So This One Time, I Tried to Make Macaroons

Over Christmas break, I got to hang out with my best friend from my hometown. She is apparently a professional macaroon maker now and decided to make them for me one night because, wait for it, I've never had a macaroon before. I'm going to spare you the lecture I received from my friend but I will tell you that it started with the sentence "You've been to Paris and you've never even had a macaroon!?"

Makeshift sifter

So today, I was talking with this said friend. She's getting married in August and we were discussing her wedding dress, decor, cake, etc. Inevitably, macaroons came up. So I decided that after work, I would go home and make my first batch of macaroons.

It didn't take long for me to run into problems. I realized that I don't even have a sifter. You have to sift the almond flour and confectioners suger like 3 times! So I was seriously out of luck. I refused to give up there. I got creative and looked through my box of tricks (that I keep in an old yellow suitcase in the closet) and found some tulle. I managed to place the tulle over a mixing bowl and sift the flour mixture.

After the recommended
8 minutes of mixing.
Does this look too runny?

I mixed the egg whites, fine sugar, and the flour mixture.
At this point I realized that the mixture was way too runny.
I tried to figure out what was wrong...

So before I tell you what I did wrong, I want you to know
that I am terrible at baking and terrible at math. Especially
when I mix those two things together.

The recipe yields 36 cookies. I did not want 36 cookies. I
thought I would half it! That was a bad idea because when
I went to half 3/4 cup I more than halfed it. So I ended up
using not enough flour. Sooo at this point I continued to
make the recipe.

They were sooo runny I could barely put them on the baking tray.

This is just pathetic.

Needless to say they didn't turn out to be macaroons. They tasted good but not like macaroons and we all know how the french are particular about their food. So I can not call these macaroons but next time, and yes, there will be a next time, I will be making macaroons and they will not only taste fantastic, they will LOOK fantastic!

Well.... There's always next time.

Making the most out of your internship.

I am finally out of the internship game. I’m done! I have just accepted a full time junior

design position at Groupon.

For the past year and a half I’ve transitioned from student to professional. This experience has truly made me understand the difficulties and anxieties associated with finding employment after graduation. For those of you recently graduated or anticipating graduation, I know you have questions. I know how scared and confused you are.

Due to the ever changing economy and job market, there are very few current resources available that can give you expert advice on how to navigate entrance into any industry, especially the creative industry. But I am here to tell you that, for me, internships were the perfect bridge from school to work. Unfortunately, some internships are better than others and the word “internship” has become an abused term. I want to share with you my experiences with internships, how to not get taken advantage of, how to make the most out of your internship, and potentially get a job.

First and foremost, I will briefly, and I mean briefly, dive into the idea of unpaid internships. Let me begin by saying, never work for free. It’s poisonous to your work and our industry. It devalues our worth. Nonetheless, I worked two unpaid internships. I justified that I would be getting paid with experience. The cost of learning at an internship was less expensive than enrolling in another semester of school. If you find yourself offered an unpaid internship, ask yourself, and your potential employer, the following questions.

1- Is there potential to become a full time, paid employee?

2- Will your internship schedule conflict with more important things i.e. school,

homework, networking opportunities?

3- Will the internship provide valuable networking opportunities?

4- Will there be someone to teach and mentor me about things I don’t know?

5- Will I leave the internship with valuable portfolio pieces?

6- Will I be getting more from this internship than the company will get from me?

It’s important to remember that a lot of unpaid internships justify their lack of compensation due to the fact that they can offer school credit. That’s fine and all but remember, not only are you working for free but you are also paying your school to give you those credits. My unpaid internship credit cost me $3,000. Not to mention that I had to forfeit time that took away from my paid part time job.

The word internship has become an abused term. My friends, and myself, have had unpaid internships that give us real design problems to solve but we are the only ones solving them. We aren’t under any direction or mentoring. In most cases, we were the only designers on staff. This is not an internship. This is a way for companies to get free work. They aren’t intentionally trying to be “bad people,” they just don’t understand that an internship requires that the student have a teacher. I am really good at teaching myself things but one of the perks of being an intern is being able to learn from yourself

and an experienced professional. I could go on and on about unpaid internships and the pros and cons of them but I won’t. I want to tell you how to make the most of your internship. The objectives you should be aiming for in an internship should include:

1- Networking

2- Learning about the industry

3- Learning about yourself

4- Creating valuable portfolio pieces

5- Getting a job

Network.

As an intern at four different companies, I have had the privilege to work with many different people in and out of the industry. I worked at the Federal Reserve where I rubbed elbows with analysts and event planners. I worked at a blog and online store where I got to learn about the blogosphere and e-commerce. I worked at a studio that only employed student interns where I got to meet my peers and the future shapers of the design industry. I’ve met people in the industry who have tipped me off about job opportunities, industry events, and new designers. I have met people outside of the creative industry who have taught me patience, taught me to look at the world differently, and have passed my name along to friends who might need a designer. Your network shouldn’t only include people who are doing the same thing you do. Your network should include a diverse group of people who have different interests, professions, and ideas. Create a network that will prove to your advantage when you

need a referral or research for a future project.

Learn about the Industry.

An internship is the best place for you to learn about the industry. In the creative industry, everyone knows what it’s like to be a student. They were once in your shoes and everyone, for the most part, wants to help you. They understand that you are a student and are still learning the ropes. They will accept your ignorance and help you overcome it. They will be more patient with you because this is your time to learn. Become an active learner. Ask questions. Be engaged. Be curious. Be excited.

It’s important to ask professionals the questions that weren’t covered in school. Ask how much your design is worth. Ask about networking, contracts, notable designers that you should be watching, events you should be attending. Ask about dealing with clients, agencies, outsourcing, collaborating. It is impossible to ask too many questions. You are a sponge. Soak up all this valuable and free knowledge.

Learn about yourself.

An internship is the best way to discover yourself. Take time and discover your process and your style. My four internships were very diverse. Working at these very different places, I got an idea of the kind of environment and process  in which I work best. I got to try out different processes and discover what makes me work the most  efficiently and create the best outcome. I discovered how I interact with people. Most internships are just a few months and within a year and a half I got to work at 4 different places. I, for the first time, realized that I am very shy but am quickly able to become very open and friendly once I’m comfortable.

At Groupon, it was my goal to become more friendly faster and not be afraid of what my new coworkers would think of me. I learned that I don’t have to keep quiet during the first few meetings. I need to start making a difference the second I start working somewhere. Employers bring me onboard because they see something in me at the interview. Being quiet and a pushover at the beginning isn’t polite, it’s cowardly. Critique people’s work, stand up for your design choices, don’t be afraid to draw attention to yourself, as long as it’s positive. I also learned that I sometimes tell my coworkers too much about my personal life. While I want to be friendly and open with my coworkers, my relationship status and family drama is none of their business. Keep that personal stuff to yourself and only vent about it when you’re out with the girls.

Create valuable portfolio pieces.

One of the biggest perks of being an intern is being able to work on real projects with real clients. At first, I was nervous about being too slow and not making pieces fast enough. Employers realize that you are still learning and it might take you a while to implement your process or get use to the company’s style guide. Take your time and make sure you are creating something that is valuable to not only your employer but your portfolio. Don’t just create something because your boss told you to. Go through your process so that you will be able to explain why you did what you did. Any employer

will find this valuable in an employee. If you wouldn’t be proud enough to show it in your portfolio, don’t make it.  A lot of designers have a distinct style in their book. Don’t be afraid to try different styles. It’s good to have a diverse amount of work in your portfolio. Sure, you might be very comfortable creating DIY inspired graphics but it might be interesting, and important, to have something that looks a little more corporate in your portfolio. Most of the time your aesthetic can shine through.

Get a job.

The only reason you would even consider being an intern is because you want a job. Internships can give you experience and pad your resume so that you will find your dream job. If your internship is at a place that is home to your dream job, pay attention. Most internships say there is a potential for hire after the internship is over. It’s important to realize that a company must first have the money to hire you. All my internships said they wish they could hire me but they simply couldn’t afford to hire a new salaried employee. Even if your internship can’t hire you, it’s important to follow the guidelines below because they will help shape recommendation letters and referrals.

1- Clearly show your value.

Work hard and be on time. Make your company see why they can’t live without you. I was one of two designers at the Federal Reserve. The other designer explained to our coworkers that having me there made her job easier. We were able to take on more projects and explore new technologies and design offerings. I was working on projects that didn’t only make me look good but it made my boss and our department look good. While the Fed couldn’t afford to pay me salary, they found enough money to keep me as a contractor 6 months after my internship ended.

2- Become a part of the discussion.

Pay attention and speak up in meetings. Make your company see why you belong there. The Fed was a very different environment for me. I do not understand economics at all. I started listening to Planet Money on NPR to learn about the fiscal cliff. I was slowly learning my coworkers’ language. In a meeting, I probably had no business attending , the discussion of South Side Chicago economy came up. They were discussing the benefits that a local economy would have on the South Side. A few days later, a friend of mine posted a story about urban farms in the south side neighborhood of Englewood. I read the article and found it to be on topic with the discussion held at our meeting. I passed the article along to my coworkers. I became a part of the discussion and the economists, for once, didn’t treat me like a “designer.” They treated me like an educated part of the team.

3- Find an position that needs filling.

At Groupon, I discovered that a lot of my fellow designers do not attend industry events. For me, it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I started sending out invites to my coworkers for events I would attending. I continued to go alone. One by one, coworkers started RSVPing to my calendar invites and attending events with me. When I got offered a Position, I was told that becoming involved in the industry is something that the Groupon Design team finds very important. My knowledge of events and small network of professionals in the industry is valuable to Groupon and they need me to head up all the

events that come up and make sure people are invited. This was something I was already doing, I just get the opportunity to invite my coworkers now.

I have a lot of friends who have worked at one internship already. They are neglecting the internship opportunities because they simply don't want to be an intern anymore. Believe me, I understand. But please use these internships as stepping stones. Don't take an internship that won't help you grow. When I was in my junior year I had the opportunity to hang out at the DDB offices in Chicago. I was able to talk to a copywriter and art director about their experiences in finding jobs. They advised me that I should aim for 2 internships. This allows you to be in a two different learning environments. I agree with this advice. It has helped me immensely to work in so many different environments. An internship lets you get these experiences with all the benefits that I have discussed above.






Edited by Cara Narkun @CaraNarkun

Go Make Babies

Yesterday morning, while getting ready, I was listening to my Kate Nash Pandora Station. An add came on saying “HEY, CHICAGO! This is WBEZ..” The ad continued to tell me that I was interesting and that I should go out and meet someone else who’s interesting and do it. The ad really said do it. I thought it was a poorly written radio spot but it wasn’t. The spot closed with “Go make babies.” I was a little taken back. WBEZ is a public radio station. It’s the home to This American Life. There is no way they would be running such a saucy ad.

This campaign has presence on radio, tv, billboards, trains, and the internet. It’s a call asking for Interesting Chicagoans to “GO make babies!” The campaign explains that WBEZ Chicago Radio wants to have future listeners so it’s trying to urge interesting people to hook up with other interesting people and make interesting babies who will listen to WBEZ’s interesting line up of shows. 

I went to the website gomakebabies.com and it’s actually a Facebook App (which I normally hate) where you can take a quiz that claims to find your perfect “mating match.” For each question you answer, the site provides a list of radio shows that would interest you, based on your answer. At the end it shows you facebook profiles of interesting people to hook up with.  

I love that a public news radio station has taken the move to do such a risky campaign. I think it really attracts the young adult audience, too.

Marion Deuchars on Design Matters

I usually don't write about things I hear on podcasts. I usually tweet the link or share it on Facebook if I think it is something I find necessary for everyone to hear. But today, it was different. I actually stopped what I was working on to take a few notes. I even replayed the show when it had finished. So what makes this particular episode so newsworthy? Because it made me understand art and my relationship with it. It made me understand why I wanted to go to an art school. It made me realize why I am striving to be a designer.

I recommend listening to the episode before reading any further. As hard as I might try, I could never fully do it justice. Maybe you can connect with something else that has been said. I would love for this post to become a discussion.

You can find the episode here: Design Matters: Marion Deuchars


What I really want to talk about is the conversation between Debbie Millman and Marion Deuchars when Debbie asked Marion why she thinks around the age of 11, children stop drawing. I may be paraphrasing but this is what I got out of the conversation. This is what I found interesting.

When we are young we draw with expression. When we start to get to the age of 11, and into adulthood, we try to draw with a sense of realism. If we can't get the proportions right or make our drawings look like they are real, then we get frustrated and stop. Some people even develop a fear of drawing and never try it again. 

Ever since I could remember I wanted to be an illustrator of children's books. But when I was in the second grade a boy named Alex, who was a particularly good drawer, pointed at my comic strip that I was making and said it looked ugly. He said I couldn't draw. It was really hard on me because a few of the other kids around me agreed with him. I told Alex that I was going to be a book illustrator when I grew up. Alex said you have to be a good drawer to do that.

Ever since then I was self conscious about my drawing skills. It followed me all through middle school where I would get in arguments with my drawing teacher Mr. Taggart. I told him that I could never draw a cube and that he could never teach me. I like to think that I tried hard to be a good drawer in his class but I really don't think I was. I think my lack of self confidence was to blame.

This dilema followed me into my college courses where I barely passed 3 drawing classes. My teachers knew I couldn't draw and would routinely laugh out loud at my drawings.

Marion and Debbie continued on to say But if we continue to draw in this expressive way and those around us encourage and celebrate our exploration, then we will keep drawing. Drawing is about looking. When we draw something we see it more intensely. When we look at someone else's drawing we see it in a different way.

I couldn't agree more. Not only will we continue to learn more about drawing, and become better at it, but we may stumble across our own style. Art is suppose to be an expression. The art I appreciate isn't art that is an exact representation of an object. I like it to be a little abstract. I like it when colors are different. The drawer can inject sentiment into a piece of work that a photograph may not represent as well.

Near the end of the episode, Debbie Millman interviews Marion Deuchars' two boys. When asked about designing, one of the boys replied, "If it's rubbish, you don't have to cross it out. You can turn it into something." The charming young boy, complete with british accent, continues to tell Debbie that his favorite part of the book his mom created was a picture of a man standing on a balloon. Debbie tells him that that is a fantastic part. The boy interrupts her and says, "It's not really true actually. It's just my imagination. And you have to use what ever your imagination... It doesn't have to be true. It can just be in your imagination or in your head where there is imagination."

Yes. Art let's you use your imagination. It doesn't matter if Alex from second grade didn't like my drawings. I can continue to work towards becoming a better artist, drawer, and designer. I can find my own style that maybe someone else will appreciate.

Thinking more about this episode, I would say I got two main ideas from it. 1- Never stop developing your skills.  2- Embrace your short comings and the world they can create.

Sometimes I find myself getting frustrated that I can't make something that looks as good as something a more established designer made. While I can look at their work and try to emulate their style, it's also important that I explore my own skills and style. As much as I like Jessica Hische, it's probably best that there aren't 100 little Jessica Hische wanna-bes running around.

I've been trying to make a conscious effort to make stuff that isn't already being made by others. I want to explore beyond the current trends. It's important to know what is going on in the industry now in order to be part of the industry's future. Maybe embracing and exploring my shortcomings in my design skills will help me find my niche and help me create a style that let's me draw my world the way I see it.

Courtney's Birthday Cake

Tomorrow we're celebrating one of my favorite people's birthdays! And tonight I made a cake. I decided to try and be artsy with it and this is what I came up with. But before you all start calling me a Susie Homemaker I should warn you that I made this cake right after I got home from watching Django Unchained. So thanks to my love of Tarantino movies, this cake may a little agressive. No I'm kidding. It's not. But I just wanted to tell you that I went and saw Django and I loved it and you should all go see it because it makes me want to become a vigilante. But instead I went home and made a cake. There's always tomorrow.

ANYWAY- I started by making a three layer chocolate cake. Full disclosure, I used a box mix because it's a lot faster and my record of making edible boxed cakes is a lot better than my record for making edible cakes made from scratch. I glued each layer together with buttercream frosting (made from scratch, thank you very much) and put it in the freezer.

Then I went and saw Django.

Then I came home and took the cake out of the fridge. I froze the cake because it's easier to frost when the cake is colder. When the cake is at room temp. the cake is more like a sponge and can sometimes get crumbs in the frosting.

I took the frosting and added a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to create a coral-ish pink. Then I put a light layer of frosting on the cake.

I used a leaf tip with the frosting and created a ruffle around the top of the cake. I made 3 laps around the cake with the same color of frosting. I then added a few more drops of red food coloring to the frosting and took a few more laps around the cake with the leaf tip. I then added a few more drop of red to the frosting and took the darkest pink and took laps around the cake until it was completely covered. I then took the darkest pink and wrote "Happy Birthday Courtney" on top of the cake.

Writing on the top of the cake was very frustrating. Maybe because I'm a perfectionist but I rewrote it 4 times. That meant that each time I messed up, I had to take a toothpick and remove the frosting very carefully in order to not mess up the layer of frosting beneath the writing. In order to make a baseline to anchor my letters, I took a piece of paper and took the edge and made a thin indent line in the frosting. The line is still there if you looks very carefully. Usually if you do this you can smooth out the line with a few drops of water but the top of the cake had a texture to it so I didn't want it to be completely smooth so I left the lines because you can't really see them.

I like making cakes. My mom and my grandmother decorate wedding cakes and they've taught me a few things. Actually, in middle school I took a cake decorating class from the woman who taught my grandma how to decorate. I'd like to get more into it and practice more but when I'm done decorating I have a whole cake and I don't want to eat it. At least, not by myself. I guess I should start attending more birthday parties.

Chalk Art

It's been a crazy past few weeks. I went home to visit the fam, moved my roomie out, finished up my internship, and I'm getting ready to start my new job. I've also started a whole bunch of new projects for the new year. I have so many goals and things that I  want to accomplish this year and I'm so excited to be posting them as artistic flings.

But first, I wanted to start with this week's artistic fling- Chalk Art. I've been seeing a lot of it lately and I wanted to try my hand at it.

Now, I'm not really trained in creating letterforms but there's no better time to start practicing and trying like now. I found a quote online, one that is particularly resonating with my life. I sketched it out on paper. So I don't have a fancy chalkboard wall or anything but I do have a black table. It isn't matte or anything. It's a normal table. You, know, the kind that has that plastic wood-like veneer on it. So I grabbed a piece of chalk to make sure it would work. It didn't really work that well so I wetted the chalk. It worked good enough.

I then took my handy-dandy ruler and a pencil and started coping my sheet of paper onto the table. I had an eraser handy incase of accidents. When I was finished, I grabbed my chalk and started tracing the pencil markings. This whole process sounds so easy but it took me a good 2 hours. There are lots of problem with the chalk. If you accidentally bump it with your finger or elbow, you have to retrace it. If you do it to a letterform or any thin line, you have to erase the whole line and redraw it. Sometimes the chalk wouldn't cooperate and make the marks in the exact width you wanted them to be made. But with patience, it worked.

I then decided to take a picture of it and turn the quote into a vector image in order to make posters or whatever. This is also a process that sounds a lot easier and faster than it really is. I created these posters that will be available for sale in the near future.

Hires Big H

I spent the holidays in my hometown. I haven't been there in over year. While somethings have stayed the same, there are alot of differences. While I was growing up the town was full of small businesses. We went to a little Ace Hardware store for all our home improvement needs. We frequented the bakery that my mom use to work at during high school called Hunk-a-Bread. My grandparetns met at The BlueBird Restaurant. Our favorite pizza place was Papa Kelseys. People buy their wedding rings at Needham Jewlers. "Middle of the block at the sign of the clock." (That last bit was their tagline.) But now the hardware store is gone. The bakery has been replaced with a Pretzel Maker and my family makes daily trips to one of the two Walmarts in a town of just over 50,000 people. When I moved out of Cache Valley, Utah we didn't have a Starbucks. We had Citrus and Sage or Cafe Ibis. There were no Jimmy Johns. We went to Logan's Heros. But now the main street nostaligia is covered with Chic-fil-A, Home Depot, Ulta, Walgreens, PetSmart, Kohls, 2 Walmarts, Noodles and Company, Michaels, Staples, and many more all too familiar names. These are the types of names I expect to see in a big city, not my little happy valley.


The BlueBird. My grandma worked as a waitress while
frequent customer, grandpa, stole her heart.

So why I am crying about the corporal rape of my home town? I need you to understand how happy I was when I saw the below image.

 While shopping with my mom at the grocery store, Macey's, which is thankfully is a Utah original, we were walking through the baking aisle. At the end of the aisle there were a few shelves full of ice cream toppings. There were the usual Hershey's, Smucker's, Keebler's, Reese's, and all the other brands that specialize in making ice cream even more delicious. But in the middle of this big brand snooze fest, there was a beacon of hope. Hires Big H  sat on a shelf about the height of my elbows. The packaging was so clean and refreshing. In a crowd of ice cream condiments that were screaming "HEY! Look at ME!!!" Hires was sitting their like a cool and sophisticated wallflower. I picked up a bottle and started reading. "For flavoring colas, rootbeer, and other sodas, lemonade, milkshakes, ice cream, and snow cones." The packaging had given shoppers the nostalgic bliss of an old timey Soda Shop. I read more about the product. Hires Big H was a Drive-In that opened in Salt Lake City in 1956. The small Drive-In has been opened ever since. I still have memories of going there a few times with my family as a kid.


So I got to thinking. There has got to be a lot of people with the same experience as me. Twenty-somethings going back home to discover all their favorite local places have been replaced with corporate industries. I bet even the parents and grandparetns feel the same way. It's kind of sad to go into a grocery store and discover that your favorite shampoo or the cereal you're brand loyal to has changed it's packaging to a hipper, more corporate feeling design.

I think people now days yearn for the feeling of nostalgia. We like the old because it reminds us of our childhood, a simpler, carefree time. Even if I didn't grow up in the 1950's, I still remember my grandparents talking about it. They talk about all the fun they had. I see pictures of my grandma cooking in the 60s in her A-line dress and her hair in a beehive. Those are times older relatives laugh about but I can never be a part of those memories and I want to be. Those were the days, according to grandma, when things were made to last. Things were made with quality. It wasn't about having the most. It was about having the best. Somewhere our ideals have changed.

I think alot of designers now days are borrowing from mid-century design because it was simple. These designs give the feeling of quality. I'm not saying that we all stick a retro soda shop man on our packaging. I'm saying that we make it simple and smart. Apple products come in probably the best packaing I have ever seen but they are just white boxes with a straight on product shot. That's all they are. Simple.