Sorry, friend. You know who you are.

There’s a fine line between critiquing, criticizing, and insulting. Constantly being in a school and work environment where design is discussed and dissected, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve become a bit calloused when participating in the dialogue of design. To me, it’s about improving the work, helping it reach its potential. I like to think that my peers come to me for my opinion because I’m honest in my assessment about their work.

I’m what some may call picky (for lack of better words, although I imagine my friends can think of better adjectives for me) when it comes to grammar and design. In a strange sort of way I relish the title. Is it a gift to spot a typographical error? Should I take joy in finding flaws? Am I hurting them by staying quiet? My ego thinks so. But I should be honest with myself when I see the opportunity to blurt out my opinion, especially when it’s not invited.

And yet I can remember times when I’ve produced a piece and wished someone would have pointed out a mistake or misjudgment in the work before I declared it complete. But there’s a right way and wrong way of giving feedback.

• Right way: privately, sincerely, and with the ol’ sandwich method (compliment, criticism, compliment).


• Wrong way: publicly, dismissive, and followed by (choose of the following: sneers, insults, punches, scissor kicks, leg drops, or anything else that could potentially leave a scar).

I usually show my drafts to a handful of people whose opinions I respect when it comes to these matters. And they’ve been a big help. But I realize that if someone outside of my inner circle has something critical to say about the piece, it’s much easier to brush it off or take offense. So I think I’ve learned a lesson…

Nobody wants to hear your lousy opinion. And if they do, they’ll ask for it.

Hello friends. I will be featured among some of my peers at this month’s Visual Language exhibition of graphic design work at the New World School of the Arts. I would love for you to check it out on the opening night, Thursday, October 23rd.

Come by and take a look and some of the work I’ve done over the last 2 years. Best of all, admission is free! Here’s all the info you need:

Thursday, October 23 – Friday, November 14
New World Gallery
25 NE 2nd Street, downtown Miami

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 23; 6 – 9 p.m.
Free admission

Above is an animation I did for my Digital Photography course. I will be presenting this to the class on Tuesday. For more details, check out the video’s page.

These are the first 10 pieces for my Life Drawing class. For now this is the subject matter I will focus on: letters and books. They are each 9”x12”, and varying in graphite and ink.

The overall consensus during my critique was that I need to continue emphasizing a background, devote more time to each piece, work on creating a better tonal range for each drawing, and continue in the direction of actual words instead of just random letters.

It’s a rusty beginning, but I look forward to improving throughout the semester. Thoughts?