Launching a small business in the 'new normal'

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and in the calendar a cycle of twelve animal signs deriving from Chinese folklore is used as a method for naming the years. Each animal in the cycle has particular characteristics and people born in a certain year are believed to take on these characteristics.
Tiger Years: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022

People born in the Year of the Tiger are said to be natural leaders, who walk and talk confidently and inspire respect. They are courageous and energetic, love a challenge or competition, work enthusiastically and are prepared to take risks.

This got me thinking that these Tiger traits are ideal for the would be entrepreneur; someone looking to gain the freedom and autonomy of running their own show. However, easy Tiger… starting a new business in 2022 comes with both opportunities and challenges.

Lessons from the artworld

It happens to us all, we’re working on a design project, lose sight of the bigger picture (i.e being focused on the brief) and get sucked down that rabbit hole, shuffling elements around and endlessly riffing on a misdirected solution when it’s clear, there’s something wrong. Face it, it’s not working. The problem is that we have the incessant deadline clock ticking in the background and we’ve now committed so much time to pursuing this idea that we find it difficult to stop, reassess and change tack.

In Babylon
On the boulevard of broken dreams
My will power at the lowest ebb
Oh what can I do?

Launching a start-up company and the benefits of branding

HI folks, this is a revised blog that I originally wrote back in the salad days of 2019 PP (Pre Pandemic). Its relevance now though is stronger than ever as we pause for reflection, reassess our priorities and willingly embrace change. During this unforeseen break in the continuity of our lives you may have woken up and realised that you’re actually sick of your nine-to-five, fed up working under incompetent middle managers and want to give it up and strike out on your own. You may have been nursing a long held ambition or spotted a gap in the market, but whatever has prompted you to start up a company be in no doubt that the path to business success is not an easy one and requires a lot of hard work and soul searching to bring your vision into sustainable life.

Artistic challenges in the digital era

The world is fast changing, new technology, new thinking, (don’t mention New Labour). In the relatively short space of 50 years, the digital world has engulfed us all and many would argue has become crucial to the functioning of society. As an artist myself, the relevant question is, what does that mean for the contemporary artist in the internet era? Are there any downsides to the many positives that the internet era offers?

Launching a start-up company and the benefits of branding

Ok folks, here we are again it’s almost the New Year and people are thinking about giving things up for a short while; booze, pies, cigarettes, bad habits - whatever. However what if you’ve woken up and realised that you’re actually sick of your nine-to-five, fed up working under incompetent middle managers and want to give it up and strike out on your own. You may have been nursing a long held ambition or spotted a gap in the market, but whatever has prompted you to start up a company be in no doubt that the path to business success is not an easy one and requires a lot of hard work and soul searching to bring your vision into sustainable life.

“Working’ 9 to 5
Oh, what a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin' and no givin'

A tasteful look at the ingredients of good design

Casting my mind back a few decades, as a rookie designer my portfolio was full of overly complex design solutions. I hoped to impress by showing off the various tricks and techniques I had learned thus far; fancy fonts, drop shadows here, grungy textures there and an array of colours that would make an impressive coat for any would-be Joseph. Unfortunately as any follower of Masterchef will agree - a large assortment of ingredients, flavours and cheffy techniques all on the one plate doesn’t necessarily make a good dish.