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Ah, the Struggle is Real.

Role — Creative Direction, Design, Copywriting

Client — N/A

Agency — N/A

Year — 2017

During my time in art school, I was often faced with the struggle to summon creativity from nothing. On Mondays when my Mac ran like molasses, or the Xerox being the bane of my existential existence, these compounded frustrations were no help in the fast-paced and competitive field of design. My peers were stumbling into similar problems: "I just can't think of a headline snazzy enough." "This freelance gig I'm doing is hardly paying me..." "Why is this font more expensive than five times my rent?" After a while, we learned to embrace these things, and bond over them. They started to become rather comical; I picked up a pencil and started to jot them down.

And before I knew it, ABC's for Designers was born.

6/17 National ADDY                                     Gold

3/17 District ADDY (District 6)                    Gold

2/17 Regional ADDY (West Michigan)       Best of Show

2/17 Regional ADDY (West Michigan)       Juror's Award

2/17 Regional ADDY (West Michigan)       Gold

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Clean & Cuss Edition​

"The alphabet you are about to read is typical, frustrating, grade A-Z Bullsh*t that every designer will know and understand.

You are not alone."

These books describe the frustrating process of any creative using quick witty, poetic alliterations beginning with each letter of the alphabet. The "Cuss Edition" swears comically, while the "Clean Edition" uses substitutes such as page C: "Oh crop, I can't cultivate creativity in this caffeinated fustercluck." Other pages are neutral, remaining the same in both versions, such as page T: "Some twerk their tush, I tweak my type. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ "

Eureka Edition​

The third and final element of the series, this is a sketchbook made to help designers iron out frustrations and creative blocks. The language of this tool also follows suit in using alphabetical alliterations, such as page F: "Forge a flashy font for a fashion franchise called, 'Fresh 'n Fancy.'" Each page is either blank, or uses a different grid for varying methods of sketching: squares, dot grid, or hexagonal dot grid. Page F, for example, uses a dot grid to aid in creating a modular or handwritten typeface. Page V—"Vamp up a vivid vision to fill the void"—uses a blank page.

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