Learning as I go: March 2026

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Creativity Exercise

This week I tried a creativity exercise called the “Alternative Uses” exercise.

The idea is simple: you take a normal object and come up with as many different uses for it as possible in a short amount of time. The goal isn’t to be perfect—it’s to just generate a lot of ideas without overthinking. ()

For my exercise, I picked something simple—a water bottle.

At first, my ideas were really basic, like using it to drink water or store something. But after a few minutes, I started thinking more creatively. I came up with things like using it as a weight, a noise maker, a plant holder, or even something to create art with.

What I noticed is that the more ideas I forced myself to come up with, the better they got.

One of the biggest things I learned is that creativity doesn’t come from waiting—it comes from doing. At the beginning, I felt stuck, but once I kept going, my brain kind of “warmed up” and started thinking differently.

I also learned that not judging your ideas right away is really important. In this exercise, you’re supposed to just throw out ideas without worrying if they’re good or bad. That actually helped me come up with more original ideas because I wasn’t overthinking everything.

Another thing I realized is that creativity is really about perspective. A simple object can have a lot of different uses depending on how you look at it. That connects a lot to design, because it’s not always about adding more—it’s about seeing things differently.

Overall, this exercise showed me that creativity is something you can practice. It’s not just something you either have or don’t have. The more you push yourself to think outside the box, the easier it becomes over time.

🎥 InDesign Tutorials

✍️ 5 Things I Learned from the Videos

You can use the text wrap tool to make text automatically flow around images instead of adjusting it manually.
There are different types of text wrap, like bounding box and object shape, depending on how detailed you want it to be.
Paragraph and character styles help keep everything consistent and save a lot of time when designing multiple pages.
You can adjust the spacing around images (offset) so the text isn’t too close and looks cleaner.
InDesign lets you wrap text around complex shapes or subjects, not just squares, which makes layouts look more professional.

What I Learned from Designing a Brochure

What I Learned from Designing a Brochure

This week we worked on creating a brochure, and the biggest thing I struggled with was saying a lot… without actually saying a lot.

I wanted my brochure to feel impactful, but I kept realizing that I couldn’t just fill it with words. I had to choose the rightwords—ones that actually meant something and made people feel something quickly.

That was harder than I expected.

I also had to rely a lot more on images than I normally would. The photos weren’t just there to look good—they had to help tell the story. If the words didn’t fully explain something, the images had to step in and carry that message.

It made me realize that good design isn’t just about adding more—it’s about being intentional with less.

Another thing I learned is how important placement and flow are. Since a brochure folds, everything has to connect in a way that makes sense as someone opens it. It’s not just one page—it’s a sequence.

I also struggled with making everything feel balanced. Too much text felt overwhelming, but too little made it feel empty. Finding that middle ground was honestly the hardest part.

Overall, this project showed me that design is really about communication. It’s about choosing the right words, the right visuals, and putting them together in a way that tells a clear story without over-explaining.

I’m starting to understand that the best designs don’t say everything—they just say enough, in the right way.

Why Typography Matters More Than You Think

Why Typography Matters More Than You Think

Before this class, I thought typography was mostly about picking fonts that looked good. If it looked clean or cool, I figured it worked. But I’ve been learning that typography is way deeper than that. It’s not just about how something looks it’s about how it works. Typography controls how people read.

Things like spacing, line length, font weight, and alignment all affect whether something feels easy to read or frustrating. I didn’t realize how much small details matter until I started paying attention to them. Even something like bad spacing can make a design feel off, even if you can’t immediately explain why.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is the difference between legibility and readability. A font can look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to read in a paragraph. That changed how I think about design, especially for things like magazines or longer text.

I also learned that hierarchy is a huge part of design. It’s not just making titles bigger—it’s about guiding the viewer’s eye so they know what to look at first, second, and third. When that’s done well, the design feels natural. When it’s not, everything feels confusing or overwhelming.

Another thing that stood out to me is how important spacing is. Before, I didn’t think much about it. Now I realize spacing is what actually makes everything feel clean and organized. It’s just as important as the font itself.

Overall, this has changed how I look at design. It’s less about decoration and more about control—controlling how someone experiences what you create. I’m definitely starting to notice these things everywhere now, especially in magazines, ads, and even social media posts.

Sunday, March 29, 2026

The 15-Minute Creative Reset: Training Your Mind Like an Athlete

The 15-Minute Creative Reset: Training Your Mind Like an Athlete

Creativity isn’t something you wait for.
It’s something you train.

For the longest time, I treated creativity like a lightning strike—random, unpredictable, and honestly… unreliable. Some days I felt unstoppable, other days I stared at a blank screen like it personally offended me.

The problem wasn’t creativity.
The problem was structure.

As someone who trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I started thinking about creativity the same way I think about training. You don’t wait until you “feel like” going to class—you show up, you drill, you improve.

So I built a system:
A 15-minute daily creativity workout.

No pressure. No perfection. Just reps.

⏱️ The Structure (15 Minutes Total)

Minute 1–3: Prime the Mind
Start with inspiration. This could be:

A photo
A short video
A quote
A design you admire

The goal isn’t to scroll endlessly—it’s to trigger curiosity.

Minute 4–10: Create Without Thinking
This is your “no rules” phase.

Sketch something
Write a caption
Design a layout
Brainstorm ideas
Edit a photo

No judgment. No overthinking. No perfection.

This is where most people quit—but this is also where creativity actually starts.

Minute 11–13: Refine One Thing
Now you switch roles—from creator to editor.

Pick ONE thing and improve it:

Adjust spacing
Fix wording
Clean up composition
Strengthen your message

You’re not starting over—you’re sharpening.

Minute 14–15: Reflect & Lock It In
Ask yourself:

What worked?
What felt off?
What would I do better tomorrow?

This builds awareness—and awareness builds skill.

📅 Weekly Focus System

Each day has a purpose so you’re not just “being creative”—you’re improving specific skills.

Monday – Inspiration & Ideas
Collect and explore. No pressure to create something amazing.

Tuesday – Design
Work on layouts, colors, or visual composition.

Wednesday – Writing
Captions, blog ideas, storytelling.

Thursday – Skill Building
Try something new (tools, techniques, styles).

Friday – Refinement
Take something you made earlier and improve it.

Saturday – Free Creation
No rules. Just create.

Sunday – Review & Reset
Look back at your work and track progress.

💡 Why This Works

Most people fail at creativity for three reasons:

They wait for motivation
They try to do too much
They judge themselves too early

This system fixes all three.

It’s short enough to stay consistent.
Structured enough to stay focused.
Flexible enough to stay fun.

🥋 Final Thought

You don’t become creative by thinking about it.
You become creative by showing up daily and putting in reps.

Fifteen minutes a day won’t feel like much.

But over time?
It builds something powerful:

Confidence. Skill. Identity.

And eventually—
Creativity stops feeling like effort…

…and starts feeling like who you are.

Sunday, March 15, 2026

From Cluttered to Composition

I’ve always loved pictures. The colors, the textures, the little details hidden in the background. When I start working on a design project, my instinct is usually to include as much of that visual interest as possible. If one photo looks good, then three must be better… and if three are good, why not five? That mindset is great for collecting inspiration, but when it comes to building an actual layout, it can quickly turn into clutter.

This project really made me aware of that habit. As I started designing my magazine page, I realized I was trying to fit too many images and details into one space. While each element looked interesting on its own, together they started to compete for attention. Instead of guiding the viewer’s eye through the page, everything was demanding attention at the same time. The result felt overwhelming for me as the designer, and even more overwhelming for the audience.

One of the biggest lessons from this assignment was learning how important simplicity can be in digital media. Good design isn’t just about what you add to a page, it’s also about what you choose to leave out. When there is too much visual information, the composition loses its clarity. Lines feel messy, spacing becomes awkward, and the viewer doesn’t know where to look first.

During the process of revising my layout, I had to step back and start removing elements that didn’t truly support the overall design. That was harder than I expected because I liked many of the images I had selected. However, once I simplified the page and focused on fewer visual elements, the composition immediately became stronger. The text became easier to read, the images had more impact, and the overall flow of the design felt more intentional.

Learning to appreciate simplicity is definitely still a work in progress for me. My natural instinct is to add more detail rather than subtract it. However, this project showed me that sometimes the most effective design decisions come from reducing visual noise and allowing the strongest elements to stand out.

Moving forward, I want to continue practicing this balance between creativity and clarity. Loving visual detail is part of what draws me to digital media, but learning how to organize that detail into a clean and purposeful composition is what turns clutter into effective design. This week’s project was a strong step in that direction. ✨

Designing the Flow: Building My First Magazine Layout

Designing a Magazine Layout: Process and Challenges

For this project, I created a magazine article that combined photography, typography, and layout design to guide the viewer’s eye across the page. The goal was not just to place images and text randomly, but to intentionally structure the layout so the reader naturally moves from one element to the next.

The first step in my design process was choosing the main images that would anchor the page. Strong visuals are important because they capture attention and create the starting point for where the reader’s eyes land first. From there, I began arranging the text boxes and headlines so the information flowed around the images in a way that felt natural and balanced.

One of the most important concepts I focused on was visual hierarchy. This means using larger headlines, bold text, and placement to show the reader what to look at first, second, and third. I also used spacing and alignment to help keep the page organized while still making it visually interesting.

A major challenge I faced during this project was working with the layout tools in Adobe InDesign. At first, it was difficult to get my text boxes to connect correctly so the text would flow from one section to another. I also had to adjust the spacing between images and text several times to prevent the page from looking crowded.

Another challenge was balancing creativity with readability. It can be tempting to add a lot of design elements, but too many can actually distract from the message. I had to step back several times and simplify parts of the layout so the reader’s eye could move smoothly across the page.

Overall, this project helped me better understand how magazine designers use layout, images, and typography to create visual movement. It showed me that good design is not just about making something look nice, but about guiding the viewer through the content in a clear and engaging way.

Monday, March 9, 2026

Creativity Warm-Up: My “Why” Mat

For this week’s creativity warm-up, I decided to create something that I could actually use every day while working toward my goals. Instead of making something that would just sit in a notebook, I built a small workspace that motivates me every time I sit down at my computer.

I recently set up a little desk area for when I begin working in online high-ticket sales. As part of that setup, I bought a huge light green mouse pad that covers most of the desk surface. Instead of leaving it plain, I turned it into something more meaningful. I transformed it into my “Why Mat.”

The idea behind it is simple. When you’re working toward big goals, it’s easy to lose motivation during long days or when things feel difficult. I wanted something directly in front of me that constantly reminds me why I’m putting in the work.

On the mat, I wrote down the people who inspire me, the goals I’m working toward, and the reasons I want to succeed. Some of it represents the life I want to build, and some of it represents the people I want to help or make proud. Every time I move my mouse, my eyes land on those reminders.

The color of the mat being light green actually ended up fitting the idea really well. Green is often associated with growth, progress, and fresh starts. In a way, the mat has become a symbol of the growth I’m trying to create in my life right now.

This small creative exercise turned something ordinary into something personal and motivational. Instead of just being a desk accessory, the mouse pad now works like a daily vision board. It reminds me that every email sent, every call made, and every hour spent learning is a step closer to the goals written right in front of me.

Sometimes creativity doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it’s just taking something simple and turning it into a tool that helps you become a better version of yourself.