FACT

Do you think in words? I definitely do. Words and pictures, actually. I think that's why I use a lot of metaphors. They help life make a bit more sense.

Lately I've been thinking in facts. I'll make coffee in the morning and think, 'Fact: chocolate milk makes coffee taste great.' Or, 'Fact: cleaning out a French press is just plain gross.' I'm not sure where this came from, but it's sort of fun. I don't know many things 100% for-sure, so stopping to recognize what I do know for sure helps me relish the little things. Then again, it might just be a side-effect of nearly eleven months of working from home :)

Some recent facts...

FACT: I got an iPhone

I had been thinking about investing in a smartphone for awhile before the holidays. Then I got to my mom's condo and one of the very first things she said was, 'I think you'd really thrive with an iPhone.'  That was as much of a push as I needed.

FACT: Getting an iPhone was a terrible, horrendous experience. I cried at least twice—in public.

It doesn't matter when you go; any trip to Verizon is going to take approximately four times as long as you think it will/should take. It's just a fact. I knew exactly what I wanted, and it still took three trips to the Verizon store to get the phone ordered. Then, since they were out of stock, I had to have the phone shipped to me in Boston. That meant paying tax on the full retail price of the phone (so the phone cost $70 and tax was $30.) Then FedEx delivered to the wrong house so I had to go pick the package up. 

Was trying to buy an iPhone worth shedding tears? Nope. But it was so completely frustrating and I had no control over the situation. 

FACT: Having a camera that lets you email or tweet photos right away is a brilliant, handy thing.

The phone part of the iPhone works much better than my last cell. And the text message interface is beautiful. But one of the coolest things about this phone is the ability to take a photograph and email it in about a minute. Makes me wonder how long it will be until cameras have wifi built in.

In case you're wondering, you can find me on Instagram @toaststudio.

Side note: did you hear the recent This American Life episode about Apple's manufacturing practices? It's really well done and has caused quite a stir. Have a listen here.
 

FACT: I'm faculty(!!!)

Some of my biggest news for the new year is that I'm teaching a college-level design drawing course. We've had 5 classes so far, and it's challenging. I'm trying really hard to teach the students how to sketch and how to communicate their ideas about design while also trying to keep my own skills honed. I've done design tutoring before, but am finding it really different to talk to 15 students in a short two hour class. You have to make your time and your comments count.

FACT: Pinterest works soooo well in design school.

I did not write the curriculum for the course that I'm teaching, but there's room for tweaks, small additions, and alterations. One of the very first things I had the class do was sign up for Pinterest. We have a collaborative board for the class (here), and it is sooo exciting to have a common digital inspiration board. It's an amazing tool.

FACT: Spencer Nugent knows his stuff.

I'm trying to find plenty of sketching resources for my students. This has lead me back (over and over again) to idsketching.com. The site is full of great content all about design sketching. If you're a designer who needs to spruce up on the basics or get some inspiration, I highly recommend giving the site another look.

Photos are all from my Instagram feed. (Left to right, top to bottom: sweet, sweet Zoey, goofing around with greeting cards, Newton the beta fish, blackberry French toast, two dogs with a staircase in-between, nothing like a fire in January)