Creative Juices
It’s been a long week of coffee. Five minutes to go on the clock. The anticipation is killing you. It’s Friday and your phone is chiming with plans in progress for the evening ahead. Time to race home, compose yourself and soothe that dry throat. Soon, you’re with your people, other workplace warriors, and boy are they ready to relax.
So your group of friends have sat down to a table at a bar. Beer o’clock couldn’t have come sooner. Even the designer’s computer mouse-cramped right hand finds respite against the cold glass pint. A cheers to the week, the first long sip of the night spelling relief across everyone’s faces.
We made it. We are designers, developers, managers, illustrators, and here we are around a table eating, sharing stories and laughing. Enter the topics and gripes of the day. Someone spent hours on a single line of code and it didn’t work. An illustration was too cartoony but not cartoony enough. A client wanted 20 different fonts on a single poster. Who wouldn’t benefit from a night out?
A couple drinks later and in solidarity with creative banter, one might begin to wonder at beverage choices. Beer and wine. A table of industry friends and all that has been ordered is yeast water. Where are all the CMYK martinis and Hello World wells? It could be that after a long day or week we order the social norms and forget to give our eager bartenders a fun project akin to what a designer yearns for.
Not to be mistaken, beer is awesome. Wine is sublime. But what if us industry professionals were tasked at creating our own drinks? What would the signature libations be to those chosen fields?
Graphic Designer
You designed a flyer with lots of purple and the client said it looks blue. Now, you’re blue. But it’s Friday, and you order yourself a fine solution:
“The Pantone Pick-me-up”
– 1/2 oz Blue Curacao
– 1/2 oz Raspberry Liquor
– 1 part Lemonade
– 1 part 7-Up Soda
– Splash Cranberry
– Cherry Grenadine
Shaken and poured over ice in a tall glass, this refreshing beverage will have you sharing all your favourite stories about colour correction with your pals.
Web Developer
“Spammy” isn’t a word you like to hear, but those tags your client wants are making a delicious site look like canned meat. There’s hope on the horizon when you order a:
“Meta Tag Sunrise”
– 1/2 oz Tequila
– 1/2 oz Bourbon
– 1 part Orange Juice
– 1 part 7-Up Soda
– Cherry Grenadine
In a tall glass over ice, pour in liquor first, followed by grenadine. Add orange juice and 7-Up soda, then a sunrise should appear. At least in your glass.
Illustrator
What’s that? Adobe Illustrator unexpectedly quit? Guess what! It’s five o’clock and so did you. Time for:
“The Vector”
– 1/2 oz Melon Liquor
– 1/2 oz Banana Liquor
– 1 part Lemonade
– 1 part Pineapple Juice
– 1 part 7-Up Soda
Shaken and poured over ice in a tall glass, this drink will have you drawing on the bar napkins.
Project Manager
No argument here. You’ve saved many a day and your team from deadlines of biblical proportions. So when all is said and done, God help you and order:
‘The Four Horsemen”
– 1/4 oz Jose Cuervo Tequila
– 1/4 oz Jim Beam Bourbon
– 1/4 oz Jack Daniels Bourbon
– 1/4 oz Johnny Walker Whiskey
Shaken with ice and poured into a shot glass. Repeat, probably.
Become a fan of mixed drinks. There’s newfound enjoyment in having the perfect one for the right occasion, instead of opting for the standbys. Crafting your own specialty libation is a creative process and requires thought and skill. Mixing a drink is poetry, produces something to savour and says a lot about you. For the health-conscious, while alcohol isn’t necessary, flavour is, so experiment with different juices and garnishes. Safe drinking in moderation is key. We are what we eat, so too are we what we drink. Cheers to responsible creativity and a happy week ahead!
