn't know much about the designs I created because I shamefully hid them. I didn't have a portfolio website up to showcase any projects because I felt that none were worthy. I was embarrassed.

I saw the work some friends were creating and instead of motivating me, I came to the assumption that I was not cut out for design. Perhaps there was another field in which I could excel. I blamed my poor work on things like tight deadlines and small budgets and a terrible corporate logo. But I think the key factor was that I just wasn't passionate about what I was doing.

I spent the majority of my last few months at work creating PowerPoint presentations. They became the bane of my existence. Hideous decks with paragraphs of text and flow charts galore. They were fugly. And because I always only had a matter of hours to work with these 40-something slide beasts, I couldn't do much more than clean them up to make them a bit more presentable.

So when I had the opportunity at my new job to work on a presentation (Keynote, thank god), I knew I could take some creative liberties. I did some illustrations, played with textures, made it super visual instead of full of bullets. And for the first time in a very long time, I was proud of what I had created.

I'm still lacking confidence. When I need to show my work for approval, I get very anxious. I'm hoping this will subside over time. In my previous position, the standards were low, and I didn't try very hard to surpass them. Now that my creativity is being encouraged, I must be sure to not hold back out of fear. That might take some practice though.

Opening a Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:28:00 +0000

It's amazing how quickly things can change. The last time I wrote, I had given notice at my corporate job of a decade. And now, if feels like forever since I've worked there. On my final day, which included a happy hour where I wore a crown and a tuxedo t-shirt (classy all the way), I felt a mixture of emotions. I imagined that I'd be doing cartwheels out of the building, but leaving something that I was a part of for such a long period of time was a bit emotionally draining. Yes, I even cried. And that was mostly due to saying goodbye to my team, whom I had grown quite attached to. But it was time. Actually, it was overdue.

The following morning I embarked on a mini solo vacation to Portland, OR. I wanted to reward myself for making this leap, and really, I just needed some time to refocus and mentally prepare for my new journey. I instantly fell in love with the city for so many reasons. Despite the freezing cold rainy weather, I was overwhelmed by the abundance of charm. I met up with numerous friends while I was there, drank a ton of coffee, ate a lot of bacon, and I cannot wait to return.

The first thing I did when I arrived (after checking into my hotel and grabbing a latte) was something I had been wanting to do for years now. I got the words "Create" and "Inspire" tattooed on the insides of my wrists. I had been in contact with the artist beforehand, and I decided to leave the design up to her because I was never satisfied with anything I had made. She did a beautiful job, and I feel as though these tattoos are the perfect symbol of the Mel I want to be.

These mark the start of my new chapter, and I really couldn't be happier with my life right now. I just completed my second week at my new gig, which I absolutely love. It feels incredible to be making stuff and accomplishing things. I'm finally proud of the work I'm doing, for the first time in my life. And I feel so insanely lucky to be a part of a brilliant team from whom I will learn so very much. In addition to that, I'm becoming a part of the fantastic startup community in Philadelphia. It really is like everything I have wished for regarding my career is coming true.

I'm so excited to see what the rest of 2012 holds.

Closing a Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:47:00 +0000

After nine years and eight months of my life, I resigned from my job today. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. This is the only job I've known as an adult. I've complacently gone through the same routine, day after day, year after year. Change has been a long time coming.

And now, thanks to this recent passion I've discovered, new opportunities have presented themselves. Two of them actually. Both awesome, both great fits. And now I have to decide which path to take. It's not easy. And it's all happening so very fast.

These final two weeks at my day job are going to be like closing a giant chapter of my life. It'll be partially sad. My coworkers are my family, and it will be hard to leave that. But honestly, I feel a ginormous sense of relief. I'd say this should have happened a long time ago, but timing is a funny thing. And I can only hope that everything has purposefully led up to this amazing point in my life.

Opportunities for Designers in Startups

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:09:00 +0000

My friend and fellow designer, Sharon, tweeted this video to me yesterday, and it was just what I wanted to hear. Jenny Lam is a designer, a founder, a maker of software. As opposed to all of the articles I've been recently reading about why startups need designers, she discusses why designers should strive to be startup founders themselves.

From 27:20 to 30:45, there's a great snippet about Startup Weekend and why it's a great opportunity for designers. I know I sound like a Startup Weekend poster child. Did I mention I'm an organizer for the upcoming one in Philly? Oh, it's gonna be phenomenal!

Startup Weekend Changed My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:22:00 +0000

Dramatic title, right? It's kind of a long story.

Last fall I decided that I needed to up my game, learn some new skillz, and thanks to a Geekadelphia blog post, I discovered Web Start Women. After a class or two, I noticed on the WSW message board something about a thing called Startup Weekend in Delaware. It said something like, "Learn to make an app in 54 hours!" Hmm.

It wasn't long after when I noticed the same event was going to be taking place in Philadelphia. I did a bit of research and realized, hey now, it's not a weekend class in app building after all. But it sounded neat and scary and intense and scary, so, venturing completely outside of my comfort zone, I signed up.

I was absolutely terrified for the weeks leading up to the event. I probably read this document 492 times in preparation. I spent hours upon hours trying to come up with an idea to pitch. I wrote my 60 second pitch and memorized it word for word, practicing in the car for an hour before heading into the building. I sat in the lobby and noticed that there weren't really any other ladies picking up badges. I walked up to the second floor for "mingling," where I stood against the wall, clutching a bottle of Coke like it was made of gold, and wondering why the hell I signed up in the first place. I was a socially awkward nervous wreck.

As 150-ish geeks filed into a lecture hall, I thought I was going to vomit. At the urging of a fellow attendee, I changed my pitch slightly (you know, the one I had totally memorized) and only had a few minutes to prepare in the ladies room. But I did it. I gave my pitch. And I dizzily stumbled back to my seat holding a giant white piece of paper that read "Hangplan."

To avoid giving you a diary-esque play by play of my entire weekend, let me sum it all up in a very long, run-on sentence. My idea got lots of votes so somehow I was lucky enough to formulate a power team of 10 amazing people and we worked tirelessly (thanks to luke warm Red Bull) to build a web app, a mobile app, an API, attack social media, make a video, survey people, etc. and on Sunday evening we pitched to a panel of judges and came in second place. (Side note: Woohoo!)

Having said all that, while none of this may sound life-changing, there were some personal side effects of Startup Weekend. The most prominent would be meeting a person who has since become a creative project partner, a brilliant career mentor, an inspiring life coach, and one of my absolute closest friends. Without getting too sappy, you know when you meet someone and you're sure that your world will never be quite the same? Yeah, so that happened.

Another side effect was this budding interest in startups and a new area of design (for me). I had always vowed to be a print designer. My dream was to do stationery and invitations. Interactive frightened me. But getting a little taste of UX/UI design definitely whet my appetite. And now I'm ready to devour it all. The more I learn, the more I love it. And really, I owe that to Startup Weekend.

And lastly, this event instilled a sense of confidence in me. Hey, my ideas don't totally suck! Well surprise surprise! Living in the in-house world for ten years, I've been on my own. I've never worked on a creative team. I worried that I wouldn't know how to interact with others or explain my thoughts. I worried that maybe I did things wrong but never knew it. I worried that my designs were garbage and my opinions were crap. But working so closely with my team was amazing. I wasn't afraid to share my perspective, and you know, people listened. And others shared their viewpoints and made my ideas even better. I started to understand what I had been missing out on for so long, and I left feeling optimistic and self-assured.

I have been recommending Startup Weekend to everyone. (Particularly designers because there was quite a lacking in that department at the one I attended.) I understand that not everyone will experience the same monumental revelation that I did, but it was also just crazy fun. And I'm really grateful for the trajectory it put me on.

Love Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Dang it. *grabs tissues* I can't tell if I want to marry this guy, grab my scissors and make a pop-up book of my own, or just buy a whole crapload of Field Notes. Heartstrings successfully tugged.

Field Notes: Red Blooded from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

Dream Come True

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:54:00 +0000

One of the best things I have done with my career (and really, my social life) was joining the HOW Design forum back in 2004. As a solo in-houser, I was (am) a lonely girl. Having a group of talented, experienced, and all-around wonderful designers at my disposal was so valuable for my growth. Many of the people I met back then are now my closest friends.

In addition to the forum, I was lucky enough to attend the HOW Design Live conference six out of my nine years here. This was where I met my "internet friends" in person and gained oodles of knowledge, inspiration, and perspective on the design industry. I'd highly recommend this event to any designer.

While enjoying numerous drinks after the closing party of the last conference, a friend had asked, "Mel, when are you gonna speak at this thing?" I laughed it off. I was no industry expert by any means. And my portfolio of work was paltry in comparison to the big shots typically on the agenda. (And probably paltry in comparison to most of the attendees.) But with a little encouragement and a bit of brainstorming, I thought submitting a proposal was worth a shot.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email in October notifying me that my proposal was accepted!

The conference program arrived in my mailbox this week, and I still can't believe that my name is listed in there alongside my heroes and those who have inspired me for years.

Curious about my topic? Well, a few days after the most recent conference, while still in Chicago, I thought about what my area of expertise might be. What advice would I have to give? And it dawned on me. So On Sunday, June 24th at 3:45, I will be presenting, "How to Survive Your Soul-Crushing Day Job." (Note: I say this jokingly. Obviously my job has its benefits. But there are certainly those soul-crushing moments.)

Here's the description in the program:

Learn how to live a creatively fulfilling life, even if you're not passionate about your day job, by constantly challenging your creative muscle.

So now I have four and a half months left to develop this presentation and learn how to control profuse nervous sweating.

"Break Out of Those Silos"

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Great short video with John Jay of Wieden+Kennedy.

I really love when people put an emphasis on empathy in design. I believe that trait is so very valuable in what we do. Understanding the client, the users, the people we collaborate with, etc. can make a huge difference in coming up with a successful design solution.

Designers and Startups

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:56:00 +0000

This recent shift in my career path occurred due to participating in an event called Startup Weekend. There will be a future post detailing my experiences, but really, this is what opened my eyes to the world of startups. Before that weekend in October, I didn't know much (or anything) about that domain, aside from what I saw in The Social Network. Geeks working 23 hours a day and eventually making bajillions of dollars.

I soon realized that startups are actually a really neat opportunity for a designer. Think about it. You're branding a company. You're creating a product. It all moves at a super fast pace, but the possibilities are so open. There are very few limits. And it's great timing for me to explore this because one of the current trends in startups is designer founders.

The Fast Company article, "Silicon Valley’s New Secret Weapon: Designers Who Found Startups", explains it all really well.

As the consumer tech market becomes more crowded, brands and experience design--not just technical capabilities--are becoming critical to success.

There is an influx of people churning out product after product right now. Everyone wants to be the new [insert social media fad here]. And good design will be what helps distinguish one product from the next. If the Startup Weekend I attended is any indication, there are not very many designers involved. Good for me. That makes me a hot commodity. :)

Enrique Allen sums up the article with this:

In the wake of Steve Jobs’s example, it’s obvious that designer founders should be champions of the user experience. They’re the ones who stand with one foot in the world of technology and the other in the world of people, bringing the two together.

The more I read about designers in the startup world, the more I feel that it might be the right place for me (for now). It's definitely something I'll continue exploring.

Airbnb Infographic

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:10:00 +0000

I had only heard of Airbnb, a service connecting travelers with private parties who have a spare room/space to rent, very recently. But I must have been living under a rock. They are celebrating 5 million nights booked and just released a drool-worthy infographic documenting their global growth.

[ click to view entire graphic ]

It's such a clean, simple, and interesting solution for displaying fairly standard data. I've actually been researching infographics lately for a project I'm working on. Visualizing has some great stuff, and I've always loved the ones in GOOD. I'm going to make something like this someday. And it might just track my personal junk food consumption over the course of a year, but if it looks good, who cares?

Color: A Color Matching Game

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:14:00 +0000

The fine folks over at Method of Action who brought you such design-related distractions as Kern Type: A Kerning Game, have created a new obsession for you color lovers out there. Color: A Color Matching Game

I will play this game until I get a perfect score. Color Theory was one of my favorite courses in college. I didn't even mind paying a hundred bucks for a package of Color-aid Paper as long as it meant I could cut it up and make awesome art with it. (I think I still have a stack of that paper at home.) I once made a mosaic cheeseburger out of little bits of gray paper torn from magazines as an exercise in value. How that skill has not landed me a kick ass job in the field of design I will never understand.

A New Blog, A New Life

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:42:00 +0000

I started my first blog in November of 2004 as a way to stay in touch with my "internet friends," who were fellow designers that I had met on a forum. Dorky, I know. Since then, I've gone through a few different blogs, most notably, Operation NICE, which encourages individuals to be proactively nice. So what would compel me, you ask, to begin yet another?

A few months ago, my entire outlook on my career in the world of design shifted. I never quite knew what I wanted to be when I grow up (don't worry, I don't actually plan on ever growing up), and I am inching closer and closer to my ten year anniversary as the in-house creative services manager for a pharmaceutical management company. I got bored even writing that, so I apologize to those reading it. I had this fear of taking on freelance work. I lacked any confidence in my skillz (always with a 'z'). I had limited interactive experience but was feeling drained working on print projects. Not only was my creative muscle atrophying, but I was losing all passion for the field of design as a whole. Then October 2011 happened. And things changed.

For the sake of keeping this post length reasonable, I won't get into it now. There will be future posts for that. But let's just say that one event led me to one person which led me to new insights, and now I feel as if I didn't just take a left at a fork in the road, I went off the trail completely. I'm in the brush. It's thrilling, and a bit scary, but yeah, mostly thrilling.

So I'm on this quest. I'm discovering that I'm enjoying the world of startups. I'm having a blast learning more about UX and UI design. And I'm not letting trepidation stand in the way of my success anymore. This blog will document that quest and also serve as a place for me to geek out about the things that excite me.

Let's see how it goes.