Do a lot of design
Do more design
And then do some more design
Work with open-minded, thoughtful collaborators who have high standards and keep their word
Then make sure you still feel good about doing design
Find inspiring clients you want to help
Do more than just sell
Take feedback and criticism gracefully
Have your own very high standards
Never think you know everything
Be stubborn
Be brave
Be humble
Remember to also have a life
Keep a (public) journal
Add to it often [...]
We enjoy working with candidates
2018 will be here before we know it. For candidates running for office, branding, graphic design, and web design matter.
Brand design will play a key role as it cuts across every part of a campaign. It’s there when people are calling supporters at campaign HQ. It’s there when people make donations online. It’s there when people are pounding the pavement, going door-to-door, and talking to the members of their community.
Monteiro: A Designer’s Code of Ethics
From the great Mike Monteiro and his advice to designers everywhere. He wrote it way better than I could’ve and it’s so good I’m posting the high level points here. Now get over there and read the full post:
- A designer is first and foremost a human being.
- A designer is responsible for the work they put into the world.
- A designer values impact over form.
- A designer owes the people who hire them not just their labor, but their counsel.
- A designer welcomes criticism.
- A designer strives to know their audience.
- A designer does not believe in edge cases.
- A designer is part of a professional community.
- A designer welcomes a diverse and competitive field.
- A designer takes time for self-reflection.
How unfortunate Neil Diamond
I was young. Tiny. Maybe 5 years old. A town kid spending the day on the farm with my grandpa, the farmer. I was riding around with him in his small pickup as he drove around the sprawling farm doing various chores. Checking the corn, collecting the eggs, herding the cows. There was just one last stop before going in for lunch. We had to feed the pigs.
Be Less Good at Working
I’m thinking this will be a new action item for JKDC. Or potentially, another way to say it: Be Better at Not Working.
For me, July 2017 officially makes 7 years as a practicing independent designer (AKA Lucky Sevens). Quite a milestone. 7 years of graphic design, websites, branding, activism, and collaboration. 7 years of proposals, invoicing, taxes, and emails. 7 years of working with some really great people.
Over the course of that time, I’d say I’ve gotten to be a pretty good designer. I’ve worked hard to make the projects inspiring, on budget, and on deadline. I’ve worked hard to make the workflow smooth and productive. And I’ve worked extra hard to make sure my clients get what they pay for, and then some.
In the early years, there was lots of hustle. Really getting after it. Staying focused. Keeping all eyes on it. Getting the work, doing the work, delivering the work, getting more work. Repeat. All while staying true to my original intent of doing only work that aligned with the principles I wrote out on paper when I was just starting.
In the last few years, as the projects have gotten more complex and bigger in scope, there’s been more attention paid to the process, the teams involved, and the way everything must keep moving ahead.
And in those 7 years, with full working days, bleeding into nights and weekends, the extra time put in has certainly paid dividends. But looking to what’s next, does there really need to be so much focus put towards the working?
I don’t know for certain, but for now, I’m going to say no. This action item of being less good at working will mean some things change. Perhaps no more working past 5. No more working on weekends. No more working lunches. Instead, the working gets limited and what gets more focus is getting better at other things I want to do that aren’t necessarily tied to work.
That could be cooking (already underway). Embracing new activities (scuba diving, check). Carving out time for experimenting and art (got a few things ready to go there). Whatever it is, the point is to not always be “on.” Whether responding to emails or thinking about a design solution while you’re suppose to be sleeping. Enough of that.
It may seem like something that doesn’t really need to be said. But for me, writing it down has always led to better outcomes. And I think that being less good at working will lead to better work. I guess we’ll see, but I’m set on trying. Now let’s get to it.
Measured. Considered. Thoughtful.
Enough with the knee-jerk reactions and the zip off of this and that. Emails, Tweets, opinions, responses, solutions, and so on. Why so quick to shout and growl and assert? Why so quick to not only assume you’re right but that you need to offer your voice to the conversation at all? What happened to listening, contemplating, and then, if it’s called for, acting? In this age of lightning fast fill-in-the-blank, maybe we need a measured, considered, and thoughtful shift. To the slow, meandering, late, or maybe even, not at all.
Meeting people along the way
Design is a business of relationships. Not big business, but not super small. The projects are big enough to really get to know a person you’re collaborating with, but not so small where you barely get a sense of what makes him or her tick. In design, the people across from me, I feel like I get to know them, on a fundamental level. And I really like that.
