Including: Strength + Vulnerability, Love + Money, and How to Be a One-Woman Show.*

*HINT: You are never a one-woman show.

These are slides from a talk created for Show & Tell at Portland State University (PSU.GD) on November 19, 2015.

Watch it below or here, but feel free to download the slides (17MB) if you want to follow along with PSU.GD Friends of Graphic Design's video. Thank you, Friends of Graphic Design!

What do I mean by creative tensions?

Constraints are the pressure cooker that creates the push to get a project done. They give shape to chaos, help scope projects, and spark us to solve problems. You can choose to see them as stresses and limitations, or as the impetus to solve problems in a more inventive way.

In some environments, tensions abound...limited money, time, freedom. In others, you may find you have to create your own. I run into both situations at Bitch, so I decided to hang this talk loosely around the dichotomies that shape my work and how limitations (and creativity) shape our work at Bitch Media.

It's not just about design solutions, it's about reinventing our work culture and counteracting the ingrained systems that keep us from evolving.

7 Mantras to help create great work (and continue to love what you do)

Many designers relish a little structure, and even pressure, to help facilitate creative work. But if we don't revolutionize our culture around work, the pressure and ambition that drive us will burn us out. I've included 7 meditations for working under pressure or creating it when you need it, which have helped me build healthier teams and work with a bit more grace.

I start with a little history, and finish with these 7 meditations on creative tensions to help create great work and continue to love what you do.