A DFTBA necklace is the perfect accessory for any nerdfighter (especially the one colored TFIOS blue)! Pick one up right here and check out the video about them here. DFTBA!

Are you confused about how to make a banner for the new YouTube channel layouts? I just put out a new video that explains how it all works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ossm7RZD9s

And I also made a Photoshop template so you can see where the image cuts off on each device. You can download it for free here:
http://karenkavett.com/blog/1740/how-to-design-for-the-new-youtube-channels.php

I hope this is helpful!

An Interview

I recently got an email from a girl named Maryanne who wanted to ask me some questions for a school assignment. They’re pretty frequently asked questions, so just like Hank Green has been doing lately, I thought I’d post the interview on here publicly in case anyone else is interested in the answers.

Can you remember the moment you decided to become a graphic designer?  Were there other career options in your mind at that time?
I went to a small high school that was focused on the arts, so I was introduced to graphic design and Photoshop freshman year. This was back in 2003, so online communities were still in their infancy, but I got involved in some forums (which shall remain nameless so you can’t find the stuff I was making when I was 13) that were focused around graphic design and learning Photoshop, so I ended up making things in Photoshop every day after school for four years. By the time I was applying to colleges senior year, it was pretty clear that graphic design was what I wanted to do with my life, so I applied to art school and got into RISD where I got an great design education.

Has design come more-or-less naturally to you, or was there a breakthrough moment that you can remember?
I was absolutely awful for the first few years when I was just making silly things in Photoshop. But gradually I learned about typography and layout and hierarchy, and with practice making all kinds of different projects, I’ve only kept working hard and improving. I never really had a breakthrough moment - maybe it’s still coming up. I still look at things I made a year ago and wish I could do everything differently, and there are projects that I do today that I really struggle with. But in general I do like the things I make now a lot more of the time than I did when I was first starting out, so it really just takes persistence and practice.

How did you come to work for YouTube?
The summer between junior and senior year in college, I was doing an internship in New York City, and on one of my days off, I made the So You Want to Watch YouTube flowchart. It was just a random idea I had, but I put it on my blog and it kind of went viral around the internet. It caught the attention of some employees of YouTube, and they printed it and hung it in the office. I kept in touch with some of them, and worked with them on the designs for the 2010 Project for Awesome as well as the 2010 Halloween YouTube logo. In spring of 2011, I got an email asking if I had any plans for after graduation and if I’d be interested in interviewing for a job at YouTube. I was flown out to San Francisco for the interview over spring break and started working at YouTube as a visual designer a few months later in July 2011 (I then left that job in September 2012, the reasons for which I talked about in a video).

Because every commission is different, how did you choose the price of your very first one?
To be honest, I don’t remember what the first project was that I got paid for. I’m always nervous asking for money, but I especially was at the beginning. I remember when I quoted Hank Green a price for the VidCon 2010 poster he asked me to design, he made me keep increasing it before agreeing to it, because originally I just didn’t know the value of my own work. These days I have many repeat clients who all seem to be happy with the price range I work in, but figuring out money is easily one of the most stressful parts of my job.

What is the creation (craft/graphic/video) that you are the most proud of?  Why?
This is a really tough one, but I’m really happy with how the Project for Awesome designs came out this year. It’s one of the biggest projects I do all year, since I’m in charge of all of the branding, which has to translate across several different mediums, and is seen and used by thousands of people. But then at the end of the day, we get to give half a million dollars to charity, so it’s definitely one of the most rewarding projects I work on every year.

Do you have any advice for newly graduated Graphic Design students in regards to finding and receiving commissions and exposure?
I was lucky in that I started designing for John and Hank Green in early 2008 when there were far less nerdfighters competing for their attention, and between doing lots of work for them and people who have found me through the YouTube community, I’ve never really had to look for commissions. In today’s internet landscape, personality wins above everything else. There are great designers everywhere, but what will convince someone to hire you above someone else is if if feel like they could be friends with you, and feel like they already know you before they even make contact. Start a blog, start a YouTube channel, be on Twitter constantly. It really is a lifestyle change to put yourself out there so much, but if you don’t, how will anyone know you exist? And if they don’t know you exist, they can’t hire you to do freelance work. Contribute to meaningful discussions, help promote other artists, and try to find a supportive community (hopefully one that doesn’t already have a freelance designer within it!) that you’re passionate about, whether it’s primarily online or location based. But if you can find just a couple good clients who keep coming back and will recommend you to their friends, you’ll be all set.

I hope this was interesting to you guys! Thanks for reading!

Do you own this shirt from the John and Hank Green UK & Ireland Tour? I designed it and am looking to buy it from someone who doesn’t want theirs anymore. Please check out the video I made about it and email me at karenkavett@gmail.com if you have one you’re willing to part with!

I just wrote a new blog post about the design of the Men of YouTube Calendar! Check it out:
http://karenkavett.com/blog/1585/men-of-youtube-calendar-2013.php

Remember DFTVA? I just wrote a blog post about the design work I did for it!

I just posted a recap blog post of all of my best videos and design and crafting projects from 2012! Whether you found me part way through the year, or just want to see all my best work in one place, it’s all here:
http://karenkavett.com/blog/1508/a-look-back-at-2012.php

It’s finally here! After posting the original Don’t Break the Chain calendar design back in May, I’ve gotten questions almost every single day about if I’ll make a full-year version for 2013. And so, due to popular demand, here it is.

Download the PDF

If you’re new here and are completely lost about what it is all about, back in May, Charlie McDonnell posted a video called Don’t Break the Chain, where he shares the technique he uses to be sure he does a bit of work every day. He prints out calendars like these for each thing he wants to do, whether it’s work on a video or exercise, and for every day that he does that activity, he crosses off the day on the calendar. This creates a visual chain on the calendar so your motivation becomes seeing how long you can keep the chain going.

Good luck to everyone who uses this to motivate yourself, especially if it’s for one of your New Years Resolutions! If you can’t wait and want to get started now, you can still download the 2012 version from this blog post. And if you’ve been using that one since May, let me know on Twitter or Tumblr how it’s been going for you!

This is also the second to last day in my 12 Days of Christmas series, where I’ve been posting new content every single day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve. Look out for a video on my YouTube channel tomorrow recapping the whole project, or if you want start getting caught up now, all of the previous entries are on my blog. Happy holidays!

For Day 10 of my 12 Days of Christmas Project, I’ve written some Nerdfighter Mad Libs. I used to love Mad Libs books when I was a kid, so why not make some that are YouTube and nerdfighter themed? If you’ve never played, you’re going to need a friend to do it with. Before they read the story, have them give you words for the list on the right side. Then transfer those words over to the story on the left side and you end up with the most random, nonsensical story in the world.

I designed it so you can fold over the word list and fill them in without looking at the story. Let me know if you want me to make more of these someday! And if you do them, send me photos of what you come up with on Twitter or Tumblr! You can get the PDF’s below:

Download the first PDF
Download the second PDF

Happy Holidays!

Check out what’s in the New York Times today! I like to imagine the thought process of people who see John’s Tumblr name and have no idea what it means. (Hint: this video)