We don?t know everything.

We know, what a shocker. *Cue the group eye-roll* But seriously, we learn something new every single day, and we love it. We truly appreciate the fact that we don?t know everything because it still allows us to be amazed by the world. We don?t know everything, and that?s how we like it.

Now don?t get us wrong. The simple fact that we don?t know everything doesn?t prevent us from trying to learn as much as we can. It amazes us how many resources there are to learn new things. Take, for instance, the public library: rows and shelves and rooms full of books and magazines and newspapers (and we’re sure many other things we have yet to discover). We could spend hours perusing the isles of the art section, pulling various books and just sitting on the floor and flipping through the beautiful artwork. It?s even better when the book is immensely oversized and the paintings and drawings show such detail, we feel as though we’re looking at the actual piece.

This brings us to another source of amazement: MUSEUMS! We get goosebumps just thinking about all of the spectacular paintings and sculptures and history in museums. There is nothing like seeing an actual piece of artwork in person, seeing the actual brushstrokes the artist applied to the canvas or the chisel marks on the stone. We know you aren?t allowed to touch the pieces, but one can only imagine what the stone feels like. Is it cold or does it have some warmth? Is it rough or smooth to the touch? It?s amazing the places your mind can and will go just experiencing all that museums have to offer.

These are only a few examples of ways to search out amazement, and we haven?t even touched on the Internet. If you have an Internet connection, there is no limit to the amount of new experiences and tidbits of information you can acquire in just a few minutes!

So the next time you become overwhelmed by the state of the world (and these days it doesn?t seem to be that hard), take a little time to see the amazement. It may take a little searching, but it?s out there, even in your backyard. Take the time to actually smell the flowers, watch the bees fly from each one, even seeing how some flowers follow the sun throughout the day. There is amazement out there, sometimes all it takes is opening your eyes and really looking.

Yes, yes, we know, the Moxie Mash has been silent for a week. What can I say, we?ve been busy little bees! We?re working away with customers new and old, coming up with some fantastic design solutions for literature, logos, web sites, and on and on.

I wanted to take a quick moment out of my day, before the phone starts ringing and emails start buzzing, to share some of the unique and fun places I?ve found inspiration during these last few weeks. Enjoy!

Photo from Amazon.com

Children?s Books: OMG, kids books are an amazing source of inspiration! The illustrations, the colors, the detailed or simplistic style. Or if you just need a pick-me up, kid stories will always leave you with a smile (even if you?ve read it a million time in a row to a silly 16 month old)

Children?s Clothes: Have you seen some of the adorable clothing choices for little boys and girls (well, lets face, mostly little girls, cool boy clothes are seriously lacking)? I?m not talking about your typical Bob the Builder or Dora the Explorer characters. I?m talking about the unique patterns, animal illustrations and overall wonderfulness of kids clothes that can be found at boutiques.

Image from Cardstore.com

Cards: I?m not afraid to admit, I?ve spent hours browsing through Target?s birthday cards, thank you notes or baby show invitations, just because I couldn?t stop looking at them. So many colors, so many styles, so many ideas, they are an endless source of creativity.

If you are looking for a team that finds inspiration in every day life, we are the team for you! Visit our web site to find what we do, and how WE CAN HELP YOU.

Did you ever truly love something and had no idea why? This ?thing? you love doesn?t match your personality or your normal genre of interests. It might even be something you?re embarrassed of (for instance, I love the movie Princess Diaries ? I am NOT ashamed!). I didn?t say ?like?, as in ?I like tofu? or ?I like brownies? or ?I like to watch Ashley dance? (and I do like all of these things, a lot). I?m talking about L-O-V-E. Well, that is what web programming is for me, an odd love in a dirty-laundry-list of odd loves that make me so, um, (fill in the blank). Make sense? Let me explain.

Graphic designers are visual people, some entering this field to make money as an artist (or maybe that?s just me). It is mostly visual beauty in the form of colors and fonts and textures, and tactile beauty with papers and coatings. Programming code doesn?t appear to fit the typical artist mind. (I get to this conclusion from talking with my fellow designers about code?you?ve never seen a person?s eyes glaze over so quickly!) Now, before anyone get?s all unhinged saying that programmers can also be amazing creative artists (which they can), let me be clear: I love the code. Yes, all those lines of numbers and letters and symbols often morph into a beautiful collage of working art. (This beauty does not extend to entire files of code that are one solid chunk of run-on sentence without bathroom breaks.)

Programming, for me, was a secondary thought after I was already working as a designer. I fell into it several years ago, wanting a job that required the ability to program (which I may have stretched the truth a bit about my skills to get), and I am forever grateful for this turn of events. Since then, I?ve taken classes for programming, but truly learn the most from just doing it. Finding websites I think are interesting, and looking at the code or finding tutorials and trudging through them. But it?s my love for the code that keeps me coming back time and again.

It makes me weak in the knees to know I get to program a website, using tags and CSS and maybe a function or two. I love taking the static files of the site layout and bringing them to life. I love figuring out how to get all of the details to work, details requested by people who don?t have the first clue on whether it?s easy to code or not. I love getting websites to work in all the different browsers. (Ok, maybe that last one is just something I tolerate for my art.) The point is, I love it. Love love love it. And when you love something, you are always striving to learn more and be great.

If you want to find a good web programmer, find one who LOVES to program. People who love what they do, weather it be a baker or mechanic or designer, will want to create something great doing what they love. Just look for the L-O-V-E. You are almost guaranteed to get your money?s worth?or more!

At Moxie, we are here to serve our clients, to help YOU SUCCEED!
www.thinkmoxie.com

? Post written by Cristy Wiza.