Diagnosis Design #1 Jennifer Rzasa

First an intro...

In medicine, we document using SOAP notes. It is an abbreviation to help keep consistent format when logging information. 

S=Subjective. What does the patient report. Subjective Data. This also includes the Chief Complaint (CC) which tells what the patients main problem is and History of Present Illness (HPI) a history of what happened to bring them in.

O=Objective. What exam findings do you gather. Objective Data.

A=Assessment. What is your Diagnosis, what differentials could there be (alternative diagnoses)

P=Plan/Education. What is the plan for the patient. What do you want them to learn?

This is the format I will use also.

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Now, let's begin. This is Jen Rzasa...yup, she skateboards.

CC: Bein' Cheap ;)  

I don't set an amount per month or anything like that, but I can tell you that I'm pretty cheap.  I am lucky enough to receive products I love for being on design teams, and I occasionally win contests that give me more supplies.   The things I purchase regularly are cardstock and adhesive.  Otherwise, if I see something I really like, I'll get it!  (But only after I stare at it for a while and decide if I will use it often enough to make it worth it- again, I'm cheap.)

HPI: Jennifer is a 20 something married music teacher who blogs about cards, sewing, and painting. Here are some examples of her art.

She has been blogging since January 2010. HERE is her first post. Her love of fashion even inspired her to start her own challenge blog based on runway designs. Click HERE to check it out,

 When was your design aesthetic clear to you?

Looking back, I think my design aesthetic became more clearly defined about a year/year and a half ago.  I didn't even know it then!  I was experimenting with different ideas, and gaining inspiration from other bloggers.   

How would you describe your design?

In a broad sense: clean and simple.  I love white space, minimal layers, and (dare I say it) I'm a bit scared of patterned paper!  I have lots of it going unused in my craft room, so I've been challenging myself to use it on my cards and projects.  

Who do you feel has a strong design aesthetic and why?  

Aga!  I could spot her work from a mile away.  She has something going on that is all her own, and I love it.  It's fun and bold, with beauty mixed in.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Paper crafting blogs!  I spend way too much time looking at other people's work everyday, but it's hard to restrain myself!  Seeing crafty projects online gets me revved up and excited to make things of my own.  I also get inspiration from fashion- I think paper crafting has a lot more in common with clothing design than one might initially think. They both rely on the designers' ability to convey an idea through color, pattern, texture, etc.

If you were on a stranded island with only 5 craft supplies, what would they be?

Paper trimmer, cardstock, adhesive, stamps, ink.  Wow- that's already 5.  This is actually a tough question- can you get back to me? :)

What is most important in creating a flawless card? the photo? the colors? the creativity? composition etc
I don't think the photo has anything to do with it.  You can have an awful picture of a brilliantly amazing card.  When I hear "flawless," I think of the execution.  You don't want any stray ink smudges, or crooked stamping.  The crease in the card needs to be good too- I hate crackly creases!  

 What is your favorite card you ever made?

My favorite is the hot air balloon card I made 2 summers ago (2011) as a Paper Craft Gallery Idol submission.  It was white with rainbow colors- a winning combination!

If you could interview a crafter, who would it be and what question would you most want to ask? 

I would want to interview Julie Ebersole- hers was the first card blog that I discovered.  I didn't know they existed until her!  I actually thought she was the only person with a card blog, lol.  I soon found out that I was wrong :)  I would want to know about the blogs she follows, and where else she finds inspiration.

The best way you can see a persons style is through a body of work. Let me show you what Jennifer can do. These are some of my most favorites...

Rainbow Quilling

Neon Chevron

Neutral Natural

Do you notice the consistency of photography?

Do you notice the BOLD color palate matched with a BOLD sentiment?

Do you notice the exquisite execution?

There isn't a lot of fuss in Jennifer's work. The way she photographs leaves little room for error because you would be able to see it in all the light! Her designs are beyond ordinary "good" cards. There are a lot of "good" cardmakers who can replicate the trend or design a variation of what already exists. Jennifer is in a league and design aesthetic all her own. There is NO one out there who designs like this. It is as if it comes from another era, another time. Which is why I had to come up with an entire new genre for her style.

Her creative space:

FUTURISTIC CLEAN AND SIMPLE
it is modern, edgy, clean, balanced. The colors are vibrant. Her choice of patterned paper, when she does use it, supports the rest of the design. This is the future of card making people...no joke. 

In asking the community what makes Jennifer stand out amongst the rest and what they like about her work...

SUSAN OPEL (Creative Editor for Paper Crafts Magazine): Her cards are clever, chic, and impeccably balanced. 

VIRGINIA LU (Long time blogger, on Runway Inspired Challenge DT with Jennifer, who is owner of the challenge, Casual Fridays Challenge DT): She has top design sense. Her composition is peerless; they draw you in. Her work shows perfect balance and design. Below are 2 cards that Virginia liked showcasing the balance of design Jennifer is able to do so well.

CRISTINA KOWALCZYK (blogger, Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Winner 2011, on Runway Inspired Challenge Blog DT with Jennifer ): I like how edgy her cards are. There’s a certain attitude that comes along with a Jen Rzasa card and that attitude is “cool.” I think they’re an extension of her personality, which (even though we’ve never met in person), seems hip and edgy. I also love how bold she is with color, in particular her willingness to incorporate black, which is an underutilized color on cards, I think. 

Think you want to join this genre? 

• Be on trend

What is your favorite color and stamp of 2012?  Favorite color: white or grey (boring, sorry!  It's just that white and grey look so good with any other colors!).  I don't really have a favorite stamp, but my favorite dies are the "Lowercase" dies from CSS.  I use them SO often on my projects!  I really want to get more alphabet dies in other fonts...do you know of any good ones?

• take well lit photos 

How do you take pictures? I have a not-very-fancy fancy camera.  In other words, an entry level DSLR.  But I totally love it!  I use the Nikon D3100.  It does everything I could ever want it to do for cards, and it takes great pictures when I'm out and about too!  I use a light tent and some clamp lights with daylight bulbs.  I keep it all set up under my table, so it is ready whenever I need it!  I have an Eye-Fi SD card- it's really cool because the photos I take automatically upload to my computer over our wi-fi, so that I don't have to worry about transferring them.  It's so easy!  Lastly, I use Photoshop to crop, rotate, and edit my pictures.  I don't do a lot of editing - I mostly correct the white balance and vibrance.  The unedited photos sometimes make the colors in my project a little duller than in real life (likely because I don't take them in natural light), so bumping up the vibrance a bit usually helps that!
• make sure your work is perfect, if it's not, stamp again, cut again, and use a ruler. 
• Don't follow the typical path. That is, if you usually went for red and green, reach for try gray instead of green. Jennifer likes the rainbow, it's what makes her work bright.
• Listen to the music Jen does: Beck, Metallica, A Perfect Circle, Tool, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Debussy, Stravinsky, Any song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast :)

If I had to pick a song that represented Jennifer to ME, it would be this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek0SgwWmF9w

You design for CSS which is a perfect fit, but what other manufacturers do you love?

I love Hero Arts because of the wide range of styles, images, and sentiments.   I love WPlus9 because I think they are so wonderfully and cleverly designed stamps.  I also love Studio Calico.  They seem to be a company that is more geared towards scrapbookers, but I adore the modern look their products have.  

If someone wanted to design in FUTURISTIC CAS, what tips or supplies would they need?  

They would need the "basics"- white and black cardstock, black ink, and some bold and graphic stamps.  Beyond that, any colorful embellishments that make them smile!  Oh yea- and embroidery floss!  As much as I love ribbon, I use embroidery floss more frequently.  It's cheap and comes in a million colors.  I love it!

Thank you Jennifer for taking the time to answer the questions and giving me full access to your blog "Our Change of Art"

Next Diagnosis coming December 20th!