When you don’t get the job

Speaking to a group of students, I was recently asked about the need to have a physical portfolio. A book, case, box, etc. I stressed the importance of a portfolio website and said I couldn’t remember the last time I used a physical portfolio. Thinking about it more, the last time was probably 2008. There I was, suburbs of Chicago, for a late lunch, interviewing for a design job with Bruce Mau.

I walked him through my work. Most notably the Power to the Poster project. It was certainly a lively interview. I’ve met Bruce a few times over the years. Always illuminating, always thought-provoking. In the end, there wasn’t a job open in their Chicago or Toronto office. It had been a long, drawn-out process getting to the interview, so I ultimately  accepted defeat and moved on.

What came next was me getting my shit together for my “what next.” A job at a design firm doing world-changing work wasn’t happening, so how about I just go make my own world-changing work? The crash of the economy was happening at the time, so things were tense and a little uncertain. I decided to stay at my current agency job longer than I probably should have and ride out the turbulence.

Then, in 2010, after a brief detour into grad school for an unsuccessful go at a master’s degree (more schooling was just not for me), I was on my own. Independent, cause-focused, ready to make it happen. In the first year I was working with Participant Media in LA, making digital graphics for MoveOn.org and 350.org, designing Eli Pariser’s TED slides, and just beginning what would be a 6-year design project against the Keystone XL Pipeline led by Bold Nebraska. My kind of work, for my kind of causes.

Whether right or wrong, I usually decide to err on the side of “well, I’ll just do it myself then.” It’s up to me to figure it out, to chart the path, to change course, and to take it head-on. With successes and failures from a 6+ year independent design practice, I’ll keep taking that approach for now. Not getting the job, the project, or the opportunity never means it’s over. It simply means your “what next” is still out there. It will just take more time to find. 

Who do you compete with?

Competition can be good. Competition can be healthy. Which begs the question, who do you compete with? Who do you see as your peers? The fellow designers who you greatly respect and whose work you see as comparable to your own. In quality, style, or what type of clients the work is done for. This is important to know as it can help set the bar higher so you keep improving and it keeps you on your toes since you know the work can always go to someone else if you don’t deliver. 

When it comes to proposals, competition can be a topic of discussion. Things you may not want to compete with at all are brought up. Maybe it’s Squarespace, or another studio who isn’t in the same space as you, either in what they do or the scope they do it in. In these cases, knowing who you compete with can help you react better to discussions around scope, budgets, processes, and expectations.

When you don’t have to explain why

Designers must have rationale. Designers must do things for a reason. Designers must know why. But is this always a good thing? What happens when something just is? I would say, the majority of the time, maybe even 90% of the time, a designer must know why. But there are times when having to know the why ruins the purity. It shackles an idea. Walls off an interpretation. Silos the execution. If it feels like your rationale is doing any of these, best to just let it go. Best to just let it be what it is. That should be enough.

What makes a good conference?

Last week I attended the Affect Conference in Portland. A 2-day event about the work, culture, and design of social change, with a dash of volunteering. It also had childcare, ASL interpreters, reserved wheelchair and accessibility seating, gender-neutral restrooms, a quiet area, code of conduct and photo policy, and a “no laptop” rule during talks. In short, very thoughtful, very inclusive.

The speaker lineup was equally as thoughtful. Gamers, activists, developers, and designers sharing stories of gender identity, gaming for good, the ethics of care, and designing government to be better. When once you choose to live a life devoted to social justice, how your life will never be the same. How we are not saviors but servants. Why we must take care of ourselves first. And my story, on the 6-year tale of the design side of the #NOKXL campaign. A full schedule of talks that went down so many roads, some to a firm destination, and others with plenty to still think about and work on.

I think that’s what I enjoyed most about the conference. It wasn’t just a design conference. It wasn’t just a tech conference or an activist conference. It was a social change conference and that can be reached by so many means. Different talents, career paths, issues, and causes. In whatever city you happen to live in, dealing with the local and national politics of the day. We can all get there. And the stories that are shared from the place of social change are as varied as the people living them. 

This makes for a diverse conference. It challenges you to never get settled in. It keeps you on your toes as ideas you don’t really know about are discussed and the ideas you think you know well, have new light shed upon them.

A good conference is also just long enough. Perhaps too brief. As you are still looking for more. Which means you have been spurred on to get back to work and continue the fight in whatever way your days take you.

It’s not quite survival mode, but it’s close

When it’s lingered too long. When it just won’t let go. When it clings, and clings, and clings. When that happens, there’s a switch that goes on. Similar to Sylvester Stalone’s switch in Over the Top that makes him one hell of an arm wrestler. This switch puts design into hyperdrive deliverable mode. When that happens, there’s less compromise and there’s less time for feedback. When that happens, it’s head down, nose to the grind stone, grinding out whatever needs to be made. Expertise takes over. Knowing the best way to do it and just doing it takes over. Buff, tweak, finalize, send. Done and done. 

Urgent Deadline Fatigue

This business has urgent deadlines coming out of its ears. I have to admit, I do love them. A new exciting project comes knocking at your door and the rush can be quite exhilarating. Can you do it? Can your team lay down a process, rise to the occasion, and launch this thing sooner than anyone thinks possible? Are you up for the challenge? Over the years, we’ve been able to make some pretty crazy deadlines, especially w/ Action Backed. But there is a limit.

At this point in time, I have big time Urgent Deadline Fatigue. When you have UDF, the work just doesn’t taste as sweet. The challenge is more of a nuisance. And the process not all that enjoyable because you start to resent the fact you were invited into the madness in the first place.

To counter that, I’ve said no to more stuff. A few instances that I still might be regretting. But alas, I’ve learned to push my creative output only so far. Beyond a certain point it’s just not a good idea. The end results tend to be uninspired, and that’s no good for anyone. 

If it’s no this time, it’s not you, it’s me. Of course, if you have a project with a normal timeline, well, let’s talk for sure. 

Skins, Thick and Thins

Design is contentious I’m sorry to say. Any time you make something out of nothing with intention and not randomness, there are right ways and wrong ways to go about it. And at the time of inception, it may not be clear which is which. So smart people work together to try and figure it out. Smart people, hopefully with a point of view.

This means that agreement is not always had. Alignment not 100%. Smooth sailing, rare. Design usually comes with options. A client offers up opinions on what they do not like. Designers fight for what they believe is right. It’s a process. In the thick of it, tensions can get high, deadlines need to be met, uncertainty is common.

That’s just how it is. We are here to make it happen. There are those adult coloring books out there for those with thin skins. If you want to make something great to move people to action, then let’s get to it. Feelings may get hurt along the way, but it isn’t personal. It’s work, and it needs to get done. A reminder for designers and clients alike.