There's no stopping on Snow Days

For those of us on the east coast, we have been recently hit by a snow storm, which caused plenty of places to shut down. Yes, New York City jobs are closed....most. Now after shoveling, what is a person to do besides relax? There's plenty to do for all those graphic designers that want to keep themselves occupied on a snow day after you finish your hot chocolate. Here's a short list and I'm sure there are more you can add to. Feel free to comment on more to do.

Freelance- Some designers are freelancers so there's no such thing as a snow day, but to those who work a full time day job, you can look for extra jobs to do or work on those jobs that you finally have time to do, but couldn't for whatever reason.

Personal Designs- This is the most fun, because there are no limitations. You can experiment and create whatever you feel like working on. This is the best time to catch up or learn new techniques. Design is always evolving, so who knows maybe you'll set the next trend or perfect what's out there.

Read design blogs- Yes, you can do this during a lunch break, but now you have time to read all the blogs that you want. You can participate in any discussion that you think is worth commenting on. Maybe there are articles that you find very intriguing, either way it is an option and it always good to rest the creative mind, especially if you happen to be in a creative block.

Search for inspiration- This is similar to the option above, but not every blog has inspiration posts. You can search through various portfolio sites and see what is out there. Who is the next designer to inspire you to try something different or help push you?

Practice tutorials- Whether you read a tutorial from a magazine or online, it is good to learn something new and try incorporating it for your own educational purpose.

Work on your portfolio- Update your portfolio. Redesign your portfolio site or simply showcase your new work. It's always a good idea to keep up to date with it.

Build a snowman- This one is just for fun. It's not everyday that you have the option to do so. This can be your creative outlet.

There you have it, a short list of activities to do on a snow day. If there are more that you would like to contribute then please comment.

New Portfolio site on the way

(click on image to enlarge)

Companies rebrand themselves every couple of years and I think to brand myself as a more serious designer(not that I'm saying that I am not, which I am) I should showcase my designs in a more professional site. I liked how my current site is simple and firmly believe that the designs are what's important, I feel there are ways where you can improve on it. It is crucial that any website has to be easy to navigate, but if you can add some flare it doesn't hurt. When it comes to targeting a client, you want to have designs that will jump out and speak to them, so it is important to have the perfect examples for them. Before you can have the client go cocoa for cocoa puffs over your work, the presentation must be there from the start. I believe that when my new portfolio site is up, I will be able to gain more people to view my site(of course marketing is needed) and be able to look and read about all the work I've created.