justlucky

The blog of Drew Melton. See his work at: www.yourjustlucky.com

[iamjustlucky]

You’re closer than you know

In your work, your relationship, your finances, that project that just won’t come together. We are all a lot closer than we realize. Many times we give up when the big breakthrough or inspiration or momentum is just around the corner. Maybe you have a project that just isn’t working. Maybe your relationship really isn’t going anywhere and maybe you are just stuck creatively. But I’d be willing to bet that you have a lot more going for you than you realize. 

Today, instead of focusing on what you don’t have. What’s not going right in your life. How much money you don’t have. Try something new for a moment. Try looking for what you do have. What skills, connections, opportunities, friendships, common ground or positive experiences do you have? How can you start living off of what you do have? could you thrive with what you do have available to you? I bet you could make a lot happen pretty quick because... as the blog post title says... you’re closer than you know.  

[iamjustlucky]

What is your must?

I heard Tony Robbins say, “People don’t do what they ‘Should’ do. They do what they must do.”. This statement stopped me in my tracks because it’s so true. We tell ourselves we should work out more or we should eat better or stop drinking but more most of us these changes or improvements are negotiable. I’ve noticed that I slack on many “shoulds” until there is an emergency. Maybe I don’t budget my money (or my time) well because even thought I know I should be more mindful about my spending. I’ve never gotten to a point where I must change. 

Part of learning to shift our “shoulds” to “musts” means raising our standards. Because when we have no other option. When we must do something — there is no question it will happen — we will find a way to make those musts happen no matter what the circumstances.

[iamjustlucky]

Whose shoulders are you standing on?

None of us made it to where we are today on our own. Collectively, we all rely on the knowledge, struggle and triumphs of those who came before us. Individually we would not be here without our parents, or their parents. As creative professionals I couldn’t imagine us all trying to do the work we do without those who have innovated, taken risks, pushed boundaries and shared their knowledge over the years.

It feels like we live in an era of individuals. I struggle with this myself. I want to do it all on my own. I want to believe that I am who I am because... well... I am awesome. Over the years I’ve noticed that I am not the only one who works his (or her) ass off to be a self made designer. We all want to stand out. We all want to be special — to have something unique to offer the world. But I am beginning to think we are missing out.

In this digital era when we can absorb so much from others so quickly and easily it would be foolish not to learn as much as we can from those who went before us. But many of us skim past them whether living or dead. Finding it too difficult to sit still learn the basics that will give us solid ground to launch from. By refusing to stand on the shoulders of those who went before we will never reach our fullest potential. And this is a shame for those who will need to stand on our shoulders next.

[iamjustlucky]

Strategy follows emotion.

There are a million blog posts out there about how to get the most out of your day, health, work, relationships, etc. We know exactly how all the successful people ahead of us have become wealthy, famous or skilled in their field. Knowing their strategies is so important for anyone who is looking to achieve a great deal but what these articles forget is that these people were driven by something else entirely, emotion. 

The people we look up to were passionate about something first. Human rights, internet for everyone, clean water, a thousand songs in your pocket, it’s hard to deny that these people had a strong why before they ever had a plan. I find myself focusing on the strategies of others first (Oh, they get up at 4 am every day and run 10 miles, that must be why they are successful) and miss out on the fact that they paid attention to their inner compass. They stayed true to their calling. 

So these days I’m asking a new question. Instead of, “What do I need to do?” I’m asking myself, “What am I here to do?” and — more importantly — “Who am I here to serve?” When you figure out why you’re here it’ll make the strategies so much more powerful in helping you achieve your goals.

So — Who are you here to serve?

[iamjustlucky]

Fall in love with your customer. Not your product.

I’ve been listening to a lot of business podcasts lately and I heard something that stopped me in my tracks (ok I was sitting but you get the point). A very successful business man was talking about how he turns around company’s with this very simple idea, “Fall in love with the customer. Not your product.”

Mic drop...

As a designer who takes a lot of pride in the amount effort I put in to making things beautiful I realized I had never thought much about the end user. Design has become another way for me to show off how awesome I am. This shift has radically changed the perspective I take on my work and ironically made the work more enjoyable. 

When you focus on making others look good you end up looking good. Everybody wins.

[iamjustlucky]

It's not every day that I get to work on a project with my wife, Kelsey Zahn. Just a few weeks ago we were driving to the desert trying to come up with a name for her new project (hand-stitching radical illustrations and words onto pillows). After about an hour of exhaustive brainstorming we noticed the sign of a rundown motel along the the 10 freeway. We looked at each other and knew that the universe had given us our name, Stardust Motel.

The whole vibe is meant to reference back to the limits of simple hand stitching. I have been charmed by her illustrations and lettering ever since she started doing this for fun in the evenings. All of the branding works equally well across the mediums (including hand stitching). It’s a work in progress and I’m excited to continue refining it over the coming months.

Go to the site to see her collection. It’s growing every day. There is much more right around the corner including water color illustrations, new pillows, bandanas and tote bags you're sure to love (especially if you love avocados).

Check it out.

[iamjustlucky]

Week 4: How to find client work?

Markus Long asks: As an Industrial Designer/Graphic Designer by day, I've had a variety of freelance projects come my way. I've recently been focusing a lot of my time over the last few months on lettering and honing that skill. How does one go about finding commissions in lettering specifically? It seems like such a narrow market. I feel like most people don't even realize there is such a thing. Or that that is something they might want to consider when seeking out design help. Thanks!

Great question. To begin, I think we’ve all been in your shoes at one time or another. When I first became interested in lettering I had recently dropped out of art school and spent most of my time developing websites, brochures and other design “odd-jobs”. Very little of my daily work had anything to do with custom typography. Which is of course, why I wasn’t getting inquiries for that kind of work. 

My best advice for moving in a new direction is this: Show what you want to be hired for. And start today. Even if it’s process photos or work you know you’ll hate in 5 years. The best thing I ever did was stop posting website layouts and other work that had nothing to do with hand lettering. I just started coming up with my own self-initiated lettering projects and sharing my work. I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t that good but no one seemed to mind much. Sharing my work as I grew also brought my audience into my journey.

This brings me to a big secret about great designers; No one starts good. We all pretend that we don’t know this but it’s true.  The giant 100 foot concrete wall that keeps people from sharing the work they love doing is that they don’t feel ready. The good news is no one cares if your work isn’t perfect. In fact, people care far more about seeing you get better and far less about perfect polished artwork. Your unique process and path is actually what makes your work interesting. 

So here is what I would say. You don’t have to quit your day job or drop all of your client work or move to a bigger city to start sharing what you love doing. Do it consistently and share what you’re working on. Only share what you want people to hire you for over time you will start to receive inquiries! It will take a lot of work and patience but the payoff is worth it.

Good luck! 

Have a question about creativity, process or design? Submit your question here.

[iamjustlucky]

Week 3: Is education necessary?

Luana Bellamy asks: How do you pursue this passion through education? Is education for this necessary or just practice, practice? I'm in the LA area but it seems kinda hard to find these classes in a regular community college.

Great question. First, I’ll start by saying; Yes.

You can absolutely go it alone. People have done it for centuries. Pioneers, visionaries and prodigies have forged their own unique paths without much help. However, when speaking for the rest of us, I would expect to make half as much progress working twice as hard if you aren’t pursuing some sort of education. 

I know this from personal experience. 

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m fiercely independent. I have trouble asking for help or directions when it comes to just about any project I take on. For example, I dropped out of college in my 3rd year because I didn’t think it was doing me any good. For the most part, I was right. It isn’t necessary to jump through all of the formal education hoops (while racking up crushing student loans) in order to build a successful design career. Our generation is suspicious that formal education is lacking in much needed depth or real-world preparation. I’m speaking specifically to design college education when I say that many design programs are not worth the debt that you will be paying off for the next decade (or two).

On the flip side, I believe that education (and curiosity) is more important than ever. We are living in a period of almost limitless access to knowledge, education and inspiration. On the one hand, there are plenty of people continuing to seek accreditation through outdated school systems but I have also noticed an emerging trend of just hacking it. The term that gets used to death goes something like, “Fake it ‘till you make it”. This has become a common cliche amongst designers/artists who have “hacked” their way into a creative craft or career. This new golden rule tells us to just do something repeatedly and eventually, through pure persistence, all nighters and hustle you will get wherever it is you’re going.

I believe there is a healthy middle ground.

There is something about learning in the same room as other individuals that really is necessary for your spirit and your soul. I think the main issue these days is that people take great pride in doing it ALL alone and they don’t seem to have a clue what they are missing in their obsession with independence. There are so many ways to promote, automate, manage, etc from the comfort and solitude of your home that we are missing some of the riches parts of being a human. Specifically, living and working with other people. The best part of college for me was living with people I’d never met, interacting with people of different backgrounds, doing group projects and realizing I wasn’t alone on my journey. Not to mention having big parties and staying out late at school during finals. But you know what I mean.

There are so many reasons to get out there and get your hands dirty. As gooey as it sounds – The most important part of any good education is that it should teach you how to live well in the real world. It should be practice for living a rich creative life outside the classroom. We are growing, evolving creatures. According to our nature we will never be “complete”. There will always be more to learn, more to explore, more to conquer. Good education should give you the tools to explore for many years to come through all the ups and downs of a creative life. 

That being said here are a few great local resources for getting out there and getting connected (and learning a thing or two) if you’re around Los Angeles.

1. Creative Mornings. It started in NYC and one of the founders (Jon Setzen) moved here a few years ago and has since been organizing events every month. The events are inspiring, educational and excellent opportunities to meet fellow designers from all disciplines. https://creativemornings.com/cities/la

2. TypeEd. These guys do everything! They regularly schedule a wide variety of events including mixers, speaker series and classes all focused on learning and loving typography. Visit their website to learn more about upcoming events. http://www.type-ed.com/

3. Los Angeles Trade Tech. Last but not least I’ve been highly recommended the Sign Graphics program taught by Doc Guthrie at Los Angeles Trade Tech. The program has been around since 1924 and has been taught by the legendary Doc Guthrie since 1992 (Sign up soon – There is talk of his retirement in the next couple of years). The program takes you from beginner to master over the course of 2 years (4 semesters). People actually move to Los Angeles just to take this class. http://college.lattc.edu/catalog/files/2012/11/SignGraphics.pdf http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/12/news/cl-50581

Thanks for your question, Luana! See you all next week.

[iamjustlucky]

Week 2: Emotion & Craftsmanship

Dane Gonzalez asks: What has worked for you in terms of balancing both the technical craftsmanship and the emotional energy in your work? If you find your work trending towards either extreme, what can you do to shake out of it and balance things out?

Great question!

Balancing the emotional attachment I feel for my work with the professional demands for a high level of quality and craft has always been a challenge for me. Here is how the working process usually looks for me. I start a project full of energy and enthusiasm. I’m bursting with exciting ideas. After burning through a few sheets of paper I inevitably hit a lull as my excitement wears off. This tends to be where a small crisis emerges. And instead of trusting the process by taking a break and coming back later. I try to work harder – and I go into a slow death spiral. I work in circles for way too long as I try to recapture the magic I felt in the beginning. The emotional well is no longer a good source of motivation. Eventually I have to walk away frustrated.

Here is what I’ve found after working on numerous projects for years. It’s best to find stopping points when you feel ahead of the game instead of waiting until you’re too burned out and tired to stop yourself. Too many creatives burn themselves out overworking ideas and going way past their emotional thresh-hold. Usually passion is cited as the source for this intense drive. Passion is a powerful fuel but a cruel master. These days I continue to work with just as much passion. But I put that passion into the work instead of letting it drive my day. This means I work with more creative energy and I know when to stop. Limits are your friend. Learn to love your down time. Use it to re-energize. Use it to learn as much as you can. They say a master craftsman should study as much as he or she practices. That being said. Take classes, hang out with friends, eat good food, and make sure to exercise (I can’t emphasize this enough for sedentary folks like myself).

Great work doesn’t come out of burnout. Sure, if you want to do the tortured artist thing that’s fine. But it will cost you. Many of the great pieces of art and literature were made in just an hour a day for years. Focus on progress and regularity rather than perfection. Make sure to stop when you’re tired. Create a life you love. The ideas and the craftsmanship will come. Love your life and inspiration, creativity will find you.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know your thoughts on craft vs emotion in the comments. See you next week!

PS Much of this post was inspired by Elizabeth Gilberts’ new book, Big Magic. She does an incredible job of describing the joys and pitfalls of the creative journey. It’s a must read if you’re interested in this topic.

[iamjustlucky]

Week 1: Where do you find inspiration?

Q: Isaac Bowman asks, “Where do you find your best inspiration?”

A: Great question! The best inspiration comes from two places for me.

First, nothing beats good instruction. I am not much of a book learner myself but vintage type specimen books are a great place to start. I highly recommend  the modern and vintage Speedball lettering guides. Also any old sign painters instruction books are gold mines of great instruction and interesting alphabets to draw inspiration from. The reason these manuals are helpful to me is because they are not only visually stimulating but they do a wonderful job of teaching you rules so you can construct your own alphabets.

They are full of handy rules about proportions, letter-spacing, along with examples of pen & brush grips. My good friend Jason Carne has made it easier than ever to access this material through his Lettering Library project. You can purchase PDF’s of rare, vintage type specimens right from the site. Otherwise, I suggest you hit Ebay regularly to find rare books and great deals.

Second, I’m constantly out taking pictures of lettering I see out in the real world. The beauty of modern technology is that it’s never been easier to capture your own inspiration. No matter where you live I promise you can find great hand painted signage or awesome neon signage. When you start really looking around you’ll be amazed at what comes to your attention. Vintage shops, used record stores, and old buildings are great places to start -- Pay special attention in older parts of town.

Obviously there are a million other ways to get inspired and everyone is unique. I have friends who get their best ideas from meditation, physical activity, going to the movies, reading or being with friends. I recommend you start with the basics and see what works for you. In the end all that matters is your personal experience. My greatest mistake early on was that I took my personal experience for granted as an influence. It’s easy to try and emulate styles and trends. But if you begin with the basics and build out you will naturally start to develop your own style.

Good luck and have a great weekend!

[iamjustlucky]

Q&A Fridays!

Hello friends! I hope you have been well. 

From time to time I receive questions about my process, tools, where to find inspiration, etc. To be honest it’s a challenge for me to get to these emails on top of my regular mail load. I want to try a different approach. I am going to start doing a regular Q&A blog post right here every Friday! Feel free to ask anything about creativity, tools, process, work/life balance, etc. and I’ll do my best to answer as thoroughly as possible. Even if I have to do a little research. I’m hoping that this will be a more effective way of answering your questions.

Submit your questions via this form. I will select 3 questions to answer every week. I’m looking forward to hearing from you! See you (every) Friday.

[iamjustlucky]

Unused concept for the the new TV show titled, The Bastard Executioner.

[iamjustlucky]

I recently uncovered an old stack of sketches while cleaning my closet. I had totally forgotten about Flourish Fridays. It was a 12 week public project from about a year ago. Every Friday I would post a new lettering sketch. What is crazy to me now is that I only spent 30 minutes a day on this practice. It was a great personal project that didn’t require too much time.

If you’re new to design (or an old pro) and looking to jump start your creativity I highly recommend a public practice of your craft on a regular basis. When you make a project public it keeps you accountable and it brings people into your journey. Not only does it develop your technical skills but it opens your eyes to just how many ways you can design just two words. The possibilities are endless. 

Have you ever practiced in public? Send me a link to your personal practice project. I’d love to see it.

[iamjustlucky]

I am proud to announce that Anchor Paper Co. is back! With a new site, a new product and a new vision. Read about the journey from our first launch to now over on the Anchor Blog and be sure to grab the new Ciao card while you’re on the site.

Please let us know what you think by dropping a note at [email protected]

[iamjustlucky]

I am so excited to be sharing these beautiful new Menu Guides that I was asked to design for Herb Lester Associates (way way back) in 2014. Since this project has been over a year in the making I was excited to finally see them in print! 

If you don’t know who Herb Lester Associates is you need to drop whatever it is you’re doing and visit their site right now. They offer some of the best travel guides I have ever seen. Each guide is designed by top tier design talent from around the world. The result is a stunning collection of products that inspire the imagination while sparking your need for adventure. 

I feel privileged to be working on projects that are useful, interesting and beautiful. I hope you enjoy them!

[iamjustlucky]

Sometimes you spell Phoenix wrong.

I’ve been inspired to send more mail to my friends since taking Erik Marinovich’s Skillshare class. I have to admit – I get a little OCD working on my personal projects – this envelope was no different. To my horror, I realized that I misspelled Phoenix and missed a digit on the zip code after sending out the package. 

To be honest, I considered not showing this at all. I tend to look at mistakes as failures. I naturally work hard to hide my failure. I’m learning to see them as an opportunity to improve and connect with others by asking for help. Remember to step back and look at the big picture from time to time. It’s not all about perfect lines. Sometimes it’s just about getting the zip code right.

By the way – If you haven’t heard of Kelsey Dake please go check out her work right now. She’s a phenomenal illustrator. On top of that she’s one of them most honest, vulnerable (aka brave) people I follow on social media – which is what I admire most about her. 

Enjoy! Lot’s of exciting work coming soon.

[iamjustlucky]

My first Skillshare project!

I recently took Erik Marinovich's class on Skillshare. No matter what level you're at I highly recommend taking the time to learn from others. Below is the process post I shared with the Skillshare community.

Inspiration After watching the first videos about materials I immediately ordered my supplies. In the meantime I started going through my own library for inspiration. Some of my favorite books for inspiration are the Lettera series. I found these at a flea market and they always come in handy. Below are a few images of my favorite spreads. Another book I've used for years is Photo Lettering's One Line Manual of Styles. It's a rich resource to get you started on any style. I also ordered the Speedball Text Book that Erik recommended along with The Universal Penman. Both are excellent resources.

Materials & Practice I am actually still waiting on the materials recommended by Erik in the video so I went out and hunted down the markers at local stores. It turns out that the jumbo white markers are incredibly hard to find locally so I'll definitely be ordering a few online to have in my kit. In the meantime I have large number of brushes and markers that I've been meaning to experiment with. The first is the Staedtler Mars Graphic 3000 Duo. Now that I've used the Tombow I would say the Staedtler feels very similar actually. Great flow. I love the feel of the rubber tip. It gives a very clean stroke and it's comfortable in the hand.

The other market that stood out is the Copic Sketch 110. Once you get used to the shape of the marker it's really easy to use and provides solid strokes. I would say it was a little tougher to get thicks and thins with the Copic.

I spent most of my time just working out an organice casual as demonstrated in the videos. I've been a huge fan of the House casuals for a long time but I felt the most comfortable just working the the natural movements of the brush to come up with organic shapes that felt comfortable to execute.

Endless Revisions Before starting on my envelope I had to decide who to send mine to. I have a dear friend who's living in New Jersey for some medical treatment and I've been meaning to send a care package. I wanted the envelope to kind of match his personality. One of the most notable things about David is his style. He dresses bright, bold and colorful. He's a classy dude to the end. After getting his address I started exploring a variety of styles and techniques. I began with the basics because my markers had not yet arrived in the mail. I started with a bold western style slab. I thought I could make it look more contemporary. While I like the layout it just didn't feel like David.

After looking through my inspiration again I landed on a direction that felt just right for Davids style. I probably drew this out 10 or 15 times trying to make it feel just right!

Envelope Application! It was time to apply the design to the envelope. I didn't know about the lead transfer trick Erik taught – It was so easy to get my design on the envelope quickly and without losing any quality. I also loved the Pentel Chalk Markers. I tried some other brand and they were so watery that I threw them all away. Definitely going to use these on other projects in the future!

The white was a challenge since I was doing it all with small markers but I can't complain with the outcome considering this is my first time working with these tools.

Final thoughts It was a great experience and I can't wait to send more of these out in the future. It's great practice and an awesome way to use design to delight others. I loved it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your process Erik!