Or why it serves my job better than anything else.

Have you ever considered the question you’re asked when you go through a recruiting meeting? What are your top qualities? What do you think makes you a better applicant? Most of the time, people go straight to the motivated, hard-working part. (Most of the time they also lie, just like when I ask them about what they do on the internet. Suddenly, everybody sticks to Google and never ever use Facebook. Ahah.)

Well. My top quality is that I’m very, very lazy. I’ve always been. And I’ve always found ways to stay that way. Add to that another invaluable quality: I love my free-time. So you won’t see me haunting the office late at night. If you combine those two traits, you get one result: my job needs to get done in my regular work day. Being lazy, I don’t want tasks to fill a whole day without having a few breaks. In order to accomplish this, you need one thing, again . METHOD.
My tasks are rationalized. I’ve got a very strong process that helps me get through every bumps of a project without too much pain. By the end of the day, I always know exactly how much work is left to do and how much time I’ll need to fulfill it.

Benefits for the company? Work is done on time. I’m fresh and creative on the next morning. Free time give me plenty of time to do other things. I make solutions to be more effective next time I have to accomplish this task.I do my best to achieve a goal at once, and not in numerous and laborious attempts. Being lazy makes me being efficient. Quality over quantity.

Maybe some people fin it offensive to put it this way.
But really, being dedicated to your job isn’t really the same as spending all your time in the office.  If all you do is staying late at work, and miss the outside world, you’ve lost the game as a designer. Being a workaholic is not something to be proud of. Having a fulfilling and balanced life, on the other hand, definitely is.

“Do not design to please anyone,

Do not design to fit any useless standards,

Do not design out of angst or tiredness,

Do not design only for money or fame or things that will fade away.

Design for it to be the best design you’ve ever seen on the field. ”

… is my new mantra I recall in every moment I feel lost facing a crappy “bad design moment”. You can also replace design by “Live”, which works well, somehow.

I hope you all had a great time lately.
Love & good kerning

Zélia

Have you ever noticed how much similar things seems to come up together from time to time? Like a newly learned word that seems to now be everywhere, or a great idea which is developed all around? I just love when that happen.

Lately, I’ve stumbled on a quite interesting serie of those intellectual coincidences. My great friend Samir wrote an article entitled «assuming for everyone». I read this awesome article on echo enduring called «Am I really good at this design thing?». And then, I received a mind blowing mail from Jordan Chenard, discussing the demotivating part of being a designer. Behind all this is one and only one idea, treated in different ways and perspectives by equally intelligent and aware people:

Designers are creatures of comparison. The most intrinsic part of designing is showing part of ourselves and being judged.

We compare to our peers because we feel our clients, and sometimes our coworkers, don’t have the ability to reviex properly our work.

When you’re told for the 3rd time to add blue, contrast, or a picture of a smiling woman by a guy whose mail signature is in purple Comic Sans on a sky blue background, you tend to  get a bit on your nerves. Graphic design is one of the only job where clients have the power to deconstruct a work they don’t have the ability to make themselves.

In the end, what the clients think slowly transforms into something not so important, as the designer can be highly dissatisfied with the end result, no matter what.

We like to be judged by our peers because they “matter more”, or so it seems.

Compare what can be compared.

Being exposed to other people works all day long through the deforming lens of the internet can to some confusing feeling. “Am I really good? Why does this guy got so many good projects? This trendy style must be applied to everything in order to produce great work” In the end, you end up struggling with a mix of frustration, jealousy and even sometimes a slight feeling of superiority.

As a matter of fact, there’s quite a gap between a senior designer working for Nike and a junior designer in small agency working for local clients. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe we’re not born equal in talent (don’t beat me, let’s be honest) but unfortunately, even the greatest talent can’t save the day on a crappy project. When reviewing other designers work don’t forget to take a look at their about page: their position, age, and status (senior, junior, CD, AD, freelance…) might give you a hint of what kind of experience they have. And compare only what can be compared. Don’t scourge yourself with being «not as good» as someone else. Just ask yourself: would I be better than him/her if I had this project that I love so much? And if you’re not sure of the answer, just give a try at thhis layout on your free time.

Compare what needs to be compared.

With the Dribbble fad roaring in the background, people tend to compare their technical execution of a design more than the essence of if: answer to a problem. I like Dribbble. I like seeing other people work. But I also want to hear about the context and the real work behind the technic. If it’s all a matter of great execution, anyone with a lot of time and a lot of tutorials would do. Designers are more than people making pixel perfect stuff. Do not stick to comparing style or photoshop skills. You’re more than the hand using the pen tablet.

Having people you admire and compare to is not the same as comparing yourself to everyone in the world.

I believe in mentor and inspiring people. Actually, I think having one or more inspiring people in sight, to whom you can talk about your ideas and hesitations is surely the greatest way to evolve. He/She might posses a set of skills you know you have or want to have. You must respect him/her enough to trust his advice, even when it hurts. This very reference might be your goal, your achivement point, and a great help to grow as a designer.

((Working alone, I have yet to find this person, but am actively seeking it. Wherever you are, old CD, I’ll find you)

In the end, never forget: context matter. You are one unique designer in a sea of others, may that be a strenght or a flaw. Cultivate your uniqueness, even tho it doesn’t fit the standards or appreciation of the peers – if your guts tell you it’s right. And eventually, compare, but compare well.