OxCreative

Happy New Year!

Ok so we’re a little slow of the mark but Happy New Year from us all! We hope everyone had a good year in 2009 (Year of the OX!) but we hope you have an even better year in 2010.

I’ve been thinking about a few things that I would like to achieve in 2010. Whilst these are really specific to OxCreative, they are things that I think most of us could try to embrace:

1. Write more Blog Posts

More blog posts equals more content. More content equals more traffic. More traffic means lots of interaction, followers and good networking! It would be nice to start interacting with those in the community and so we are looking to post once every few days – even if it’s just a small update, just something to let you know we’re still here! Likewise, if you ever have a comment, question or just want a general chat you can get in touch with us via the website or twitter!

2. Take more photographs

Last year I bought a Canon 450d with a Canon 18-55 mm EF-S lens, Tamron 70-300mm Telephoto Lens and LowePro Slingshot backpack. I figured I was all set to venture off into the world of photography and in some sense I was… I managed to get some nice macro shots of the creatures that devoured my garden, but when it came to landscapes I couldn’t get it right. I realised I needed a tripod and some filters (UV and Polarizing) so my orders have now been placed and I should receive them shortly! You’ll be seeing more photography on the site and also I’ll be updating flickr.

(Photography is a pretty good way to learn about composition, imagery and creating different visual effects as well as being a great way to relax, get some fresh air and step away from the drawing board, desk or easel!)

3. Learn ActionScript

It’s something I have been on/off with for a while but I have decided to finally give it my all and have booked up with an Adobe Certified training company to teach me ActionScript 3 (a basic introduction) and also Objected Orientated (OOP) Advanced ActionScript 3 with Design Patterns.

If you are a web designer and have no coding skills, it is definitely worth thinking about learning some front-end development languages such as HTML/CSS, JavaScript and ActionScript. I have seen more often than not, Web design agencies are looking for multi-skilled and multi-faceted employees. The usual tends to be Designer/Front-end developer & Developer (Back-End/Front-end) which makes sense to have some degree of overlap and understanding of how things work.

4. Make an Application or game

I am not sure what I would like to make yet, but I think that in order to push my ‘yet to come’ ActionScript skills, I will need a project to challenge me and so will aim to complete an application or game by the end of 2010.

5. Exercise more and get healthy

Very cliché I know, but healthy body, healthy mind! I need to take my own advice on this one, cut down on the junk food and do some exercise. In the past few weeks I have worked on a few different projects (web design and corporate branding) and have spent the rest of the time eating, sleeping or playing Modern Warfare 2! Not a healthy lifestyle and so I am going to start cycling at least twice a week and see if it eases creative block, increases alertness & awareness and makes me feel a bit more like a healthier and a little less like a zombie!

6. Contribute more to Istockphoto

For those of you who don’t use Istockphoto you should really give it a try. They have an awesome community, a wealth of information and tutorials and also it allows you to not only save time by purchasing pre-created illustrations/photographs but also to contribute and generate some all important cash! Last year, I somewhat ambitiously joined the ‘race to gold’ where members actively try to gain a ‘gold canister’ which shows they have had more than 10,000 downloads of their files. This was a unrealistic of me as I only have 23 files on the site and so each would have had to been downloaded 434 times each (approx)!

This year I am going for the modest ‘bronze canister’ (250 downloads) and would like to get close to silver (2,500 downloads).

I would love to hear what others have for their New Years’ resolutions so why not drop us a comment at the bottom of this post and let us know what you’ll be doing to challenge yourself in 2010.