Art – Todd Chambers

January 1, 2016 — No Comments

Invitation – A Year of Asking Folks to Join Me

2016 is here and it's time for the resolutions. This year I've decided to mix things up a bit and supercharge my usual list of new year's resolutions with an overarching theme. A simple theme that will bind all my goals, set the trajectory for the year, remind me of my priorities and if I play my cards right, set me up for a new kind of success. A theme that's centered around intentionality and focus. What is it, you ask? INVITATION.

Several months ago I heard a message series from Andy Stanley (North Point Ministries) that really resonated with me. The idea was simple but profound. He suggested that most events and relationships in life that stand out as exceptional and noteworthy can be traced back to an invitation. Think about it – first dates, friendships, marriages, college choices, where you attend church, jobs, vacations – whether formal or casual, an invitation preceded most of these life events. At some point we've all been invited to join something or someone. To come along side or to participate, and the seemingly simple acceptance has had a huge impact on our lives. The power of an invitation is undeniable.

So this year I've decided that I'd wrap up all my personal resolutions, goals and hopes with an invitation to others to join me. My goals for the new year are simple. To nurture and grow my relationships with family and friends, to refine and focus my career objectives, to spread my entrepreneurial wings and to enjoy God's creation though adventure and outdoor travel. And it's directly into these objectives that I'm going to invite my friends and family. Dinner with my wife, ballgames with the kids and their friends, tech conferences with peers, lunch with coworkers. Fishing trips with friends and family and cross-country road trips pursuing outdoor adventure, I'm opening my calendar up to those around me in the hopes that sharing my passions and pursuits with folks I care about will enrich each of us.

Logistically, I've got a lot of work ahead of me. A full 2016 calendar with prioritized outings and events will need to be created early enough in the year to allow folks to plan for some of the bigger happenings. I'm working on that now. My plan is to earmark at least one unique invitation opportunity each month (with the exceptions of July which is reserved for family vacation). I'm going to lean heavily on Facebook as the method of broadcasting the invites to friends and acquaintances. Since I have a "guys only" policy on Facebook (that's a post for another day), I'll use it mostly when sharing news about outdoor events such as my upcoming turkey hunt in the midwest or the fall charter to chase red fish with a fly rod. Backyard BBQ nights, industry Meetups and tech training invites will be shared on Facebook as well but I'll likely need to supplement those invitations with Tweets and personalized emails to achieve broader reach. And of course coworkers and neighbors are the most likely to get a friendly drive-by and in-person ask.

I'll keep this space updated too and will report back on progress as the year gets underway. It's kinda cool, for the first time in a while I'm totally digging the whole resolution tradition.

Published by Todd Chambers in Art, Family, Fly Fishing, Outdoors, Personal, Uncategorized

May 14, 2015 — No Comments

Feeding My Creativity Is My Responsibility

Working in the creative field for nearly 20 years has allowed me plenty of time for this truth to sink in. No one else is responsible for fulfilling my creative needs. There, I said it. Not my boss, not my coworkers (as talented as they are) or even the biz dev team. And no, certainly not my clients. Let's face it, as creative professionals we have a ravenous appetite for new and interesting creative outlets. We want to explore new design techniques, try out alternative website navigation schemas, exercise our video production skills. We want to be the first to write about a bleeding edge UX theory or convince a client to try a crazy new layout. But if we're brave enough to face reality, we'll quickly realize it's simply not fair to go around asking those that pay us to also act as our muse and creative patrons.

Truth be told, this isn't the first time I've come to this liberating conclusion. Nope, sadly there has been times in the past I've found myself secretly holding others responsible for the harsh reality that client work isn't always as fulfilling as I'd like. I've suffered, as most you probably have, the painful valleys of creative burnout when you just couldn't find the joy in the work at hand. Those days (or weeks) where everything feels more like a task than a passion project. The elephant in the room? Sometimes work is just that - work.

Recently I decided to combat this nagging reality head on. I decided to begin drawing again. I deliberately look for opportunities to put pen to paper - or as is the case of the image above - chalk to blackboard. I figured why not go back to the basics. Drawing is as rudimentary a creative outlet as there is. Like cavemen with manganese or iron oxide, there is no simpler creative exercise. And the best part, I don't need anyone's permission to do it and I can take it with me anywhere. A sketch book and a ballpoint pen is all it takes to get in the game. And yeah, I've also volunteered to help keep the company break room's new chalkboard up to date. The good news is, I love it. Drawing recharges my batteries, it keeps me thinking creatively and prepares me for those opportune moments when my boss or a client says "We need something cool, something new, something out of the box. Whatcha got?"

So, let's hear it, how do you feed your creativity when the work just isn't cutting it? How do you fight the demon-monster of creative status quo?

Published by Todd Chambers in Art, Creative Process, Marketing, Painting, Personal

October 29, 2014 — No Comments

10POINT – The Logo & the Optimization Plan

One of my coworkers recently asked if I could help lead an agency presentation on landing page best practices. Knowing that I tend to drone on about geeky stuff like optimal page load times, mobile use cases and the A/B testing of CTA copy, I suppose they figured I had a few tips I wouldn't mind sharing. During the early stages of outlining the content and searching for that perfect stock image to represent teamwork, I began to get that feeling of déjà vu. Sure enough, with a little digging I uncovered several PowerPoint decks on the subject (in various stages of completion) and even this handsome logo sketch I had begun crafting to represent the topic.

So with the most recent presentation in the rearview mirror (it went well, thanks for asking) and some time to reflect, I've decided it is the perfect time to further refine both the 10POINT logo and the landing page best practice list I've been working on. Just to let the cat out of the bag a bit early, my plan is to refine both the logo and the plan and offer consulting services based on the content specifically to hunting and fly fishing outfitters. I've had my eye on that particular market space for a while now and have come to realize two things. First, there are a plenty of fine guides and lodge owners out there that could use a professional hand taking their web properties from good to great, and second, I enjoy playing in the woods and water way more than my meager budget can support. Viola, a match made in heaven. No more peanut butter sandwiches and makeshift piggy banks, I'll barter my way to the field and stream. I'll report back soon on the specifics of how I plan to rollout this mastermind marketing idea.

But, in the meantime, just to jumpstart the venture here are the top 10 principles all landing pages should incorporate to better optimize conversions and create user experiences that turn visitors into trip-booking clients. Drum roll please ...

To ensure your website is living up to its trophy potential, make sure it's:

Usable

Findable

Accessible

Mobile

Delightful

Credible

Actionable

Readable

Testable

Sharable

Obviously there's a ton of stuff packed neatly in that list. So instead of attempting to give each point it's due here, I'll instead take each one in turn over the next handful of posts and unpack them more fully. I'll take the liberty of showcasing examples from the outdoor industry since I've already opened that can of worms, but I assure you the principles are valid across industry verticals and client types. As a matter of fact, the more time I spend crafting websites and digital assets for clients, the more convinced I become that approaching projects with best practice principles in tow will all but guarantee success. Obviously context matters – it matters a lot. And best practices are at times meant to be broken. But as Picasso reminded us with his exploration into Deconstructionism, It's always best to know the rules before you attempt to break them.

Oh, and the logo. I'll plan on updating that along with the new posts. It'll serve as a bit of a ride-along in the process of going from sketch to finished product. Yeah, this is gonna be fun.

Published by Todd Chambers in Art, Content, Creative Process, Fly Fishing, Marketing, Outdoors, UX

Tags: Design, Fly Fishing, Hunting, Logo, Outdoors

October 16, 2014 — No Comments

Art Lessons #3 Shapes (continued) Part II

The home school art lessons continued this week with another exploration of shape. As you may have read in the last installment my burgeoning artist daughter and had completed several drawings of our Gerber daisy still life. We had also procured some salvaged wood from an old family armour and had begun the process of sanding and prepping it for painting.

This week we focused on deconstructing the previous drawings and remaking them into simpler more basic shapes. Removing much of the superfluous lines, unneeded shading elements, etc. Basically an exercise in editing. Hannah took to the task straight away. It's interesting but after all these years I still find it somewhat disconcerting to take an eraser to work that I'm quite happy with. I'm glad to see that she's not struggling with that same hesitation. The fact remains that more often than not my work benefits from the refinement. Whether it's drawing or painting, copy writing or crafting code, the second take is all but guaranteed to be better than the first.

Next week we'll break out the paint and brushes and really start having some fun. At this rate the painting should be ready for place of honor in the new office by the end of the month.

Published by Todd Chambers in Art, Creative Process, Family, Painting, Personal

September 24, 2014 — No Comments

Art Lesson #3: Shapes (continued)

I had a great time with HLC again last evening as we continued our 8th grade art lessons. We've been studying shape and specifically how shapes interact with space. This time around we decided to incorporate some home improvements (or at least decor upgrades) into our lesson curriculum. A recent furniture minimization exercise had left us with some surplus wood supplies lying around the house and the opportunity to craft some hobo-chic, upcycled wall decorations was simply too good to pass up.

Knowing that my wife is a big fan of Gerber daisies, we decided to create a wall hanging highlighting her favorite flower. First, we wrestled the big patio planter full of daisies into the house, positioned them on our kitchen counter (I should have know that might leave a mess) and then we began sketching our subject matter. This gave us a chance to talk a little bit about perspective and how to altering your position to the subject could affect not only the shape but the light as well.

Then we got to break out the power tools. A quick trip to the garage and we were sanding the 30 years of shellac off an old wood panel from an aging armour. Next we began prepping it for painting. A primer coat was all we had time for but it was just enough to have us chomping at the bit for next week's lesson.

We're looking forward to the chance to refine of our sketches and transition them into a simpler, graphic style that will translate well to the medium which at this point looks like will include acrylic paint and a lot hand-distressing. Stay tuned, this one's gonna be a winner. And hopefully completion will coincide with mom's birthday. Shh, don't tell.

Published by Todd Chambers in Art, Creative Process, Family, Painting, Personal

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