enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

GET TO WORK BOOK : it's becoming real!

I was so excited to get some behind the scenes photos from Jolby + Friends who did press checks up in Portland on Monday. GET TO WORK BOOK™ is in production. Covers are being printed this week, insides next week and then a there will be few weeks of binding and they'll be out the door to be carefully packaged up and headed to YOUR front doors.

Quick refresher...the books are being printed and assembled in Portland, Oregon. The paper and chipboard covers are 100% recycled from post-consumer waste and milled in the USA. This first batch will be freight shipped down to me in San Diego and then shipped out from here. (Long term, I will most likely be cutting out myself as the middle man and having them shipped from a distribution center in the PNW. But one big step at a time!)

Anyway, logistics aside...I loved seeing the production photos and thought you might too.

First thing, as you can see the covers are being printed on a double width stock (two to a page as well, but that's not the important part). One of my issues with the prototype was that the cover was a little thin. To print the way we wanted AND to keep that great tan colored cover, we needed to stick with the thinner chipboard, BUT to get around it, we are folding the cover in half (back on itself) and creating a double thick stock. (See below.)

I have a sample of the new cover and it looks (and feels!) great! Producing it this way will create a sturdier cover, give more support at the binding and cover up any embossing that comes through the backside from the check mark. (It's a triple win and I'm so glad we were able to come up with this solution.)

Second thing, LOOK AT ALL THAT PAPER. LOOK AT THOSE PRINTERS. I sort of want to be there just to...smell it.

Third thing, remember, the illustrated calendar pages (see them all here) are printed on a thicker paper stock and will be perforated to pull out from the book and hung on your wall. So yes...you get a day planner. You get goal setting and project breakdown pages. And you get 12 unique art prints. (Sometimes I feel like an infomercial. "But wait! There's more! Order now and I'll throw in some heart eye emojis!")

Fourth thing, it's so fun for me to see this become real. It feels legit (I mean look at the size of those printers) in a way that nothing I have ever done (except recite a full episode of Friends) has. It's hard to explain and I probably will never be able to put it into words - though I tried on Tiffany's podcast. I am just awkwardly proud and really excited to get this out there. And then I'm ready to continue working on making this brand something special and motivating and worth your continued investment.

Thanks for letting me share some behind the scenes today!

Haven't see the video walk through yet?! Watch it here! Ready to hop on board and get to work?! Pre-order your 2015-2016 GET TO WORK BOOK™ here! And yes, there will be a just as amazing 2016 version. Look for more details on that in early September.

ps. all my thanks for your excitement over our announcement yesterday. We're shaking things up as much as possible around here in 2015 and it feels pretty great.

on collaboration.

I have mentioned a few times that GET TO WORK BOOK™ was designed by Jolby and Friends out of Portland, Oregon. I came to them with the beginnings of a plan and the start of a vision. And they turned around the book design. It was about six months of working together and without a doubt (from my angle!) worth all the effort, money and time.

Today, I wanted to talk a bit more about what that process was like and show you some of the back and forth during the design process.

I'd have to ask them, but I think I was a fairly average customer to work with, with many pros and cons. I had a really clear vision for how I wanted this to look (both a pro and a con). I was a quick responder (pro). I presented organized feedback (pro). I felt like this book was my child (con). I make decisions fast (pro) BUT I was super intense (like twelve rounds of proofs) about how the M-S columns looked like (con).

Pretty early on I knew that the book would be called GET TO WORK BOOK™. I am not a big fan of the term "planner" and I wanted something that reflected ACTION, not plans. The other titles I considered were "Dream by Day Planner" (I have no idea. I also think that was already taken) and "The Reality Planner" but google searches for that term produced a lot of realtors helping you plan your home buying. I paid $895 to start the Trademark process and we were set.

The first things we worked on were the cover and the M-S columns. We figured the cover would set the tone for the book and it totally did.

You can see the first three cover mock-ups! HOW DIFFERENT RIGHT!??

These were not finished designs, just starting off points to see where I wanted to head. I liked that check graphic on the red a lot but there were issues... the color for example, could we do it on chipboard? Also, it felt a little too "leaned-back."

So then I got these mock ups... the check would be pressed into the page. Better! But I didn't need a seal and wanted to see it smaller.

Yep, here's where it came together. I picked that sixth one and we made a few changes (dropped the "the" for example and adjusted the font) and then we had cover. Without meaning to, we also gave my brand a logo - that check mark. That was HUGE and basically "free" since we didn't set out to logo design.

After the cover, I knew that the weekly columns were going to be the hardest part to get right. To me, how the days look on the page are really the make or break of planner design.

Here were the first two shots at the column layouts. Having something "extra" that recapped or planned your week aside from just the days was important to me. There was a lot going on, which made sense because in lot of my original inspiration there was a lot going on. But I panicked when I saw the color.

Here's my theory on color - if I give you a black and white book, you can add color. You can use colored pens, highlighters, paints, chalk, whatever, to add color. But if I give you a blue and yellow book, you're stuck. Blue and yellow are now part of your plans, regardless of whether or not you like them. Color is great. I love color. But I wanted the book to blend into your life and black and white made the most sense. (In the feedback I have received so far, about 90% of you who are sharing your thoughts agree with me.)

So we scrapped color.

The columns took about 2 months to get right. Each time there was a re-design I would print it out, staple it into my existing planner and use it... making sure the spacing felt right and the flow was completely natural. I was also looking for the design that just clicked. This (is WAY too much detail and) is an excerpt of an email I sent after the first round:

8 column pages :

• I've attached a few photos (above) of how I used the pages for this week and next. (I printed and stapled them right into my current planner) I immediately realized there needs to be faint lines down each of the day of the week columns. Let's do 20 in each column.
• Let's go ahead and add in the dates to see how those look.
• I really like the alternating light and dark columns that you had set up (can I see this in gray, black and white?).
• Love the how the five boxes at the top of each column are set off - would love to see just three though.
• I think we can do away with the "DAILY'S" "MISC" and "BIG THINGS". Note space at the bottom is awesome though. I thought it might be interesting to set that off as "BRAINSTORM." What if that section was lightly gridded?
• While I love the idea of "looking back at last week", I found it more useful to highlight what's upcoming THIS WEEK. Love the arrow graphic on the top left, would like the text to say "this week ACTION ITEMS" then have three boxes down the column with a check box built in for when you're done. I tried to mock this up on my sample book.
• You had some text in the bottom left and I liked that... but I don't know how practical it is to come up with all the different text for each week. I also don't want to give up usable space... I wonder if that could just be added to the brainstorm section and lightly gridded as well.

It went on like this for weeks. I would request small changes. I would try it out. I would re-adjust. Looking back through the samples makes my heart race a bit. This was an intense part of the process because to me, it felt like the most important.

As you can see, I did a lot of handwritten altering to try and find something that worked. I was looking for the layout that didn't look over-designed. The layout where my eyes knew where to look instinctively. I sucked at this part. I couldn't explain what I wanted and it was frustrating for all of us I think.

But finally, J&F pulled a rabbit out of their hat and nailed exactly what I didn't know I was looking for. Round of applause and craft beers on me.

The rest came together quickly once we crossed that hurtle. I had clear sketches for how I expected the Reflect & Goal set and Project Breakdown pages (shown above) to look and they turned out really great.

And I had a really awful idea for the tear out calendar pages that they completely resigned to look amazing (shown above).

They knocked out the monthly calendars and extra stuff like the title page and brainstorm pages. It was easy to sign off on all that great design.

I've already shared the illustration process but that was by far the easiest and fastest part. I love each of the 12 designs so much. They are versatile too. Right now, I own the license for the illustrations to appear in the book, but I plan to purchase the right to create posters (and maybe more 3D products like cell phone cases, notebooks and mugs too) (Some of this is hopefully coming to an online shop near you next fall).

Originally we thought J&F would handle the video, photos and website for me but time and budget constraints meant that I did that part myself. This was a tough decision, but I think for this first book, it was the right one. I know what I'm doing enough with HTML and really I just needed a simple walk-through video. For the 2016 version, I'd love a 90 second video trailer filmed on a real camera, not an iPhone. You know the type, you've seen 100 of them...catchy music, soft focus background, feel-good feeling...the works. I'm sure in the years to come the website will be updated, but for now, it's doing it's job and was free.

To stay on budget, I also did all the paper promotion (business cards, stickers, packing tape(!) and thank you cards) myself (using the killer checkmark logo and the same fonts). As those pieces start rolling in I will be sure to share with you.

This was by far the biggest group project I have worked on and the stakes felt much higher than they did in my college business classes. I have nothing but positive things to say. Working with a team pushed me further than I would have gone to turn this into something great. I know me. I know what I can do. Now I know J+F and without a doubt they were able to do so much more.

What made this work (from both sides) was super quick turnaround and really clear feedback. We used pinterest boards to share design concepts and google docs and spreadsheets to stay on track with notes and where we were at. When all else failed, we face-timed. I don't think I cried once which is a record for me and huge projects. ;)

The result is better than I imagined because at the beginning I couldn't even imagine it. I just wanted to fill a need. I wanted a planner that got out of your way and helped you work. We made it into something real and I'm so happy with it.

Pre-order yours here.

insert celebration emoji here.

When I woke up yesterday morning (at 4am after a nightmare that the website had crashed and the Internet was yelling at me on IG) (yikes!) I had no idea what today's blog post would be. Originally, my editorial calendar had said "backyard garden" which would have been a good idea except I can't follow up the GTWB launch with a plant post.

I wasn't exactly sure what felt like writing about. But I did know that I had to make something that wasn't on the computer.

I spent all of Tuesday - like almost every minute of it - prepping for the pre-order launch. Taking photos, filming the video, recording the voice-over, emailing with vimeo customer service, editing photos, designing graphics, drafting sales copy, talking to the PayPal customer service guys, coding all the webpages, beta testing the site and finally (finally!) sending out all the promotion via every channel I have access to.

It was a long day. It was an exhausting day. I was totally fried.

And, of course, totally exhilarated.

Because this? This is my THING. GET TO WORK BOOK™ is my brand to build. I know it might seem odd to long time readers; most of what I do here (and have done here) is seasonal. It's temporary. It tends to wrap up on my birthday. It comes and it goes. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.

But like I said on Instagram Tuesday night, I feel like I've been working towards this project launch since my junior year of college. My entire path since age 20 doesn't feel at all random when I realize that after all that, this is where I was headed.

Something you should know about me: I'm not a dreamer. I'm not. I don't like thinking of "the endless possibilities" because it makes me anxious and tired. I actually LIKE ceilings on my plans (and generally floors and walls too) because that way I know where the boundaries are. I like stuff that makes a lot of sense and is easy to explain in jargon that I am already familiar with. I like to think to myself, "let's take it down a notch, Blaha!"

But I'm wondering if for the past 30 years I haven't been a dreamer because I didn't yet have the right idea. I just might have been waiting for the concept that could really click.

And that, I hope, is GET TO WORK BOOK™. (And all the tools and resources I'd love to eventually - key word - build from it.)

I spent bits of Wednesday reading emails and seeing feedback and answering questions and checking sales and texting my parents and sort of glowing. It's so awesome to see that some of you are connecting with this planner. I can't even imagine how cool it will be when it's IN YOUR HANDS and you can show me how you're using it. (Or you can ignore me completely and just use it.)

While Ellerie napped, I took my need to make something turned it into a banner for the emoji that represented my "feeling of the day." (I've always called it the "celebration emoji" but apparently is the "party popper emoji".) I trimmed gray felt into a banner shape, free-hand cut some yellow fabric into the cone and circle and then machine-stitched it all together and added the details using a super tight zig-zig stitch (also called the satin stitch).

After all that tedious coding it was the perfect mindless, creative task. And it guaranteed that I wasn't simply sitting at my desk and refreshing PayPal for two hours.

I am going to hang it in my office as a reminder that in the first 24 hours of sales I reached 13.5% of my huge "pie-in the sky, it will never happen, but I might as well go big or go home" dream goal for the next three months. It will also serve as a reminder that Wednesday, April 1 was a good day.

Even more importantly, though, it will hang as a reminder that this is just the beginning. My work starts, not ends, when your pre-order is placed. I need to be sure the shipping process and, of course, the book are flawless as possible. As with any annual product, it's not about the first purchase (though seriously, thank you!), it's about making sure the customer enjoys the whole experience enough to make that second purchase.

I've got my work cut out for me.

But first...more celebration emojis!

IT'S HERE!

I'm excited to be opening GET TO WORK BOOK™ for pre-order!

This has been BY FAR my longest runway to launch but it's also miles more legit than anything I've done. Even the prototype that I shot for this pre-order is amazing. The real book?! It's going to be spectacular.

You can head over to gettoworkbook.com to see more photos, watch the 7 minute walk-through video, learn about book specs, see digital page layouts and (if you're into it) order your copy. 

The first version covers July 2015 - June 2016, costs $55 USD and ships worldwide in early June. (There will absolutely be a 2016 version. And a July 2016 - June 2017. And 2017... you get the idea.)

BONUS : if you pre-order in the first week (through April 8), you'll get a free 5x7 print (shown above) with your book as a special thank you.

I am so grateful for your support and excitement for this project so far. It's always amazing to turn an idea into reality but this book there is something extra special about this book and my plans for this new brand. If you're so inclined, I would LOVE it if you shared a link to this post or to gettoworkbook.com with your facebook friends, pinterest followers, twitter audience, linkedin contacts, real life friends(?), plants, pets and family members. The more eyeballs I get on this, the better.

Thank you.

Seriously.

Thank you.

Now GO! GET TO WORK!

GET TO WORK BOOK : the illustration design process.

One of my favorite "extra" parts of Get To Work Book™ (learn more here!) are the tear out calendar pages. There are 12, one for each month, and while you could totally leave them in the book, they are a bit thicker paper stock and perforated to be torn out and hung on the wall as a small calendar. When the month is over, you can chop off the calendar portion and you're left with a square print. (The book is 7x9 inches and spiral bound for those that have asked.)

Each features a unique piece of illustrated text made from my words (mostly pulled from old blog posts!) and the artwork of Jolby & Friends designers. Today I want to share a peek at some of the designs and talk about the process for how these came together.

First, I should say that the book design process took weeks. Probably eight? Ten? I'm not sure. It was a very intense process to create what we all thought would be the "best" planner possible. The illustration process, by comparison, took just a few days. I had a decent idea of what I wanted and J+F executed perfectly.

To start, I combed the Internet for text design that I loved that I felt like fit the style. I pulled these images together on a private Pinterest board with specific notes for what I loved or liked about how the letters looked together. We knew that we would just be printing in black (and shades of gray) and so I played close attention to images that worked because of the form, not the color.

Then I sent over my 12 phrases and J+F broke them up amongst the designers.

And then they sent me back two or three hand-drawn sketches that represented different type layouts. I looked through them, picked my favorites and made any notes if I had them and sent them back. After a day or so (!!) they sent back a finished rendering. If I had any changes, they were made and then TA-DA! Complete artwork.

Seeing the sketches and then picking my favorite of the two was one of the most fun parts of this whole project. I was always impressed with both designs, but usually it was easy to make a gut decision about what would be "better." Since it was all going in the same book, I wanted the art to fit together, but I also wanted the designs to be different enough that it looked interesting. Like with any calendar, I want you (and me!) to be excited to turn the page and get to that next month's inspiration.

This graphic in particular has become the main "face" of the book and it's featured on the soon to be debuted website and is on the front of the GTWB business cards. This is one of the main concepts behind why I created the book and I REALLY love how this design came together.

I was able to chat with the designers from Jolby & Friends who worked on my illustrations and they gave me a peek into their design process. Some of my favorite quotes :

"The process for lettering starts with what it says. Is there a way to draw inspiration from what the words you are drawing have to say? How can the words inform the visual and conceptual route you go down? Type, in my opinion, is the most successful when it feels like what it says."

I love this and I see it most in play with the final illustration. It also fits into which words have to be highlighted in each phrase. We highlighted WORK and PLAY in illustration two instead of STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES because "work" and "play" are the action words and should draw the most attention. Likewise, we emphasized WHOLENESS and COMPLETENESS over "perfection" in illustration one because...duh.

After thinking about how the letters need to look, Brett, one of the illustrators, told me that he starts to...

"Sketch over and over, usually really loose – mostly to discover compositions and establish some sort of lockup concept that I can work within. After doing this sort of thing pretty continuously for the past few years, a lot of little rules and interesting nuances come through your hands with ease – and a special “style” develops in you based on what you have learned. Trying different techniques only expands your toolbox of ideas and approaches, so if you want to try calligraphy, brush lettering, woodcut, cut paper, etc., it will expand your horizons and inspire new ideas."

And obviously I love this. Practice, practice, practice. I love that these designs started with pencil and paper and came from many different trials. I love how the letters work together in a way that often handwriting can accomplish first better than a computer.

Cool, right?! It has been amazing for me to go through this process and learn a bit here and there about how design can come together. There are millions of different processes, but this is a bit of what mine has looked like. We've worked hard to make this Get To Work Book™ the best it can be and I'm excited to share more in the coming weeks before opening pre-order for the first version (July 2015-June 2016) in early April.

Thank you so much for following along.

All final images on this page are copyright Elise Blaha Cripe. Sketches not used in the final book are copyright Jolby + Friends.

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