I’ve always heard people talk about how you need to constantly be doing that which you want to get better at. It makes sense, right? That’s why people use the adage “practice makes perfect” all the time, I guess.

Smashing Magazine recently posted an article challenging designers to design something every day for 365 days. I blew this off at first because—let’s be honest—I’m not really a designer. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I had to do this.

So, I’m going to be sharing this journey with you. Every couple days, I’ll post some of the things that I’ve created. Don’t get your hopes up, though. Most of the stuff that I create will probably be junk. But, I’ll learn from it. That’s my goal and my promise to you as well. I will get better (designing stuff following tutorials will help, too).

As a sign of good faith that I will actually keep up this project, here is what I created today (using a vector.tuts+ tutorial).

I’m not a huge fan of church powerpoints. In most churches, every Sunday the sermon is accompanied by a powerpoint slide show for people to follow along with or take notes from. They can be useful for keeping on the same page as the preacher, but that’s not what bothers me.

Church powerpoints are generally ugly. That’s the problem. And I understand that most churches can’t afford the resources to buy attractive backgrounds or pay someone to make it look pretty. I get that.

There is no way to get away from expectations. They come from sources all around us: employers, family, friends, and self-imposed. Expectations help us work hard and reach to new levels of excellence. However, unhealthy expectations can kill. My self-imposed expectations often create a stumbling block for me in my creative process. HOW magazine published an article about dealing with unhealthy expectations that stifle creativity. The article was a great reminder to me as I learn and grow in my creative skills. The following quote really spoke to where I’m at:

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