Designer or Artist in a Digital World
By Foo Podcasts
I'm Foo, and these are my thoughts, tips and realisations about the world living as a designer and sometimes artist. // Twitter: @FooPodcasts
Designer or Artist in a Digital WorldFeb 24, 2021
00:00
11:01
Get rid of that friend you don't like
Real talk, few days pass without me hearing of someone being upset about a "friend" or finding out that someone grew a huge insecurity because of "friends". As someone who is fairly selective for originally very different reasons, it often confuses me what people consider as friendship and what not. And while quite frankly I don't care how you live your life in that aspect, I want to lay out a couple of thoughts in hopes that it fosters more quality friendships and frees people from unnecessary shackles. Man, I just want more people to enjoy great friendships!!
Jul 27, 202109:40
How to compliment artists :)
To my surprise a lot of people actually hesitate to compliment artists or had a bad experience doing so – and vice versa lots of artists receive comments that may be well intentioned, but do more harm than good. With this episode I'll try to give you some guidance – what to avoid and what always works, so you can give out great compliments that are encouraging and kind :) afterall, as much as artists make art for themselves, a little confidence boost is always good and helps bring more art into the world.
Jul 20, 202110:26
Pretty solid advice
I turned 25 just a couple months ago. For some that seems young, for others impossibly long – regardless, 25 is not nothing! And I thought I might share what I've learned in a quarter of a hundred years of existing. I tried to choose such, that aren't too common (at least not to me) and I will touch on how to deal with feeling bad about others and mostly inner peace, in the most realistic sense. A lot of these things rid me of a lot of unnecessary energy spent on being a little, bitter jerk. It's good. Try it :)
Jul 13, 202110:22
What should a logo cost?
Did you know there are logos being made for anywhere from 0 to $1,280,000,000 ? Usually they hover around a couple thousands, but how come there is such a huge discrepancy? Is it fair? Are brand designers being awfully oevrpaid oder underpaid? As mystifying as this topic seems, it's actually pretty straight forward, once you know what a logo does and what it takes to make it and more importantly: how it affects your sales. This episode is a brief detour into logo/brand design to hopefully make things a little clearer for you.
Jul 06, 202109:33
3 things to love and be fascinated by
To kick off this new season let's start with something light and sweet – 3 things that make me happy and maybe they will make you, too! I'll touch on petting animals, coming up with new funky words and the way music is just...amazing.
Jun 29, 202110:40
The important things astrology taught me and why I still don't believe in it
Do you feel like your zodiac sign matches you? I found that there is quite a discrepancy between how signs are depicted versus the people that I meet. But still I thoroughly enjoy zodiac memes and I have learned incredibly important things from astrology. I think what you can learn from it is akin to what science can learn from science-fiction. So let me explain to you why I would never make decisions based off of astrology, yet still learn my lessons from it.
Feb 24, 202111:01
How to know if you should study design (or art)
I get these questions a lot: how do I know if I should study design or art? Will you be able to make a living with design? Do you need to know maths for design? So today I'm making a podcast episode to explain all of that. So even if it's not you, who's interested, you'll be able to answer that question next time someone asks you.
Feb 17, 202112:05
Protecting privacy means protecting your human-ness
We seem to have accepted that we are constantly being listened to and that we pay for free services by offering our data. Privacy concerns used to make big waves, what happened? I've been thinking about what privacy actually means to us and finally realised what it actually is, that we need to protect.
Feb 10, 202107:20
The death of advertising and how to revive it (I am desperate)
When was the last time you enjoyed an ad? Thought it was really cool? Probably been a while, if you can remember at all. Advertising has been striking me as more and more of a lost cause these years, but I feel like there's one way to bring it back in a way, that even grumpy and sceptical consumers like me would enjoy.
Feb 03, 202115:05
Non-technical art skills to aquire
Making art is not just about improving technical skills like color theory, anatomy, value studies, etc. but a lot happens in your mind, too. We rarely ever talk about the mental well-being and skills of artists, which I think is detrimental to our progress. I've gathered ten skills, that have nothing to do with your hand eye coordination and everything to do with how you carry yourself as an artist without losing your mind over anxiety and insecurity. Also some other tips, but you'll hear about them soon enough.
Dec 02, 202026:48
Why it doesn't matter that you're average
When was the last time you compared yourself to someone and felt bad about it? Here's a train of thought that might put things in a different perspective. This is all mushy friendship talk but I think very important to note in a time where we feel like in a constant competition more than ever.
Nov 24, 202010:39
Why your teamwork sucks and why it's easy to make it not suck
I've been frustrated listening to my friends complain about their awful team projects, not because I don't like listening to them, but because I've learned that there's not much that you need to do in order to conduct a pretty awesome group project. I want to tell you about what I've learned while writing my thesis about this very topic and hope I can help you all a little bit with this.
Nov 17, 202016:35
Why you don't have to answer "what do you identify as?"
We don't really think about why we ask "Where are you from? What gender do you identify as? What sexuality do you identify as? What's your nationality?" So I spent some time thinking about what we actually want to know when we ask, because it seemed not quite right to me, especially since these questions can have negative effects.
Nov 10, 202012:10
What talented artists are born with and how it affects us
So do you think you need to be born with special skills in order to be a good artist? How much is in your hand when you create art? I’m sure pretty much all artists have thought about this question some time in their lives, but I think this is also relevant for people who don’t create art. I feel like there is this sort of cloud of mystery when it comes to how artists create or become good at their craft, and over the years of drawing a lot by myself but also talking to other aspiring as well as established artists, I have observed a few things.
Today I want to talk about what I think naturally gifted artists tend to be born with but also what that means for you or anyone in that matter that doesn’t have these traits. It’ll be good for artists, because they tend to be the ones who undervalue their skills the most, precisely because a lot comes naturally to them. That is why so many young artists do not charge appropriate prices or don’t know how to get what they should earn. And for non-artists, it’s good to know so you can get a step closer to understanding art, what goes into it and also that that shouldn't necessarily stop you from creating art yourself.
Today I want to talk about what I think naturally gifted artists tend to be born with but also what that means for you or anyone in that matter that doesn’t have these traits. It’ll be good for artists, because they tend to be the ones who undervalue their skills the most, precisely because a lot comes naturally to them. That is why so many young artists do not charge appropriate prices or don’t know how to get what they should earn. And for non-artists, it’s good to know so you can get a step closer to understanding art, what goes into it and also that that shouldn't necessarily stop you from creating art yourself.
Jul 18, 202012:04
The self deprecation that we overlook and why it's complicated
I will admit I myself like to point at trash cans, turn to my friends and tell them, hey, this is where we belong. We laugh! I think being able to laugh about yourself is really important, and many people use humor to cope with things that stress them out. In a society like where I live, where you have to achieve a lot, look a certain way, act a certain way, humor is a good way to come to terms with all the things about yourself that do not fit the idea of what a likeable person should be.
But, it’s not all just fun and games. I’ve observed a few situations, where I felt like, the way someone talked badly about themselves in a joking or even a serious manner, was kind of unsettling for me. I want to give you a few examples and if you also have that habit of talking negatively about yourself, maybe this can help you become more aware of that habit, because I have a hunch that it’s not good for you long term.
But, it’s not all just fun and games. I’ve observed a few situations, where I felt like, the way someone talked badly about themselves in a joking or even a serious manner, was kind of unsettling for me. I want to give you a few examples and if you also have that habit of talking negatively about yourself, maybe this can help you become more aware of that habit, because I have a hunch that it’s not good for you long term.
Jul 02, 202009:04
How to enjoy and talk about fine art with 0% art knowledge
Nowadays I feel like our relationship with art is kind of clouded by misconceptions. I’d like to address them and change your perception of art – hopefully by the end of this I have convinced you that every single one of you can easily enjoy art and that it’s actually a really fun thing to spend your time with! Especially with friends, because I’m about to show you a method with which you will get to know each other in a way that i think nothing else can quite compare to.
Jun 25, 202012:55
What 3 days off mindless consumption and social media did to me
So I’ve spent the past three days disconnected from any social media and messaging apps as well as abstained from watching any shows, youtube videos, whatnot. The reason for that is that recently I noticed that I almost get physical discomfort when I don’t check my phone frequently and that sometimes I waste my whole day away when I have a growing pile of tasks to do and also a looming deadline for my thesis. I checked my screentime stats and on one day i actually spent a whopping 10 hours on twitter. what on earth is there even to look at on twitter for 10 hours?! needless to say i got nothing done that day.
I then stumbled across a video on something called dopamine detox. Now, after some research it turns out it is frankly based on some sort of pseudo science, someone just spitballed this based on some science experiments with lab rats. However, their explanation still kind of rang true in my ears. Basically the rats received light, but constant dopamine stimulation if they pressed a button. Dopamine is basically some stuff in your brain that plays a role in feeling pleasure. Now, the rats liked it so much they would not stop pressing the button and even forgo eating and sleeping. However, if you put food in their mouths they would eat. And boy if I tell you I could relate to that freaking rat! Just laying in my bed, scrolling mindlessly and chasing interaction after interaction for hours on end.
The video then suggested a dopamine detox. Basically their theory is to let those dopamine receptors in your brain recover from the constant transmission, get properly bored, and then feel joy in doing other, more meaningful things. The “process” they outlined was pretty extreme though – you would not be allowed anything that brings you pleasure at all, not just social media and phone time, but also music and food and other stuff I forgot because I didn’t really care
lol
I then stumbled across a video on something called dopamine detox. Now, after some research it turns out it is frankly based on some sort of pseudo science, someone just spitballed this based on some science experiments with lab rats. However, their explanation still kind of rang true in my ears. Basically the rats received light, but constant dopamine stimulation if they pressed a button. Dopamine is basically some stuff in your brain that plays a role in feeling pleasure. Now, the rats liked it so much they would not stop pressing the button and even forgo eating and sleeping. However, if you put food in their mouths they would eat. And boy if I tell you I could relate to that freaking rat! Just laying in my bed, scrolling mindlessly and chasing interaction after interaction for hours on end.
The video then suggested a dopamine detox. Basically their theory is to let those dopamine receptors in your brain recover from the constant transmission, get properly bored, and then feel joy in doing other, more meaningful things. The “process” they outlined was pretty extreme though – you would not be allowed anything that brings you pleasure at all, not just social media and phone time, but also music and food and other stuff I forgot because I didn’t really care
lol
Jun 18, 202009:31
Who I am and what this is about
Hey, you’re listening to Designer or Artist in a Digital World and I’m your host Foo. I want to talk about all kinds of thoughts more or less roughly connected to my life as a designer and sometimes artist. Be it questions i’ve been pondering about or insights I’ve gathered. I have some tips on how to enjoy art in the digital age and some designer stuff. but since for me art is the melting pot of everything human, I’ll also throw in some thoughts about being human, too. I mean after all, I’m human first and designer second. Stick around if you have even the smallest interest in art and life. So much from me, take care and talk to you later!
Jun 18, 202000:49