The Unfettered Bloke

Ok, so my “creative streaks” come in phases. I can go weeks/months without ever having a desire to dabble in design. Then all the sudden I get the itch and it’s all I think about. Problem is, I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. My techniques are limited, skill set lackluster and time non-existent these days. I’m not a designer, I’m just a dabbler and a designer wannabe. If I had it to do over again, I would’ve started sooner and have studied graphic design in college. I feel so far behind the 8-ball compared to some of my creative friends and acquaintances I’ve met via social networking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing a pity party for myself, just venting, because that’s what blogs are for, right?

So over the last week I’ve been bit by the design bug and have been working on redesigning this site. I really wanted to learn more about WordPress in the process and how to hack up themes to customize them to my liking. I’ve got a few projects in the works in the next few weeks, so thought I’d better get some practice in. I’m discovering that most of it involves knowing your way around CSS… something I’m slowly getting a “little” better at. My biggest problem is that it takes me WAY TOO long to do anything. I’m horrifically slow, but part of that is due to my anal retentiveness and the perfectionist in me. I could never do this for a living, I know that much, but I do enjoy it.

I’ve discovered over time that I’ve got the ability to see what looks good from a design standpoint. I’m a patchwork designer. I can piece things together to come up with a concept, I just lack the ability to originate it. Frustrating, but for what I do on a daily basis at work and what I do @LifePointSC it’s all I really need to do. Still trying to stretch myself though and by surrounding myself with some amazing talent and with all the free resources available online, I’ve got lots of opportunities to learn.