Re-shift
Rants, Updates and a bit of Enthusiasm.
Disclaimer : Bird Droppings does not pretend to be an expert in any of the topics mentioned below (except for somethings). Past performance is not indicative of future results. Bird Droppings does not take responsibility of any positive/negative side effects that may arise from the overload of positive creative inspiration below.
Consume at your own risk.
It’s been a while. While I don’t want to think and list all the reasons why I have not written, it does seem odd to re-start without acknowledging the gap.
I
Existing in the margins
A lot has happened since my last post. I picked up several new hobbies, visited new countries, flew back home, got out of my full time job, and began a career shift. As new information and technology infiltrated every aspect of my life, I found myself resisting more and more. I developed an aversion to words like 'posting' and 'social media.' I hated the idea of confining myself to labels like 'UX designer,' 'illustrator,' or 'graphic designer,' and the notion that my self-presentation needed to fit these descriptions.
When I started applying for jobs again, I received comments like, "Oh, but your portfolio has too much illustration for a UX designer." While I don't know what the right amount of illustration for a UX designer is, I was baffled by the hiring market's inability to recognize that people can have multiple skill sets. I quickly realized that employers expected work to fit into neat little boxes. The idea of existing outside the lines was confusing, so the expectation was to fit within the confines of labels that made sense.
This Substack article from Tobi Ogunnaike beautifully captures the emotions behind the Stories that we tell ourselves about work.
Deep down, I felt drained and creatively unstimulated by the hustle culture in tech, even though I 'followed my passions' and chose to give myself an educational degree in something I loved. I imagined a creative life to be full of stimulation, new challenges, exploration, and play. So then the question arises: is work supposed to be fun? And if not, how do we reprogram our brains to be okay with that?
While giving interviews and applying for jobs, a nagging voice inside my head keeps telling me that perhaps this is not what I am meant to do. How am I supposed to know for sure? What if I am making a mistake?
After a couple of months of some healthy (or not?) mental gymnastics and soul searching, I finally decided to trash all the stories I told myself about ‘being successful.’ I decided to discard the hustle culture concept, throw away the idea that I needed to be miserable to make money, and stop pressuring myself into conforming to the boundaries set by others.
II
Permission to play
As soon as this line of thinking became more materialized in my head, I keep seeing signs (or maybe its just cognitive bias, but hey, whatever works) that validated my theory. From Austin Kleon’s weekly substack this line that he shared was everything -
A line I think about more and more these days, from Taleb’s Skin In The Game: “Anything you do to optimize your work, cut some corners, or squeeze more ‘efficiency’ out of it (and out of your life) will eventually make you dislike it.”
I started making decisions based on what I genuinely enjoyed, rather than what I thought I should like. I gave myself permission to create what I love, even if countless others were doing the same thing. It seems obvious now, almost to the point of absurdity, but this small shift in thinking has been incredibly liberating.
What matters is that I enjoy what I'm making and make steady progress. This might seem basic, but it feels monumental in today’s cluttered, noisy social media world where it appears everyone else has a better version of your idea. Every time I set out to create something, I find numerous similar examples and become paralyzed—how will I ever be good enough?
Perhaps this is the catch. Maybe I won’t be. And while it’s a bitter pill to swallow, I am trying to be okay with that. To make art like I used to when I was a kid - for the joy of it - not to be good enough. I wish someone had told me years ago to think this way—that you don’t have to be the best at something to justify your time in pursuing it.
I have a very important reminder from my brother tucked into my planner that reminds me everyday to ‘Aim for Average’.
III
Finding Community
In the past year substack has grown and with its growth, I have found some wonderful people to follow. These people have given me the strength and motivation to start writing again because I realized that my people are indeed here. People who share my fears and frustrations, and who have the same passions as I do. I absolutely loved The Calm Creative’s guide to Marketing without burnout. Her video walks you through a very sustainable and calm method of marketing that resonated with me. I even started drafting out my marketing plan after watching it!
Tatiana Gallardo’s illustrated essays were also a refreshing reminder that I am not the only ones who had a gap this recent year in their publishing! I had a series case of creative constipation and her article basically gave me the right punch to get mine slowly moving.
RAJ KAUR article about how to build an illustration portfolio for branding was immensely helpful, not to mention the fact that it was completely free! She even has a waiting list for for 1:1 portfolio consultations!
Dan Blank essay on owning your creative voice and his encouragement to reach out and communicate to the artists whose work impacts and encourages them also moved me deeply. Thank you for waking me up!
I am glad that I am back! I’ve missed substack and I am looking forward to documenting my slow journey in trying to find my creative voice and career.
It’s likely going to be a long and windy path, and I hope you guys will be here to help me along the way.
Meanwhile in the studio:
I’ve recently developed a huge thing for block printing - it’s the perfect combination of graphic design and hand made application. I’ve been batch producing bags and small pouches to sell in consignment in a couple boutiques in San Francisco! It has been so fun! I’m also taking this course on the side to learn to build my pattern into a collection.
I just launched my Etsy Store where I sell hand stitched leather wallets and bags! I’ve been deep into leather craft for the past year and I’ve finally decided to sell it on a small scale.
I visited Barbados last march and it was phenomenal! I will probably do a separate article on this soon, because I have far too many pages and details to share but here are some sketchbook entries!
I tried embossing the letters into the spine of the journal to make it real fancy. It was successfull, I think.
4. I made an entire sketchbook for my India trip too! Let me know if you’d like to see the whole thing.
Handmade Travelers notebook set-up! 
Swatched and color tests
I’m in the process of creating my illustration portfolio in addition to my experience design portfolio and will share updates as I progress!
I hope y’all have a wonderful weekend! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please support my work by sharing it. Bye!
What a great post! SO much in here to be inspired by. Thank you so much for sharing my post too! I'm so glad you found it useful.
Rooting for you!! This is incredible and inspiring and your candor around the job situations resonates deeply. Why must we always pick a niche??!