“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.

“But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.

“It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

There’s also a video.

Flush.

A few years ago, I watched the Stanford iPhone App Development class free on iTunes U. It was a different language so it was kind of hard to grasp some concepts. Also, I didn’t really get to practice it because I didn’t have a Mac at the time.

But this time around, I have a Macbook Pro and Xcode installed, and I’m watching the newest version of the iOS app development course (http://itunes.apple.com/us/course/ipad-iphone-app-development/id495052415). I figure I would at least not be surprised by the different syntax of the language.

But in the second class, where the instructor went through a demo of “the first app,” I couldn’t completely follow what’s going on, let alone imagine what I would do if I were to do it myself. Luckily, there’s a step-by-step screenshot-by-screenshot walkthrough the class has prepared, so I get to at least have an assisted start.

What I’m trying to say is that I might have bit off a little more than I can chew with this app. But it’s still early, so I’m going to stay on course to do this Muni app. And if it gets too much, I have some back up ideas.

Flush.

Educational App for Babies/Toddlers (My Nephew)

• Pro: Helps kids learn stuff
• Con: Mainly for kids. Kids may get bored
• Usefulness: M – Mainly for kids
• Demographic: Children/Parents
• Difficulties/Restrictions: Kids may get bored. Not familiar with how kids play and what makes it fun

iOS Wallpaper Prep

• Applies custom text on an image to use for iOS wallpaper. Text would have contact info in case device is lost.
• Pro: No need to use computer to edit image anymore. Probably easy to make
• Con: Won’t be used often
• Usefulness: L – Only used occasionally
• Demographic: Practically anyone
• Difficulties/Restrictions: practically none beyond my level.

Muni Real-time App with Transfer Suggestions

• Pro: Really useful.
• Con: Probably hardest to make
• Usefulness: H – Used almost everyday
• Demographic: SF Public Transit users
• Difficulties/Restrictions:
  • Need to figure out how to get bus traffic data
  • Need to figure out algorithm for calculating connections
  • Need to figur out how to visualize data

One Per Day Blog

• Creates an app version of my blog that easily records one-word summary of the day with a one-sentence description. It should also display past entries in an effective way.
• Pro: Easier to use than now (I use the WordPress app, without a more efficient way to look at past posts)
• Con: No an app for everyone
• Usefulness: H for me, L for everyone else
• Demographic: Probably just me. Could be expanded to select bloggers
• Difficulties/Restrictions: Need to figure out how to connect with WordPress or own server

Working Out Data Entry App

• Creates an app that records my workout stats in detail, along with other features that apply to me, including goal setting, workout suggestions, and an effective way to display my history
• Pro: Easier to use than now (I use a WordPress app to record my goals, and another app to record my weight, but I don’t have a way to record the details to record my workout.
• Con: May not include every single exercise/situations of a workout.
• Demographic: Athletic people
• Difficulties/Restrictions: Need to know how to store data on device and in cloud.

Flush.

Then recently, I realized that of course I cannot create an app from scratch in a timely manner (a month or two) when I have a full-time job. So, I decided to give myself a full year to work on it.

I’ve made a rough outline for the next 12 months to get myself organized, and I’m documenting my progress here to make sure I do what I promised. (Encouragement along the way is appreciated.)

I’ve given myself a pretty easy start this month, where I just have to figure out what app I want to make. And since I’ve never seriously coded in Objective-C before, I’m giving myself a lot more time (about six months) to code and about a month to do the visual designs.

Here’s the “12-Month Plan” as of today:

January

• Outline basic timeline (which I just completed. Huzzah!)
• Finalize Project idea
  • Weigh pros and cons for each idea
  • Consider usefulness of app and potential demographic
  • Consider difficulty to create app within time frame

February

• Define Goals of App
  • Address Problems
  • Suggest Solutions
• Look into offerings and limitations of iOS

March

• Define Featureset
• Begin Sketches
  • Flows
  • Wireframes
  • UX/Interactions

• Refine Sketches to usable assets
• Update flows and mocks with hi-fi assets
• Outline coding timeline
  • Split up work into subtasks

April

• Begin coding
• Start with functional elements before incorporating designs
• Set up stats tracking, feedback, and crash reporting functionalities
• Use placeholders to create overall flow

May

• Progress Report
  • Address obstacles
  • Determine if features need to be expanded or scaled back
• Continue coding
• Update schedule outline

June

• Continue coding
• Start testing on device
• Replace/update placeholder elements with hi-fi assets

July

• Progress Report
  • Determine if features need to be introduced, expanded, or scaled back
• Update mocks based on any changes to flow and features
• Overall app flow should be almost complete.

August

• Begin user testing
  • Collect feedback and stats
  • Reevaluate app quality
• Update flows and designs to address valid feedback
• Update schedule outline

September

• Continue user testing and collecting feedback
• Fine tune design and code

October

• Final user test
• Continue fine tuning design and code

November

• Begin app packaging (marketing)
• Begin App Store approval process
• Continue fine tuning design and code

December

• Launch app
• Post-release bug fixes

Flush.

This entry is eight days late, but that is okay, because I am crazy busy trying to live a life that I want to live.

Apartment

I moved to San Francisco a month ago, and I just might be the slowest mover-inner ever. I have yet to get all the furniture that I’d like to have, and I have yet to fully move all my stuff from my old place to this place.

But with every new addition to the apartment, it looks more like a home. For example, I just got my first four-legged chairs this weekend, and it totally made my dining table look like a dining table. It’s funny how things just go together.

I don’t want to spend too much time on the detail because I want to return to living my best life, but one issue I’m having in order to “fully move in” is color choices. I want to create spaces in my apartment where everything looks like they belong, and color plays a big role. I’m still having trouble deciding which color scheme to go with, which is why I’m having a tough time. But I think in the next few weeks I will have a better idea.

Australia

I don’t want to say when, but I will be visiting Australia for the first time soon. I will be in Sydney and Melbourne, and this is very exciting. I have some ideas of what I’m going to expect, but I’d rather be pleasantly surprised.

Work

Work is work. I’m trying to adjust to a new routine, since I moved to the city and there are certain schedules and methods that I needed to alter. There’s a new life/work balance that I have to achieve now that I live in the city.

Happy Holidays!

Flush.

Promoting the Tech Beat-Up

White Collar Brawler, the show created by my former freelance client Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling of Portal A Interactive, is hosting an event called Tech Beat-Up in the Sunset in San Francisco on Thursday, November 11.

Tech Beat-Up is an inflatable glove boxing tournament of representatives from tech companies in the SF Bay Area, all for charity.

I was very lucky to be able to recruit two awesome representatives from Zynga to compete. I even took the poster that my friend Lawrence Guzman designed and Zyngified it (see above).

The event is at the Rockit Room on 406 Clement St., on November 11 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10 now and available at Eventbrite, but they will be $15 at the door.

As if there aren’t enough links for this event, here are some more:

• Meet the Fighters (site): http://whitecollarbrawler.com/techbeatup/thefighters
• Meet the Fighters (video): http://whitecollarbrawler.com/episodes/episode14/

Shopping

Another thing I’ve been doing a lot lately is shopping, mainly for my first collection of home furniture. This is all happening quite fast, so it’s a tiny bit disappointing to have to make decisions so quickly. I might elaborate in another post, but basically, the criteria that have been constantly going through my head on every single item that I will/have purchased are: 1) eco-friendly, 2) style, 3) function, 4) price, 5) space, 6) delivery, and 7) ease of move-out.

So think of doing that for one item, then multiply by everything you own in your home, and divide by the number of days in which you have to think about this, you will get a head full of numbers and lists. GTD is helping me, but I wish there’s a handy app for that, especially one that syncs with my brain.

Flush.

I attribute it to the lady’s friendly voice and the fact that the call is personalized to my name, what I did in relation to the committee, and where my poll station was. It just makes the experience fun.

I didn’t like that she suggested who I should vote for, though.

The second coolest, surprise experience also happened today, when I checked in at my poll station on Foursquare, which got me this badge:

Flush.

What have I been doing? Not too much on the creative front. Just work, and trying to do my part to promote the new web series that my former freelance client Kai and Nate from Portal A Interactive are doing.

It’s called White Collar Brawler, which is about them training to become boxers. At the end of the series (in December), they’ll have to box each other.

Check it out, and Facebook Like it and follow them on Twitter and share episodes to your friends as much as you can!

Lawrence Guzman designed the website.

Flush.

I went to my first live baseball game a few weeks ago. It was an SF Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game at the AT&T Park in San Francisco.

This is probably the case for all baseball stadiums, but I was amazed by how huge, yet at the same time how compact the stadium was. Since it was my first time, my friends walked around the stadium with me to check it out before taking our seats. It didn’t take too long to make a complete circle, yet when I looked out into the field, it just felt like the world was physically there, watching the game.

Even though the Giants lost horribly that night, it was still a fun experience for me, mainly because I didn’t know what to expect.

San Diego

For Labor Day Weekend, a few of my friends went on a road trip from San Francisco down to San Diego. No one from the trip had been to San Diego, which was partly why we went. Our plan for the weekend was to escape from our lives in the Bay Area and not have any real plans.

San Diego was quite a clean town. Downtown was pretty quiet too, probably because it was the weekend. The Gaslamp Quarter was definitely worth a stroll at night. It had its charm and setup, although I think the novelty can wear off pretty quickly.

While the trip ruined my fantasy to discovered that San Diego is not always sunny, we still had a decent amount of sun at the gorgeous Pacific Beach, which totally gave off that SoCal vibe that I very much needed to experience. Maybe this is typical and all beaches are like this, but I’ve certainly been deprived of that, having lived in the cool, foggy Bay Area for many years.

Having just took surfing lessons a month ago, I was inspired by this beach to prepare for revisits next summer, potentially many, many times.

The Experiences

These two experiences weren’t really about design or creativity, but I suppose the connection could be that in whatever we produce as designers and creators, we shouldn’t just aim for an end result, but also somehow strive for those unexpected inspiring moments that could trigger new ideas and new opportunities in yourself and your audience. It’s moments like these that linger in the mind and get them wanting more.

Flush.

Surfing

One thing I could check off the list of things I want to do in my life is learning surfing. I’m certainly not done learning, but at least I’ve started.

Amplified by the fact that I haven’t exercised in a long time, learning surfing is almost nearly a painful experience. My body ached and cramped, and I was sore for the next few days. But I loved it. I just needed to start swimming again to build some strength before going back out there.

Working

I don’t know what else to say other than that I’ve been doing a lot of working. I sort of realized this when I took occasional, unplanned breaks and noticed what I’m not doing. I also notice that creativity and new ideas rarely come from doing the same thing day in and day out.

At the same time, too much entropy gets me nervous. It’s a never-ending goal in finding the balance for me.

Flush.