South African things I miss...

Today, I have seven weeks left of my internship.

I am finding being away more difficult now than in the beginning. I am starting to miss random South African things, things I took for granted before.

I am going to list a few, and probably add some as they come to mind.

1) Christmas beetles - I used to find them a nuisance, but now I actually miss them. They smbolize summer, and that Christmas is near.

Source: www.whatsthatbug.com

2) Jacaranda tress - they are in full bloom now. And boy are they pretty! Especially when the streets are aligned with them.

Source: http://thejacarandas.co.za

3) Steak - I don't eat red meat often, but once in a while I feel like a good steak. So when I recently wanted to buy one here in Germany, I was told it would cost me €7. I said "No, thank you" and walked right back out the store.

Source: www.menshealth.com/mhlists/Best-Tailgate-Foods/Best_Steak.php

4) Fruit & veg selection  - we definitely take this for granted. Many fruits and vegetables can't be grown in Germany, esp. during winter time. So it's imported. That means it's expensive and often doesn't taste great.

Source: www.moneymagpie.com/article/grow-your-own

What you need to know about binding

As a "newbie" graphic designer (it often still feels like that anyway), there is still a lot I need to learn - a lot of which I need to teach myself... So when I am presented with something new, like binding, I go online and research.

To make things a little easier for you, let me share what I have found - then you don't have to scroll through tons of websites. You're welcome.

The two most common types of binding, and the ones you should know about as a designer, are "perfect binding" and "saddle-stitching".

The former is used for most magazines and some books. Pages are essentially glued to a spine (it is therefore punchless). The minimum thickness for this is 10mm, and the maximum is 25mm. When designing for this bind, bear in mind that the margin in the middle needs to be a bit bigger than on the outside.

Saddle-stitching entails stapling or stitching. There is no spine, and the magazine or newsletter can be laid out flat. In this instance the margin in the middle doesn't need to be as large. It is recommended that publications using saddle-stitching should not have more than 48 pages.

So those are the important ones. There are many more, but as long as you know these, you should be fine.

Others are:

The typical wire binding or coil/spiral binding - we all know this well from our uni days. A stack of papers is bound together by a C-shaped wire or coil spine. If wire, the coil is squeezed into a round shape using one of those special machine thingies (I recently did this at the office and it was easier than it looks/sounds). The coil (most often plastic) is wound into punched holes along the entire spine.

Both the wire and coil options are an affordable way of binding copies for home or office use.

(Thermal) tape binding is a system that wraps and glues a piece of tape around the base of your document. A tape binding machine system is used for this process and it activates the thermal adhesive on the glue strip.

Hard Cover (case) binding is used for hardcover books. The pages are arranged in batches and then glued together into a textblock. The textblock is then attached to the cover or case. It's exactly like  perfect binding just for thicker books (exceeding 25mm in thickness). It is also known as cloth binding or edition binding.

Comb binding uses a rectangular hole pattern punched near the bound edge. A curled plastic comb is fed through the slits to hold the sheets together (so similar to wire/coil binding but with a comb - duh).

I found this great image to better show some of these types:

Source: http://wftprintpm.wikispaces.com/Perfect+Binding

Life without Facebook

I am entering week 2 of no Facebook. And I must say it feels good.

Yes, at times it does still feel like I am experiencing a withdrawal - I grab my phone then quickly put it back, reminding myself that I shouldn’t. The little devil on my shoulder shouts, “Do it!” Sounds almost like a drug addiction which, if you think about it, is kinda scary…

I have become so dependant on Facebook (and Twitter, but the latter doesn’t have such a negative effect on me), I used to check it every day, starting in the morning with my first cup of tea.

Over the last couple of months, Facebook has made me feel - as we like to say in SA - kak, about myself, about my life. For someone going through a quarter-life crisis - not good. We compare ourselves to others, and more so than usual.

Friends are buying houses, cars, getting married, being promoted, going on extravagant holidays, etc. And me - well let’s just say I am not. And even though I know I shouldn’t compare my beginnings to somebody else’s middle, I can’t help it. And Facebook makes that worse. Even though many of you probably wouldn't admit it, I am sure you share these sentiments.

There have been several studies already proving that Facebook makes people feel crappy about their lives, it makes them envious. If you search on Google the list is endless:

One of the articles states this, and it’s what I am getting at here:

"Another group of researchers has suggested that envy, too, increases with Facebook use: the more time people spent browsing the site, as opposed to actively creating content and engaging with it, the more envious they felt. The effect, suggested Hanna Krasnova and her colleagues, was a result of the well-known social-psychology phenomenon of social comparison. It was further exacerbated by a general similarity of people’s social networks to themselves: because the point of comparison is like-minded peers, learning about the achievements of others hits even harder."

So yes, the ‘cleanse’ has been good for me, but I don’t feel well-informed anymore - about what is happening in the world, not in terms of my friends but design- and events-related. I am experiencing some serious FOMO.

Perhaps a solution would be to remove all so-called friends and merely follow groups and pages for informative purposes… What do you think? I might just test this theory. At least until this quarter-life crisis is over.

Play on the jungle gym

I've been reading the Lean In book and came across a concept I just had to share with you - it makes sense, and it's never occurred to me before:

"Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder." (Pattie Sellers of Fortune magazine)

We've all heard the saying "climbing up the corporate ladder blablabla". But ladders are limiting. We move up and down this ladder, get on or off, but we never once even consider going sideways, for example.

There's only one way to get to the top of a ladder, but many ways to get to the top of a jungle gym. Makes sense, right?

So if you're stressing about your career path and that dreaded question in interviews, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" - it helps to think of the jungle gym.

It's ok not to have a clear structure. It's ok not to have your career mapped out. It's ok, to move sideways.

It actually helps to think this way - it takes the pressure off. In today's competitive world, the reality is, we won't always be able to accept a job that will take us to the next step in the ladder. We might have to trade our seniority to acquire a new skill, we might have to drop a level.

But in a jungle gym, that's fine. Eventually, at the end of the day, all roads lead to Rome. Right?

Research, research, research

I have been doing a corporate design internship for almost three months now, and one of the most important things I have learnt thus far is this:

DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST - Research, research, research!!!

It might seem obvious, but often graphic designers (me included) forget this step. We dive into the  design. But we don't check what's actually out there and draw inspiration from that.

It may seem like a tedious job, but if you are starting a new project you should dedicate at least (!) one day researching. It sounds like a lot, but it will be well worth it.

We have no excuse not to research - thanks to the World Wide Web. And it's ok to look at someone else's work and get your inspiration from there, as long as you don't copy it to the T.

Here are some good sites to help you:

https://www.behance.net (all graphic designers should know this one)
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew
http://www.designspiration.net
http://www.pinterest.com (you'd be surprised what awesome things you can find here)

There are plenty more, so if you know of any please do share.

And here's a little motivation, just because it's Friday:

You've gotta lean in!

Women of the world (and men) you HAVE to read this book:

I am only on page 39 but already I feel motivated and inspired.

Sheryl Sandberg, author of the book, is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. In 2011, Forbes ranked her the 5th most powerful woman in the world. And with good reason - the things this woman has achieved!

The book is focused on encouraging women to pursue their ambitions, and changing the conversation from what we (women) can’t do to what we can do. The book has even sparked a so-called 'movement' - you can read about it here. And if you're a woman, JOIN!!! Be inspired by the stories of other women in the world who have achieved the impossible. I'd also suggest you follow Lean In on Twitter.

Like I said, I am only on page 39, but already I feel like I can achieve more than I think.

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed recently and uncertain of things career-wise, so reading this book couldn't have come at a better time. I've been telling myself that I am not good enough as a graphic designer, that I won't be successful, etc. etc. You know the drill, and I am sure many of you are or have been in the same boat. But this book is starting to change my mind.

Ask yourself, “What would I do if I weren't afraid?”

And remember that opportunities are rarely offered, they are seized!

I am looking forward to the remaining 145 pages. Thank you, Sheryl.

What is a 'Bookazine'?

I have just started reading this book (and already I can highly recommend it to anyone interested in magazine design - unfortunately it is only available in German)

and have come across an unfamiliar term - 'bookazine'. This concept is becoming more and more popular, so as graphic designers (especially the ones working in the magazine industry) we should know what it is.

Apparently a bookazine is a hybrid of a BOOK and a MAGAZINE. The name says it all.

According to this website, it's "a glossy, A4 perfect bound (stitched paged) one-off product ... generally ... between 116 and 132 pages, and ...  all printed on very high quality thick paper, with a glossy cover. Bookazines are specialist titles covering an area or genre, which also contain a small percentage of advertising to make the product more affordable".

It is said that as magazines are fading away slowly (I am not convinced), more and more bookazines are popping up. People can get the information they find in magazines online, so there is no need to spend the money on an actual magazine. Bookazines, on the other hand, offer more than just the info you would also find online. I provides more research, more insight, more analysis (hence the thickness). Which is als why they appear less frequently than magazines, but have a longer shelf life.

An example of a bookazine:

Creatives will be familiar with this range of bookazines, which can be found in the Computer/Technology section of most magazine racks. Can you think of any South African bookazines? Has the trend even picked up in South Africa yet? Will it?

We are told time and time again that print is dead and that magazines will become obsolete unless they go digital. I am not so sure. I am still a big fan of magazines - there is just something about being able to hold them, page through them, smell them - something the tablet can't offer.

However, I am not sure that making magazines more bookish will help keep magazines alive. Do you? If I want a book, I will buy a book. What you also need to consider is that these bookazines cost more than your average magazine - and even those are already expensive as is, I think.

It will be interesting to see what happens... If more and more bookazines will hit the shelves. In the mean time, I will stay loyal to my Cosmo, my Essentials, my Elle...