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I haven’t posted much over the last few weeks and I thought I’d update you on why things have gone a little quiet ’round these parts. I don’t talk about my personal life much because this is my creative business space, but because this relates to my recent silence and has an impact on my online participation, I don’t want anyone to think I’m not creating new work!

In September 2018 I began an online Master’s degree in Graphic Design. It’s a part-time degree, so it has been spread out across two years rather than the usual one year. What I love about the part-time MA is that I can do it at my own pace from home while still running my business and working a full time day job (and finding time to dedicate to my family and friends 😊).

The MA ends in October 2020 and I am currently knee-deep in my Major Study, which is the massive project we do in the final semester. Luckily, my Major Study is centered around my freelance business so I can still work on everything at the same time, but it also means that time spent on social media and here on my website has diminished as I give my project a final push toward the finish line.

I’m happy to say that I’m now developing my next design product and I’m hoping to release it before the end of the MA (as I’d like to include it in my project!) along with another freebie. I’ll post an update about this nearer the launch.

I try to check in on social media as much as possible, but my Major Study must take priority at the moment. All I ask is that you bear with me for a little while longer. You can find out when new products and freebies are launched by joining my newsletter group (I never spam and always aim to include relevant design-related content):

Thank you for your patience! 💛 If you’re new here, why not check out my other blog posts or my shop for digital creative resources.

Creatives often find it hard to know when to take a break. Thanks to fast-paced digital media we’re conditioned to believe that we’re not doing enough if we’re not working our socks off 24/7. We’re prone to comparing ourselves to others who seem more successful, productive and happy. But even those people need breaks from time to time, and chances are they’re successful and productive because they know when to give themselves a rest. Breaks are important for a number of good reasons and burnout is real. If left unchecked, it can be dangerous to our mental and physical health.

I took a big break from work and social media over the last couple of weeks. I had to step away and allow myself to unwind, remember that relaxing is good and catch up with a few things I wasn’t able to do while working on my business and building my social profiles. I’m making this a regular pattern going forward; as soon as I notice the signs, I’ll step back. And I’m OK with that.

But I wasn’t always OK with it and it has taken me time to understand that it’s perfectly healthy to stop working, stop being socially present online, and understand that my world will not collapse as a result (in fact, it should result in me coming back more energised, productive and focused!).

Below you will find five reasons to take a break, plus a few ways to spot early signs that you might need to take a step back.

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Vectors feature in almost all of my products, and while I use them every day for my work I forget that many people might not know what they are, why I champion them and the many amazing ways they can be used.

I’ve only been working with vectors for the last three years; before that I’d never touched Adobe Illustrator and worked exclusively in raster format (.jpg, .png) using Photoshop. It wasn’t until I got an in-house graphic design job where Illustrator was mandatory that I learned how to create vectors and finally understood how efficient and useful they are.

Why Vectors?

Vector artwork relies on mathematical curves, points and lines (or paths) to create polygons and due to its nature it can be scaled up or down indefinitely without losing quality or clarity. This makes it an ideal option for displaying graphics at different sizes across a range of media, from computer screens and mobile devices to flyers and massive billboards. Vectors give you crisp, clean lines rather than pixelated or jagged images.

The other cool thing about them is they allow you to easily edit things like colour and line thickness, and when a vector is made up of many different components you can rearrange the composition with minimal hassle.