Iterations

How do you know when it’s time to rethink or refresh your personal brand? It’s something I’ve spent a fair bit of time thinking about lately. But before we dive into that, I think we first need to answer another question and that is what does “personal brand” even mean? According to Gary Vee, “Your personal brand is your reputation.” Another way he put it was, “Your brand is about how someone feels in the moment when they interact with you or your business.” On the other hand, Harvard Business Review says that your brand is not your reputation, which is based how other people see you, but rather how you want people to see you. Reputation is certainly part of it, but it’s not the whole picture.

LINKS

Gary Vee article: https://garyvaynerchuk.com/5-strategies-for-personal-branding-online/

Harvard Business Review article: https://hbr.org/2022/02/whats-the-point-of-a-personal-brand

The Futur: https://thefutur.com/

Rethinking My Website: https://jefferysaddoris.substack.com/p/rethinking-my-website

It's Not About a Watch: https://jefferysaddoris.substack.com/p/its-not-about-a-watch

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

Earlier in the week, a post came up in my Twitter feed that stopped me in my tracks before sending me down a rabbit hole that I think I may be in for a while. It was a post about a watch—or at least the possibility of a watch—by a designer named Sebastian Stapelfeldt, who publishes under the name Carl Hauser. It’s a terrific 3D render that looks like something out of one of Syd Mead’s sketchbooks, which is one of the reasons it caught my eye. If that reference doesn't mean anything to you, Syd was an industrial designer and illustrator who is probably best known for his work on Blade Runner and Tron. I think first discovered his work in the late 70s, about the same time that I first saw the work of Frank Frazetta. Both of these guys were huge inspirations, though Syd's influence didn't really show up in my work until the mid-90s.

LINKS

Carl Hauser: https://www.carlhauser.com/

Carl Hauser (Twitter): https://twitter.com/crlhsr

Syd Mead: https://sydmead.com/

Frank Frazetta: https://www.frazettamuseum.com/

Imagine 3D: https://archive.org/details/imagine-3D-for-DOS

MS-DOS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS

Siggraph: https://www.siggraph.org/

3D Studio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_3ds_Max

Softimage XSI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XOxGqs0Ck8

Maya: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_Maya

Lightwave: https://www.lightwave3d.com/

Universal Studios: https://www.universalstudios.com/

Blender: https://www.blender.org/

Ton Roosendaal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton_Roosendaal

Blender 1.0: https://www.blendernation.com/2020/08/21/blender-1-0-rises-again/

Blender stories: https://www.blender.org/get-involved/user-stories/

David duChemin: https://davidduchemin.com/

David's post: https://davidduchemin.com/2023/06/having-not-gone-farther-on-regret-creativity/

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Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

As an independent creative, I spend the bulk of my time alone, which means I’m typically in one of my studios in the basement of our house. I have two spaces that have been purpose-built and tweaked over the past few years to fit the different aspects of my creative practice. The analog studio is where I do all of my painting and collage work and the digital studio is where I do everything else that doesn’t involve paint, which means research, writing, design, podcasting, and recently a bit of sound design and music. The studios share a common wall that has a double door so I can move quickly from one to the other depending on what I’m working on in the moment. While there are still a few more tweaks to make, I love these spaces, especially since my previous space (if you can even call it that) was a 4-foot section of counter in the laundry room. That said, it’s still a basement and all of the things that can work in its favor can also work against it, depending on the mental space I’m in. If I’m particularly inspired, being apart from the other goings on in the house is a welcome detachment that can really allow me to focus. But if I’m in the weeds, those feelings of detachment can easily translate into feelings of loneliness and isolation, both of which I tend to struggle with anyway.

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Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

In this Iteration, I want to talk about things, specifically the things in our lives that take on a particular significance because of what they have come to represent and how difficult it can be when we let them go, either by choice or by circumstance.

A few days ago, Adrianne and I bought a new car and to say that it was a challenge would be a bit of an understatement. To be fair, the actual car selection process wasn’t too bad—especially compared to how long it’s taken me in the past (see Iteration 37). But trading in my 2010 Honda Fit proved to be extraordinarily painful—so much so that I had a bit of a meltdown at the dealership and wound up texting Adrianne from the parking lot telling her that I couldn’t go back in and that I just wanted to go home.

LINKS

2010 Honda Fit: https://www.edmunds.com/honda/fit/2010/review/

Nikon F2: https://emulsive.org/reviews/camera-reviews/nikon-camera-reviews/the-nikon-f2-an-everyday-camera-for-the-21st-century

William Eggleston: http://egglestonartfoundation.org/

Angels Landing: https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm

YashicaMat 124G: https://www.lomography.com/magazine/91134-yashica-mat-124g-a-twin-lens-classic

My Substack: https://jefferysaddoris.substack.com/

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

I was sitting in my studio the other day, looking at some of the 100+ paintings I’ve done over the past few years and out of the blue I thought to myself, “I hate all of these.” Adrianne walked in a few minutes later and asked what was going on and I said, “I think I hate everything I’ve done.” Adrianne being Adrianne then asked, “Do you really hate it or is it something else?” I didn’t answer immediately, but of course it’s something else, right? It has to be. But that’s how it came out in the moment. To be clear, I don’t love every piece I’ve ever done—I don’t think any artist really does—but I certainly don’t hate every piece either. So what is it that’s really going on?

LINKS

Picasso: https://www.pablopicasso.org/

The New Propaganda: https://projects.jefferysaddoris.com/

Grid Variations: https://projects.jefferysaddoris.com/

Sean Tucker: https://www.seantucker.photography/

Josef Müller-Brockmann: https://www.grapheine.com/en/graphic-design-en/graphic-designer-muller-brockmann-swiss-style

Reid Miles: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-blue-note-album-covers/

Robert Rauschenberg: https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/

Robert Motherwell: https://www.wikiart.org/en/robert-motherwell

My Substack: https://jefferysaddoris.substack.com

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

This is Iteration number 100 and before we dive in, I want to say that this one is a big deal for me, not because it’s number 100—although, yes, that—but more because it’s about what it’s taken for me to get here and what I’ve learned about consistency and my own creative process.

If you’re an artist or maker of some kind and you’re on social media, regardless of the platform, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the importance of consistency. It’s one of the two main things that the algorithm rewards—the other one being time on platform. The problem with platforms is that you either are consistent or you aren’t. There’s typically no space for flux because the algorithm doesn’t care about nuance—it cares about numbers.

LINKS

Iteration 25

On Taking Pictures

Deep Natter

Jerry Seinfeld on Howard Stern

Iteration 97

My Substack

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

This Iteration was originally going to be a story that bordered on a rant about trying to buy a new mouse from Amazon that went a little sideways. I’ll share some of the details in a bit, but the short version is that it took three attempts to get it right and I’m still not totally convinced that there isn’t some shady merchandise being sold as “real” by the world’s largest retailer. The best part of the thing was the title—I was going to call it “The Tale of the Mouse.” Clever, right? But as I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days, I think it’s really about something bigger and I think it’s something that nearly all of us can relate to—and that is how and why we buy the things we do.

LINKS

Musgrave Pencils

Logitech MX Master

Logitech M720

Logitech M720 (Best Buy)

Keychron

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

In this episode, without knowing it, Sean and I each posted something about AI this week and we thought it might be fun to sit down and compare notes. We also talk about the growing problem of loneliness that exists on both sides of the Atlantic and a few of the things we’ve each been thinking about to help deal with it.

LINKS
Photography and the Rise of AI
Prompt. View. Repeat.
Mali Davies Photography
Let’s Create - The Photography Show
Bowling Alone
Seattle Coffee Company

CONNECT WITH SEAN
Website: http://seantucker.photography 
Twitter: @seantuck 
Instagram: @seantuck 
YouTube: @seantuck

CONNECT WITH JEFFERY
Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com 
Twitter: @jefferysaddoris 
Instagram: @jefferysaddoris
YouTube: @jefferysaddoris

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MUSIC
High Line by Duffmusiq

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers.

You don’t have to look far to know that AI is everywhere and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It’s in the news and on social media. It’s what your colleagues are talking about when you’re at work and what your friends are talking about when you’re not. And no matter what you do for a living or for recreation, it seems like AI is going to either disrupt it completely or at least affect it somehow.

I’ve been following the development of some of the more popular AI platforms from the wings for a while now. I’ve tried ChatGPT, and I recently did an experiment with Midjourney and Stable Diffusion to see how they would handle prototyping ideas for a personal project I’m working on. Even though the results weren’t exactly what I wanted, they got me thinking about what I did want in a different way and ultimately gave me some new things to think about and iterate on in my sketchbook. While I can absolutely see the potential power of AI, I can also see some of the potential cost—and that’s what concerns me.

LINKS

Microsoft Designer - Stunning designs in a flash

AI Art Generator – Adobe Firefly

DALL·E 2

Midjourney

Stable Diffusion Online

ChatGPT

Rick Beato on AI

Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris

In 2018 I released a book called Photography by the Letter. It took three years of research, writing, re-writing, designing, and re-designing, and while it wasn’t as financially successful as I had hoped, it was one of the most satisfying projects I’ve ever done. After shopping it around to a number of publishers—all of whom passed on it—we self-published a limited print run and released it simultaneously as an eBook. Opening up the first box of books from the printer and seeing those three years represented as actual objects was a very emotional experience. I sent a copy to Ted Waitt at Rocky Nook, who had been incredibly helpful and supportive while I was writing it. He responded with a lovely email that read, “It is really quite beautifully designed and very well printed. I honestly cannot think of a self-published book that I have seen better production values on. Nicely done!” The book has gotten hundreds of glowing reviews like this, and none of them are wasted on me. As proud as I am of what we accomplished, I remember telling Adrianne that while I would love to write another book, I’d never do another one like Photography by the Letter. The technical nature of the writing was hard, dry, and way outside of my wheelhouse, which is why it took multiple passes to get it right. Still, I loved the process as a whole and have had the idea of writing another book in the back of my head ever since. The question is, which one?

LINKS

Write what you know?

Quentin Tarantino on writing

Brian Eno on ideas

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris