Open Letter to Design Graduates
Design education is a good thing. When my time came to fly the university nest, I remember thinking how I would set the world on fire. My naïveté initially worked to my advantage. I was cut some slack due to in experience. But I quickly learned that experience in inexperience would not build a career. Over the years of interviewing, teaching and mentoring young, eager talent I picked up a few simple, disputable truths that I sincerely hope can help you, a new graduate.
1. Write.
No one’s expecting you to be Tennyson or Tennessee Williams. Heck, not even Tennessee Ernie Ford! Simply be able to convert a complete thought to a well-written sentence. Writing is as much of a design process as creating a logo. It’s designing an emotional connection with words. This one skill has life-long benefits. We receive lots of resumes. It’s unbelievable how many have spelling and grammar errors. Even to the point of spelling our company’s name incorrectly. C’mon, you gotta get that right.
2. Soak up life.
Eat, drink, bathe in, touch, hear, squish between your toes and feel everything you can. This provides a repository for inspiration. I firmly believe original ideas come from original inspiration. Use your experiences to influence your work. It’ll have more heart, you’ll have more fun and be far more pleasant to be around.
3. Make everything and everyone better than you found them.
That goes for the planet, your colleagues, younger talent and most importantly, you. I believe that we should push others to do their best work, yet push ourselves even more. I also believe you should work with people better than you. You’ll do your best work and likely get rewarded with more good work. However, if you find yourself working for someone (or something) you don’t respect, leave. Your soul will thank you.
4. Concept always wins.
Good design is a memorable, smart solution. You get there with a bulletproof concept. If concept and “pretty” are in a cage match, concept will always win. Concept is the sticky part of an idea. It is NOT a Photoshop filter. Seek to strengthen the concept in everything you do. I promise you, no one will hand you an award-winning project. It’s up to you to really excel.
5. Focus on the right thing — achieving your client’s mission.
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Yeah, what he said. And all that goes for copywriters too, in my opinion. Just replace "write" with "draw" and "pretty" with "funny."
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