YAY!! You guys asked for it!! Another Hair-How-To guide for ya. HERE is the first one. This time it’s with The Girls with Glasses Show. Oh man I love these girls. They are the funniest, funnest, sweetest, silliest, smartest girls I know. So when they asked if I wanted to share some hair tips with them I could NOT pass it up. I have like 3 or 4 pairs of fake glasses just because they make it look so fun.

Hopefully this tutorial inspires you in some way to have fun with your hair and experiment a little.
THREE THINGS:
1 // We want to see photos.
2 // If you missed the Art Photo Transfer Process I did with them last year check it out HERE.
3 // Oh and leave some love on their blogpost if you get a minute!

You may remember THIS BAG by Organik Clothing that I posted to instagram when I was on vacation in Hawaii this November. I found it in a little surf shop in Kuai and totally fell in love. The bag has a versatile strap… So it can be worn as a back pack with two straps or as just an over the shoulder bag with one strap. GENIUS!! I love to use it as an overnight bag. But one of the best parts is its made from recycled coffee bean bags from Hawaii. #LOVE

Okay, okay, I’ll just get to it…the team at Organik is giving away one Mahalo Coffee-Tote to a Promise Tangeman blog reader. HECK YEA!! Check out how awesome it is in the photos above. Plus It’s made from 100% Kona Coffee bean sacks.

Okay so here is how to WIN it!!
1 // Leave a comment here in the comment section.
2 // For extra points go tell someone about this giveaway via twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or whatever. Then leave another comment in the comment section explaining what you did. EASY!!

The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Monday Feb 5th.

If you enjoy reading this blog… would you be willing to answer a quick questionnaire? I’ve got some fun ideas for how to move forward for 2012 and I’m looking to find out a little more information about you and what you like. Come on…. This is exactly what you do on Fridays, right? Answer a few blog questions?!? GO RIGHT NOW. Also, feel free to leave some ideas or notes here in the comment section too. Thanks so much. I owe you two cookies and a kiss. FUN STUFF AHEAD.

Oh yea…Above is my personal instagram art. I’d like to call it *Instaglam* if you will. haha.

PIIINK!!!! My hair girl, kim, recommended me adding some fun wash out color to the ends of my hair for a fun and fresh look. The brand she recommended required waiting for the shipment… so I just went to Ulta, a beauty supply store, to see if they carried something similar… and they did. Streekers. A Wild Weekend indeed. haha. I LOVE IT!!! They had a bunch of colors to choose from. I choose pink becuase it would show up the best on my light brown hair. The color is great because it goes on as a liquid and doesn’t come off until I wash it out!! and it comes RIGHT OUT!!! Perfecto! Fun and NEW!! I feel like it’s putting a new spin on all my outfits. If you decide to give it a try… Keep in mind that it does not show up on dark hair.

YOU like? Yay or NAY?

Conferences are refreshing, enlightening, and inspiring. You leave with that extra kick in your step to jump start that next project you have been waiting to do…BUT THEY CAN BE SOOO AWKWARD too. Or at least I can be. Okay, maybe it’s just me. I am the Queen of Awkward. My small talk conversations usually go as follows. ME: “Hi, how are you?” THEM: “Good. How are you?” ME: “Good, good…How are you?” THEM: “Great” haha. I even joke with friends that whenever I feel alone and awkward at a party I walk around the room like I am looking for someone…then when I see someone I know…blurt out “Oh there you are” (Like I have been looking for them the whole time..haha). JK.

I know it sounds really silly but I have been working on my less-awkward-self in social situations. And when I was at Altitude Summit this past week I took a few notes and set out to work on them. I am still a work in MAJOR progress let me tell ya. That being said, I am taking a different spin on What I Learned at Altitude Summit then I did last year (which was quite good if I may say so myself). This time I have decided to share a few tips for Less-Awkward-Situations For The Hermit Artist. haha. Am I a goof for having this? I think so.

SMILE & WALK AROUND LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE (IN A GOOD WAY)
I think it starts with a joyful, approachable spirit, and self confidence. Be thankful you are there. And take a genuine interest in other people. People love to be around comfortable & safe people. So put your shoulders back and feel comfortable in your own skin.

VENTURE OUTSIDE OF YOUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
Last year I went to Alt…kind of by myself. And because of that I had a lot of time venturing out on my own. I actually found that I met MORE people last year than I did this year with friends. Even though your friends are fun…don’t be afraid to go places like this by yourself…because when you are alone…you meet other people quicker…because well…you don’t want to be alone.

MAKE THE INTRODUCTION
Waiting for the other person to make the first move can be a silly and an uncomfortable game. So make it easier on the other person and step out and be the first to say HI. Being the first to jump on this will also give you more self confidence in the conversation. After a few of these…It will become easier and easier to meet new people.

GIVE A COMPLIMENT
Compliment the other person if it feels right and appropriate. Compliments really disarm an uncomfortable situation. It elevates the other person and shows that you are taking an interest in them in a small and simple way.

TAKE A COMPLIMENT
If someone says “I love your work”, “I love reading your blog”, or even “I like your shoes”…look them in the eyes and say “THANK YOU” with a sincere spirit. There is nothing more uncomfortable than you responding back with “noo…oh no”. haha. Because then that person has to say “Oh yes!! No seriously, Yes”…”oh no”…”oh yes” etc. SO just say “THANK YOU” and really take it to heart. Give yourself a bonus point of confidence for the night. They wouldn’t say it if they didn’t mean it.

BE A *GREAT* LISTENER
If the conversation starts to have a lull, ask them some questions and really care about their answers. People LoOOOVe talking about themselves. It’s what they know A LOT about. Look them in the eyes and not around the room. It will make it easier to engage with them if you make an effort to really care.

HELP MAKE A DECISION
Where there’s a lot of unsure people in the room…there’s a lot of indecisiveness. THEM: “Where do you want to go to dinner?” YOU: “I don’t know…Where do you want to go to dinner?” THEM: “I don’t know”…Well what do you feel like?” YOU: “I don’t know…what do you feel like?” See where this is going??! AWKWARD AGAIN!!!! If someone asks you something, think about it and give a few answers or choices. Something like: “Well, I always love mexican or Italian food. OR I saw a restaurant on the corner, maybe we can go there.” You would be surprised. I know you want to please the other person…and you can…but people are LOOKING and longing for someone to make the decision. Why not you?

Ever felt awkward at an event? What are your tricks? OH yea..P.S. I had the most UN-AWKWARD roomies ever. Kirsten Grove, Liz Grant, and Jasmine Star. Very inspiring and fun women that make conferences like this SOOOO much fun!

You might have remembered the THIS post a few months ago announcing the launch Jasmine Star’s magazine Exposed. It was a really great accomplishment for not only her but for the whole team that was involved. Check out some of my favorite spreads from the magazine HERE. And congrats to Jasmine for Selling out of Exposed! WOHOO!!

On a personal level, this project was a milestone. I LOVE projects that inspire me, scare me, and stretch me. Even though they may be cause of some heartache and nervous tension they make me better, more experienced, and more confident in the end. Through this process there were some moments where I had NO clue what I was doing, but I was determined to research and figure out how to do the best I could.

That being said… I thought I would shed some light on some of the design details and thought processes behind the creation of Exposed Magazine.

THE BEGINNING STAGES

When Jasmine and I got together In the beginning stages it was just a word doc. Literally. All we knew was that her story was going to be in a magazine type of format, but we had no idea what it would really look like because we had never seen anything like this before. So deciding how to go about it was interesting… Cover photo? Of what? A featured center spread? What kind of images? Portfolio or images that describe the articles? Is that too cheesy? Who’s the photographer? Is it printed or online? Or both? We discussed some options and after Jasmine decided how she wanted to move forward the magazine started to take shape.

After I printed out the word doc I was officially overwhelmed. It was over 60 pages in 10pt font. That feeling of “where do I start?” hit me hard core. When I understood the magnitude of this project I called my production designer Liz to jump on board with me. Together we could tackle anything. and with her overly-positive spirit… I believed it. Haha.

THE RESEARCH

In the mean time I buried myself in Jasmine’s favorite magazines. I studied the layouts, the title treatments, and asked myself on occasion WHY I thought they did certain things. I wanted to think like their designers. This really helped me learn how to make decisions regarding the ebb and flow of Exposed.

THE PLANNING

Just like songs have a verse, chorus, and bridge that climax and then resolve, I wanted the magazine to mimic that flow. Having areas to visually build with interest as the stories progressed and then counteract that with space to breathe and read easy.  The magazine needed to be presented in a way that was not overwhelming, yet it needed to remain interesting. Because there was so much text (and magazines don’t typically have very much text) I knew I had a challenge to overcome. But I was ready for it.

I needed to see the big picture. So I laid out the doc on my hard wood floors and wrote notes of what I envisioned as I reread the book. Some of the articles were more visual than others so some of the notes included where I thought images should be and what I thought they should be of.

THE INDESIGN FILE

Instead of just designing from front to back I needed to keep the big picture in mind. Because if we didn’t….we would’ve just started designing and ended up with a 500 page magazine that needed to be redone because it was WAAY too long. So Liz and I started by FIRST getting the entire book into the Indesign doc. FIRST ACCOMPLISHMENT. haha! WOOHOO!! We added lots of blank pages into the mix as well as place holders, etc. This gave us a great gauge for how long we thought the magazine would be and what we would have room for, etc. We then added titles, some light style, and sent it on over to Jasmine for her initial feedback.

THE FEEDBACK

I never really know what to expect with Jasmine’s feedback. In a good way.  And with this project being WAAYY out of the norm it left me sitting on the edge of my seat. Before this moment, everything was just an idea or a thought…and now… it had come to life and was on the table to dissect, analyze, and revise.

I always love working with her, and not because it’s easy and she loves everything I do. Haha. That’s not the case at all, and I love it. We talk about it. I probe with questions about why she loves this and hates that. I ask her a series of questions, and It helps me to understand how she thinks. It’s VERY important for me to spend the time to understand how she thinks so I can make educated decisions in the future and not take stabs in the dark or play guessing games. NEVER PLAY THE GUESSING GAME. It causes confusion, frustration, and ends up wasting everybody’s time.

ALL of this is worth it because in the end we get to a place where we are BOTH proud of what we’ve created. It’s a true collaboration.

THE REVISIONS & THE TEST PRINTS

We did a round of revisions and then I took the Indesign file for a black and white test print. Things look SOO different when printed. In this round I was looking at the size ratio of elements, spacing between EVERYTHING, the use negative space (or lack of), typography, image placement, etc. I was looking at how everything fit together. I stapled the book together and analyzed the spacial flow of the magazine. I marked everything I wanted to change with yellow highlighter. I wrote notes in the margins and did a FULL edit with the physical copy. I did another round of revisions, and did yet another test printed in black and white. Again, I stapled it together to see if my revisions accomplished what they needed to. I revised and printed, revised and printed, until I was happy.

THE COVER

I chose to design the cover last. I wanted to finish the inside first, giving me weeks  to really get to know the style like the back of my hand. I then felt REALLY comfortable and confident designing a memorable cover that was going to be the face of this story.  All in all I knew that designing it last would make it stronger and more consistent with the inside.

THE FINAL STAGES

As we were days aways from going to print I did a few more test prints. Believe it or not, this included two in color. I put together a mock magazine including the cover to see how everything lined up. I flipped though the pages with new eyes. I looked at the colors of the images and analyzed the way they worked together.

I got really excited in this moment because everything was starting to REALLY come to life in a big way. I was so nervous to hit the send button. I held my breath, said a few prayers, and had a stomach ache for weeks HOPING everything lined up right, printed pretty, and represented all our hard work.

THE PROCESS

On a large project like this, I keep everything. The whole process. I kept the printed word doc, the research, all of the test prints, the written edits, the print discs, everything, and I packaged it up and put it to bed.

DONE!!!

Jasmine-Thank you for believing in me, partnering with me, and pushing me to be better! I love working with you!!
Liz- Thank you for being my fun, talented, and witty right-hand girl! I could not have done it without you!
Jasmine’s team on Exposed – You guys are legit! The real deal. Thanks for everything.

I just got finished tweaking one of my Site House website style groups for Jasmine Star’s The Fix Website. And I was quickly reminded about why I LOOVE Site House sites and why I love the Show It software. There is really nothing quite like this out there… where you can FULLY customize and change a site to look completely different from the “template” by dragging and dropping. WOOHOO!! I love the extreme flexibility and the ability to make each site unique.

I want to congratulate my friend Jasmine for launching a new event for us all to attend this spring. She will be traveling around the country talking to photographers about how to “identify weaknesses within a business, maximize entrepreneurial strengths, & outline a course of action to employ for 2012.” I am really excited for her and what she will be sharing at these events. As a young business person, I feel like I have learned a lot about the importance of structure, marketing, and using my strengths. AND in that learning I have learned that THERE IS A TON MORE TO LEARN. haha. And I admire Jasmine for her success in that way.

Check out the original site design:
http://www.magazine.promisetangeman.com/

Check out the revamped version for The Fix:
http://jasminestarfix.com/

Also check out THE FIX on your iPad for Showit’s HTML5 in Beta.

There is nothing quite like getting to work with really great people. One of our newest clients embodies ‘really great people’ at another level. Many of you may know Randy Fenoli as the star of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress, Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss, and Randy Knows Best. As a fashion director and creative in his own right, Randy carries a very humble spirit about him that has made working on his projects a lot of fun.

Randy’s team contacted us this summer to design his visual identity as well as a website! Although Randy is in a completely different career field than I am… It was really cool to see some of the similarities too. Randy has been working with brides for years now helping them find a dress that represents their style, fits them well, and gives them confidence. I do the same with design. I strive to great a brand and website that represents my client’s personal style, fits them well, and gives them confidence. I got to see some of these similarities come out when we were deep in our Creative Process. Through our research and process something clicked for Randy and he was able to articualte his style and what they needed for the look. I can definitely say that Randy’s Creative process with me was quite unique.

Randy desired a website that represented his personal style that was classy, elegant, sophisticated, and had a high-end designer look to it. He LOVED the website we did for Jasmine star that included smooth transitions, movement, and real personal elements. Because Randy was not familiar with looking at typography and graphic design on a regular basis, we used a lot of interior design and fashion references as inspiration for his look. He knows a lot about fashion and loves interior design… So it was easy for him to describe what he liked and talk about it. We passed images back and forth, compared notes, got on the same page, and then I went to work. On completion of the website Randy called me and left me one of the most encouraging voicemails I may have EVER received from a client. I was reminded, through tears, as I listened to his incredibly kind words about what he called ‘a work of art’ that no matter how far success takes us…words matter. And so does a grateful spirit. Not just a little…like…A LOT! Randy’s encouraging words were fuel to my burned out creative soul this last year and I cannot say enough about it! I hope you love what you see in how his unique style manifested itself in his branding and site.

Currently we are excited to be working on some new ideas for Randy’s brand for the new year. Stay tuned. Check out the website. And follow him on twitter too. Below are a couple of screenshots from the website.

I would talk about it casually because I thought it wasn’t going to be a reality for us any time soon. We travel a lot and are very busy. And puppy is a responsibility…you know. BUT HE TOTALLY DID IT!! My husband, Brian, surprised me with a puppy for Christmas. How cute is that?! We got a puppy on our third Christmas together as a married couple. I always thought that would be such a cute story to tell our kids one day. Our Goldendoodle was born a few days before christmas and we get to go pick him up in Texas and take him home in late February. AHH!!! We are really excited to have a little buddy around the house. Sometimes you gotta celebrate the little things in life…. right?

So being a new dog owner I am on the look out for some tips!! Anything I should know or try? AHHHHH!! So pumped!! We are thinking about calling him: Parker. YAY? or NAY?

(This photo is not our puppy…. but it’s the same breed. How cute)

Hi friends!! I am working on answering those questions in the previous post. SERIOUSLY Great STUFF!! I am stoked to answer those. Until I finish up… here is a new post for ya.

In light of looking towards the new year… I thought I would share some thoughts on how and why I take on projects. Some projects and clients are draining, some inspiring, and others can just be neutral. No one EVER wants to feel drained with their job. We all want to stay inspired and moving forward. Once you have built your portfolio, and are now getting more work than you can take on, its time to move past the first come fist serve montra and make some decisions about which projects to take on and which projects to pass on. While I wish I could make everyone happy by accepting everything…. I have learned that it’s just not a reality. To maintain a steady work-flow and excitement for the future, I have to protect myself and my time – only choosing the projects that move me forward, keep me fresh, and pay the bills.

After evaluating my business over the last couple of years I developed three categories for which I use to make decisions on which projects to take on. I don’t always stick to these… but they are a helpful guide.

1 // CHOOSING A GOOD OPPORTUNITY
A GOOD opportunity is a client or large company with industry creditbility and a large network of likeminded people. A client with industry creds and a network of likeminded people will help attract more clients AND more clients LIKE THEM. You could view this has a marketing opportunity for your business. A question to ask yourself would be: WOULD I want to work with more clients like this? Or would I want to work with the people that “follow” my client? If your answer is no, then that particular project would not be a good opportunity for you.

2 // CHOOSING AN INSPIRING OPPORTUNITY
An INSPIRING opportunity is a project that revives you, adds to your portfolio, aligns with your artistic aesthetic, or broadens your skill set. This project sends you jumping out of bed in the morning. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: Does this client have a really inspiring style? Will this get me out of doing the norm? Will this be a PERFECT addition to my portfolio? Will this showcase the BEST I possibly can do?

3 // CHOOSING A MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITY
*Sometimes* to get GOOD opportunities and INSPIRING opportunities you have to sacrifice full payment. Sometimes. But that sacrifice is well worth it because you will make up for it with a killer project in your portfolio or a new relationship with a client that will potentially bring you more clients. Therefore, A MONEY MAKING opportunity is just that…. it pays the bills… at top dollar. At times you will come across clients that are not a very good opportunity and are not very inspiring and thats okay. You need to pay the bills as well. And thats where this project fills in the gaps of your business. I am a girl thats definitely NOT about the money…but you do have to make a living. So, if only one category out of the 3 is about money…I am okay with that.

My business has really grown using this filter. An example of a client that wouldn’t fit in any of these categories would be an acquaintance in the real estate industry that wants a custom website at a discounted rate. Why? 1) This would not be a GOOD opportunity for me because I am not looking to cultivate more clientele in the real-estate sector… so even if they had a large network it still wouldn’t help move my business forward in the direction I envision. 2) This would not be an inspiring opportunity for me because, well… I am an inspiration diva looking to work with creative clients, not corporate world clients. and 3) They do not value my work enough to pay the full price… SO I would not be making very much money doing this project. Therefore this particular job is a miss on all 3 categories. If the project hit at least 1 category I would consider taking the project. Are there exceptions? Of course there are! And I often look for those exceptions and take them. But viewing this potential project as a strictly business decision I would take a pass. I would rather do a free project for something I really come alive working on/or for.

pssst…There is a DREAM CLIENT category too!! But I don’t really see it as a category. I see it as a cherry on top. Some clients hit All 3 categories AND are AMAZING to work with… giving me full creative freedom and have very little revisions. THIS IS A HUGE DREAM CLIENT!! Hang on to those clients and always make room for them in your schedule.

A good combination of the above categories gives me a good variety, keeps me inspired, keeps new clients in the queue, and makes the money. Have you thought about how you except work? Even if you are still in the portfolio building stage or doing free work…. there are always instances where you need to make some of these decisions. I think its worth looking at your options now and planning for the future to prevent a burn out.