As designers, I think we tend to be generally creative people who branch out into other arenas besides graphic design to express ourselves creatively. I also think it’s a good thing when a designer has a lot of other creative hobbies and interests, because those things tend to carry over into ideas for design projects. In this digital age, we’re glued to our screens and sometimes forget the world around us.
When I’m not designing or spending hours on social media reading tweets and posts about design, I like to cook, bake, dabble in photography, decorate my house, and now learn hand lettering. I love coming home after work and cooking a nice meal after sitting at my desk all day. It’s very therapeutic to put on music and get creative in the kitchen. My favorite thing to cook is what I call elevated comfort foods. I like to take old favorites like grilled cheese, a burger, a BLT and add a creative, gourmet spin to them. I make a Sriracha garlic mayo to put on my BLT, and it makes all the difference. I put a Parmesan garlic butter crust on the outside of my grilled cheese sandwich. I stuff my burgers with smoked gouda and bacon. I hate following recipes and usually the food isn’t nearly as good if I do. I look at recipes to get ideas for what flavors are combined and then do my own creative spin to it. It’s a great outlet for being creative, but it’s away from the computer.
Living in Colorado and my chronic case of wanderlust has spurred an interest in photography with me. I really enjoy taking pictures, and thanks to some great instruction from a guide I had in Kenya, I’m finally learning to get away from the hated “auto mode” and learning how to shoot real photos. I’m not a photographer anymore than I’m a chef, but it’s an awesome creative outlet for me. It gets me outside, looking at light and working on my composition skills as a I frame a shot.
The chalkboard wall in my kitchen is one of my creative outlets. During Christmas, I changed it to a Chinese food menu for fun.
The back wall of my kitchen is painted with chalkboard paint. Now that I’m learning hand lettering, it’s a great place to practice. Definitely not producing the results of Dana Tanamachi, but it’s fun and whimsical and it’s a nice way to relax. I liked changing up my designs, and it’s always a fun conversation piece when guests come over.
What are your creative hobbies to get the juices flowing, but away from work?
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