Newsletter the Second

I had such a terrific response from my first-ever newsletter that I just can't help it: I'm back with another one. Here are a few recent posts of mine you may have missed.

Tetrachromats

Humans usually have three kinds of cones in the retina along the back of the eye, each sensitive to a different range of colors, but a color blind person has only two, so they can’t distinguish some colors. However, some people—primarily women—have developed a mutant fourth cone. Where most of us are "trichromats," these people are "tetrachromats," able to see more colors—or, perhaps more distinctions among colors, especially in the red to yellow tones.

Why would this happen? A tetrachromat might be better suited to seeing tiny changes in a child’s complexion or perhaps even notice subtle infrared heat radiating from a fever in a way that most of the rest of us could not.

I like this reminder that some people are literally more sensitive to certain things than I am… or even more than I am able to be! 

Each of us has hidden strengths and weaknesses, both superpowers and areas that we simply need to lean on others for help. It's another reminder of how only when working together can we truly thrive.

Is there something you can do better than most? Something you know you're not as good at?

Harold and Maude

I watched "Harold and Maude" literally dozens of times when I was a teenager, partly because of this quote. To me, it's a reminder that no matter how mundane something appears at first, it can always be seen as glorious and special. The trick is not "out there," it's "in here" — it's an act of choosing to perceive differently.

I once read a lovely piece in New Scientist magazine about watching paint dry and grass grow—supposedly the ultimate boring activities—and how, as it turns out, there is actually incredible mind-blowing science going on if you take the time to learn more, look more closely… if you make the choice to care.

InDesign Best Practices

For my InDesign friends… 4 rules every Adobe InDesign user should live by:

→ Don't apply character styles to an entire paragraph. That's what paragraph styles are for.

→ Right-click swatches or styles to edit them instead of double-clicking them (which has the side-effect of also selecting them… can be bad!)

→ Make your own workspace of the panels you want open and where you want them. It's dumb to just use the defaults, and the Reset workspace feature is really helpful.

→ Don't rely on how Adobe thinks InDesign should work! Instead, change a bunch of preferences with no documents open, in order to change the defaults for all your future docs.

For more insights, you know where to find us: https://creativepro.com/indesign/

Follies and Foibles

I admit that I rarely quote (much less consult) the Bible, but this line leapt off the page as a beautiful (?!) example of metaphor and analogy in writing… and, more importantly, it made me laugh in recognition.

My dad once told me there were 101 different ways that we humans lie to ourselves. He was a psychiatrist, so I tended to believe him… but I dared him to list them. So he started writing… he got up to 92 follies (as he called them, or sometimes foibles). I now have them thumbtacked on the wall next to my desk, including:

• Believing what you feel
• Believing what you think
• Objectification (treating someone as though they were only a single role instead of a complex multitude)
• Egosyntonic ("Hey, it works for me; I don’t see what’s wrong with doing it.")
• Ageism ("No need to listen to that person because they're too old/young")

Righteousness

We humans take ourselves so seriously, but we're relatively immature and fragile most of the time, psycho-emotionally. The solution? Reflect and laugh.

Instead of getting so caught up in what is true or not true, right or wrong, it's important to remember that we don't really know anything — except perhaps our own mind, our own perspective.

Righteousness — the sense that "I am right" — is perhaps one of the most dangerous forces in our lives.

Take a moment and try to find one thing around you that might be wrong about. Could be about your business, or personal… It can be an uncomfortable idea to hold, like a good yoga position. Just breathe through it while you hold the thought.

CreativePro Week 2021 is Coming!

I'd be remiss if I didn't include a quick reminder that CreativePro Week is around the corner… and we're all online again this year! Over 100 sessions about InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, PowerPoint, design, digital, print, and more! If you've been curious about CreativePro Week, come learn why you should attend this year.

Thank you!

I enjoy sharing my musings… and I enjoy hearing yours! Feel free to follow this newsletter, follow me on LinkedIn, and send me feedback. You can always reach me at [email protected]