Digital Business Cards and Visual Resumes

Hey all, long time no see. Like many of you, I've been really overwhelmed with... everything. We don't need to go into it. But I'm finally feeling a little more inspired lately to create new things and have more fun. Well, slowly but surely. It comes and goes in waves. I think you know the feeling. 

In any case, I'd like to share something fun I've been working on, inspired by a mini-assignment in my Google Certified Coach cohort through the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance (aka IDEA). We were tasked with creating a Google Slide to introduce ourselves, and it dawned on me how useful this could be for things like Twitter chats or email signatures as a sort of digital version of your business card... I mean, it's not like I've been giving away too many of my paper ones lately... !!!

This is pretty simple and fun to do... just lay out your design on a Google Slide by inserting a pic (or Bitmoji), your contact info/social links, any pertinent badges, logos, or professional affiliations... and then File -> download as -> your preferred image file type! 

PRO TIP: I like to use Insert -> Word Art for my name, as it gives me greater control over the color, outline, and sizing. 

Now, if you really wanna level up your game, you could save this slide as a .pdf so that any/all links are functional - making your digital business card a landing page out to all of your other related work and contact channels! My friend Beth did this on hers and it was pretty dang impressive. 

Yet ANOTHER option would be to add and save your final digital business card as a .gif! Then you could add a fun animation or other attention-grabbing element to your design. 

So, this assignment got me thinking about other opportunities to represent yourself visually... I decided to try out something similar with my Twitter banner/header. My goal was to create a visual resume of sorts, highlighting the things I would typically include in a written resume:

(Haha I just realized that at the time, I was only ONE person away from 6000! Help me out, y'all!) 

I was thinking, if someone had no idea who I was, and they were to click on my profile, what would my profile say about me? Twitter bios are quite limiting in size, so how could I get a whole bunch of info out there quickly? Using my iPad and my favorite app, Procreate, I created this collage of images:

You could create something just like this using free tools, like Google Slides/Draw, too!

My previous banner was our group photo from the Google Innovator cohort, so it was important to me to keep that as a prominent item, but I wanted to add information about being a presenter and PD provider, too. So, I added a series of pics of me highlighting these experiences, along with a photo from the Illinois State Teacher of the Year banquet where all of the finalists got to meet the Governor. I then layered ambassador badges, credentials, and other professional affiliations related to the pictured roles near each photo. I even snuck in the Coding to Kindness book cover on the screen of the last photo! 

I've been thinking a lot about re-designing my digital presence lately... this is just a start. I also am playing around with a new blog header, and possibly re-vamping some YouTube channel art and things like that. 

Do you get the urge to re-design your profiles and webpages every so often? Got any tips or tricks on what's worked for you?

- Mrs L.

I Like To Draw Stuff.

Creating things is what drives me in life. I figured out pretty early on that constantly creating is kind of like breathing to me. I work a lot, and I find it hard to say no to things, but I also LIKE to make things. 

Most people equate creating = ART, and for some of us, that's true, but honestly any kind of making is good with me. I waste a ridiculous amount of time finding the perfect image, graphic, font, color, etc. when I design slide decks for presentations, or I'm designing a lesson for class. It's all still creating, in my opinion. 

But, traditional art is also my jam. This past school year, I was dragged back into the art room to teach 8th grade art, and I was instantly reminded how much I love to draw. If we could just hang out for 45 minutes each day, free draw until the end of class, and go on our merry way, I'd be in heaven. But, you know, grades and such... hmph.

Ok, so I have a couple of drawing things going on at the moment. Like this Slidesmania template I got to collaborate on! I was so excited to come across a random tweet calling for some sketchnote-y drawings to be used on a slides theme! 

You can download this theme, called Doodles, for free (and read more of the story) here:
https://slidesmania.com/doodles-free-template-for-google-slides-or-powerpoint-presentations/

Shout-out to Omar Lopez for his sweet icon work in this slide deck, too!

For those wondering, I draw primarily on my iPad using an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. My friends Manuel and Sadie first turned me on to these tools and I've never looked back - they're hands-down my favorites!

If you like these little sketches, I've got more exciting drawing plans in the future, so stay tuned!


- Mrs L.