Completed Project: Sophie Smith

Working together with a person from another part of the world is an interesting experience. Mutual respect and understanding is extremely important when we work on projects because it ensures that the process runs smoothly and the outcome is well-received and satisfied by both parties. I'd hoped to maintain a healthy relationship with everyone, and taking any collaborations with anyone new was a bold step for myself. 

Last January, I had the privilege to work with a blogger from Australia, Sophie, who originally owned Catcus Blog (some might have heard of this interesting blog). This being my first collaboration, I was pretty excited. 

Sophie had contacted me and asked to help in creating a blog header with my hand lettering for her new self-titled blog, Sophie Smith. This wonderful lifestyle blog shares beautiful photos with content like the DIY, fashion and travel videos. I must say that the highlight of her blog (for myself at least), is her photography and travel posts with videos. I have difficulties compiling the best scenes from my own travel videos because there's too many scenes to pick out, but Sophie makes these really beautiful travel video montages that summarises her entire trip. 

If you would look at Sophie's Instagram, you'll find she has a clean, bright, simple style, so we aimed to incorporate similar elements in the header. I loved the pastel orange and yellow colour palette she fancied, and made a little moodboard with my lettering and some of her favourite colours and photos from her Instagram.

yellow flower in hand / sunset / picnic / orange potted plant / (Sophie's Instagram)

picnic lettering / sun doodle / watercolour / done by myself

With a bubbly and bright lifestyle blog, the hand lettering for the header had to have an edgy, unique personal touch too. So I chose to use a brush with a drier and rougher texture and offered a simple contrasting addition to the lettering, a stroke of orange watercolour. Here's some of the headers explored during the process, where afterwards, some of them were shortlisted.

This is also my first attempt at creating an inspiration/design board, (I wouldn't call it a brand board because this is a really small project). The board below depicts a finalised version of the project, including design elements. I made the simple orange water colour splashes and strokes for design elements like her Favicon or submark to add a homely and personal feel to the whole style. I'd like to stress that I'm no professional, and I'm still learning. I do realise that it is not the best, so I'm happy to receive any blows and criticisms gladly. :)

Inspiration photos on design board from Sophie's Instagram

A photo posted by sophie smith (@sophiesmithblog) on Mar 30, 2015 at 8:11pm PDT

Sophie has amazing photography skills, and I'll definitely recommend following her on Instagram because her feed is really consistent and beautiful. :)

During the process, I also gave Sophie suggestions and ideas to the design elements of the blog that would fit with the header I created. She also gave her ideas and I honestly couldn't have completed this project without her ideas too. Sophie was really sweet and polite, and I think these factors made our collaboration a really pleasant one. :)

I must profess I didn't actually offer services like designing blog headers or graphics. In fact, I had some initial reservations on taking up this project. But when Sophie approached me, I decided working with someone new was an adventure in itself, and I love adventures. Besides, it would be a great way to get my work out there as well. I looked up if I should make a contract, think about the whole design process. Then l realised that I was just starting, and it was nothing too serious, so it wasn't necessary, although we did lay out some simple regulations on both our parts. 

I just treat hand lettering this as a hobby, something I do for leisure time, so it's completely non-profit and I enjoyed myself creating it. Sophie's enthusiasm and amiability made working with her a fruitful journey. Her openness to ideas and constructive feedback had made the collaboration end on a happy note as well, and it was such a pleasure to work with her. 

This project made me realise the importance of cooperation and keeping healthy rapport through collaborations or any other relationships for that matter. They didn't just need mutual respect, they need honest, direct communication. When both people feel comfortable expressing their needs and concerns, trust and bonds are strengthened. :)

Until next time! ♥

Design elements + lettering by me, inspiration photos  from Sophie Smith's Instagram

On another note, just to clarify, I'm not exactly back from my break yet, this is just a temporary return to showcase my completed project back in January. I will return posting regularly somewhere in April. Happy Tuesday. :)

Breaking Away

Some might have realised my absence in this space for several weeks. I've mentioned previously on my about page that I started this little space to fill up my three-month hiatus while waiting for my results. Last week, that day had finally come, and everything had returned to the busy state as it were three months ago. 

Admittedly, I was fearful and worried of what was to become of this space. Would readers stick around? I didn't want to lose the beat this was building. I do realise that letting this space sit idle for a month can be brutal on readers and traffic. It's bounce rate was already increasing slightly after two weeks, and while traffic mostly came from Pinterest, it was still losing it's momentum. Yet, it was time to step away from the screen, and set new priorities.

The more important realisation was that I needed a break (as much as everyone has to sometimes) to focus on crucial university applications and other administrative matters. I'm going to embark on a new phase in my life. There isn't time for everything, and I didn't want to abandon this space completely. A poet, Nayyirah Waheed, had mentioned this quote above, reminding us that sometimes we just need to take a breath, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start over when we're ready again.

I suppose it'd be courteous to explain my future disappearances or infrequencies in posting something as well. It'll probably be a month or so before I finally manage to get back up on my feet again. I'd just like to state the reason to this temporary pause concisely, and give a time frame for my expected return. I want to ensure that readers are informed and (hopefully) look forward for future posts. 

Apologies for the long wait and this short post. I may check in once in a while, and I'll be looking forward to your updates as well. Finally, a blog is nothing without its readers. I'm grateful for all. I'm so appreciative of all the support that has been given, and I'd like to thank God and everyone for having this creative part of my life. 

Until next time ♥

Lettering + Photo by me

Five Reasons Why Superheroes Are Superb (Guest Post)

This is a guest post written by 'Amira. She'll be writing about the reasons to why people love superheroes and despite the fact that they're fictional, they're still important to us. I've always admired superheroes and their fellow counterparts, whether it's from DC or Marvel, and 'Amira, who is also an avid Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) fan, will explore the reasons to the hype in this new, trending league of superheroes in the media today. This post can also be found on Medium.

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The stories of Superman, Batman and well, all those other people with extraordinary abilities in tight-suits have been told and retold through generations. So it’s no question that they were a part of our lives once (or still are, for that matter). But have we ever stopped to think why these heroes and their stories have resonated so much with us?

Just the other day I was watching a TEDxTeen talk by an editor of Marvel Entertainment, Sana Amanat, and she was sharing why she loved the X-Men. Growing up, she never felt like she could fit in. But soon she learned about the X-Men and how they had mutated and enhanced genes that gave them superpowers, which was “the coolest thing in the world.” She could relate to these mutants because they were different. They were just like her. And this brings me to the first reason why superheroes are superb:

1. They are human.

Okay, I know some superhero fans out there are going to start screaming, “What about Barrions? Asgardians (alien species in the DC and Marvel universe respectively)?” and so on, but what I’m referring to is their humanity – that altruism that never fails to shine through. That is the fundamental virtue about being human. We look out for one another. We form healthy relationships as the basis of social intelligence. We show love. We show kindness and all values in nature that make us human. What superheroes do encompasses all these acts of humanitarianism – they protect the innocent and they save the world. And as cliché as this sounds, they are our role models.

This is not to say they are perfect either. As the saying goes, “To err is human.” So there’s a second reason:

2. They make mistakes.

In the comics and their stories, I’ve noticed a necessary element in their characterization: flaws. And how is this superb, you may ask?

These little hiccups in their personality make them effortlessly human. And they embrace these imperfections and learn from their mistakes.

Even more so, these superheroes exist in an imperfect world. There is never a balance of war and peace. But when they do bring peace, they also present hope on the other side of the spectrum.

3. They represent hope.

A classic example of this is Captain America. He was created in a time where people had much to lose – their loved ones, their home. What Captain America did was give them a form escapism as well as unity and hope amidst the World War.

And it is difficult to recognize that when we were young and watched superheroes like Spiderman every Saturday morning. All we cared about was how good beats evil and how these extraordinary people save the day. But there is still so much about superheroes that we’ve missed as kids, including the fact that,

4. They have an alter ego.

An alter ego makes them more appealing to children because it is a primary need in one’s early development. In self-psychology, it is defined as ‘the desire to feel alikeness to other human beings.’ Of course, we couldn’t have pointed this out when we were kids. Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan provides a common example of this desire to mirror: ‘The child who strikes another says that he has been struck; the child who sees another falls, cries.’

So it’s almost as if these double lives of our favourite superheroes have influenced us subconsciously, but positively. They succumbed to that primary narcissism we had as a child.

And the fact that we grew up with these characters makes them all the more superb. The same answer to this lies in: Why are decade-long franchises like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars so successful?

5. They have a compelling journey.

American scholar Joseph Campbell defined the narrative pattern ‘Hero’s Journey’ as the backbone of modern literature. It is a recurring theme of ordinary people being called upon extraordinary circumstances. We subscribe to a character’s inspiring adventures on a personal level, but as superb as they are, these are not our stories.

One of my favourite poets, Rumi once said: 'Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.'

Have a great week everyone,

‘A.

Photo + Lettering + Illustration by Dian

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'Amira is a contributor to Wattpad, where she publishes her books 'Storms and Other Short Poems', 'Speculum' and 'The Avocation' online, with over 10k reads since October 2014 and more than 1000 votes. She enjoys reading, writing and videography.

Wattpad is a world of free stories - a writing community which users are able to post articles, stories and poems about anything. The content includes work by undiscovered and published writers. 

Check out a snippet of 'A's second and third book 'Speculum' and 'The Avocation'.