A quiet milestone
It's interesting what inspires people. Today, I was inspired at work to not be the sucky designer I was when I had no experience.
And by "no experience" I don't mean very little ... I mean none at all.
See, the first page I ever designed was on this day, two years ago.
Well, maybe not this exact calender day, but this specific sports day: the NFL's Conference Championship.
That year, it was Seattle and Pittsburgh who won, and I can clearly recall my sports section cover. As Joy would say "It needs more white space." It was also ugly. Horrific. Something I cringe about when I remember it. I'd post it, but I've had each and every copy, paper or electronic, destroyed.
Like I said, it was my very first page.
Tonight, it was New York and New England who advanced, and I knew I had to do something cool. Not illustration-cool, just well-played photos with an overarching metaphor. Thankfully, the sports gods gave me said chance by pairing New York with New England, because the easy (and most important) storyline is the rematch angle. New England and Green Bay would have been harder to play.
So, while I was working on the other pages and hoping for a Giants win I was planning the cover out. Something like a preview for a boxing match, with the cocky Patriots taking on the confident Giants.
(And by the way, back in the day, I only did two sports pages per night. Last night, I did nine. And beat deadline. And made all of them look pretty good. How's that for improvement?)
Well, I got the matchup, got the photos, and it turned out pretty well. Sadly though, I overlaid some type on the photos, and that's become a new no-no till we figure out how to make it not look bad on the press (something I learned just now).
However, when Bran came in tonight tinker with the layout, he didn't change too much. And he liked my general idea.
On that night two years ago, I'm fairly certain my boss threw up.
So I am in a good profession, at least for now. And I hit a big milestone, knowing I've improved.
Next up, the Super Bowl.
And by "no experience" I don't mean very little ... I mean none at all.
See, the first page I ever designed was on this day, two years ago.
Well, maybe not this exact calender day, but this specific sports day: the NFL's Conference Championship.
That year, it was Seattle and Pittsburgh who won, and I can clearly recall my sports section cover. As Joy would say "It needs more white space." It was also ugly. Horrific. Something I cringe about when I remember it. I'd post it, but I've had each and every copy, paper or electronic, destroyed.
Like I said, it was my very first page.
Tonight, it was New York and New England who advanced, and I knew I had to do something cool. Not illustration-cool, just well-played photos with an overarching metaphor. Thankfully, the sports gods gave me said chance by pairing New York with New England, because the easy (and most important) storyline is the rematch angle. New England and Green Bay would have been harder to play.
So, while I was working on the other pages and hoping for a Giants win I was planning the cover out. Something like a preview for a boxing match, with the cocky Patriots taking on the confident Giants.
(And by the way, back in the day, I only did two sports pages per night. Last night, I did nine. And beat deadline. And made all of them look pretty good. How's that for improvement?)
Well, I got the matchup, got the photos, and it turned out pretty well. Sadly though, I overlaid some type on the photos, and that's become a new no-no till we figure out how to make it not look bad on the press (something I learned just now).
However, when Bran came in tonight tinker with the layout, he didn't change too much. And he liked my general idea.
On that night two years ago, I'm fairly certain my boss threw up.
So I am in a good profession, at least for now. And I hit a big milestone, knowing I've improved.
Next up, the Super Bowl.