Processing my future and the process of my past love

Parting thoughts. Before all my memories fade.

Spent yesterday returning my equipment to Fred Hutch, computers, badge, etc and collecting 7 years of work and stuff. 7 boxes later, chock full with my printed samples, paper samples, my books, little torn pieces of paper as inspiration for something?, photos, purchased cards for inspiration, layouts, color schemes with pantone chips ... I was out of there. 

David and Mason went with me for moral support because I was a little afraid I would not get through it without tears. Everyone at Fred Hutch use to urge me to purge my inspirational keepsakes but that was never a consideration. Actually, it would make me a little annoyed when people insisted I did not need those books, posters, pieces of torn paper or art for inspiration. Who are they to say I don't need my visual hand-holding through the design process.

Mason was going through every little piece of paper saying "I really love this", "we have to keep this" or "this is the cutest thing I have ever seen". So of course, I brought lots and lots of paper sample books and stuff for her to do her "art projects" with. She spent 5  hours after we got home going through the boxes, making one box for "paper" and one box for "things" ... and of course, being my mini-me, kept just about everything. ;) She said after finishing going through all the papers, "I am living was my best day". She would love a magazine cover or a piece of art and I would say, "I did that", and she would oohhh and ahhhh. So it was quite an entertaining, uplifting afternoon.

So now I have gone through all of my samples. Kept 4 of each and recycled the rest. Threw away most of my mock-ups, and paper samples, envelope samples for a project, color schemes. As I am going through each one, reliving the process of coming up with the idea and designing it. The thrill of each project is the process of coming up with the idea and getting everyone to sign off on it. It is also the process of getting bids from printers, talking to printers about the best way to approach printing the piece, the best paper, paper weights, envelopes. Ordering samples of foils (I love that), ordering sample envelopes and colors (usually from envelopes.com), ordering in special paper to check color and texture. You would be surprised how many papers are NOT available these days in small quantities and if you have a large job, they can order up paper from a source. These things I have learned, sometimes, the hard way working closely with printers. I have the greatest printer connections and they have always been the best to me! My favorite printer is TCC Printers, Cathy would also patiently talk me through what I had imagined and was it feasible. What was the best way to go about it and what were any cost-saving solutions. I really loved that part of every project. Well, honestly, I can't think of too many parts of any job I did at Fred Hutch that I didn't love to bits and pieces. And honestly, every step of the process is thrilling!

It is all about cost when you work for a non-profit. Can you add something "special" and stay under budget? A foil? A die-cut? A converted envelope? Usually the budget is very small. But for more prestigious events we could have foils and die-cuts maybe converted envelopes ... a designers dream. Spending lots of money always makes me nervous! And I promise you, if you don't press-check something, it will be THAT  print job that goes awry! I only had one major malfunction in 7 years. A misspelled word on an invite that was not caught in the early editing process and made it through a printing. We have it reprinted and replaced in each very expensive "mirror envelope" carefully pulled open using a blow-dryer on 800 invitations. NERVE-WRACKING.

I designed all sorts of things. Invitations, rack cards, tri-folds, logos, branding for doors after our redesign, branding for vehicles, illustrations for stories, logos, animations, posters, special thank you presents, the lowly newsletter, cover illustrations for research magazines for science papers for our researchers, we had a quarterly magazine that we all took turns designing, photo props (I made 4 cells over a weekend), environmental signs for campus, special handouts for conventions, recruitment for donors, desktop backgrounds, powerpoints for TED talks. In other words, we (the art department) did it all. 

But there were other things as well: handmade books, vessel lamp prototype, Hutch Going Away covers for employees leaving, I made an accordion fold, 25-page book for someone celebrating 25 years at Fred Hutch, pieced together and delivered in a special box. I bought science flask and had them engraved with a simple message of thanks to donors. (Flask cost $12.00). We also used that same flask to for a present for someone who had been at Fred Hutch for many years, we all wrote a messages on bright paper, rolled them and tied them with string, deposited them in the flask and popped the stopper on. What a great present for her to have for years. I really thought long and hard about fun, less expensive ways we could honor donors and employees who honored us with their donations and years of dedication. 

If a department wanted me to do special science cards for donors, for NO money. I would print them, fold them, personalize envelope liners, package them, all by myself, for the LOVE of just doing it! And be so happy doing it. I personally bought a creaser for this project and I suggest if you do many cards you invest in one!

One fun and fun project was when Biden decided to visit Fred Hutch and we needed to put together a booklet with a days notice. I came up with the idea of having the cover printed, on black heavy card stock and another cover printed on velum with white ink and our logo. I had a great relationship with one printer and begged them to print these covers in one day and they agreed! (That is the advantage of having good, personal relationships with printers) ... while we waiting for the guts to be written, edited and printed in our own little copy center. I decided we could print, fold the book, fold the two cover pieces and use a green large rubber band I found at Office Depot (not very expensive) to hold it all together. So the copy center printed, the entire art department trimmed, folded and assembled these adorable books. HIT! Inexpensive. Done. Biden came. The rest of the art department made special backdrops for his visit and posters for labs. It was all a hit.

I decided we did not play up the "vessel sculpture" on our campus designed by Ed Carpenter. It is big, sparkly, beautiful ("employs light to represent the optimistic spirit of the institution"). I decided we should use the image more. I made several vector based silhouettes of it and we started to use it in amazing ways. One day I had a vision of a blank card, the silhouettes of the vessel in a holographic foil (which is what it looks like in the sun) and my wonderful art director said "go for it".  I mean how lucky? How much fun is that? We have used that silhouette now on many projects, driving home that we have this amazing, "larger than life" piece of art on our campus. 

So my wonderful job was not just about "the website" as the main bean-counter would have you believe. My job there was so much more, so much deeper and more fun. Although, I did just design the webpage for the upcoming "In For the Hutch" microsite. So I can DO web design. It is just not my strongest skill. 

I am so thankful that I had 7 years to work at my dream job. I did so many amazing things there. Well, amazing and scary for ME. Most of it scary in the sense you never know if people are going to "like it"or "approve it". Amazing in the sense, that I got to use ALL of my talents. I really don't consider myself that "talented", but I do consider myself interested in EVERYTHING and willing to try ANYTHING. And will expand my horizons in many ways. In that sense, I am proud of my work. Willing to figure out a way a "make it happen". 

So I am willing myself to come up with the "future me" and I am thinking  ... folk art? Maybe David and I will pair up and do stock art illustrations?  I just need to get out of my depressed funk, "can't believe that just happened to me" state of mind. Naps and lots of binge-watching-Netflix? Dreaming up what is next for me?

I wanted a poster but they did not want that

I ended up with these multi, folded, many patterns, photoshopped art invitation. I liked them but I think the poster would have been so much more fun!

My original mood board

This was the original idea, more scientific images, no one liked it

Invitation printed on a bandana! I Loved it! I printed the enclosure paper bag on our printer at work

Just  a few examples of my fun at Fred Hutch

The vessel lamp prototype