If you were asked, “what is your dream job?” Do you have an answer? 

I’ve been asked this question many times, and I think I’ve followed my answers as much as I possibly could throughout my life. 

When I was a kid, I wanted to be everything and anything – an artist, a doctor, a geologist, a “flower girl,” whatever that means. And I remember distinctly someone telling me, “you can’t be that many things, it’s impossible.” Well, right. I can’t be all of those things that I listed above – they aren’t consistent with each other, and I’d spend most of my life just trying to get there. 

But, my mindset hasn’t changed that much – I’ve evolved to understand that I can’t do everything under the sun, but I can use my skills and transfer them into other places. My design realm started with art, then to apparel, then to products, and now to graphics. While still incorporating all of them into my daily life. 

Now, I’ve been asked this question again, and I had a hard time deciding as I feel very happy with where I’m at presently (designing pet products). My career journey has already come a long way. Then, when thinking about content that I’ll love to create, I started thinking more on the personal side, outside of a job as my career. 

My Content Creation Project

When I really dug into myself – what I love outside of my work-life, and how I want to advance in the graphic design world, I realized what this looks like for me. 

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve seen that many of my projects revolve around my dogs. They’re basically my world, and I’ve found that I’ve become very passionate about pets’ livelihood in general. There was a point where, for a short time, I was a local rescue volunteer on the digital/events side. And now, my current job also helps with this as I understand what kinds of equipment are necessary for domestic pets.

I decided to use this passion and knowledge for my content creation project and work it into informational newsletters revolving around pet adoption. Each newsletter would have a different topic and get sent out via email in bi-weekly installments. Content for each newsletter could include (but is not limited to) statistics, benefits/potential drawbacks, breeds/colors, return rates & why, necessary equipment, basic behavioral information, etc. 

The ideal audience are those looking to adopt, who’ve already adopted, and some newsletters may benefit pet owners who’ve maybe chosen to shop. This project could lead to many open doors, including telling specific stories or developing campaigns. 

I’m planning to use my knowledge of design and design tools, as well as some motion design tactics that I’ve recently learned 

Getting Started

Before diving into creating the actual content, first, there’s tons of research to be done. I basically need to become a master on each topic that this newsletter could have, and at the risk of stating the obvious, the information has to be credible. 

So, I began my living bibliography which will only keep growing as I continue this project. I found valuable sources about adopting pets in general, puppy mills, animal shopping, breed/color/gender statistics and those effects on becoming adopted, return rates – which include behavior issues, dietary restrictions, and more. So I then found more resources about training and potential diet needs for rescues, animal psychology, and the list keeps going. All of this information is only the beginning of a much larger ongoing task I have at hand here. 

I’m sure I’ll need to add more graphic and motion design tools to my sources, as I’m hoping to advance those skills as well.

In addition to the living bibliography, I put together a project proposal listing out the specific details of the project goals and solutions, continuing deliverables to get each newsletter done, and staying on track. This is essential to have all necessary information about this project in one document that I – or anyone else – could continue to reference throughout each individual newsletter.

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I’ve got my work cut out for me, but the next step is to plan all of the artifacts so that I can stay on track and deliver the best newsletter possible. I’m looking forward to building this project out, and hope you’re ready to follow along with me through my blog! Stay tuned for more about Ladapaw Letters!