Successful Blog

7.4: Cat’s Advice and Her Favs

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Whew! Cat’s a Busy Designer!

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) –
https://www.vonglitschka.com/
Web designer: (Nigel designed the Creative Latitude website) –
https://www.commonsensedesign.net/
Blog designer: https://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