On Blogging

As this semester draws to a close, I'm thinking about the future of this blog. Will I continue posting bits and pieces of things that inspire my design spirit? Will I morph it into something fresh and new? Or will I let it die, like so many blogs before it?

I don't know what will become of CMYKunz, but I do know that I've gained a great respect for professional bloggers. It's not easy posting content regularly, much less amazing content. Ideally, a blog is so beautifully curated that readers will flock, but that's not always the case. Making a living from blogging is a tall order, but there are many who are successful.

If you're thinking, now or ever, of blogging as a profession, here is a terrific list of what makes a blog good, via 42 Folders.

1. Good blogs have a voice. Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? 
2. Good blogs reflect focused obsessions. People start real blogs because they think about something a lot. Maybe even five things. But, their brain so overflows with curiosity about a family of topics that they can't stop reading and writing about it.
3. Good blogs are the product of "Attention times Interest." A blog shows me where someone's attention tends to go. Then, on some level, they encourage me to follow the evolution of their interest through a day or a year. There's a story here. Ethical "via" links make it easy for me to follow their specific trail of attention, then join them for a walk made out of words.
4. Good blog posts are made of paragraphs. Blog posts are written, not defecated. They show some level of craft, thinking, and continuity beyond the word count mandated by the Owner of Your Plantation.
5. Good "non-post" blogs have style and curation. Some of the best blogs use unusual formats, employ only photos and video, or utilize the list format to artistic effect.
6. Good blogs are weird. Blogs make fart noises and occasionally vex readers with the degree to which the blogger's obsession will inevitably diverge from the reader's. If this isn't happening every few weeks, the blogger is either bored, half-assing, or taking new medication.
7. Good blogs make you want to start your own blog. At some point, everyone wants to kill the Buddha and make their own obsessions the focus. This is good. It means you care.
8. Good blogs try. A good blog is written by a blogger who thinks longer, works harder, and obsesses more. Ultimately, a good blogger tries. That's why "good" is getting rare.
9. Good blogs know when to break their own rules.

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Gift Wrap This

I have very few talents, but one of them is wrapping presents. Call me boastful, but my wrapping skills can make even the gift of a banana peel look good. Actually, gift wrapping masks the fact that I'm not a terrific gift giver. In the spirit of the holidays, here are some drool-worthy packages. P.S. I DARE you to search Pinterest for wrapping ideas.

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Blocks

The ever-fabulous Alma and Mike Loveland at Ollibird designed these darling illustrations to be trimmed down to 2 by 1.5 and Mod Podged onto blocks or tiles for children. 

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How cute are they?!? I'm thinking each and every one of my 26 nieces and nephews will be getting blocks this Christmas. Even the teenagers. Lucky ducks.

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Available for purchase here.

Need a break from campaigns and packages?

Try the Kerning Game! Go here.

And look! I kearned at 100%! My life is complete.