2016 L² Blogging Recap
I decided to wait until 2016 was fully over before I wrote my recap. Well, that and life has a way of getting hectic when you least expect it. So here we are, freshly into 2017. I thought I’d take a look back and do a 2016 blogging recap to see what resonated with my growing audience. This is as much an exercise for me as it is a cheat sheet for you: You get access to what the interwebs have deemed as the top articles in a nice little summary, and I get a look at what I should do more of in the coming year. So let’s jump in!
AREsketches
First up in the 2016 blogging recap. This one’s cheating a bit, but the aggregate of single snapshots of info about architecture that I’ve been sketching for almost the last two years (holy cow!) was the biggest draw to the website. Imagine that? Constant content…something I’m still working on.
Sketches: 464 and counting
Views: 9,598
Why you should check it out: I assume you’re interested in architecture since you’ve found yourself on my site. Or maybe you went down the rabbit hole of the googlesphere and somehow found yourself here – welcome! This section of the website could honestly be for either of you. The ARE sketches started out of a (still constant) desire to help emerging professionals get licensed, but the reality is that they could be absorbed by anyone who wanted to learn more about the wonderful world of architecture. Each sketch is an easily-digestible nugget of information about architecture; most will be able to gather and understand the concept of each individual sketch within about 30 seconds. So whether you’re thinking about going into architecture, are graduating from college and getting ready to take your tests, are mid-career and want a refresher, or simply want to learn more about the life of design on this side of the sun…these are for you. And good news, I’m constantly making more sketches and sharing them (and the second book will be coming out soon!)
Inspiration #17
Next up in the 2016 blogging recap is a little Friday fun post I started back in the tail end of 2015. I found myself (and I still do) searching through a lot of images looking for inspiration on how to best renovate #ThisOldHouse, what idea to test out next in the design lab that is my home. So I decided to start sharing a curation of the images I had been finding and stowing away for myself on Pinterest (and then re-saving the images to Pinterest so that they point to my website). Well, Inspiration #17 hit the good-time jackpot. The third shower picture in the blog (shown above) has been seen over 350,000 times on Pinterest, which translates into some good click-throughs!
Views: 1,891
Why you should check it out: If you like modern, minimal, or otherwise awesome residential ideas – this series is for you. It currently covers all things bathroom and kitchen, but will soon be branching into exterior and backyard ideas as I prep for the next big project.
Dear Future Architects
That this article made the list in the 2016 blogging recap makes me happy. I really enjoyed writing this post – because I really enjoy helping emerging professionals (see post 1) – and so I’m happy to see people are reading it.
Views: 671
Why you should check it out: If you are thinking about getting into architecture, are in college, just graduated, or starting to take your test – there are letters of advice in this post for each stage of the journey. I talk about things that “fall down go boom”, the culture of college bars…and how and why you should advocate for yourself. The journey into architecture isn’t easy, but hopefully this helps.
The tools that make the AREsketches
About a year after starting the AREsketches, I did a post about what tools I was using and a couple how-to/behind the scenes videos. It came in 4th for most views in the 2016 blogging recap, but it covers a lot of ground.
Views: 588
Why you should check it out: If you like sketching, are interested in how the ARE sketches are created, or want a short foray into questioning how and why we use different tools throughout the process of doing things – this one’s for you. A tool is just that. Something to help you get the job done. Or is it more?
New Year, New Goals
Rounding out the top 5 of the 2016 blogging recap is a post from around this time last year where I laid out my goals for the coming year. I also did a post mid-way through to check in on the progress.
Views: 310
Why you should check it out: If you want to see what’s important to a young architect, or at least THIS young architect, it’s a short and sweet goal planning write-up. I made good on 3 of the 4 goals…still struggling with “me time”.
I’m going to do a write-up next week based on what I see in studying the posts over the last year, and goals that were either met or missed. I think it’s important to reflect on these things to help set smarter goals for the future, so if I can be the guinea pig for other young professionals by sharing what I’ve learned? Well…I think we’ve just hit the point of this blog.
Until next time,
