Design isn’t about the designer. — We spend a lot of time in design school studying the history of our profession and digging into the portfolios of successful designers from the past. The people that defined and shaped the early design landscape. So it’s natural to respect the big names from design history—people like Paul Rand…

Free work devalues the design market, and the work of your fellow designers — You need work to build a portfolio, and you need a solid portfolio to get clients. That’s the catch-22 that most young designers will struggle with: You need experience to gain experience. Throughout your career, especially when starting out, you will be asked to work for free. And accepting those…

Today’s technology makes it easier for anyone to be a designer, or at least call themselves one of any combination of titles: Graphic designer, art director, commercial artist, visual communicator, content creator. The list goes on. But design isn’t just about making things look good. That’s only a tiny part…

Learning to ride the agency waterfall — When you’re a student, you’re often afforded weeks on end to work on a single design project. This probably means you spend a minimal amount of time on that project until it’s good enough; good enough for a passing grade, or so that you can focus on other coursework (or…

Instead, learn to let go of any idea — While we’re growing as designers, we want people to appreciate our work as much as we do. We give our heart and soul to these ideas, so we often make the mistake of wanting others to share that affection. While seeking this type of surface-level feedback from your friends —…

Success in the design industry, like any other, requires a robust curiosity — If I happen to find myself on your operating table, or at the mercy of your defense in a courtroom, I’m going to expect that you went to college specifically to do those things. And the better the school, the better I’m probably going to feel about it. But if…

The Sirens of Titan and the final answer — The works of Kurt Vonnegut — comprised of 14 novels, more than 120 published short stories, and a few posthumous collections — are best known to his followers for their black humor and satirical critique of society. But beginning with the publication of his first novel, Player Piano (1952), Vonnegut…

Short stories, Breakfast of Champions, and Slaughterhouse-Five — The works of Kurt Vonnegut — comprised of 14 novels, more than 120 published short stories, and a few posthumous collections — are best known to his followers for their black humor and satirical critique of society. But beginning with the publication of his first novel, Player Piano (1952), Vonnegut…