Design to Grow Link Up's
I started my blog way back in 2013, almost 3 years ago now. Ever since then, I have worked hard to expand, develop and grow my blog to make it what it has become today.
Being inspired to start a blog:
I have always been inspired by design and making stuff look pretty: always hand making my greetings cards and inventing ideas just so I could design something for it. This meant that when I noticed that my mum had started a blog all about books and she seemed to be finding it easy to run, I was inspired by the idea of blogs and blog design.
My mum's blog definitely didn't and still doesn't look pretty enough for my personal standards. I tried to persuade her to let me redesign her blog and make everything look good for her, but she wouldn't give in. This is when I decided to start my own blog so that I'd be able to learn how to design a blog/ website and so I could create pretty graphics for it, which I was always doing anyway.
Creating Not Very Obsessed:
It took me ages to come up with the name for my blog. There have been too many name changes and URL edits to count: My First New Blog, The URL I Claimed and The Modern Vintage, to name a few. I read so many posts on how to choose a name, but the problem was that at the time I didn't have much of a direction and didn't want to lock myself into a niche by picking a really specific name that could limit me.
That was when Not Very Obsessed was born. It enabled me to write about anything I wanted, wasn't a very long name and was quite different and unique (meaning the URL's for the blog and social media platforms were available). I liked the idea that I could focus on anything that I was obsessed with and that meant I could change direction and content if I wanted to.
My first post to the content I now produce:
My first post was about a visit to a craft shop, where I simply outlined what I had bought and how much I liked the shop. I must admit it wasn't a very good quality post or graphic, didn't give much information about anything at all and wasn't setting a good standard or category for my future content. Since then I have updated it slightly, although I have kept the graphics to remind me of how far I've come with my graphic design and blogging.
Now I feel like I have found the content I want to produce and the way I want to be portrayed on the internet meaning it's so much easier to streamline everything I produce.
I want to help people be more positive and make the most of life, so I love posting my Life Lessons feature and including loads of information to teach, enlighten and inspire my readers.
My blog runs on Blogger, hence the web address, although I have always tried to make it look as professional as possible and make sure it loses any trace of it's Blogger origins. I have had the best and most interesting time finding out about blogging, entrepreneurship, going freelance, graphic designers, marketing, designing, coding and so much more from starting this blog. It has given me a really good insight into different lifestyles people can have if they run a blog or have their own business.
I feel like as I have developed my blog over the last three years, it has definitely become something that I am very proud of. I do still keep making improvements and refining everything because I love to see the way it is developing as I develop, grow up and get my own design style and brand (and obviously I am still making mistakes and improving on them as I go along).
I've been through so many names for the blog, brands, colours and logos. For now I think my brand has developed enough that I am happy with it and won't make too many changes in the near future. Despite that, I do love designing and developing my brand because as I am growing up and learning I am able to change the brand so it becomes even more representative of me and who I am.
I hope this has been interesting for everyone to find out about my journey (even though it's been relatively short) and how far I've come with my blog.
This is part of the new link up that Lindsey from White Oak Creative is hosting at the end of each month called Design to Grow, so you should definitely check out some of the other posts from this month with the links below:
Have you checked out the other bloggers and posts in this link up?
Now I feel like I have found the content I want to produce and the way I want to be portrayed on the internet meaning it's so much easier to streamline everything I produce.
I want to help people be more positive and make the most of life, so I love posting my Life Lessons feature and including loads of information to teach, enlighten and inspire my readers.
Developments of the blog and me:
My blog runs on Blogger, hence the web address, although I have always tried to make it look as professional as possible and make sure it loses any trace of it's Blogger origins. I have had the best and most interesting time finding out about blogging, entrepreneurship, going freelance, graphic designers, marketing, designing, coding and so much more from starting this blog. It has given me a really good insight into different lifestyles people can have if they run a blog or have their own business.
I feel like as I have developed my blog over the last three years, it has definitely become something that I am very proud of. I do still keep making improvements and refining everything because I love to see the way it is developing as I develop, grow up and get my own design style and brand (and obviously I am still making mistakes and improving on them as I go along).
I've been through so many names for the blog, brands, colours and logos. For now I think my brand has developed enough that I am happy with it and won't make too many changes in the near future. Despite that, I do love designing and developing my brand because as I am growing up and learning I am able to change the brand so it becomes even more representative of me and who I am.
Hope you all enjoyed this little story about my blog:
I hope this has been interesting for everyone to find out about my journey (even though it's been relatively short) and how far I've come with my blog.
This is part of the new link up that Lindsey from White Oak Creative is hosting at the end of each month called Design to Grow, so you should definitely check out some of the other posts from this month with the links below:
Burke Does | Mommy Diary | New Client Magnet | Shining on Design | Something Good | The Haute Notes | White Oak Creative
Have you checked out the other bloggers and posts in this link up?
What did you think of the story of how I started my blog?
How did you start your blog?
I find creative inspiration in loads of different and unconventional ways. I tend to keep my mind open to all sorts of different ideas and mediums of creativity so as to never restrict myself and my creativity.
Some of my favourite ways to find creative inspiration are scrolling through other blogs and social media sites. This helps to show me what other people are doing online and how I could interpret what they share. Sometimes the things I find give my completely unrelated ideas just because looking has made me think more clearly and focussed on ideas.
Staying open to all possible ideas has definitely helped my to find inspiration for ideas. It helps me to not judge any different art form or creative medium but also helps to show me that nothing is above or below me and my abilities.
I like to disconnect and get out into the world to help me find creative ideas too. This is always highly recommended by anyone with a career or hobby based mainly online because we can spend so much time in our own little internet bubble and forget about the real world. Reconnecting with the real world helps me to think of new ideas, see new things and gain more experiences; these are all so useful for finding creative inspiration.
Personally, I don't have a routine for finding and thinking up creative ideas. This is partly because I like the in-the-moment ideas and inspiration which I get really fired up about and can do so much with. But also because I am currently in my final year of A-levels so studying is generally the focus.
I think that some of my best creative ideas have come from completely random moments of inspiration like when in the shower or on a long walk. These moments are good for allowing my mind to think and open up to ideas because I'm not focussing on any kind of task which requires a lot of thought. I can end up almost with full posts written out in my mind by accident and have to quickly scribble everything down when I can so I don't forget it.
I think that some of my best creative ideas have come from completely random moments of inspiration like when in the shower or on a long walk. These moments are good for allowing my mind to think and open up to ideas because I'm not focussing on any kind of task which requires a lot of thought. I can end up almost with full posts written out in my mind by accident and have to quickly scribble everything down when I can so I don't forget it.
Creative ideas have and always will be what my blog is all about and the way I produce any kind of content that I create. Being able to think up unique and innovative solutions and ideas feels so important to a creative and/or online career which one day, I'd really love to have.
RELATED READING: This is Allure: Finding Your Creative Inspiration
It is so important for brands and blogs to use creativity because it can help them become a better business or blog but can also help to make those jobs simpler and more fun because they are able to think of the best ways to go about getting their dream life and have thought about what they'd actually like to have as their dream life.
I wrote this post as part of a link-up hosted by Lindsey from White Oak Creative, so I highly recommend checking out the other posts in the link up to find out more about how us creatives find creative inspiration and how you can too.
Something Good | New Client Magnet | Jennifer Neill Photo | Blonde in the Button Up | Design for Business | The Actor's Diet | Sarah Michiko | Clarice Gomes Designs | The Kissing Booth Blog | White Oak Creative
