drawing and design have been major hobbies for much of my life. now i’m taking the time to cultivate the talent and skills that may be hidden within those realms, using this site as a way to give time to passions that have been neglected for some time.

as part of my personal creativity renaissance, i’ve been reading into design theory, design history, and most intriguing, typography. my previous employs have focused heavily on proposal and grant writing -packing dense information and concepts into carefully crafted sentences- yet neglecting much of the power possible through well-planned, creative design and layout. i was once a heavy user of microsoft word, but after a year off (using inDesign almost exclusively) it’s become obvious how damaging that application has been for the average person’s understanding of text on a page. it’s like i’ve quit a drug and my brain is no longer cloudy.

now i’m aware of how much information we are exposed to every day, whether we want it or not. subway ads. street signs. storefronts. plastic bags. coffee cups.  DO NOT. YES. EXIT. PLEASE. NO. WELCOME. WARNING. HAVE A NICE DAY. THANK YOU. some created with intention, others out of haste and necessity. some permanent fixtures, others change daily with the swipe of a chalkboard eraser. some have no meaning whatsoever thanks to the overuse of their sentiment.

how do we respond to this onslaught of information and communication? what subconscious tools have we developed to filter out the irrelevant and find what we are looking for, when design may fail us or work against us? how does this change across different cultures, age groups, genders? i’m hoping to explore these questions in more detail, whether anyone else cares or not.

i’m not sure where this project will take me. i can only promise myself to stick with it and remain open to where it goes.

-heidi