Better

When you are around someone who is bettering themselves in some way, education, fitness, etc., it is hard not to get inspired. Or at least feel inadequate or lazy or both for not doing something to move toward your goals. My husband has acquired a couple Microsoft certifications and is taking a course twice a week to learn C# (sharp not pound, apparently) and .net programming, things I cannot hope to ever understand. I've run a few marathons so I'm crushing him on the fitness (though he's not unfit as I've wrangled him into some 5Ks), but it's time to work a body part I've been neglecting.

I've been a graphic designer for over a decade, but as with most professions, there is always something new to learn - and thank goodness. A month ago I downloaded a 10-week Photoshop webinar and am finally nibbling away at the one-hour classes with accompanying one-hour Q and A. For perspective, I now have to admit a guilty pleasure: I loved school. I loved college. Being in a class is one of my favorite things. I was really disappointed I couldn't take this Photoshop course when it was offered live and was really worried it would be dry and feel less interactive. Maybe that's why I put it off for a while. It turns out that it's wonderful.

The instructor, Jason Hoppe, is excellent; he is concise, entertaining and dispenses so much knowledge about Photoshop it could fill an Egyptian pyramid. As someone who uses the CS3 version of this program, I'm in an excellent spot to soak up more efficient ways to do the things I know, learn some new techniques, see how things work in CS4 (the version used in this course) and get a refresher on skills I learned once but don't have the opportunity to do often. It's like taking toothpaste to tarnished silver; try it - it will shine like new.

As a lover of learning, my second favorite thing is sharing what I've learned. I often e-mail my coworkers tips and tricks. Some they already know and some they don't, but I figure if we all get faster, we have more time for the fun part - being creative! There are so many things I've picked up from this course, such as holding the option key (alt on the PC) while clicking on the eyeball icon on one layer will turn all the other layers off for instant before and after comparison. Fab-u-lous!

This course is still available here. Download all 10 weeks for $65 or just the weeks you want for $15 each. CreativeTechs, a Seattle-based professional Mac support company, is who produces this course and others. Visit their blog for all kinds of useful Mac/design-related information. You can also follow them on Twitter: @creativetechs. Am I in some way affiliated with CreativeTechs? No. I just want you to get better.

Is it Your Imagination?

No, it's not your imagination. The iPhone has sucked me into a vortex that has not allowed me to blog, but I have momentarily escaped for a short post. Shhhhh. Sure, I can blog from the phone, but I'm doing so many other things with it! Okay, the truth? I'm still perfecting my typing skills. I am not a big texter so this two-thumbing it is newish for me. The touch keys are really responsive though, and I can see how I could be blazingly fast in the future.

Let's see. What's new? You know you're putting on muscle when the Fed-Ex guy at work notices, LOL. I had to sign for a package since the receptionist was out, and I was the nearest human. Seeing me in my sleeveless shirt that is against the dress code (take that dress code police!) he said, "Wow, look at the muscles on you. Good for you!" How very complimentary! The best part is he is not skeevey (like the DHL guy), and it was just a compliment. Thanks Fed-Ex guy! That weekly kayaking racing is toning the arms.

Here's something new for you fellow graphic designers. Stop copying and pasting! Say goodbye to command C, command V. Just click your object, hold down the option key and drag. Presto! Hold option and shift to constrain it like I know you'll want to. How did I not know this?

Also new to me: Changing the colors of things in drop down menus in InDesign. I'm always doing Paste Into, and I kind of have to look for it, but now that it's orange, it stands right out! Hmm. Now where did I find that? Maybe under Change Menus or something? I'll look it up if you're interested. Let me know.