I really like my employee, Kristin. She's the perfect mix of personable and professional. She has great style and is kind to Mister Boots.
Kristin has her senior art show this evening - which for design students is a bigger deal than walking at graduation. Kristin plays it cool at work but sometimes lets on that she's kind of freaking out. I can empathize. I remember not being able to eat and perpetually feeling dizzy for 3 months during the transition of going from school out into the real world. So nowadays I like to tell students now that if you work hard, play nice and have a clean portfolio everything will be okay. But I know that the senior freak out is just part of the experience.
Anyway, I asked Kristin to share her thoughts on design school. What she's learned. What her key takeaways have been. Without further ado - from Kristin:
What I Have Learned While In Design School
1. Having hobbies outside of design is important. They are where you draw your inspiration.
2. Be nice. Saying it is a small world is an understatement.
3. Be a sponge for good design. Collecting and cataloging good design helps you aspire to be better.
4. Most design work is done on the front end. Don't put off things and think they will work themselves out.
5. There is more than one answer to a problem and your professors aren't always right. Also, developing your own opinion about things is important.
What I Would Have Done Differently:
I wish I would have experimented more with design techniques, tutorials, and learned design terms faster. I actually have wanted to be a Graphic Designer since 8th grade but didn't do much with it until college.
Best Piece of Advice For Someone Wanting to go to Design School
I would direct them to this quote by Ira Glass. It helped me when I first started school (and still does).
“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me... is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work....
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions --- It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Do you guys have anything to add? What advice would you give design students?
Related: An article I wrote over at Braid on Inspiration and Imitation: A Note For Beginners
Thank you for the quote from Ira Glass! I've been going through that exact thing lately. I would add that I think that the feelings of "not good enough" and happy with your work is more of a cycle too... everytime you are reaching for that next level.
ReplyDeletethere is a pretty nice kinetic typography video that somebody put together of that quote. probably worth while because Ira's voice is pretty unique.
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/24715531
Here, here about Kristin's #5! I loved most of my professors, but now as a professional myself, I scoff at a few of their remarks and ideas about design.
ReplyDeleteI would tell students that you don't have to just have aspirations to be a freelancer or go work for a huge agency in NYC. There are so many other wonderful opportunities. Maybe it was just my college, but they really put emphasis on these career options and to hell with the rest of it. Wanting to work for a company in-house was just something you shouldn't do. I disagree wholeheartedly because I work for a museum as an in-house designer and LOVE my job. (Freelancing is obviously an excellent choice as well, if you want to do it.)
There are so many things you can do with a design degree - don't limit yourself.
this was great to read!
ReplyDeletelove all of this advice. My 2 cents... try to get a internship or part time job in the printing field while still in school to learn the trade. All too often design students leave the nest into the real world with their degree thinking that's all they need. You can design beauty all day long but without the know how in order to get it on press, or now a days online properly, you're stuck. I feel like the years I've worked in the print industry before getting my degree and after have been the most valuable part of my education.
ReplyDeleteAlso... I always thought of my teachers as my clients. I would push just enough to be creative and hopefully blow their minds, if it didn't work - I would scale back, do as I was told {keeping all projects and never tossing anything} and turn in what the teacher wanted for the A. Sometimes a compromise is in order for the good grade OR the happy client but I never toss ideas. I archive them for another time/project. :)
Awesome. I love that quote. I feel like I am in that right now with my illustration. Needed to hear that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKristin,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your experiences and advice, particularly the quote from Ira Glass. It was a huge help. I wish I'd read that quote A LOT earlier in life. Best of luck to you.