Tag Archive for Graphic Design

Art, Crafty, Design, Site Updates, Social Media, Work

Preparing to Launch.

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Hello! Consider this my August/September post, because I’ve been a busy bee as of late!

While I have been working on various projects for others this year, I have also been slowly tinkering away at getting my own “brand,” if you will, up and running as well. Just a few more details left to finish – the fun, business-side of things: loading up the online shop, writing up product descriptions and going over shop policies, making sure everything works properly, etc.. Yes, this means finally, for those who have been wondering when it’d happen, I have actual products in my hands, and just in time for those who might want to buy a few things as holiday gifts. You only have a few months left! 😉

It always feels good to be productive working for others, but it’s definitely another challenge altogether when it’s your own brand identity, that’s for sure. I am such a stickler for quality when it comes to my own work, though I am learning to go with the flow and not worry too much about perfection, focusing more on the art and craft of making each creation my own. I hope this will reflect in the works I will be selling – I’ve taken advantage of working outside on beautiful sunny days, and toiled into the wee hours over the past several months, and I feel like I have works of art people will really like. The hardest critic to please, as always, is the inner critic of the artist themselves, so you know if I’m content with my work, that’s saying something. I have learned and grown creatively, not just emotionally, and I am eager to share the fruits of my labor. Here’s a little sneak peek at a couple sticky note designs that will be available at launch (click the image to embiggen):

Sticky note design preview.

Tell someone to “stick it” with these notes! 🙂

My illustrative style is more on the cutesy side, although I am capable of doing sophisticated designs if people are interested. Being a smartass-at-heart, I can’t help being a little sarcastic and having fun with these initial designs, something you will definitely see regularly in my “Zom-Bee” creations. So, hang in there, it’s almost ready (I really mean it this time!), and if you have ideas of things you’d like to see, leave a comment here or drop me a note. 😀 You can “like” the page on Facebook, and comment there, too.

I’ve plugged it before, but in case you didn’t know, the design site can be found on JillthePill Design – that’s where you’ll be able to find a portfolio of my work, hire me to work on your own projects (I specialize in print design, but I can do more than that, just ask), and buy my creations as well. It’s not 100% ready, so just drop your E-mail into the form on the landing page there, and you’ll be notified when it launches – if you need incentive, I’ll be rewarding early adopters with a discount code!

Thanks for tuning in; things are getting exciting here! -Jill 🙂

P.S. – Here is a shameless plug for one of my client projects – my mom is also about to launch her fine jewelry design shop and site, VerLen & Sydney. It’s still in landing page phase as well, but you can sign up for updates, and “like” her page on Facebook, too. Thanks! 🙂

Creative Writing, Design, Entertainment, Life

Letting Go and Moving On.

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So, a major step in my future plans happened this week: I submitted my Letter of Resignation at my current job, which happens to be the family business. I am starting 2013 anew with a new venture: my own business. *GASP* Why? How can someone just walk away from their family? Well, it’s not walking away forever, it’s not disloyalty, I will still be related to many of those with whom I’ve worked for over a decade now, but it’s time. I have spent too much time setting my own interests and needs aside to please others, and I realize it’ll never be enough and only burns a person out.

How selfish of me, right? How dare I decide I want to do something else with my life. Most people seem to be supportive, while others seem quick to judge me and everything I’ve ever done, as if they knew me all that well, as if I’ve never done anything for them or contributed anything of worth to the business. At least, that’s how I see it. (Maybe I’m wrong, but this is not the place to delve into further thoughts that benefit nobody.) I suppose it’s to be expected, people don’t think you’ll walk away from something that may very well be a lifetime commitment to them. It’s not like I am unwilling to be supportive or never plan to do anything for my family’s business again; quite on the contrary. But for me, my life is meant to be so much more than it is now, and in order to move forward, I have to let go, to free myself so I can achieve everything I have set out to do from here. They will be fine without me if they’re willing to stay the course, so I hope to see things continue into the future, for everyone’s benefit.

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Design, Site Updates

The Overhaul Begins…

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I had a bit of time today to actually buckle down and start redesigning my site – this is something I have tried to do several times over the years; it’s easy to do this for anyone else but yourself, you know? Seriously. It’s nothing fancy; not meant to be, but I’ve got the “splash page” done and I’ll slowly get things updated on pages and sorted into sub-domains that are going to be kept alive. The others will still be out there, but you may find they sort of get buried amongst the old material and won’t be updated again. Aww, how sad. 🙁 Such is life, my friends.

Anyway, this is a big step! I just have to start something and really mean it, then the inspiration to keep it going isn’t much of a problem. I can be quite the procrastinator, but with the right motivation, I can become quite passionate about what I’m doing. But, aren’t we all like that? No, just me? Ah well, whatever. I am human (I think – sometimes I feel so different from those around me, that I’m not entirely sure). 😛

That’s it for now – I’ll be back. Really, I will. I mean, I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath, but checking back at some point won’t hurt you. 🙂

P.S. – May the Fourth Be With You. Always. Or at least one day out of the lot of ’em. 😉

Creative Writing, Design, Education, Life, Mathnet

Where Have You Been?

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Yes, I’m sure many of you are wondering where I’ve been (okay, so maybe only a small sampling of you), why did I just leave my Website all sad, lonely and unloved for…er…6+ years or so? Has it been that long? Wow. And yes, it’s time for an overhaul…in Internet and Technology time, that’s several shiny devices that have come and gone! Let us mourn those old toys for a few moments…okay, done.

Actually, it hasn’t been that long in some aspects; I’ve been actively using my domain for file storage, occasional micro-updates of sections on the site, but most of that has gone unnoticed to the world-at-large. Well, isn’t that life, though? Get all tied up in life, work, all that fun stuff. I have been quite productive and social in that time, however;  if you know me well enough, you know where I tend to lurk and post regularly. If you don’t know me well, that means absolutely nothing. 😛

In this time, I have also been getting educated! As in, schooled! I decided to invest in myself and my creative skills (that whole “figuring out what I want to do with my life” thing) and studied subjects of interest like Playwriting, Screenwriting and Graphic Design. And in doing so, have really stretched my mind and my talents and have essentially found things that make me happy and that I’d like to spend more of my life doing. So, see, this “hiatus” has been a good thing, and good things come to those who wait, or whatever cliché you’d like to apply to that.

Anyway, without going on too long here (too late), I do promise more updates. More details on my future plans and where things on this site will be going. And yes, this includes an update, or at least a minor overhaul of sorts on what’s probably the most popular part of this domain: The Mathnet Website. Oh yes, there wasn’t much going on for many years, and I feel terrible about letting it just sit, but the need, and time, to update content wasn’t really there (plus the whole having a job and going to school business sidelined my efforts somewhat, too). I’m also a part of the efforts over at SquareOneTV.org, so it’s not like the fandom has dropped off the planet; in fact, we’ve been doing a lot of interacting with former cast members recently and are celebrating 25 years since the show debuted as of 2012. Not to mention in the time since I last overhauled, wonderful sites such as YouTube and Facebook have come along and are still going strong, making it easier than ever to share clips and gather fans in larger groups and all that fun stuff. And because of that, Sesame Workshop has been paying attention and are now taking a DVD release into consideration. So, this is the best time to be reviving those efforts! Stay tuned, I promise you won’t be disappointed. 😉 And on that note, before I let anyone leave, please take the time, if you could, to “like” the official Square One Television page on Facebook – Sesame is using this as an indicator of interest by the fans. Tell your friends! Tell their friends! If you honestly want to see the show gain a pulse in the media again, and hey, it worked for The Electric Company, this is the best way to do it!

Okay, I’m done for now. A lot to digest, but I hope y’all are still with me. Take care, and much love! -Jill 🙂