Regardless, there are a number of blunt realities we faced (and still do face) and things we’ve learned in running Paper Leaf that we either never anticipated, or never really bought in to if we read it elsewhere.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
12 Things They Don't Teach You In School About Being A Designer
Regardless, there are a number of blunt realities we faced (and still do face) and things we’ve learned in running Paper Leaf that we either never anticipated, or never really bought in to if we read it elsewhere.
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6 comments:
I feel like a lot of these things students know. They are just not necessarily told. I feel that design school focusses primarily on designing and that process. This article is suggesting that curriculums are not teaching the business end of things. Otherwise, what to do after you graduate. Each school teaches this in their own way. Never the less, I feel like this information is known, so it doesn't really need to be said.
Some of this is definitely common knowledge but I feel as though most people may not realize how much of this is true. I think the first one is the most forgotten or overlooked. Many see success as the final goal but if you want to do more design and less meetings and paperwork you do not want a successful business you want to be a successful designer which can have a blurry line. To me this point is the most unknown and least acknowledged. However, I do feel that this are getting taught at schools but just by being outright told these rules.
This is a nice article, although I'm not sure I'd say these are things you wouldn't learn in school. Number one makes a good point. I sometimes get worked up thinking I need to graduate and more right on to something grand like Cirque du Soleil, but it is totally ok for me to take my time to reach an end goal. As the article point out, this will allow me more time to experiment and grow- the fun parts of design!
I'm not sure, however, if I agree with number five about not charging enough money. Perhaps this is true once a person has an established business, but as a budding designer I feel I will have to start by taking on a lot of free work, such as student films and theater. I'll have to grow creatively and establish a reputation before people are willing to pay me at all!
Maybe there is not anything shockingly new or surprising in this article by Jeff Archibald, co-founder of Paper Leaf, but I still found the information to be useful. For instance, number four – you will be doing at least three people’s jobs at once – is a fairly obvious scenario for anyone starting a business. However, I like Archibald’s suggestion to “set up a business organization chart early on if you plan to grow, add your name to all the positions you’re covering (which could literally be all of them), then work toward replacing yourself one position at a time.” Even if there are only three positions, having that intention in writing helps keep the goal in mind. In terms of justifying the hours spent on design, I appreciate this transparency example from Paper Leaf’s blog: http://paper-leaf.com/blog/2009/09/from-a-to-z-logo-design-for-recording-studio/
I think this is what makes the design world so exciting! The highs and lows, sure at the time of a low it feels pretty shitty but that just makes the highs better! You might not learn it in school, you might not even realize it until after everything is said and done. But it's about the experience, I think. I may be totally wrong. I used to really like these kinds of things. But he even said, if he knew these things he wouldn't have started his own business and he loves what he does now. It's one of those things where for some people, yes, it would be good to know, but for others, they need to experience everything before realizing it because that's just what their path is supposed to be. We do it because we enjoy doing it, so we go through whatever we need to to do it. If that makes sense...
This is great because many of these points are applicable to people starting their own business outside of the design industry as well. Several people commented saying that all of this is common sense, but I kinda disagree. I think that these ideas are rooted in common sense, but that the points laid out by the article are very useful and not always super obvious. They might be things that most of us know instinctively, but writing it out helps understand how and why certain things work.
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