How to be a good designer

I think this could potentially be a longer post for Medium. (Like this one.) But for the time being, a short blog will do.

This might have originated from a late night conversation with Joe Sparano about how there just aren’t that many 45-year-old designers. Lots in their 20s and 30s, but 40s, hmmm. Design is a young person’s game. Seemingly. So how do we design our careers for effective longevity? I think a lot of it goes into these 4 points that have made me a decent designer currently:

  1. Every single bit of feedback and critique is helpful. 
  2. If you aren’t wrong now, you will be.
  3. Learn, adjust, adapt, and do NOT stand still.
  4. Know what you want the world to look like in 5 years.

I think these 4 points are what make you a good designer. Not talent or location. Not your personality or the clients you have. Perhaps I’ll add to this list or think more deeply about each point. But for now, if you want to be a good designer, get familiar with these.

    When the turn time is just so fast...

    ...you have no idea even if the thing you just designed is any good at all. You just pull your wits together and get it done. You execute. Something out of nothing. For a purpose. For a cause. And you send it out into the world so quickly you are unsettled. Sometimes this is good. In these situations, you simply aren’t allowed to get in your own way. Sometimes this is bad. You just don’t allow the design to be refined and perfected so what gets released is subpar. This is common in activist design. It’s certainly a rush. Sometimes it can get tiring. But it does keep you coming back for more. Get ready, get set, go!

    Give Give Give

    Today is #GivingTuesday. A global day of giving where we can support some of our favorite nonprofit organizations who are out there doing good work day in, day out. The Union for Contemporary Art is moving into an exciting new home in north Omaha. Bold Alliance is taking action to build tiny solar barns to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. Nebraska Appleseed is looking to raise $50k by the end of the week. Hear Nebraska supports artists and helps shape the state’s growing reputation as a cultural destination. Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance improves children’s health through healthy homes. And KEXP, well, they are simply amazing. Remember Omaha Gives! 2017 is scheduled for May 24th.

    Now More Than Ever

    Now, more than ever, it matters tremendously what we designers choose to do with:

    • Our Time
    • Our Talent
    • Our Resources
    • Our Ideas

    We have the ability to do a lot of good in this world. To move the needle, to keep progress going, to make sure we don’t go backwards. But ultimately, what we do with our time, talent, resources, and ideas are choices that are up to us.

    Post-Election Design

    To design now is to design to make people care. We’ve had plenty of design to make people buy. If we’re always selling, we can’t be surprised when we get sold. Our design problem is apathy, cynicism, and division. We do have fewer resources, and the deadline has been moved up, but our course of action is clear.

    Read on Medium »

    AIGA Nebraska! What!

    Once a year Nebraska’s chapter of AIGA puts on an exhibition and celebration of the most outstanding design work in the state. The event is called SHOW. It’s always a good time. In the wonderful new space at KANEKO with mighty fine burritos from Maria Bonita and beer from Brickway. Running into fellow designers doing great stuff out here on the Great Plains is always a highlight of the evening. And this year, ole JKDC won big:

    These are all projects I’m really proud of. They were done for some wonderful clients and I’m glad to see the work recognized in front of our design community.

    What will be different next year?

    In a year with much learning, adjusting, and charging full speed ahead, at some point it will be good to look at what worked this year and what didn’t. And what to do differently in 2017. Before getting too deep, because at the moment, there are just too many deadlines to hit, here’s a running tally of things I’ve been thinking about lately as it relates to work:

    • Project Management Percentage Fees
    • Will I work with your dev team?
    • Which side projects do I want to sink my teeth into?
    • Quarterly Mandatory Vacations
    • Try not to be too booked up
    • Get better at pushing back on scope creep
    • Be even more selective with the projects taken on
    • Experimental Research Time (weekly)

    These items, I think, as of now, are good things to set in motion or give a lot more thought to. All in the name of making the work better without having to feel pushed to the edges.

    And in light of recent election events, only taking on projects that are change making or community building. Now, more than ever, we can’t afford to waste any time. We have to make sure we protect the progress we’ve made for so many people in the last 8 years and we can’t allow America to fall backwards toward division, racism, hate, and closed-mindedness. The environment will also be in dire need of extra attention. We’re all Pipeline Fighters now.