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7.4: Cat’s Advice and Her Favs

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Whew! Cat’s a Busy Designer!

Cat Morley

I’m not going to list all of the places we’ve been with Cat. From OZ to design for the Queen is enough said. Tonight questions are a little closer to home.

Cat, What do you do when you’re not sharing your great links and ideas at Successful Blog?

I still have clients in the wings (the last ones before taking off into
unemployment), I keep Designers who Blog running. I’m project manager for NO!SPEC which means I deal with design orgs when spec competitions come up, I send out letters of protest and galvanize people to send out letters, etc. As project manager for Creative Latitude I confer with my team before we update, deal with new authors, come up with angles, etc. As the president of Proscodi I put together committees to deal with each element of setting up a design org, I meet other heads of design orgs, go to meetings, etc.

What advice do you have for new bloggers and young designers?

Bloggers – it always takes more time than you planned so be sure to write about something you love. And be prepared to walk away if it’s taking up too much of your life.

Designers – there is not enough room here for all the advice I’d give to a young designer, so the top priority would have to be:

    – Get a degree. The best one you can afford. And then some.
    – Learn about business, accounting, dealing with clients,
    communicating, public speaking, hiring, etc.
    – Learn to write. The majority of the designers I know have appalling
    grammar. Myself included.
    – Latch onto a mentor.
    – Never stop learning.
    – Get a life. Preferably your own.

What design work online do you point to as well done?

Illustrator: (Von created the icons for Creative Latitude) –
http://www.vonglitschka.com/
Web designer: (Nigel designed the Creative Latitude website) –
http://www.commonsensedesign.net/
Blog designer: http://www.pearsonified.com/

One more part to go. Cat tells her BIG IDEA.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Morley, World Designer
7.2 Interview: Cat Morley Becomes a Blogger
7.3: Cat, the Toothpaste, the Queen and Everyone

PWH 1: I Versus Me

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In this Corner

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The two contenders — I and me — are ready to come out fighting. I’d better referee.

It’s a problem.

When do I put me into a sentence?

There is a solution.

It works like this.

    1. I and me are pronouns.

    2. They’re called first person pronouns because they name the person who is speaking or writing — I am speaking about me.

    3. When the pronoun is the subject or the doer of the action, use I.
    I like you.
    Ann and I need links.
    I want you to send money.
    Test the sentence that uses “Ann and I” by taking out the other person.
    I need links.

    4. When the pronoun is the object or receiver of the action, use me.
    You like me.
    The project team applauded Cat and me.
    You gave me the money I needed.

    5. When the pronoun comes after a preposition, use the object form.
    to me
    for Cat and me
    with Ann and me
    Test the sentence that uses “Cat and me” by taking out the other person.
    for me
    with me

    6. When the verb is a form of “to be,” such is, are, or was use the subject form on both sides.
    It is I.
    I am woe.
    The winners are Cat and I.
    The leads are Ann and I.
    Where was I?
    This is the one that makes everyone get all of the other ones wrong. If you know this is the exception, you’re fine.

    7. The rules work the same for he and him; she and her; they and them.

I will now be leaving the ring. Match settled without a punch between I and me.

Any questions?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help you with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Wentworth, World Designer

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Meet Cat

I first saw Cat’s Blog, (click this shot to visit it) . . .

I discovered Designers who blog when I was looking for great designers to feature. Then she submitted her blog for the Link Leak Blog-to Show that Successful Blog held earlier this year. I was delighted to meet her and a new friendship was forged.

Now I get a chance to share this amazing woman and designer with you.

I sent Cat a number of questions that I figured she might answer over a number of days and they came back in a number of minutes. . . . That shows a lot about who she is.

Today we’ll explore how she got started.

Hi Cat! Where’d you grow up and how did you end up in that part of the world? What’s it like for a blogger there?

Ok, that’s three questions.
a) Where’d you grow up
My parents were expats (expatriates) so I grew up overseas. Not all the time as in between we were stationed in places such as Fairbanks, Alaska where I lucked out and lived through the great Alaskan earthquake. Sadly, my aunt who was visiting did not. Our last posting was Blenheim, New Zealand. I will always remember the land of the long white cloud as god’s country. Kiwi’s are a very lucky people.

b) how did you end up in that part of the world?
France was too expensive so I took off for warmer, more amenable lands.

c) What’s it like for a blogger there?
Lonely at times as the US is asleep for the majority of my day, and whooping it up when I’m asleep. But it also means I get a lot done.

What got you started in online design?

When I decided to relocate from Brunei, I realised working in web would be more practical than print, which was my entry into the world of design. To explain, in Brunei I had local clients and a range of off-station clients. With a possible move to another country (and perhaps another after that) working 100% via the intenet made more sense.

So that’s how Cat got to be a world online designer. Next we find out how Cat faced diversity to become a blogger.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
Interview 6: Blogging Pro’s David Peralty
Interview 5. Meet Peter Chen: Blogspot Expert for New Bloggers
Interview 4. Johan Sundkvist Knows Minimalist
Interview 3 Patrick Makes California a Black Hole

10 Reasons Creative Folks Make Us Crazy

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As Business Looks for Creative Thinkers — Look Out!

Creativity at Work

In this age of innovation, Business Schools look to fill theirs eats with more right brain creative people. Folks are beginning to take notice of the value and power of the off the wall idea.

Business Week.com devotes an entire section to innovation and creativity and companies have titles such as Idea Czar on their organizational chart. Tom_Peters asks “Where are the freaks in your company?” and goes on to say that they’re the ones who have the ideas.

Yeah, but how do you deal with someone who is one way one minute and the opposite the next? How do you tell a creative person from someone who just irritates you?

What are the traits that creative folks have in common? Are we all creative? Is there anyone who’s not? Can I boost my creativity? Am I a creative freak? Questions follow creativity — what is it, how does it work, and how do we access our Creativity at Work to make our brand and business stronger? [Read more…]

12+1 Things Every Reader Wants from a How-To Article

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How to Or Not How to

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People are always teaching each other. We show each other new and easier ways to do things. As writers we teach people what we’ve learned. As readers, they teach us new stuff. All of this teaching surrounds one question, How?

How do I spot trends before they happen? How do I brand my business blog? How do I write compelling articles? How do I become an idea magnet? How do I code links? How do I make a contact form?

As a reader ready to learn, I find nothing more frustrating than a how-to article that doesn’t work. As a writer writing one, I know how hard it is not to miss something important. I’ve scoured my files to compile a list — a baker’s dozen — of things readers want when we answer How? [Read more…]

Taken Over by Pirates

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Successful Blog Was Take Over by Pirates

Last Nights’ Open Comments Night get together in at sea found that our ship was taken over by pirates and we ended up living off grog, and weevils, supplemented by a few oranges and limes to keep us all from getting scurvy. Unfortunately a virulent strain of the infamous link leak virus. Link Leak Virus is a special strain of the indie virus with blogtipping mutations that occur in threes.
Cool links were shared.

Tonight was also HART’S BIRTHDAY AND HE CELEBRATED WITH US!

Pirates in Attendance

Many Pirates were in attendance and it was decided that we would start a Successful Blog University. That was between the Pirate talk and Pirate jokes. [Read more…]