2024 is officially underway! This week I’m sharing some finds to add to your calendar to stay inspired. I’m also keeping it real this week in my one lesson 👇

Creative Juice is a weekly newsletter published every Monday morning so you can start your week creatively inspired to make cool sh*t and get paid for it. Every Monday I share something gorgeous, a portfolio of the week, three creative finds, one amazing post from social media, and one lesson I learned recently.

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TL:DR

• SOMETHING GORGEOUS: Bodycams for Everyone!

• PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: A Super Clear + Honest Approach to a Design Portfolio Website

• Forget New Year Resolutions, it’s Public Domain Day

• Festival Season but For Creatives

• Throw Some Butcher Knives at Mad Cows and Pool Sharks

• One Gram: Motion Experiments to Inspire Your 2024

• ONE LESSON: Making More Space for 2024 and Running Low on Funds

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Something Gorgeous

Bodycams for Everyone!

Phonecam by Slimdesign

This is pretty gorgeous: a $60 AI-powered bodycam that fits in your pocket. Slimdesign, a product design and development studio, won the 2024 CES Innovation Award for its miniaturized body camera. Features include 4G/5G connectivity, AI video enhancement, and 1080p HD recording in a tiny pill-shaped camera smaller than a BIC lighter.

The camera addresses real problems (recording situations that might escalate), though it feels like Black Mirror is coming to life…

View more here

Visit Slimdesign

Portfolio of the Week

A Super Clear + Honest Approach to a Design Portfolio Website

Rose Kuan

Rose is a Taiwanese designer based in New York, attending Columbia Business School while working as a Product Designer at Coinbase. Her portfolio clearly communicates her experience.

I love her portfolio because she details her tasks during internships, e.g., her Tenten case study shows how she ensured quality across web and mobile, collaborating with design, product, and engineering teams. This is gold for understanding real-world design work.

For young designers: honesty and clarity in portfolios win. Rose had 4 internships in 2020 alone—impressive!

Score: 8.7/10

Built with: Squarespace

View Rose Kuan’s portfolio

Creative Finds

Forget New Year Resolutions, it’s Public Domain Day

January 1, 2024 is Public Domain Day

Thousands of historic films, sound recordings, and artworks are now free for use, copying, sharing, and building upon. This year features works like Mickey Mouse (with its own drama).

Read more here

View more Public Domain works

Festival Season but For Creatives

Check out Creative Boom’s list of festivals for art, design, and creativity worldwide. Perfect to fill gaps in your 2024 calendar.

View the list here

Throw Some Butcher Knives at Mad Cows and Pool Sharks

Death Chef by Studiofreight

A creative studio project/game promoting Lunchbox restaurant software. Amazing ideation, execution, and vision—something to aspire to in your own studio.

Play the game

One Gram

Motion Experiments to Inspire Your 2024

Andreion de Castro

Looking to learn motion design in 2024? Check out Andreion’s Instagram for experiments in type, color, and motion.

View more here

One Lesson

Making More Space for 2024 and Running Low on Funds

Over the last ten days, I traveled around a small part of the Philippines. It was the first time I felt completely empty in my design work—ignoring emails and deadlines to clear mental space for a productive year.

Sometimes, it’s OK to let your mind be empty. It allows realignment of priorities.

The real talk:

• My 2023 income is about half of 2022’s $95K because I focused on personal projects and work-life balance.

• I’ve begun dipping into savings. It’s anxiety-inducing, but I’m learning to face it.

• Life isn’t always daisies and butterflies, but how you respond matters.

PS: I’ll make a detailed video on 2023 finances soon.

PPS: If you’re job searching, consider signing up for a portfolio review.

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