Welcome to the very first edition of Creative Juice after a very plentiful 'growing season'. You may notice that the newsletter has a new splash of that purple stuff from your childhood bestie's refrigerator along with some updated content and a few other touches. Feel free to send me an email with your thoughts on how the new design is looking.

Creative Juice is a weekly newsletter published every Monday morning so you can start your week feeling inspired creatively 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.

If you have an idea of how I can improve Creative Juice and make it better, feel free to submit your feedback here.

TL;DR

• SOMETHING GORGEOUS: A Cafe Where the Sun Never Sets

• PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: The Proof Is In The Pudding (or Portfolio)

• I Got the Nummies

• Just Muuling About

• Is it Just Me? Or is Reddit Lame Now?

• ONE GRAM: One Twist a Day Keeps the Monsters Away

• ONE LESSON: Taking Your Time Does Not Mean It is Not Happening

If you would like Creative Juice sent directly to your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe here.

Something Gorgeous

A Cafe Where the Sun Never Sets

F*ck off Starbucks, this Parisian cafe is serving vibes with its coffee. Developed by multidisciplinary creative collective, Uchronia, the interior of Café Nuances captures that beautiful moment when the sun dips below the horizon, creating a gaussian blur of day and night.

I am not saying this cafe looks cheap at all! BUT it reminds me of when I was in design school and tasked with organizing an exhibition on a small budget. We needed ideas that felt elevated without breaking the wallet—wish we had thought of using a gradient like this!

View more here

Portfolio of the Week

The Proof Is In The Pudding (or Portfolio)

What if your portfolio website was so good that clients hired you immediately? That seems to be the case for Félix.

Félix is an art director and digital designer with a portfolio that grabs your attention immediately. With a strong grasp of color theory, typography, and micro-interactions, this site impresses anyone who visits. The smooth animations and scrolling effects are likely powered by GSAP.

Here are 5 observations from Félix's portfolio to pay attention to:

1. Big type works wonders, especially when animating between regular and italic on view.

2. Subtle color palette changes throughout the page are a big win.

3. Filling space with well-considered shapes or icons, especially if animated, adds charm.

4. Use video over static imagery when possible.

5. Master the use of negative space!

Score: 9.1/10

Built with: Custom Coded

View portfolio here

Creative Finds

I Got the Nummies

Brand identity for a trendy supplement by Sweety & Co. Looks great on the shelf, even if the benefits are still up for debate.

View more here

Just Muuling About

'Plant-based' and 'botanic' water—marketing absurdity aside, the design, naming, and visual identity are beautiful. Definitely worth reading the full case study on Tomnick's site.

View more here

Is it Just Me? Or is Reddit Lame Now?

Reddit’s new brand refresh may be aimed at looking more ‘formal’ and ‘profitable.’ The quality of the work is great, but has some of Reddit’s coolness disappeared?

Hit me with a reply if you're a Reddit OG and still enjoy using it.

View more here

One Gram

One Twist a Day Keeps the Monsters Away

Camilo Castillo Diaz creates incredible monster Rubik's cubes. I want one… and one for my dad too.

View more here

One Lesson

Taking Your Time Does Not Mean It is Not Happening

This phrase hit me recently as my 'to-do' list seemed overwhelming. My brain thinks of 1,000 things to do, but realistically I complete 2-3 per day. Tiny daily progress accumulates into major results.

As a result of this tiny continuous effort, I launched my e-commerce shop Pixel Mart, redesigned this newsletter, and prepared to launch The Portfolio Squeeze and Beefy Briefs.

Don't underestimate the power of small efforts. Be kind to yourself if everything isn’t done in hours or days.

PS. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback via the survey. What do you think of this first edition of the new Creative Juice redesign?

If you would like Creative Juice sent directly to your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe here.