Dating fellow designer, Jim Ward has introduced a lot of good habits into my life. Things like making lists, dancing more often, and harnessing my natural neurosis and making it work to my advantage.

A lot of Jim’s good habits come from Zen Habits, and this month he found an article called The Unprocrastination Month– which I think is brilliant.

It’s about mapping out your year in terms of monthly goals, as opposed to just one (i.e- lose weight). Why make a New Year’s Resolution that hangs over your head for an entire year? Better to break it up into bite-sized chunks to achieve monthly goal-reaching. So I decided to do this too! Just as an experiment to see how much I can accomplish in one year.

JANUARY – No steak or chicken

I’m already not a big meat eater, but I do like my fish. And I LOVE Chipotle. If I were a prisoner on death row, my last meal would be a Chipotle Steak Burrito (yes, these are things I actually think about). But I think one month without these two barnyard animals might do some good! Time to start eating healthier.

FEBRUARY – No meat

Okay, now fish/shrimp/scallops are out of the picture. Going to have to do a good job of eating protein and not blacking out and eating an entire block of cheese.

MARCH – Finish writing Cakewalk

Cakewalk is a book I started writing FIVE YEARS AGO. No more excuses. In honor of my birthday month, my present to myself will be laying this never-ending project to rest. I can’t wait to see it out of my head and on paper, where it belongs!

APRIL – AIGA focused

With the AIGA National Leadership Retreat in May, April will be a good time to really buckle down and give AIGA everything I’ve got. It’s certainly done the same for me, and I want to be the best possible Programming Director I can be.

MAY – Friends focused

I am a hermit by nature. Not because I don’t like people. I love people. But sometimes I get overly-romanced by personal projects and me-time. Time to come into the light and be social like the rest of the developed world.

JUNE – Reading focused

I have a terrible habit of getting 75% through a book and stopping. Even if I love it. This month I want to finish reading the books I’ve started, and try to plough through some new ones.

JULY – Try something new

I don’t even know what this entails yet. Maybe I’ll try fire-eating or sky-diving or go snorkeling with sharks. Or less life-threatening things like taking a dance class, yoga, or joining a new club. This bridge will be crossed when I reach it!

AUGUST – Finish writing Zero

Zero is another book that has been sitting at the halfway mark for far too long. I started it a year ago, and now it’s time to put another one in the can!

SEPTEMBER – Work out every day

I’m kind of a cheater. I actually really enjoy working out. I think this month I will try to focus on strength training though. I’ve never seen myself with definable muscles. TIME TO GET BUFF AND BENCH PRESS MY BOYFRIEND!

NOVEMBER – Save money

With Christmas coming up, November is a good time to be cheap. No shopping. No eating out. Make moonshine in the laundry room. This is doable.

DECEMBER – Balls out

In celebration of all of these achievements, I’d like to close out the year with absolutely no restrictions (i.e- balls out). Holiday parties and cake and alcohol and shopping and meat and friends and Chipotle. Happy New Year! Let a new list begin!

Well, happy 6th day of the new year. For 2013, Jim and I joined our wonderful group of friends at MOCA for their contemporary futuristic party. In our future, people wear their clothes inside out with crazy hair-cuts, and wear twigs in their collars.

I’m not typically one to make New Year’s Resolutions, but if I had to make one I’d say this year it would be to update this blog more often!

In truth, I’m a bigger fan of New Year’s wishes. They’re sort of like a broad goal for me to work toward in a year, and later reflect on. I can’t tell you this year’s wish (then it wouldn’t come true, you fools!) but I can tell you what the previous years have been about, and what I learned from them:

Be brave. 

Life is full of scary things. And it’s full of scary things over and over again.
Never stop trying and never stop cheering yourself on. Be courageous and
good things will happen.

It’s going to be alright. 

Don’t stress so much. Go with the flow and life is much easier to get through.
Others around you will appreciate this attitude in you as well.

Shine. 

Know what you’re good at, and have fun doing it. Explore every outlet and every
possibility. You never know where life will lead you- so find out!

Don’t give up.

Sometimes, it’s going to be hard. Keep moving forward, and know that
times will change.

Be happy. 

No matter what you end up doing, make sure it makes you happy.

A wonderful short on Cartoonist, Daniel Clowes, whom I admit I never knew before seeing this film but recognized his work instantly. I love his brutal honesty in this piece. And his love for portraying characters with such humanity. Wonderful work!

This past weekend I visited my hometown with my boyfriend, and invited him to witness the highlight of every Memphis trip. Going through boxes of old sketchbooks as if scavenging for inspiration, documentation, and a good laugh. Most of it is countless half-attempts at books, which astound me in their sheer quantity and breadth. Others are notes to myself, or from other people. And in one I found a very special series of notes in which I had transcribed the rare 1972 film, “Design Q&A” by Charles and Ray Eames for Musée des Arts Décoratifs, at The Louvre. We watched it one day in class, and I was so spellbound by his words that I checked out the old reel from the library and carefully wrote down every word. This was before YouTube hit its height so it couldn’t be found online. In fact, it’s very difficult to even today.

Here’s the interview:

Q: “What is your definition of ‘Design,’ Monsieur Eames?
“One could describe Design as a plan for arranging elements to accomplish a particular purpose.”
Q: “Is Design an expression of art?”
“I would rather say it’s an expression of purpose. It may, if it is good enough, later be judged as art.”
Q: “Is Design a craft for industrial purposes?”
“No, but Design may be a solution to some industrial problems.”
Q: “What are the boundaries of Design?”
“What are the boundaries of problems?”
Q: “Is Design a discipline that concerns itself with only one part of the environment?”
“No.”
Q: “Is it a method of general expression?”
“No. It is a method of action.”
Q: “Is Design a creation of an individual?”
“No, because to be realistic, one must always recognize the influence of those that have gone before.”
Q: “Is Design a creation of a group?”
“Very often.”
Q: “Is there a Design ethic?”
“There are always Design constraints, and these often imply an ethic.”
Q: “Does Design imply the idea of products that are necessarily useful?”
“Yes, even though the use might be very subtle.”
Q: “Is it able to cooperate in the creation of works reserved solely for pleasure?”
“Who would say that pleasure is not useful?”
Q: “Ought form to derive from the analysis of function?”
“The great risk here is that the analysis may be incomplete.”
Q: “Can the computer substitute for the Designer?”
“Probably, in some special cases, but usually the computer is an aid to the Designer.”
Q: “Does Design imply industrial manufacture?”
“Not necessarily.”
Q: “Is Design used to modify an old object through new techniques?”
“This is one kind of Design problem.”
Q: “Is Design used to fit up an existing model so that it is more attractive?”
“One doesn’t usually think of Design in this way.”
Q: “Is Design an element of industrial policy?”
“If Design constraints imply an ethic, and if industrial policy includes ethical principles, then yes—design is an element in an industrial policy.”
Q: “Does the creation of Design admit constraint?”
“Design depends largely on constraints.”
Q: “What constraints?”
“The sum of all constraints. Here is one of the few effective keys to the Design problem: the ability of the Designer to recognize as many of the constraints as possible; his willingness and enthusiasm for working within these constraints. Constraints of price, of size, of strength, of balance, of surface, of time, and so forth. Each problem has its own peculiar list.”
Q: “Does Design obey laws?”
“Aren’t constraints enough?”
Q: “Are there tendencies and schools in Design?”
“Yes, but these are more a measure of human limitations than of ideals.”
Q: “Is Design ephemeral?”
“Some needs are ephemeral. Most designs are ephemeral.”
Q: “Ought Design to tend towards the ephemeral or towards permanence?”
“Those needs and Designs that have a more universal quality tend toward relative permanence.”
Q: “How would you define yourself with respect to a decorator? an interior architect? a stylist?”
“I wouldn’t.”
Q: “To whom does Design address itself: to the greatest number? to the specialists or the enlightened amateur? to a priviledged social class?”
“Design addresses itself to the need.”
Q: “After having answered all these questions, do you feel you have been able to practice the profession of ‘Design’ under satisfactory conditions, or even optimum conditions?”
“Yes.”
Q: “Have you been forced to accept compromises?”
“I don’t remember ever being forced to accept compromises, but I have willingly accepted constraints.”
Q: “What do you feel is the primary condition for the practice of Design and for its propagation?”
“A recognition of need.”
Q: “What is the future of Design?”
[photos of cakes, windows, and scenery while music plays]

As I get more and more involved in designing and writing for animation, I feel like I’ve been watching commercials differently!

These two really stuck out to me because they remind me of the projects I’m working on now.

Very interesting motion and scripts.

On the fourth day since I moved to Jacksonville, I sat in my car outside of a bar called Kickbacks and hyperventilated. I had relocated just months after the start of the recession to a place where I knew no one and had no job. But that night I was hoping to change that.

It was a “Cocktails & Creatives” event put on by AIGA Jacksonville (The Professional Association for Design), and I sucked down my fear long enough to go in there and meet some people. Among them was my future employer, Jeff, who instantly recognized my goofy smile from my self-promotional book, featuring a photo of me smiling goofily in the inside cover.

That night I also met Tiffany Manning and Kellie Osgood, who invited me to participate in a speaking event I couldn’t quite pronounce, but sounded fun enough to agree. The event was called Pecha Kucha (puh-cha-ch-kuh), and it was the Jacksonville chapter of a global event held in over 400 cities. Speakers are invited to share any subject they like, the only catch being they have to do so in 20 slides that last 20 minutes each. After more hyperventilating in the bathroom I gave a talk on my passion for drawing comics, having no idea that somewhere in the crowd was Jeff.

So months passed. I got a job (at HDco, if you’re wondering). And I was sad to hear that after a few more shows, Pecha Kucha Jacksonville had been discontinued. It wasn’t until at another Cocktails & Creatives event that I met Justice Kragiel, who shared a similar passion for reigniting this quirky little speaking event.

We teamed up with Tiffany Manning to bring Pecha Kucha to the 5 Points Theatre, where it thrived more than we could have ever hoped. Speakers were invited to talk about the history of Jacksonville, intimate photography projects, the Jacksonville roller derby girls, weird diets, adventures in the wilderness, adventures being shipwrecked, beards, beer. Biking, neuroscientists, robots, coupons, and art initiatives.

The first event we put on at the 5 Points Theatre was Pecha Kucha volume 7 on January 19, 2010. Just this week Pecha Kucha volume 17 was held at Intuition Ale Works. I just couldn’t have been more proud to say it was my tenth show, nor more confident in the future of this event. After two years being a coordinator and a lot of great times, I’m passing the torch to Tommy Hobin, who is a past presenter and expert people person.

When I think back to my Pecha Kucha presentation, when I opened with: “A lot of you may not know me because, well, I haven’t been around very long. This is my third week in town.” I think of all the things Pecha Kucha has given me. More courage to speak in public. The experience of planning my first event. A memorable introduction into a new community. A job. Friends that I love. And the opportunity to meet new people.

The best part of this event was and is the people.

So this coming March, I encourage you to join me in the crowd for this delightfully strange event, and support Tommy as he ushers in a new era for Pecha Kucha Jacksonville. And if you have the courage to stop hyperventilating, maybe you’ll even participate in the show.

Until next time!

~ Stephanie Soden