I feel kinda dirty

As the job continues to plod along in its predictable pace; as the cigarette craving has subsided and the gum chewing frequency has decreased; as the long northwest winter eases out of its shortest days; I find myself looking to more creative stimulation. The screenprinting is going well, perhaps more on that later. I have also redoubled my efforts to secure freelance graphic design projects as a way to keep my design sense sharp while bringing in some extra money.

Craigslist is among the sites I troll for work. I check the Creative Gigs page almost daily and almost daily there is, among the creepy solicitations for young female photo models, a listing or two posted by someone looking for design work. The posts vary in length and information. Some seem honest while others smell like scams, or at least schemes to get skilled design work done for extremely cheap or free (I'm sorry, I will not barter a logo for life coaching sessions or for a collection of portrait photos. Not now, at least.)

Responding to the seemingly-legitimate posts can take a long time, as it often involves researching their business/web site and possibly building a PDF of work samples specific to their stated needs. Once submitted, 90% never respond. I've gotten a bit of work and may get more, but overall it often feels like a pointless exercise.

The other night, after spending a few hours responding to a handful of posts I found myself wondering what my response must look like from the other end of this cyber-tube. How am I presenting myself compared to other candidates? How does my portfolio compare to theirs? Are their tones casual? Formal? Is my rate on the high end or the low end? How many other people are even out there in this emerald burg, reading this same post on this same night, investing a packet of hope in a collection of emails?

I devised an experiment to answer these questions. Yesterday afternoon I created a decoy post of my own, modeled after many of the same vague posts I have responded to. Here is a shot of the post:

The text reads:
Logo design needed (Seattle)
Startup retail boutique needs a logo designed and possibly some posters and brochures down the road. Please include examples of your work or a link to your web site as well as a quote.

(Side note, this is actually not the first time I have been involved in a Craigslist misrepresentation. There is a fantastic story about a certain Mexican rug afficianado named Mr. Dave Tapestry, but that story is for another time.)

I published this post at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, wondering if I would get any response to such a vague post. By 5:00 I had two responses, both including price quotes for my logo. Response #1 quoted $2,500 and up. Response #2 quoted $45. So there you go. With two responses I answered my question about price quotes. All over the place. It's now 9:00pm the following day, so the post has been up for about 28 hours and I have received 90 responses. 90! I guessed 10 or 20.

I have read about 20 of them so far and plan to read them all. That's where the feeling dirty comes in. Some of the responses are so sincere, you can almost hear them begging "please" between the lines. Every one of these responses has a tiny bit of hope affixed to it, just like I affix a bit of hope to every response I post in earnest, assuming there is actual work on the other end instead of just a colleague conducting market research. Many of them sound friendly, like folks I may enjoy talking design over a beer.

Now, misrepresentation aside, this is also an extremely interesting window into a world of regional artists who might not otherwise be collected into one place, virtual or otherwise. The portfolios presented form an incredible variety of talent. I can't think of a better way to grasp such a comprehensive snapshot of design trends in the Seattle area right now. Of course, most of these are freelance folks, so the major studios are left out, but that's part of what makes this collection so unique is that these are the little guys who are designing for the small local businesses. Nike, Coke, Starbucks, Microsoft - these don't show up in this portfolio collection, but what do show up are visual identities for boutique clothing shops and restaurants, realtors and pawn shops, pet grooming and catering services.

The artistic styles on display are as varied as the clients they serve. Some portfolios include photography work, some include packaging. Some people have worked in the industry for decades, others are fresh out of school. Some are gifted illustrators, brilliant designers or visionary photographers. Others, well, others aren't quite so brilliant. All of them need work and are looking to use their skills to literally pay the bills. With two or three posts a day and 90 responses, there is nowhere near enough work to sustain the workforce. In a way, I feel better knowing that I may not get a response simply because there are too many to filter through. But I also realize how tough this search is and that when I do get to actually do some work, I had better make it count and hope for continued patronage and referrals because I may never get another chance. As far as quality of work goes, I honestly feel comforted to judge my own work somewhere in the middle - showing more skill and design sense than some but also seeing countless avenues for inspiration and improvement.

I'll pull the ad soon. Maybe 100 is a good round number to end upon. Now that I see my ad responses are swimming in a sea of portfolios, I can examine them and take steps to make mine float to the top. I won't need to perform my experiment again any time soon. A sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the local designers for playing along.

Logo Design: Complete

Having recently received notification that he passed the Washington State Bar, friend and current housemate Anthony is dutifully spending all of his time getting a practice off the ground. I was happy to offer my help in the form of logo development.

Here are the initial sketches:



And then two refined versions:




And the final logo:

When it rains, it...well, it rains a lot here

So I realize I'm spending a whole lot of time on this computadore. Yes, it can be explained since it's kind of what I do. What can't be explained - or at least should not be rationalized - is the amount of time I spend surfing the web. It's shameful. Thing is, at times I have thought that in order to keep up with pop culture - also part of what I do - that I needed to actually spend more time keeping up with whatever new video or photo or what not is being passed around. The problem arises when I realize that a bulk of the time I spend online is completely narcissistic. That is, every time I sit down, and at frequent intervals when I'm sitting here, I check hits on my portfolio website, see if there are any comments on my blog (yeah, um, are you people actually reading this?), check my email and peek at the the other places I have words or images posted. It's an odd lust for recognition in a world I progressively feel a part of, even though if you talk to me socially I'll go on about how people spend way too much time on the internet and not nearly enough time outdoors breathing the air and smelling the scents of life - good and bad. I guess I'm doing okay since I haven't Googled myself...in a few weeks.
Anyway, life continues in beautiful Seattle... and it is beautiful. I continue to take long walks almost daily, taking new streets or new routes to the same streets. Taking walks through neighborhoods is really the only way to know where you are. It's easy to drive - and I do that too - but walking provides a street-level experience where you have time to stop and look at that odd collection of toys on the porch or the strange blooming tree on the corner.
Work - remember being single? Remember what it was like when you got to the point where you weren't girl-crazy and you were happy and confident being single and then...BAM! Well, that's how it happened with me at least, and it's strictly coincidence that my wife's initials are indeed BAM. Anyway, after toiling on the job search for a few weeks now, I feel like I'm in that same confident mode. I finally managed to secure a job at (look away, former DFC coworkers) Whole Foods. Yep, hired on as a "Customer Service Representative" or "Team Member" or whatever they call it there. I haven't actually been to the orientation yet, but the writing is on the wall. And yes, I will be bagging groceries. Sure it's not what I was looking for specifically but it's an opening and, well, it's income. And coming from nearly five years of marketing natural foods, I sure as hell better be able to sell them and bag them. As I was saying about being single, as soon as I secure the Whole Foods job, I got a call back from Bastyr University about my application to be a marketing coordinator there. I won't know for at least a week or so, but I again feel good (cautiously) and this job seems so incredibly similar to my job at DFC they would be crazy not to hire me. Rest assured, I will tell them so.
So, more about the single guy analogy, I also got the okay to make some changes to the DFC website under contract. That's income, baby. Also, tonight I met with my friend Shawn here in Seattle, a brilliant actor and budding filmmaker. He has just shot a short film for the SIFF - Seattle Independent Film Festival - and asked me to create the poster and DVD package for his film. He showed us the raw footage tonight and the film is beautiful He is enlisting volunteer services from friends with talent and I am extremely proud to be involved. So work is there. I'm keeping busy. A busy Seth is a creative and productive Seth. Just knowing that the Whole Foods job is there has made me so much more comfortable in my interactions with life. Crazy how that's what it takes. Of course I'll never experience serendipity the way I did with finding Beth, but the feeling is reminiscent. Life is good. Trees are blooming.

Are you employed, sir?

I should also mention that I have actively started to search for a job. I got an interview with the City of Redmond, a suburb of Seattle about the size of Davis. The position looked great, with good pay and benefits and room to grow. I got my portfolio looking all slick, I rehearsed my presentation with Beth (thanks Beth) and dressed up all nice. I went to that interview and really felt like I knocked it out of the park. I felt great about the prospect right up until Friday afternoon when I got the message that I didn't get the job. Yeah, I kept telling myself this was all just practice, getting my interview skills honed. Still, I was pretty disappointed. I realized that I had never actually had a job interview and then not been offered the job. So a little reality is good, motivated me. I'm now actively searching and looking at more possibilities.

Sun and Snow

I sometimes worry I'm boring myself by thinking about the weather so often, I'm then reminded that weather was one of the major reasons we moved to Seattle. I am still amazed by the changing weather. Yesterday was stunningly beautiful. Clear and crisp with broad mountain ranges visible to the east and the west. Today it's snowing. The variety in the weather makes the days more interesting. Every day comes on fresh and new with anticipation. There is always some uncertainty of sun or storm.

I finally submitted my first resumé last week and am sending off another on Monday. I know I will likely have to send out many resumés before landing the right position, but I feel like the process has begun and I'm finding satisfaction in actively working toward a goal after the long break. Not that I have been wholly unproductive. If one could pick out a routine from my daily habits, it would surely include a good deal of time spent reading design books and learning more about Flash and web development.

Today's snow was fleeting (it's sunny out now - wait, now kind of foggy) but a week or so ago we awoke to a fresh blanket of about three inches. I still find the composition of city and snow a novelty. I still have an innate sense that it only snows in the mountains. That morning I set out early to take some photos of my new found fascination. See them below (click on photos to view larger versions).


This image feels incredibly still.


The bike is reminiscent of Davis, but not so much the snow.










Interstate 5 with downtown off in the distance to the south. Notice the morning commute headed into downtown. We're learning when and where not to drive in order to avoid crazy city traffic. Though the traffic can be frustrating, all of our essential needs are within walking distance so driving trips are never urgent.






Almost back home, I came across these shoes on a line, their foot beds full of snow. Of all the scenes I discovered that morning, I think that this one best illustrates snow in the city.