Burn Your Portfolio teaches the real-world practices, professional do's and don'ts, and unwritten rules of business that most designers, photographers, web designers, copy writers, programmers, and architects only learn after putting in years of experience on the job.Michael Janda, owner of the Utah-based design firm Riser, uses humor to dispense nugget after nugget of hard-won advice collected over the last decade from the personal successes and failures he has faced running his own agency. In this surprisingly funny, but incredibly practical advice guide, Janda's advice on teamwork and collaboration, relationship building, managing clients, bidding work, production processes, and more will resonate with creative professionals of all stripes.

    Graphic Design Thinking explores a variety of techniques to stimulate fresh thinking to arrive at compelling and viable solutions. Each approach is explained with a brief narrative text followed by a variety of visual demonstrations and case studies. Lupton's hands-on, close-up approach, made famous with Thinking with Type, makes the creative process accessible to anyone and removes the myth that creativity is an in-born talent.Presents a wide range of methods applicable to any brainstorming scenario.• Techniques are grouped around the three basic phases of the design process: defining the problem, inventing ideas, and creating form• From informal strategies that are ideal for quick, seat-of-the-pants thinking, to formal research methods• Learn to approach problems through focus groups, interviewing, brand mapping, and co-designIncludes discussions with leading professional designers: Art Chantry, Ivan Chermayeff, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller, Abbott Miller, Christoph Niemann, Paula Scher, and Martin Venezk reveal how they get ideas and overcome blocks to creativity.Graphic Design Thinking is directed at working designers, design students, and anyone who wants to apply inventive thought patterns to everyday creative challenges in the design process.

    Written by the famous nonobjective painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), it explains Kandinsky's own theory of painting and crystallizes the ideas that were influencing many other modern artists of the period. Along with his own groundbreaking paintings, this book had a tremendous impact on the development of modern art.Kandinsky's ideas are presented in two parts. The first part, called "About General Aesthetic," issues a call for a spiritual revolution in painting that will let artists express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material terms. Just as musicians do not depend upon the material world for their music, so artists should not have to depend upon the material world for their art. In the second part, "About Painting," Kandinsky discusses the psychology of colors, the language of form and color, and the responsibilities of the artist. An Introduction by the translator, Michael T. H. Sadler, offers additional explanation of Kandinsky's art and theories, while a new Preface by Richard Stratton discusses Kandinsky's career as a whole and the impact of the book. Making the book even more valuable are nine woodcuts by Kandinsky himself that appear at the chapter headings.This English translation of Über das Geistige in der Kunst was a significant contribution to the understanding of nonobjectivism in art. It continues to be a stimulating and necessary reading experience for every artist, art student, and art patron concerned with the direction of 20th-century painting.

    God has wired creativity into our DNA, and he expects that every man, woman, and child will be creative for His glory. In this book you will learn how to overcome the fear of being creative, how to get moving on any creative project, and how to finally finish your creative work. The book is short, practical, and to the point. It is full of Biblical wisdom and practical application. It will help you to stop making excuses and to start making stuff.Here's what others are saying about it:This piece on creativity is a gem. Conversational, practical, and biblical. As Christians we have the Creator as our Father, and so we should be the ones with the most creativity. Sadly today Christianity is reduced to corny songs and cheesy t-shirts. However, in this short e-book I was greatly encouraged deep in my soul to step out in faith and be creative knowing my Father already loves me and approves of me in Jesus. Stephen winsomely shows how we aren't just supposed to be creative, but its actually what we were created for! - Jefferson Bethke, poet, author of “Why I Love Jesus, But Hate Religion”Create, by my friend Stephen Altrogge, will inspire you to do just that. It's biblical, gospel-driven, practical, insightful, funny, and only 43 pages. Whether you think you're an artist or not, Stephen will inspire you to do what you do better for God's glory. - Bob Kauflin, author of Worship Matters, director of worship for Sovereign Grace MinistriesStephen Altrogge is a creative guy, and this is a short, easily digestible, Biblical book that will encourage you to be creative and won't cut into your time to be creative. It's also full of practical scriptural wisdom on taking criticism and the value of working hard.- Ted Kluck, award-winning author of several books, including Facing Tyson: Fifteen Fighters, Fifteen Stories and Dallas and the SpitfireOut of nothing God created matter, out of the unformed matter he formed the world, and when he was done he stepped back and enjoyed his work. It was Augustine who suggested musicians do the same thing when they embrace the unformed silence and order bits of time into tones and notes. As Stephen so skillfully shows us in his short book, the same principles for musicians and composers equally apply to bankers and bakers, painters and poets, homemakers and handymen. In the ordering of our small portion of the world we image the Creator. I was made to create. You were made to create. And if you’re not sure what that means for you, or if you’re just not convinced it’s true, read this short book to be persuaded and inspired and (maybe most importantly) disciplined for a life of making stuff.- Tony Reinke, creator of the book Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading BooksThis book is short enough for you to read in an hour, although you may want to take it a few pages at a time, marinating in its wisdom. You'll not only learn how Stephen finds the time to create art in multiple formats, but you'll learn from other skilled creatives as well. In Create, you'll learn how to get started and overcome your fears, how to accept and learn from criticism, how to form habits that will strengthen your creativity, and how to persevere. This will be one of those books that I turn to again and again, when I feel like I've gotten stuck on a sandbar.- Bobby Gilles, songwriter, author, Sojourn Church Director of Communications

    This book presents step-by-step techniques for 35 image transfer processes, extensive tips for fixing mishaps and examples of how to combine transfers in finished pieces of mixed-media art.This comprehensive guide features:35 Techniques: This book focuses exclusively on making transfers--from simple tape and gel medium transfers to more complex and out of the box techniques, like solar silk screens and plastic wrap transfers.Troubleshooting: Image Transfer Workshop includes extensive answers to help fix problems in transfers gone wrong. You'll learn what to watch for, what to do to get great transfers every time.Dual Styles, Dual Approaches: The authors' different styles illustrate how transfer techniques can take on completely different looks. Finished pieces of art for each technique and a section of completely stepped-out projects are sure to inspire you!Let Image Transfer Workshop help build your image transfer confidence.

    It’s a journey to the thing that so fulfills you that, if someone told you, “It’s right outside—but watch out—it could kill you!” you’d run straight toward it, through the screen door without even opening it. Life coach and bestselling author of Finding Your Own North Star Martha Beck guides you to find out how you got to where you are now and what you should do next with clear, concrete instructions on tapping into the deep, wordless knowledge you carry in your body and soul. There are certain people who sense that they are called to do something fulfilling and significant, but who often get caught in self-destructive, unproductive cycles. This is the book that will lead you to unleash your incredible creative energy—and fulfill your life’s purpose.With her inimitable ability to translate inner life into accessible, witty, sparkling prose, Beck draws from ancient wisdom and modern science to help readers consciously embrace their skills and create the life they really want. What she’s found is that these people with great passion, empathy, and creative potential often sense a higher calling—in a society where that calling isn’t even recognized as real. They often have within them a quiet power that could change the world; they lack only the tools. Beck offers real, actionable methods to tap into that power. She shows how to find your inner identity and your external “tribe” of like-minded people. She demonstrates the four simple tools for transformation: Wordlessness, Oneness, Imagination, and Creation. With clear step-by-step instructions and guided reflections, Beck shows how to drop into the wordless state of communion with nature and self, how to experience for yourself the oneness between yourself and the universe, how to be empowered by the spark of inspiration, and, finally, how to take action and realize creative potential to make a lasting impact on the world.Compassionate and inspirational, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is a revolutionary journey of self-discovery that leads to miraculous change.***From Finding Your Way in a Wild New World:The mother rhino paws nervously, and I feel the impact tremor in the ground beneath my own feet. She is huge. She is nervous. She could kill me as easily as I clip my fingernails. But my mind is filled only with wonder, distilled into two basic questions.Question 1: How the hell did I get here?Question 2: What the hell should I do now?Both issues seem equally mysterious. . . . But it all seems to clear now— it was my true nature that brought me face to face with a rhinoceros. . . . I’m finding out what it feels like to reclaim my true nature. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced. And, because ecstasy loves company, I want you to experience it too. The wild new world of the twenty-first century is the perfect setting for reclaiming your true nature. And your life will work much, much better if you let it direct your choices. It will bring you freedom, peace, and delight; give you the optimal chance of making a good living; and help you create the best possible effect on everything around you. I’m not certain exactly how it will play out in your case, but here’s what I do know: it’s time you met your rhinoceros.

    If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing seem pedantic and ordinary?Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words are our currency; they tell our customers who we are.Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or discombobulated or flat-out boring.That means you've got to choose words well, and write with economy and the style and honest empathy for your customers. And it means you put a new value on an often-overlooked skill in content marketing: How to write, and how to tell a true story really, really well. That's true whether you're writing a listicle or the words on a Slideshare deck or the words you're reading right here, right now...And so being able to communicate well in writing isn't just nice; it's necessity. And it's also the oft-overlooked cornerstone of nearly all our content marketing.In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results.These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent content. It's designed to be the go-to guide for anyone creating or publishing any kind of online content — whether you're a big brand or you're small and solo.Sections include: How to write better. (Or, for "adult-onset writers": How to hate writing less.) Easy grammar and usage rules tailored for business in a fun, memorable way. (Enough to keep you looking sharp, but not too much to overwhelm you.) Giving your audience the gift of your true story, told well. Empathy and humanity and inspiration are key here, so the book covers that, too. Best practices for creating credible, trustworthy content steeped in some time-honored rules of solid journalism. Because publishing content and talking directly to your customers is, at its heart, a privilege. "Things Marketers Write": The fundamentals of 17 specific kinds of content that marketers are often tasked with crafting. Content Tools: The sharpest tools you need to get the job done. Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough. Everybody Writes is a field guide for the smartest businesses who know that great content is the key to thriving in this digital world.

    The most comprehensive book ever published on drawing hands, it uses a revolutionary system for visualizing the hand in an almost infinite number of positions.