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05 October 2026 | Issue #136

In this issue:

• Try Something New
• Learn Design
• Design quote of the week

Try Something New

I'm constantly trying new things. But I'm not great at promoting that skill.

I graduated with a degree in graphic design in 1999. It didn't take long in my first job for me to realize I wanted to work with the web team. I knew that was the future! At my next job, we did basic web work (in Adobe GoLive), but nothing too fancy. So the three of us in the design department started giving each other assignments to build our skills. The first assignment: Build a portfolio site.

Back then, we had to use books to learn new things. Learning the basics of HTML and CSS has remained beneficial throughout my career. And having an online portfolio in the early 2000s helped me stand out.

Learning Accelerates

After that, I realized I had to keep working to learn new skills to stay valuable. Here's a quick list of things I taught myself:

• Flash in 2005
• WordPress in 2007
• Social media in 2007-2008
• LLC formation in 2010
• Newsletters in 2020
• AI in 2022 (visuals first, then text)
• Writing a book in 2024 (published in 2025)
• App building in 2025
• iOS app development 2026
• Trademark registration in 2026

Just like discovering new music in high school, I wasn't always first, but I had a knack for identifying something right before it went mainstream.

That curiosity has kept me in a state of constant learning throughout my life. Now, my backlog of ideas gets longer every day, forcing me to prioritize where I spend my time.

My most recent breakthrough was with Aeto, my project management and time-tracking app. Last week I built a connector to my email so that when a client request comes in, it automatically adds a task to my backlog.

Once Jev was introduced, it solved the token problem I discovered when using Claude alone to review emails. The combination of those two models allows the system to easily read the email, see if it belongs to a client (database check), see if it belongs to a project (database check), and add it to the database if it meets the right criteria.

Are You Being Inspired by the Right People?

If this statement is true: "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with," then I am fortunate to be surrounded by some very inspiring people.

A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with Richie Etwaru, the co-founder of a couple of startups I've contributed to. He's working on some very impressive projects that motivated me to push my own ideas forward.

The RISE Community is another place where I draw enormous inspiration. Between the monthly AI roundtables, daily conversations, and IRL meetups, I get to join conversations with people at the cutting edge of technology and marketing.

Working closely with people who are trying new things and solving tomorrow's problems inspires me. I then pay that forward to folks who aren't as far along in their AI journey. And as we all know, one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it.

One of the highlights of my last job was running a biweekly AI roundtable where we discussed how we were using AI to enhance our work. The only rules were: no agendas, no slides. We just talked, and anyone could share what they were working on.

My advice: If you don't have someone who can show you the way with the latest technology, start the conversation yourself. People are curious, and many feel like they've missed the boat.

It's still the early innings.

Hop on a call with someone and share ideas.

DESIGN BASICS FOR MARKETERS

Marketers are expected to do everything. But if you have to make visuals and you don't have any formal training, I wrote a book for you.

​Buy this book and learn the basics of design and be better when using Canva or AI.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Design is in everything we make, but it’s also between those things. It’s a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda, and philosophy.” - Erik Edigard

My AI disclaimer: I wrote the article and had ChatGPT edit it.

ChatGPT created the image.

Thanks for reading!

–Jim

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