On January 1, 2013, I started a daily design blog. I challenged myself to create something every day for 365 days. Random ideas, questions, design problems, etc. that I encountered throughout the day, were elaborated on. I had one rule: something must be posted by midnight.

January was definitely the hardest month because it took some time to get the ball rolling. Early on, I felt self-conscious about sharing the work, but now as I look back, I appreciate each piece for what it is. With each day I learned to work faster and to view the days work as an experiment, rather than worrying about creating a final piece. I never became totally comfortable putting things out there that I wasn’t satisfied with, but that was part of the process, and it propelled me to work harder the next day.

January 1: Day one!

January 1: Day one!

January 2: Elusive

January 2: Elusive

January 3: Question mark doodles.

January 3: Question mark doodles.

January 4: Echo

January 4: Echo

January 5: Purple on yellow.

January 5: Purple on yellow.

January 6: Israel says: don't think too hard.

January 6: Israel says: don't think too hard.

January 7: Jessica's black cloud.

January 7: Jessica's black cloud.

January 8: A quote by Franz Kafka: a man of action forced into a state of thought is unhappy until he can get out.

January 8: A quote by Franz Kafka: a man of action forced into a state of thought is unhappy until he can get out.

January 9: 72,000 people

January 9: 72,000 people

January 10: Pie

January 10: Pie

January 11: Lightning

January 11: Lightning

January 12: Clarity

January 12: Clarity

January 13: A quote by William H. Gass (from Artful Sentences): Simplicity is not a given. It is an achievement, a human invention, a discovery, a beloved belief.

January 13: A quote by William H. Gass (from Artful Sentences): Simplicity is not a given. It is an achievement, a human invention, a discovery, a beloved belief.

January 14: Monday morning meeting doodles.

January 14: Monday morning meeting doodles.

January 15: Thinking about color and natural gradients today.

January 15: Thinking about color and natural gradients today.

January 16: First thought of the day.

January 16: First thought of the day.

January 17: Let it fall.

January 17: Let it fall.

January 18: A birthday card.

January 18: A birthday card.

January 19: Animated gif in progress, more to come.

January 19: Animated gif in progress, more to come.

January 20: Experimenting with animated gifs. Size restrictions not allowing this to be seen at its fullest potential.

January 20: Experimenting with animated gifs. Size restrictions not allowing this to be seen at its fullest potential.

January 21: A little preview of what’s to come.

January 21: A little preview of what’s to come.

January 22: Nothin' like hot soup on a cold Chicago day.

January 22: Nothin' like hot soup on a cold Chicago day.

January 23: Neutraface in the wild.

January 23: Neutraface in the wild.

January 24: Idea sketch for a logo; a work in progress.

January 24: Idea sketch for a logo; a work in progress.

January 25: Land of chalk.

January 25: Land of chalk.

January 26: Some more twos.

January 26: Some more twos.

January 27: Two and seven spin doodle.

January 27: Two and seven spin doodle.

January 28: Too seven logo.

January 28: Too seven logo.

January 29: Calendar spread for my new sketch/notebook.

January 29: Calendar spread for my new sketch/notebook.

January 30: A few tweaks to my ‘too seven’ logo, soon it will be applied to the brand components.

January 30: A few tweaks to my ‘too seven’ logo, soon it will be applied to the brand components.

January 31: Must go down, before going up

January 31: Must go down, before going up