January Mood: Practice over Pursuit

From our January Newsletter:

“When I really thought about what I wanted from that list, it was a life. I wanted stories to tell — adventures and fun memories that would stay with me forever. I was still having trouble making friends in college and mostly concerned with paying for school and getting great internships and jobs. I craved fun so badly, but instead I made myself a list of to-dos.”

January had us reflecting on what makes up a good life. It’s the month of goal setting, but we all can feel it deep down that the “normal” way of approaching goals often isn’t satisfying or set up for longevity. We want to approach “goals” in a totally different way — it’s really just ways to think about living life. Our mood board drew from the themes of creativity, messiness, spontaneity, and color. Practicing a vibrant life, living in the moment, being okay not checking off a to-do!

If you’re feeling this mood, you can click the button below to sign up for the full newsletter! Here’s the deal. At the beginning of each month, we share some reflections centered around a theme, our mood board, personal things we’ve been loving, design resources, and more. Writing this little piece has become one of our favorite parts the job at The Design Lab, and we hope you love it as much as we do!

Shoot us an email (lab@nicoleayang.com) if you’re reading this after the fact and would also like the January newsletter to chew on. Happy to send along! Till next time!

Mood board image credits from left to right: (top row) Alexandra Savina, Carrie Shryock, Devon Liedtke, unknown; (bottom row) Ivan Erick Menezes, Matthew Shave, Marcus Nilsson