Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Journal page no. 1 - reimagined

This is a photo of Journal Page no. 1, way back when I posted the pdf on Thursday, June 3, 2010:

In the almost two and a half years since, we've come a long way.  (Baby.)

There are now 50 pages and when I flip through them, from 1 to 50, I can see and feel the evolution in the prompts and doodles.  I am immensely proud of my collection of journal pages.

And still . . .

I want them to be better.  I want them to look better.  I want to be able to expand on these pages for years to come, but when I sit down to work on them, I'm stumped.

I've gotten to a point where I feel restricted rather than inspired.  Specifically, I feel restricted by the size, the layout, the colour palette, and the typefaces on my pages.

So I've been thinking about it.  A lot.  And I've made a few changes.  Changes that I hope will help me feel less restricted and more inspired.  Changes that I hope will lead to better pages, for you and for me.

Page size

There isn't much I can do about the size.  I gave it a lot of thought and tried other options, but as printables, the pages work best and most practically on letter-sized paper.

So, the size stays.

Layout

I also fiddled a lot with the layout.  Up until now, I've been using a sort of grid layout.  Three parts across and three parts down.  I tried all sorts of alternatives, including completely deconstructing the layout, but I found that unless there is some sort of order, the page loses its cohesiveness.

So, I got rid of my old grid and I'm working a little more by feel these days, although I don't think the layout change is overly noticeable.

Colour palette

In terms of colours, I wanted more of them.  So I mixed a few of my own colours using the fun sliders available in Illustrator's colour guide and this is what I came up with:

Staying with colours for a moment longer, I've also added textures to my colours and polka dots and stripes and stuff.  Just for fun.  Because I was getting tired of blocks of straight colour.

Also, I'm now offering only two versions of each page:  a colour-free version and a colourful one.  The colourful version is fully coloured, all of it.  It seemed strange to offer a colourful version before in which only the border was coloured.  Why not all of it?  I don't know.

So, new colour palette, new textures and slightly different pdf alternatives.

Typefaces/Lettering

Last item:  the typefaces.  I began to really dislike the look of standard typefaces mixed with doodles.  One or the other, but not both.

So, the lettering is now hand-drawn.  (From two typefaces that I love.)  The lettering is not a font.  I drew in every single letter you see.

Gosh, I guess I can't put it off any longer.  A little nervous here.

This is Journal Page no. 1, reimagined in colour:

This is the colour-free alternative:

If you already have a copy of the original page, you'll notice that some of the prompts are exactly the same and some are new.  I've also added a few items to the lightning round.

I'm still working through some of the organizational issues, like what to do with the old Journal Page no. 1.  It's sticking around for now, but probably not forever.  There will soon be changes to the right sidebar, too, to reflect ongoing changes to the journal page collection.

Journal Page no. 2, the reimagined version, will be posted next week.  No. 3 will follow the week after that, and so on and so forth.

As always, I'll figure it out as I go along.  For now though, I hope you'll enjoy this new spin on an old page.  If you'd like one for yourself, the colour-free version is here and the colourful version is here.

hugs,
Christie

21 comments:

  1. I like the new page....but I like the old one too! I will start to print them out as you redesign them. I plan these for grandchildren for birthday presents in the next year!

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    1. Hi Paula! Thanks so much for your comment. Glad you like the new page . . . and the old one. :)

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  2. That looks fantastic as always. Thank you!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Lisa. It's so nice to read your reassuring words. :)

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  3. I really like the changes you made! Stripes and polka dots are a perfect fit for the pages. And way to go on hand lettering all that!

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    1. Hi Laura! Thanks so much. Glad you're happy with the stripes and polka dots. I was a little nervous about going in a new direction. It's lovely to read your reaction. :)

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  4. Oh boy ... can I be honest? I still like your old ones the BESTEST, but that may be simply because it was the birth of your amazing creations. The new ones are SPARKLING awesome, but my heart/soul votes for the originals, baby!

    Having said that, I am excited to save/print the new ones as you're ready with them!!! Must buy a new binder!

    xo to you!

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    1. I hope you'll always be honest, Naomi. Thank you so much for stopping by to add your lovely voice. I'm so happy you'll be following along with the new pages . . . I hope they'll grow on you. :)

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  5. Love the new page, especially with the color-free option (I love coloring)!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

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    1. You're so welcome, Trece! Thanks so much and happy coloring!

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  6. Very cute, Christie! You're so amazingly talented - thank you for all your hard work and your big heart! :)

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    1. Hi, Kate! Thanks so much for your kind words. :)

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  7. Just found your blog and wanted to say thank you.
    I was looking for a unique christmas present for my daughter - and I found it here! I've printed out your journal pages, bound them in a cover and am giving it to her as a present this year.

    Again, thanks for such a unique and awesome journal.

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  8. Love them all!!!! the new, the old, the reinvented... whatever you do your creativity is amazing!!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Love these new pages, Christie! Looking forward to sharing them each week with my blog readers, as we discussed, starting in the new year!!

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  10. Oh my, I *love* the new look! I've been filling in one of your journal pages every single Sunday right through the year, and I was just looking at them at the weekend and thinking what to do to complete the year, as I was one short (think I must have picked up an extra for one of the weeks - maybe the birthday one?) - this is the perfect answer, since it will top and tail 2012 with (almost) the same journaling sheet so I can see how my answers have changed!

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  11. I'm excited with the new pages and in love with the old ones. (The line is not mine, it's from a Catalan poet J. V. Foix, but I thought it suited very nicely). Thank you so much for sharing. You are so talented and generous.
    I love humel's idea of filling a journal page on Sundays, that way it will last for whole year (almost). So, thank you, humel, too!
    Susanna S.

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  12. Hi Christie,
    I love them all...the old and the new. My students are still loving them, and if I don't have one printed out for them on Fridays, they are UPSET! They are a great learning experience for them since some of your Canadian vocab is different from ours. Thanks again for sharing your creativity. I hope your family has a lovely Christmas season.

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  13. Hello Christie

    I'm new here today but loving what you've created. Thank you so much for being generous enough to share your pages with us as printables.

    I like that you are revisiting and adding. It could almost be a book 2. It doesn't matter that some things are the same, some are different and fresh. I think I may printout your first set as book 1, and then printout the new book 2 when I've completed the older ones.

    Many blessings to you from Angela

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