Programmer & Developer Ben Borowski explores the creative side of software and shares his recent personal projects - The Busy Creator Podcast 62

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The Busy Creator 62 w/guest Ben Borowski

Ben Borowski (@TypeOneError) is a software developer and programmer based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In past years, Ben run a small studio doing web development for top agencies, but has recently made a move to create his own project, and is working on that full-time.

Ben is one half of Oki Doki, along with Designer & Digital Strategist Marie Poulin. Together, the duo are hard at work on Doki, a web platform to build and run online courses and communities. In this conversation, Ben discusses the creative side of programming, the definition of a “coder”, and the challenges of putting aside client projects for the endeavor of building your own app.

Catch up with Ben on his site, Type One Error, or check out Doki.io.

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Friday Links, vol. 6

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Friday Links

The week in Internet. Useful resources for creative professionals.

Tools

  • Lucid Chart is a tool for flowcharts and diagrams
  • Cushion is out of beta. Freelancers, check it out (especially if you get “too much work”)
  • Micro Snitch detects whether your mic/camera are secretly being used
  • Check out what [Industrial] Design Students had to use in centuries past

Techniques

  • Amy Porterfield drops some serious calendar-fu in her latest podcast episode.

Habits

  • The Pope’s 10 Tips for a Happier Life

Everything Else

  • Neuroscientist John Kounious argues deadlines encourage productivity, but destroy creativity
  • Are you a “Full Stack Designer“?
  • How Much Would It Cost to Attend Hogwarts?

Friday Links, vol. 5

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Friday Links

The week in Internet. Useful resources for creative professionals.

Tools

  • Coffitivity will play the ambient sounds of a coffee shop. If that’s your thing.
  • Slimvoice allows you to build super-simple invoices
  • Lynda.com walks us through the new Acrobat DC, which, let’s face it, is a hot mess.

Techniques

  • How to Deal With Rejection
  • Design your logos with black-and-white in mind
  • Upload your InDesign files to Behance, slideshow style
  • Create a workflow to get screenshots from your iOS device to your Mac

Habits

  • Lessons learned in Design School that still apply, via JustCreative
  • Create a Folder Structure you can rely on.

Everything Else

  • Chris (Simpsons Artist) has illustrated some cheeky and accurate scenes from the creative professions, via It’s Nice That

Chris (Simpsons Artist)'s illustrations

  • Uber’s Brand Guidelines are available for viewing. Pretty awesome, actually.

Woodworker & Furniture Maker Matt Cremona discusses self-teaching and doing a solo video show - The Busy Creator Podcast 61

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Woodworker & Furniture Maker Matt Cremona discusses self-teaching and doing a solo video show

Matt Cremona (@MattCremona) is best known for his woodworking video channel on YouTube. Primarily self-taught, Matt challenges himself to build beautiful furniture, going so far as to cut and prepare the timber, documenting the forest-to-finished-piece process along the way.

Matt’s background is diverse, with previous work in software development, interface design, and economics. Together we discuss wood, carpentry and essential tools, and producing a weekly video show. Check out his videos and some of his work at MattCremona.com

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Friday Links, vol. 4

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Friday Links

The week in Internet. Useful resources for creative professionals.

Abbreviated this week due, in part, to Canada Day and Independence Day celebrations!

Tools

  • Browsy is a stripped-down, distraction-free browser for iPad and iPhone

Techniques

  • Avoid using the word “just” in your written correspondences.

Everything Else

  • Crazy flow chart showing how the Walt Disney Company used to work
  • The Creative Sector in New York City is nearly 7% of all jobs.
  • Facebook has updated its logo. Very slightly.

Friday Links, vol. 3

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Friday Links

The week in Internet. Useful resources for creative professionals.

Tools

  • Take this eye test disguised as a game
  • Watch this free video from lynda.com to better understand PDF Standards, via InDesignSecrets
  • Remove unused CSS Styles with UnCSS
  • Brian Hoff is switching from Photoshop to Sketch, and blogging about it
  • Kiwi for Gmail is a new desktop email client for Gmail.

Techniques

  • 37 Secrets Only Successful People Know
  • Andrew Warner shares his True Mind Meditation technique
  • How to Tweet From Terminal on a Mac. Careful, it’s nerdy.
  • The best time of the day to Tweet, via Buffer

Habits

  • Advice and insight for freelancers and small practitioners

Everything Else

  • Are these the new flags of Australia, New Zealand, and the ‘former’ United Kingdom?

Copywriter, Author, and Journalist Kristen Fischer Discusses Life as a Freelancer - The Busy Creator 60

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The Busy Creator 60 w/guest Kristen Fischer

Kristen Fischer (@KristenFischer) is an independent copywriter, author, and journalist living and working at the Jersey Shore. Following a stint as a cub reporter, she turned to freelance writing, making efforts to diversify her professional practice along the way.

A proponent of freelancing and professional issues around independent creatives, Kristen co-hosts Freelance Radio and has written When Talent Isn’t Enough, a business guide for creative professionals.

Our conversation covers writing tactics, the relationships between designers and writers, and how Kristen balances client work with authoring books. We also discuss the emotional trials of freelancing and some of the mistakes made and drama faced in her earlier years. Catch up with Kristen via her site, KristenFischer.com

When Talent Isn't Enough by Kristen Fischer

When Talent Isn’t Enough by Kristen Fischer

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Friday Links, vol. 1

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Friday Links

In my ongoing effort to bring new and useful experiments to The Busy Creator, I’m bringing you some links and videos I’ve spotted this week. No fanfare, just the good stuff I’ve compiled during the week.

Tools

  • Behomm is a home exchange website exclusively for designers and visual artists. Apply here.
  • Blossom.co is a nice-looking project management app for agile development (and other stuff)
  • OWC USB-C Dock for new MacBooks bring you all the ports you need for actual computer use.
  • Thames Capsule, a font made from type samples recovered from the bottom of the River Thames. It’s really gorgeous!
  • Order nice business cards online with Oubly

Techniques

  • Use Keynote to make some serious animations
  • How to create a flat lighthouse icon illustration
  • Need a break from your business or project? Here’s how to make it happen
  • David Allen of Getting Things Done now has a Podcast

Habits

Everything Else

  • Country names, beautifully lettered to represent their culture
  • How densely populated is New York City?
  • The ever-rising costs of design competitions
  • Are you a Yuccie (Young Urban Creative)?

Thanks to Tina for yet another good idea which I am happily copying.

My Two Favourite Podcasts to Learn Online Marketing

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My Two Favourite podcasts for Online Marketing

There are approximately 3 billion blogs and podcasts that discuss Online Marketing. (OK, 3 billion is a slight exaggeration) Along with perennial topics like weight loss, personal finance, and dating, it’s one of the most popular subjects available for scrutiny. And like most diet plans or dating schemes, they’re crap.

I’ve listened to a great number of podcasts over the years. Some have been amazing, some have been total garbage, and most are somewhere in the middle. Perhaps the host is indeed an expert, but he doesn’t express himself in an approachable way. What happens more frequently is that the hosts will talk about their own successes, and interview other successful people, but don’t build that bridge between their millions and your first $40. After a while, all the noise blends together.

Fortunately, I have discovered two shows which consistently provide great content and where the hosts genuinely approach the subject matter through the very practical lens of “This stuff is hard, but it’s not impossible. You can do it.”

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The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 58 with Copywriter & Online Instructor Karen Marston

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The Busy Creator 58 w/guest Karen Marston

Karen Marston (@KarenMarston) is an independent copywriter and the founder of Untamed Writing. Dissatisfied with her earlier roles, Karen took to writing SEO-focused articles and now works with clients writing bold, memorable copy for websites and other projects.

Her latest project is a foray into teaching. She now instructs others how to be effective, productive freelance writers. Our conversation discusses her personal workflows and habits, as well as her outlook on teaching and client project management.

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The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 57 with Cartoonist & Illustrator Eric Peterson

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The Busy Creator 57 w/guest Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson is a veteran cartoonist & artist who worked across a variety of industries and niches, through advertising & commercial art, and now as a independent artist. Eric has developed a signature style, based in abstraction and surrealism, and referencing silkscreen and printing techniques of centuries past.

Catch up with Eric and see some of his work on his Facebook page.

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Eric Peterson's artwork

Eric Peterson’s artwork

Eric Peterson's artwork

Eric Peterson’s artwork

Eric Peterson's artwork

Eric Peterson’s artwork

Eric Peterson's artwork

Eric Peterson’s artwork

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Pro Tip for Keeping Your Portfolio Up To Date

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Pro Tip for Keeping Your Portfolio Up To Date

If you’re at all like me, you’ve caught yourself sheepishly admitted “wow, my portfolio is a bit out of date.” That goes double for websites, which can look aged and neglected if they’re slightly non-current.

But I have, in recent weeks, developed a system to combat this problem. And like most productivity or studio management systems, it’s dead simple. Allow me to share it with you.

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The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 56 - Mind Hacking with Sir John Hargrave

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The Busy Creator 56, Mind Hacking w/Sir John Hargrave

Sir John Hargrave (@SirJohnHargrave) is the CEO of Media Shower, a content marketing and media company. Following a background as a high profile internet prankster, he has examined the conditions and obstacles that modern professionals face — many of which are mental. His upcoming book Mind Hacking discusses techniques for training a stronger mind and overcoming these obstacles.

Our conversation discusses the symptoms that affect creative pros and how we can hack our mind with simple, daily techniques and habits.

More information about the book is available at MindHacki.ng. The book isn’t published until 2016, but previews and digital versions are available on the site.

Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave

Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave

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