How do I...? Well, that's the question. Every day.
Been meaning to write this post for a while. It’s a good, mid-life crisis kind of entry. Pull up a chair.
First off, let me apologize — again — for the lack of posting. As I’ve mentioned before and no doubt will again, the past few months have been, shall we say, interesting. In no particular order, I’ve watched my marriage spring a leak, run around entirely, then finally sink into an angry sea; a business that I loved and, for a while, did together with my (former) wife, suddenly get very complicated; moved; been depressed and excited, both about life and work; moved again; rediscovered the joy of photography, Flickr, Photoshop, and, well, how much I suck as a photographer; ran behind in work; caught up; ran behind again; worked too many hours; ate too little; the list goes on. Generally, what was needed to get by and more only when I could get it.
When you’re self-employed or run a business, your personal life is so much more important to the daily goings-on — it’s impossible to take a few days on the employer’s dime to recover (you know what I mean — we’ve all been there). You either produce or you starve.
Perhaps that was on my mind when I named this photograph My Life:
A statue on the grounds of the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, gets overtaken by and slowly cumbles under the most relentless force of all: nature. His expression seems, I think, appropriately horrified.
Worse, there’s the constant swirl of everyday business pressures, including (the current lack of) health insurance, for instance — and don’t even get me started on the IRS. Been around and around with CPAs and have finally had to hire a tax attorney to sort it all out. I’m an artist, for cryin’ out loud — isn’t there someone who can just tell me what to do and where to sign?
Absolutely. With varying sizes of hands out, depending on how good they are. Just like all of us.
I’m thankful to be on my own, occasional contractor aside. I’ve watched people torn apart ethically and profesionally, and met more than a few for whom the money is more important than the ethics or the professionalism, in the quest to sustain employees. Once you’re a “business,” it’s this whole other thing. Like a child, it can be nurtured or exploited, but just like a child, I think that if you’re going to put it out there, it should be the best it can be. My approach (to either, honestly, which is absolutely why I don’t have kids — yet) demands that I not back down from what I believe in. Employees, like children, people who depend on you, make those beliefs seem less like “lines” and more like “gray areas” that can be tread upon when the payroll’s due (or the shareholders want to know why this year’s profits “aren’t growing sufficiently”). It’s easier to starve yourself for what you believe in any day — and I have respect indeed for those that somehow manage the balance.
Parenthetically, my old boss at “Trop” — another family member, and yes, I have been lacking sanity at times — and I have never really talked about my leaving corporate life to forage on my own. Here it is, Tanya: I think we both know I’m more like Blair (yet another family member — long story) than either of us were comfortable with, or were prepared to admit at the time. But we’ll save the details of “days spent working for [a graphics contractor for] a major juice company” for another post…;)
In my life, right now and for the foreseeable future, I need lines that represent those professional and ethical obligations. I need to make sure that every piece put out there, whether here on the blog (present entry excepted, perhaps), on Flickr, or, especially, in the work that I do, is the best it can be. Even if it means bending over backwards, moving, dealing with attorneys, going without food or sleep, whatever’s necessary to make sure those lines stay sharp. With all the crap going on, though, it’s hard to do in a timely manner.
A couple of clients have bailed because of the delays, reschedulings due to personal problems, and the like; one was comepletely professional, and the other was, well, an asshole. (Ahem. Excuse me. It’s late, and we’re being honest.) Either way, though, I understand and wish them well.
Those clients who have hung tough, though — some of whose projects have come through almost on time, and I haven’t even started on the troubles my iMac has given me this week (and will again next — but that’s yet another post) — have gotten some of my best work. That I haven’t been doing a good job of putting up on the web.
Trying to do better with that. Like the poster. Or this catalog, for instance:
A number of things stand out regarding this photo:
— It represents progress graphically. The Sunshine State Cookbook was relatively early project I did for this client, but the page around it is infinitely more sophististicated. Some of that’s better software (ahem — InDesign? Will post on that and the Quark 7 beta soon), but most of it’s several years of working every moment I could to make myself a better designer. (I didn’t do The Florida Bounty, and while I did do Mastering the Art of Florida Seafood, it’s okay if it’s a little lost off the bottom…;)
— It represents progress, especially, in terms of photographic (and Photoshop) skills. I’ve bitched about my camera’s shortcomings, both here and on Flickr, but the reality is that it does exactly what I need: takes good enough pictures. Some are great out of the box, but most need some Photoshop skills. Flickr’s various groups, especially Photoshop, have really allowed me to explore what others have done and work on doing similar things myself.
The shot of the catalog above is entirely fake, and it’s a fake I’m proud of. The catalog page only exists electronically — and is a draft. (Forgive. A recent bad habit.) But it doesn’t seem right to just post the page anymore; now it’s possible to “throttle” it. The lighting and shadows, the subtle (and hopefully natural) curve to the page, the perspective and cropping, the background and background page edges, the three-dimensionality, if you will — all exercises to highlight the design of the page itself. While learning about Photoshop. (25 layers in the .psd file; about half an hour all-inclusive to put together, including deciding to go back and add fanned pages in the background and re-uploading the photo, but a pristine hi-res PDF ain’t a bad starting place for Photoshop experimentation.) Never stop learning.
— It’s absolutely not perfect. The mistake caught on Flickr (see the note) aside, it’s already evolved from its original design and will again. Other mistakes will be found — please comment away! — and probelms solved. I’m sure, too, that months or years from now I’ll look back both on the catalog and photo and perhaps wish I’d done something differently. But that’s what evolution’s about.
— It (and My Life, above) represent the first photos posted here actually hosted by Flickr. Might cut down on the 4-5GB of bandwidth Foreword pushes through the internet every month — or, at least, source part of it from someone with better servers…;)
The “self-taught” thing is no small deal, either. I have a college degree, but not in graphic design. I figured out in high school that I was as good — okay, better — at making papers look good than writing the content. (Still probably true. Witness this post, for instance.) I figured out how to make money off of that skill on college, and ospreydesign was born, to use the child analogy again, nearly twenty years ago. Everything since then has been fits and stumbles, exploration and learning, conferences and classes, and most importantly, problems solved against deadlines.
This blog wasn’t started because of expertise in book design. It was started as a quest for expertise in book design. It remains, and will remain, that way.
Which brings me back to the beginning: “How do I?” “How did I?”
Ben writes (forgive for quoting without asking first):
Hello, I am painter, photographer, and draftsmen who has created many images that would be suitable for the covers of books, and I was wondering how one gets into the business. If you could give me any information, I’d be very thankful.
English might be a second language here. Lots of Foreword’s readers are from overseas. Not going to nail him for the poor wording, but it might be something to improve before going to look for, say, a prospective paying U.S. client. I wouldn’t dream of going to another country and begging for work this culturally aware, for lack of a better term, without knowing the language well indeed. (Might an arrogant American viewpoint, but that could be said about most of this post. Sorry.)
Or this gentleman, who writes:
Hello Osprey Design
I just came across your blog, which I’m now feeding via RSS thank you very much.
I am a [insert skill set here] and I’m looking for tips on how to get into book cover design. I would appreciate any helpful tips, resources, etc… that you could share to help me go forward.
Heh. Reminds me a little of this, when Amanda set me up to meet Chip Kidd in New York after I’d just finished and exhibited The Playmakers. One of the fond memories from my marriage — thank you, Amanda — Chip was very gracious to some wet-behind-the-ears book designer jerk still trying to figure out what he wanted (wants) from life.
He did then — and continues to, thank you Chip, and thank you Todd for the awesome post that triggered his most recent visit — do what I’ve always tried to do here, which is exactly what was requested: “share to help … go forward.” That’s why it’s called Foreword — it’s a play on books and “moving the ball,” as a friend says. (But then, you all knew that. Right? Right? Anyone? Okay, sorry, it’s late.)
So to Ben, the other guy, and the countless others that write, I’m sorry I didn’t answer you personally, and I’m truly honored you looked to me — and Foreword — for advice. Look around, search the posts, review the categories. Stay tuned for the refreshed web site (yeah, I’m really working on it), when it’ll be even easier to find stuff. I don’t mean to be impolite. I’m already doing everything I can with the few scaps of time I can put together — doing what you request. What we all seek. A quest forward to an expertise in book design.
Most importantly, know that I’m eager to share and absolutely welcome work or (better) links be sent along. But. Give me more to work with than just “how do I…?” Give me a reason to find a minute to post about it. Please!
“Success,” however you measure it, is up to each and every one of us to achieve, according to our own standards. Even if I don’t say it often enough — and I surely don’t — thank you, thank you, for trying to move forward, uh, Foreword, here.
If you’ve made it this far, hats off. Take the next step: leave a comment. This site gets more than five thousand real (read: nonspam) views daily, on average, and pathetically few comments. Most of that’s my fault; I just don’t have the time to actively participate in as many discussions as I’d like. (Here, Flickr, another blog, real life, wherever.)
To Ben and everyone, I keep hoping discussions will take off on their own. Post a comment to an entry that you’re interested in. People can keep track of topics with the “Discussions” links at the top of the page. I’ll do my best to keep up with the comment moderation. And, when the new web site’s implemented, it’ll have code for TypeKey users (a Movable Type thing — yet, yet another post) and code to recognize frequent commenters and approve them automatically so moderation’s delays will matter less.
Thanks for bearing with me, for reading Foreword, for being passionate about book design (and photography, perhaps), and, especially, for helping to build a community for all of us for move forward.
Be sure to read the follow-ups. Thanks.
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Posted by Giles, Thursday, January 19, 2006, at 4:18 AM.
Posted to Advertising | Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Business | Design | Flickr | Jobs | Love | Personal | Photography | Site news | Whatever | Writing
Comments:
It’s a little before 7am Eastern, and I’m just now heading to bed “for the night.”
Perhaps best if you not expect moderation of this post until afternoon, 19 Jan, Eastern, unless someone else can get to it first.
Thanks.
Giles,
I’m a relatively new book designer — mostly self-taught. Working at home in a bit of a vacuum, I look to your RSS feed regularly for inspiration and wisdom. Thanks for doing it, and keep up the good work.
No health insurance?
Watch out, I’m self employed as a graphic designer. This past summer i was balls to the wall busy and as a result sat a lot of hours.
Developed a blood clot in my leg (due to inactivity) and two pulmonary embolisms. Two hospital stays and time off and now it’s better.
But, the bill was over $40,000. Put that in your mid-life crisis and smoke it. A forty-grand+ bill will ruin your day.
Enjoy your blog, been lurking since you told me what “verso” meant.
How could I not respond to this post? You have definitely had a rough year, Giles, no one can dispute that. I’m grateful you’ve managed to keep the blog afloat through all of it. I pop in every day to see what’s going on. Thanks for putting things into perspective, it’s a little easier to understand the lack of posts.
I’d like to second your request for more comments and discussions. This is a very unique forum for a very small subset of the design world. If you’re a book designer, chime in … if you just love books, well then you chime in too! Quit your lurking and get involved, passivity is boring!
Thank you, Aaron.
Jeff, I couldn’t agree more — I definitely worry — but I’ve got to get the taxes sorted out before I can start looking at professional associations (Chamber, AIGA, etc.) that offer insurance to freelancers.
Todd — and everyone — I’m truly sorry I haven’t done a better job being here more often. It’s not a lack of desire, it’s a lack of ability, and I’ve done a poor job over the past few months explaining that. (Among lots of other things…;)
This is a fantastic little niche in the design world, isn’t it? Glad to be here. Glad you’re (all) here with me.
I’m a regular reader but this is my first comment. I’m not doing any kind of visual design for a living, but I really enjoy your blog nonetheless. I guess I just like to get the opportunity to judge a book by its cover.
I’m sorry to hear about all the things you had to go through in the past year. I can only wish that everything will go as planned in the future.
As to why you get so many “How do I…” questions… Well, maybe it’s because you make it look so easy and cool. :)
Keep it up!
[blushes]
Thanks, Alex.
Gotta say, though, I’m glad it’s not easy. Makes it more interesting.
Hello all. I’ve also been lurking for a bit, but I check in every single day. Giles, your posts are insightful and inspirational. As a novice book designer, Foreword’s been a real find, especially for those of us who work out of our houses (as Jeff mentions earlier).
Keep posting and we’ll keep reading. Maybe even posting back. Todd’s right- passivity is boring, and what you’ve made here is a small community (sounds trite, I know, but hey, it’s true). Time for us all to carry some of the responsibility to keep it going strong.
Anyway, again, thanks. Much respect.
[p]
btw, keep us posted on the insurance front. I’m sure there are lots of us out here who are on the same boat.
YAL (yet another lurker) here, and have been reading for about 6 months. i work at an ad agency, and have felt the creative life sucked out of me. god, how i hate it there. god, i know i’m wasting away every day i stay.
for EVER, when i’ve gone into a bookstore, i’ve thought “THIS is what i’m meant to do.” i decided some time ago i wanted to at least explore what it took to be a book designer. i bought a domain, server space, started a design, but i’m just not motivated to finish it (creative side has been sucked away). chip kidd spoke to our aiga chapter, and i went to dinner w/ him and several others, and i just WASTED the opportunity to talk to him.
i come here to get inspired, and a few other book design sites too. thank you, giles, for creating this place. marc
Another daily reader, but previously a non-poster. i guess I haven’t posted because I’m not a book design professional, just a lowly desktop publisher. But I am a book fanatic, and very interested in book design. Sorry you’ve had such a horror year - best of luck with the future!
Pablo, thank you, and yes, I’ll keep everyone updated about the insurance. Excellent idea.
Marc, thanks for coming by. I started the same way: frustrated in my current graphic design position, knowing that, somehow, I should be involved with books.
Don’t give up the fight — the creativity is part of who you are. It’s not being expressed because of the crap in the way. (I feel your pain, believe me.) You can do it. We can do it. We’re all here on Foreword to help each other with just that goal.
James, and indeed everyone, thank you. This post, the follow-ups, and the comments both have received honestly feel like a big group hug. Something sorely needed, on lotsa levels…;)
Keep up the conversation!
FYI
My insurance is through the Cleveland Council of Smaller Enterprises COSE for short. they offer a variety of health plans and prices. I also have disability insurance (a bit of a luxury) but it costs very little if you get it when you are young and keep it. It will give me 2,400 a month of income in addition to SSI if i become disabled and cannot work. Sometime that looks pretty good!