The benefits of creative Do It Yourself! (DIY)
I want to start by thanking my inspiration for choosing the word Consistency as my word for 2023. I got the idea of choosing the word from the great instructional designer Stephanie Gerald, who I guess is now passing the bar to be a lawyer so soon-to-be great ID and lawyer! I have the amazing Betty Dannewitz to thank for the idea of using the word Consistency from her amazing episode on creating a brand with the expressive Tim Slade, who clearly stated the need to be consistent in your brand on the If You Ask Betty Podcast. Credit where credit is due!
In this Vlog post, I explain why I chose to create my own logo and argue why creating things for myself works for me and aligns with my brand. I backpedal to September 25th, 2023 which was the height of my 50 Pushups a Day Challenge for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. It was about that time that I completed the design of my logo and you can see it was first used on Day 26 of that same challenge where I also praised the use of our subconscious mind.
In this video, I have three reasons why I argue creating your own logo is the best choice. (If you are at all inclined and have the resources to do so.)
Creative Control
The first benefit of designing your own logo is that you are in control of what it is and what it becomes.
- You are in control of the whole process from design to export.
- You made the product, it is now a part of you. You are connected with it.
- You know it’s strengths you know it’s weaknesses.
In the video, I explain you have to turn off the editor and invite the muse into the room to create something. Then invite the editor back into the room to resume editorial functions. I drew this concept from the book: “Art and Fear” by David Bayles, and Ted Orland.
This book is fantastic and I can not recommend it enough. I might talk about his book with people I know and people I meet on the street or in airports, more than any other book. I guess you could say at this point,
“This is my book.”
Financial Benefit
- I saved money. I didn’t spend any money, I only spent time.
- Money saved = Money earned.
- I paid myself to create this logo, by not paying someone else to do it.
As promised here is the Freakonomics Episode: “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Money (But Were Afraid to Ask)” with a super-smart economist about spending less on trash bags. (Well, the trash bag part might not be in there, I might have made the trash bag analogy up, or it was from another expert on Freakonomics.) However, this episode still supports my point that spending less is good and is the same as making more money. (They also talk about how to invest money too, so that’s always good!)
- It would have cost me $5 to $100 per hour to get a logo.
- Did it take me an hour? No, it took 5 hours!
Do you want to see it? I recorded the whole thing! Some of the music I was listening to bled into the recording so it is not viewable in all locations. Sorry!
(I am sure a VPN would help if you need to see it.)
Now, I’d like to point out again here that I am not a graphic designer (as you might have gleaned from that 5-hour video.) It might not have taken a professional graphic designer 5 hours to come up with a similar product. The value lost in that time is offset by my third point.
Moment of Learning
I gained new skills, and I had a fun time doing it! I worked in Adobe Illustrator to create this logo. (Well, first I got lost in Adobe Photoshop, applied all the filters, and got to a spot that was kind of OK.) Then I went into Adobe Illustrator.
I am not very experienced in Illustrator, but I want to be!… with Adobe’s job aids, I was able to work through the flow at my own pace and build some confidence in designing in Illustrator.
In this way, I was building skills that I can use as an instructional designer or even a graphic designer if I ever choose to do that to myself…
“Living life as an artist is a practice.
You are either engaging in the practice
or you’re not.It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it.
It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.”
You are either living as a monk or you’re not.We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output.
The real work of the artist
― Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
is a way of being in the world.”
Improvement Dave 