I'm sure everyone knows that having an impressive resume can sometimes be the deciding factor in whether or not you land a spot at your favorite company. With so many resumes hitting employers desks these days, the first step is to get your seen by the right people to give you that fighting chance.

It goes without saying that some employers might not jump at the chance of having a resume sitting on their desk in the form of a milk carton, but the up side to such a resume is that you are sure to get noticed.

It doesn't take drastic actions such as that to impress your new potential employee, but creating a clean, well-designed, and easy-to-read resume might be all it takes to get them to notice you and consider you a candidate.

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With so many people on the hunt for a job these days, adding a bit of personality often times give your potential employers enough reality about who you are. And if they like what they see, you could jump ahead to round to.

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This is also a great time for you, especially as a designer, to show off some of your skills right then and there.

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Just like with business cards, your first impression has to be something worth looking at. I have always been a fan of the sewn business card, but this resume with a sewn detail on some awesome fabric is another cool way to stand out and show off your personality a little more.

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Do you have the whole package? Show it off with more than just a piece of paper.

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Of course, landing a job really comes down to the right fit for you and the company, and a resume isn't 100% going to be the deciding factor, but presenting a well-prepared and unique resume gives you the best fighting chance at getting your body of work seen by the people who could be your future employers. Giving them something something to talk about and something that they don't see dozens of times in a given day will at least come as a breathe of fresh air and something they will definitely remember.

The designs of Simon Page take us back to basics, to the literal building blocks of good design: geometric shapes. Page, a London-based graphic designer, is all about creating a visual experience that stimulates the emotions. His philosophy is “Good Design Excites.” And you’ll be surprised how exciting circles and squares can get after Page is done with them!

Though all of his designs jump-off from basic geometric shapes, his work gets more sophisticated as he layers on his color palette, cuts and rearranges the shapes in the frame, and develops unexpected patterns and textures. In the words of one commenter, he creates work that “you can get lost in - they are busy, but somehow calming at the same time.”

Geometric Cushion Designs

At first glance, the design covering this pillow seemed to have sequins on it, but on second glance, this is illusion created by bold color choices and the juxtapositions.

The same type of visual tricks follow in his other four pillow designs, which would make a striking focal point in any living room.

Poster design is a really fun, inexpensive and unique way to explore your creative side. From the 1,000's of fonts, variety of poster sizes, and layouts, sometimes, it's difficult to know where to start!

Once you master your design techniques visit Next Day Flyers for fast poster printing at great prices.

Today we are interviewing Jessica Sprague, design guru and owner of JessicaSprague.com. In February, Jessica is heading off a four week Poster Design course. She is also giving away not one, but TWO seats to this really awesome class! I couldn't be more excited about the class after taking Jessica's Subway Art class. I'm a busy mom, so I don't have a whole lot of time to join in a live class, which is why I love Jessica's classes- they are self-paced and available forever!

Follow Jessica: Twitter & Facebook

Can you tell us about yourself, how long have you been designing? Teaching? Do you have a job outside of JS.com?

In my former life I was a web & user interface designer for a software company, so I've been designing in some form or another for about 14 years. I started teaching digital scrapbooking, Photoshop, and graphic design in 2007 when I opened  JessicaSprague.com. Since then it is my full-time job, and I love it!

What three (or less) singular colors do you most identify with, why?

My favorite color is green - I love it in almost all of its shades from lime to olive. It's the color of growth and regeneration, of calm energy, of prosperity, learning, balance, and harmony.

If you had to describe yourself [currently] as a five color palette, what colors would they be? Could you provide me with HEX codes so I can create a JS palette for you? :)

I feel like I am a blue, two greens, and a red, coupled with a dark grey. Hex: aed835, d9ea65, 81c9c0, a90c19, a90c19

The greens I've already described. The blue is an ocean representing responsibility, stability, trustworthiness. The red represents fire and emotion, and the dark grey brings some gravity, but also represents the dark that balances the lighter, fresher colors.

If you could be a shape, what shape would you be? (i.e. a polygon = triangle, hexagon etc...)

I would be a 5-pointed star. :)

We bring you a great interview with Jason Allen, of Haft2.com, an intriguing firm that focuses on, yeah, you guessed it, color! The focal point today is to showcase their 2012 Haft2COLOUR Calendar Project, and absolutely amazing piece of quality!

I was highly impressed with the presentation of the calendar. It was delivered in a nice silver tin with a branded paper wrap and a wonderful opening letter about the project and the Haft2 mission - I felt like I had just received a very nice gift!

Haft2 is giving away three calendars to some lucky winners on a fun challenge (see bottom of post). I would like to add that I just so happened to come across this project originally from the comments on our previous post about 2012 Calendar Print Trends. I just had to know more about it, see the real deal and get to know what Haft2 and Jason were all about. I'm sure glad I did.

We have come to the nail biting finale of the Full Color Training Scholarship Contest where two winners will get to spend four days saturated in color with Leatrice Eiseman (colorexpert.com) in Burbank, California. COLOURlovers were asked to submit a palette they connected to their life, how color impacts their life as well as how they would like to use color more, to impact the lives of others.

We asked each finalist what they would expect to bring back from the class to apply to both their life personally and if applicable, professionally. Lastly, if they had any questions for Leatrice Eiseman. I have included these responses below. So without further adieu, because I know many of you stayed up waiting to hear...

First Place - Full Scholarship: Linda Holt

Occupation: Designer / Photographer

What she does: Owner of New Light Redesign (newlightredesign.com).

Location: Massachusetts, USA

"My intention should I win would be to apply my new color knowledge in my business. I have been doing interior color consulting for the past year but I want to take it to the next level. Like I mentioned in my application, I feel like the more I learn about color the more I realize there is to learn. Since my eye was trained for so many years as a photographer to see color as "light", the switch over to seeing color as pigment has been profound for me. I never knew until I bought Leatrice's books that color affects our moods. I guess I knew it intuitively but I am just fascinated by the whole psychology of color. Please please please pick me...I REALLY want to come. I promise I will work hard and be a good student!"

Linda's Questions for Leatrice:

1. Has Leatrice had a life long love of color and what was her path to becoming the "guru" she is today?

2. What inspires her when it comes to choosing color pallets?

3. What is the process for Pantone in choosing the much anticipated "color of the year"?

Linda has had this class on her calendar every year for at least the past two years. It is a lifetime dream for her to attend. Congratulations Linda!

First place will receive a fully paid scholarship for tuition to the Color + Design Training Program, plus a copy of the book, PANTONE® The 20th Century in Color, by Leatrice (co-authored with Keith Recker).

Can you remember a time when people used to write letters—by hand! Or, read books made of paper, glue and ink? As our increasingly digital world seems to be moving farther and farther away from traditional print media, companies like Paperlux step in to remind us that nothing can replace the touch, smell, weight, and color of a real hold-it-in-your-hands magazine.

Today's article is presented by the leading magazine and glossy booklet printing company, Next Day Flyers. Check them out for fast turnarounds and amazing prices.

When the graphic design magazine Novum commissioned Paperlux to come up with an innovative magazine cover, the creative juices kicked into overdrive and the result is truly something spectacular to see and feel.

Paperlux, a design studio based in Hamburg, Germany, was seeking a way to focus on the palpable nature of paper. The result was a very tactile approach as a way to draw people to a colorful product sporting a geometric design that makes you ache to just reach out and feel it for yourself.

Geodesic sphere at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World (left - source)

The design was fashioned after what is called a geodesic dome (source). Although the magazine represents a much flatter version of the dome, it still has the texture and look of the real thing.

Understanding color can be a daunting task with many dead ends. Have you ever taken a color theory class only to be left feeling like it didn’t teach you anything to do with applying color in the real world?

Maybe you have an awesome natural instinct for putting together cohesive palettes or colorizing fabulous patterns perfectly, but why are you so good at it? Validating the why, where and when of color will change your entire outlook on color and what it can do to your personal or professional life.

Color opportunities exist in many industries. Companies need color design expertise to guide them through the many choices they have to make as a successful business. Choices they must make involving color range from advertising, product design, branding and many more. You need credible, verifiable information to back up your decisions as a consultant or designer and you need more than a simple love for color to get you there.

The DNA11 Palette Contest has come to a close with a staggering 6,000 plus entries of which one (1) winner and four (4) runner-ups are now announced! The mix of science and art proved to be quite intriguing. So without further delay, the winner is...

Under my Skin by BerryColor

BerryColor won a palette-customized, 24 x 36” DNA Portrait. Additionally, this beautiful palette will be added to the DNA11 collection for future use in their line of personalized DNA Art.

Time for a palette contest with a mix of science and art! COLOURlovers has paired up with DNA 11 (dna11.com) to bring you a creative, unique way to further personalize your DNA artwork.

DNA 11 is the original creator of DNA Art Portraits, Fingerprint Portraits, and Kiss Portraits -- the World’s most personalized art on canvas.

Who knew that you could do such beautiful things with your DNA?!

Turn your palette into beautiful personalized art!

The contest will be open and accept entries for the first phase from Thursday, October 20th through Thursday, October 27th, 2011.

Enter the Contest  |  View the Entries  

Color and submit as many DNA Portrait Templates you would like. Only one (1) of your entries will be eligible for prizes.

Millions of pink Breast Cancer products get ready to take October by storm. The colors of awareness are popping up everywhere by any number of businesses large and small…

“Buy this pink product and all proceeds will be donated to breast cancer.”

photos by me | The Human Bean donates all proceeds to the local hospitals on a certain day in October.

This might be one of the most successful marketing ploys of the twentieth-century. Why? Because people don’t mind contributing when they feel like they are getting something out of showing their support.

Take a look at the average consumer, who generally does not have or want to spend the extra cash to simply donate. Now they can donate and get something in return. Wouldn’t you much rather spend $8.00 on a pink water bottle than donate $8.00 directly to a charity? I am going to buy a water bottle anyway.

Embrace Activism Products specifically designed around Breast Cancer

The sheer number of charities asking for donations can be daunting. How do you pick one if you don’t necessarily have a sentimental reason to go with one or the other?

Being an average person and general consumer of every day products, I have no personal reasons to choose to financially support a cause. So unless someone asks me to donate I most likely wouldn’t think to donate if it wasn’t right in my face when I go to the store. But, since I’m there, I might as well buy the loaf of bread with the pink ribbon graphic promising to donate for me. I feel good about supporting a cause and I get my loaf of bread, everyone wins.

Simple Methods, Big Impact

A couple basic cause-based advertising models…

Spare Change: Asking customers if they would like to round up their purchases to donate the extra change to a certain cause or charity. Normally something at a grocery store, but you could use this on a smaller scale in almost any type of situation.

Color it Pink or add a Pink Ribbon: This is the biggest marketing scheme we see on a daily basis. Companies small and large use this method to generate awareness for their brand, products and the cause (of course). Pair up with a foundation or simply donate to local programs (organized charities, hospitals, groups) to draw in community members.

Small & Large Scale Business for Charity:

With October just a hop over the fence, there is ample opportunity to get in on it some way or another! From using the color pink and boobies in unexpected product design or creatively funny ads, it's a great way to step out of your regular routine and make a splash at it!

Products & Proceeds

Jordan "Think Pink" | Nike "Think Pink"

• Aluminum Water Bottle | Avon Bottle
• Brita | Nathan Hydration Bottle

Pink tortillas, El Rey tortilla factory (2009) 

Putting on events or being involved in events can get your brand out there in any number of ways...

Ladies Golf Breast Cancer Day at Jamberoo Golf Club. 

2011 Camaro SS Pink Breast Cancer NASCAR Pace Car

Penny Lancaster Pink Ribbon Walk 2011

Etsy...

I'm actually surprised at how little Etsy crafters have made for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I'm even more surprised that more than half the crafters displaying content for sale, are not even trying to pull off donating proceeds or a percentage to some foundation or another...which would probably help their purchases. Maybe we'll see more pop up as we get in to October more.

• Bag by Pampered Knitting | keychain by BeachBMXDesigns
• cake pops by DaintyButton | bag & tote by Bagsmadetoorder

So is it wrong or right to run creative promotions and sell product based on Breast Cancer Awareness?

With October being the official month for Breast Cancer Awareness, there are plenty of opportunities to run a caused-based promotion with your small business be that an Etsy shop or physical business.

So morally, is this a bad thing to run a creative promotion or sell your products based around Breast Cancer Awareness? When it comes down to the dollar and the sense of it all -- what this has really done is create HUGE avenues to more regularly and more actively generate money and massive awareness for these causes. Think of how much more funds have been raised due to proceeds and percentages donated by businesses than before when people were simply asked to provide a dollar donation.

However funds are raised, the cause is important and breast cancer takes too many of our wonderful women. And as always directly donating to an organization is a great way to make a difference. Foundations such as the SUSAN G KOMEN - for the CURE provides tons of resources to understand Breast Cancer for both the diagnosed or if you just want to know more about it along with donating and finding things like races and events to be a part of.

What's the coolest breast cancer product or ad you've seen? 

If you are a Breast Cancer Survivor or know someone who has been diagnosed, what are your thoughts about businesses donating proceeds and percentages?