One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is how to be a fulfilled creative person when the majority of your life is consumed by being interested in creative related outputs. From working full time as a designer to also developing this blog, social media content and my own lettering projects, it can feel exhausting to be creating content or designs all the time, so today I thought I would just have an open discussion about it. 

If you asked me what I enjoyed doing I would reply by saying by lettering, designing, animating, writing, taking photos, reading, mind puzzles, going round exhibitions/museums, hearing live musicians/comedians and visiting new places. The vast majority of that list includes creativity in some sort of way, and then a good 3/4's are directly produced by myself. When your life is like that it can be hard to always feel up to the mark. 

Since moving to London, I've had a feeling like I need to be doing all the things all the time. Then with the idea of being a "hustler" (although can we please leave this mentality for 2018 and onwards) it's very easy to feel like you are falling behind when you aren't actively doing something that directly impacts your creativity. 

But what I've been realising is that you need to make time for the things, hobbies and whatever else that gives you enjoyment from life that won't make you feel pressured, forced or stressed about the work. If you are interested in creating something it should be done at a moment you want to during a time that you can focus on it with the mental capacity to actually enjoy it. And it's actually good to switch things up a lot.

When I need a break from thinking up ideas, I'll usually sit and play a game or do some sort of puzzle. Once I got into a routine for commuting to/from work I realised I needed something that wasn't necessarily writing or sketching on the tube but still stretched my mind. So instead I looked to getting a soduko app as I've noted before I love completing these! They still make me think about patterns and layouts but in a totally different way. A refreshing way. 

The moral of this post though is that you don't have to be and honestly, you shouldn't be a 24/7 creative. It can put a lot of strain on your overall physical and mental health as well as your wellbeing to be continuously be creating, thinking up ideas, visiting creative events/shows/museums, etc and then be implementing everything somewhere. So make sure you take a break- it doesn't mean you fail as a creative, it'll give you the strength to grow as one.

[header photo by Ben Kolde from Unsplash]

How's 2018 been for you so far? I wish I could say it's been easy sailing but it hasn't, with family passings, looking for flats and needing to cancel your bank card it's been stressful to say the least. But on the flip side, there have been thins that have been going fine including making plans to see friends, feeling creatively inspired and well, my job. 

I'm nearing the end of my probation period there now and it's coming to the time where I'm starting to think about my ~almost~ 3 months in the role and what I want to continue, what I want to learn and if there's any changes I feel need to be made. As someone in their first full time design job at an agency I thought today I would kind of go through some of the things I've learned or realised so far from working. 

It's scary. But it gets easier.

Holy hell it's terrifying going into your first job with only (in total) 4 months expierence of working and even then that's split across 4 different companies all of whom do slightly different work for vastly different clients. Even more unnerving when you realise that you are most definitely the youngest person in the office.

But for me I jumped straight in, with notebook in hand to make all the notes and doing this definitely helped. Make sure you to ask for help or direction when you're stuck. The most difficult thing I felt when I started was that people may thought I was being annoying in asking about this thing or that but it is actually helpful. It means you know what you're doing and you can get through issues or hurdles a lot quicker than if you go into a project blind. So  just get stuck in, there's no point tip-toeing about.

Do actually get stuck in

For me this was my 'coping' mechanism, if that's the right way to phrase it. Basically with just getting on with my work, it has put me in a better place now. When I started I pretty much just took any work I could to learn about the different clients and get used to their branding/identity styles. Since a lot of the work done at my job varies across print, digital and motion it's been super important to learn this but because now I've helped on a lot of different client work I don't need to worry about spending time reading their branding guidelines doc.

Write everything down. Literally everything.

As I previously noted I had a notebook with me from day one. It's definitely been super helpful and I literally make all the notes. Writing down each of my 'tasks' for the day got me to remember all the clients and better helped when it came to doing my timesheet or having discussions with project managers about what work I was doing. From making the time to put pen to paper it definitely makes me more accountable and remember what I actually need to do day to day and it's a space I can use when I need to note things down in brainstorming sessions. 

But basically all I'm trying to say is to keep track of what you're doing and write that shit down.

You can learn from everyone. And everyone can learn from you. 

I feel this is one I always seemed in posts about starting out in the creative industries but it's so damn true. The main thing with this is being open with what your struggles are and not being protective about your ideas or your work. There's always something that can be expanded or learned from sharing. One day your coworker may tell you about a quick command to copy/paste styles in Keynote and then the next day you're explaining to them how you easily colour correct areas of a photo. Everyone's skills can vary and when you work in a team that are all there to do the work and progress together, you can learn a shit ton more than keeping to yourself. 

Overall these are definitely the most important things I've learnt in the past few months that isn't specifcally how to do something but more of a way of working. It'll be interesting if I have any more things like these within the following months! But either way I'll be sure to keep you updated with my progress of working, in the mean time feel free to ask any questions below or feel free to tweet me or send me a message on instagram! 

[header photo by Raw Pixel and midbreak photo by Georgie Cobbs, both from Unsplash]

'Ello and welcome back to the blog! Today I have another book review by someone that I shared another of his books last year- Jon Richter! In similar styling to his last book, Deadly Burial, Disturbing Works is another book best kept for a stormy night when you want a bit of a spook. Or yano, in my instance when you're sitting on the tube twice a day! 

The first volume of my Disturbing Works is a collection of twelve twisted tales perfect for people who like their stories dark, despicable, and deeply unsettling. Containing fantasy, sci-fi, dark humour and a lot of deliciously nasty horror, it should have something for every reader that has a sinister side and nerves of steel…

If you haven't noticed my choice of books has definitely grown to include crime, thriller and creeps the past few years and well Richter's book did not disappoint. The book itself is a collection of a variety of short stories all covering different themes and genres of creepy, mind-F'ing weirdness and some with a unique look at technology. The best way for me to some it up would be by saying it's like the tv series Black Mirror but in book form (with also getting a bit of Hunger Games/Battle Royale vibes with one story as well).

One point I covered in my last review of a Richter book is the formatting. Within this new collection of stories, it is once again where the formatting and pacing makes the reading enjoyable and engrossing. Each of the stories varies slightly in length and amount of dialogue- although the majority include only small on going passages of speech. But it is with this instance I feel helped with the setting of each story, whether it was a story with 20+ humans/robots or a single person, the style of writing cemented you in to what was happening very easily. 

With each story being obviously short it would be very easy to read the entire book within one sitting but I do definitely prefer the way I worked my way through it. The stories were short enough that I could start and finish one or two on my commute on the tube going too/from work, making the packed tube rides all that much more pleasant... well as pleasant as it can be when you're reading about people being murdered, robots taking over and a plethora of other disturbing things. 

So if you fancy getting yer creep on I'd thoroughly recommend checking out Disturbing Works! Trust me if you love your sci-fi, horror or thrillers you will be pulled right into this book! I would love to see a tv show collection of some of these, it would work so well. But for now I'm looking forward to the next collection being released and actually sitting down and reading it with a cuppa rather than a shakey tube, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! 

What books have you been loving lately? I'm trying to complete my Goodreads challenge this year by reading 30+ books, so leave your recommendations down below and I'll hopefully get round to it! 

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So hello, and welcome to the second post of 2018! (Yes I know there was meant to be a post on Saturday, but I don't think I'll be diving right into them just yet.) But today I wanted to have a chat about resolutions, new year intentions, goals, whatever ya call them! 

For me I like to start the year by looking at the last 365 days and seeing what I've achieved and not achieved at, then think about what I want to take forward into the new year and work on. I know a lot of people don't like the idea of New Year resolutions as the common idea is that you fail it within the first month, if not week. But for me I always try to make mine much more actionable and something I truly will try be exciting about achieving. 

This year, I decided I would note all my goals within my bullet journal and give myself some actionable points to be able to start achieving them. Most years I do kind of just write down whatever things I can think of but this year I took a much more level-headed approach by giving myself on goal for different areas of my life that are important to me like my personal creative development, what I want to be doing at work, and also things involving my health, finance and relationships. 

Laying it out the way I have (which was inspired by happily eve after) it gives me the opportunity to write down those actionable points I mentioned but also to give a space that I can mark off how I am progressing with them when it comes too April and then August. 

By doing all this I think this year I will be more successful in how I achieve my goals and the extent they'll be achieved as well. As a creative I think it's always important to strive to push yourself further not just creatively but in your regular life as well as what happens to you on an everyday basis can become the foundation for a new project or give a new perspective on an idea you have. 

Of course with goals though, you need to keep them somewhat manageable. Many times in the past I've strived to do the standard "loose X amount of weight" with no plan or steps to take, which is obviously going to end in failure. But it's good to give yourself some means to keep yourself accountable as in the end you'll be wanting to pursue that goal in order to keep ahead of the accountability. 

The last thing I wanted to touch on was something I've done for a few years, which is a word for the year. The idea for this is that you have a word that encompasses your goals, ambitions or feelings for the year ahead. It is a bit like giving yourself a mantra to follow throughout the months. For this year I've decided on the word "develop", largely because a lot of the goals I've chosen involve developing some aspect of myself or my life into something better. I also like the idea of using the word develop because one thing I'm aiming to do this year is to print off more photos on my sprocket that I got for Christmas and it obviously ties into the photography terminology. 

So what about you, have you got some goals for this year, has this post made you think that you need to add some actionable points to your goals? Or has it even inspired you to make a spread in your own bullet journal or even to give yourself a "word of the year"? If it has let me know below and we can have a chat about them! 

Well it's been a while ain't it? My last post was in October and my goodness how things have changed since then! 

If you haven't been keeping up with me on socials (Instagram & Twitter) you will have missed that I am now working as a full time graphic designer at a company called SevenC3 in London! The past 3/4months have been a bit of a crazy whirlwind with it, from having interviews to then being invited to be part of the company! On top of the usual new job business I also moved across the country for it too. Meaning that a lot of my spare time has involved looking for permanent living options, adventuring round the area and London itself, among all the other boring adulty stuff including weekly shops and cleaning. 

But enough about what happened in 2017. What's happening in 2018? Cause it's a new year folks! 

I'm coming into this year with an optimistic and excited attitude. I already have set myself goals in my mind for things I want to achieve within my work, personal, side projects and general health & wellbeing, among other things. 

On the side project front, that's where this blog sits. I've been speaking to Morag and Laura, two close blogger friends as of late and I've been discussing with them my goals and how I've wanted to be putting more of an effort with this blog. And that starts here I guess. 

I've refreshed the ideas I have with this blog and given myself a new focus on what topics and themes I want to cover, along with giving myself a new schedule to work too. So hopefully from now, you should see a new blog post on OhHay! Blogs every Tuesday and Saturday, covering topics from developing myself as a young designer, living in London, reviews and I'd like to share some insight into my creative process as well. 

I'll be going into a lot more depth about things like moving to London and finding a job in different posts but for now that's me! I hope you're excited to follow this new chapter of the blog and I'll catch up with ya in the comments & on socials!