WHEN DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF SUCCESSFUL

Aaron tagged me with a meme about gauging the personal success of a designer. The conversation started with Lauren Marie's blog post and was later turned into a meme by Graphic Design Blog. I'm humbled by the inquiry Aaron has made, all though, some may not consider me a designer. In-fact, I'm betting the term itself changes drastically within the next 5 years. None-the-less;

1. How did you get started in the business?
I was a comic book illustrator taking Commercial Art and Design Courses. My teacher ( Elvin Thomas ) thought my illustration abilities would be better utilized in identity design and creating typefaces. As the course progressed, the company I was working for purchased a few Macs. During my second year of class ( you know–after the mechanicals; letraset; and air-brushing on acetate ) we started using Photoshop 3. I would finish class and head straight to work, putting the curriculum to use. From there I switched departments ( I was a production artist which was different from that of a PA in a boutique or agency ) and became a 'marketing designer.'

2. What kept you going in those early years?
For the first portion of my career I was surrounded by writers and editors, not designers. I took a lot away from them. Creative banter, the type of work we where doing, coffee, Top Ramen, free bagels from Dunkin Dounts–all contributed to my personal motivation. It seemed, at the time, the ideas where endless and design was much more then I had initially thought. The memories of passion demonstrated by each creative I've worked under, with and for, support me to this day. Seeing other successful ideas executed is very inspirational too. Creative is never finished, only approved.

3a. Did you ever feel like you weren’t good enough or you would never make it in this industry?
The only obstacles I really recall where related to personal or professional issues. I've had work stolen and blatantly copied ( even traced ) and those experiences made it tough initially. I also found that, even though I was hired as a designer in some cases, that I could learn other aspects of the business and that ultimately it was the act of providing a 'solution' within in any medium that was the core of my motivation. There was, and always will be, numerous tools and professional extensions of the industry. Everyday yields a new opportunity to enhance the creative's arsenal and I never look back at my work. Remember, designers are a curious bunch and if I failed at one thing, I felt like I would certainly be able to excel at another.

3b. How did you work through that?
Finding a new challenge and integrating into my existing skill-set. Ideas just keep getting bigger.

4. Do you look at others today and think “Wow, I wish I were that good”?
No. I think–Wow, I wish I had more time.

5. How do you measure success?
As a professional; When the client is confident the work is representative of the objectives. As a designer; When the work starts a conversation. As a creative thinker; When I can talk about what I'm showing and everyone gets it.

6. By your standard, do you think you are successful?
Yes. However, I do not attribute my portfolio or talent with success. For me, it's about the people I've worked with and how much I've retained and in-turn, have been able to improve upon. I look forward to collaborating with other creatives, new and old and will forever be learning something new. :)

7. How do you define your success?
Through my challenges.


Now that I've answered these–

I'm not sure it's fair to call anyone a successful designer or a non successful one. We walk the fine line of art. Which means, this is a very subjective business. I've met designers whose work wasn't the greatest compared to less successful designers but, they where very well versed in design practices and very confident in their selling abilities. Ethically, maybe one should ask themselves what they are trying to achieve with design not, "how much can I make?" Design follows life and alters it on a larger scale. A town is defined by two things ultimately, it's architecture and it's commerce. Designers have a direct influence on both. Style is not talent. Maybe success should be measured more by the longevity of the message then by the currency of it's aesthetic. Sometimes, the debate of success is equivocal to a debate about the aesthetic/effectiveness of a Stop-sign.

Is good design a form of success or a function of success?

If your interested, below are some links to other designers whom have answered them meme as well. I really enjoyed reading everyone's perspective. It seems, after I was done reading, the one thing we all share is curiosity. Oh, and a lack of hours in the day too. :)

David Airey
Essential Keystrokes
Paul Enderson
Inspiration Bit
Aaron
Design Adaptations
Graphic Design Blog
Lauren Marie

ADs

ZODIACS PERSONIFIED

Via, Umm-Yeah


I've seen these before but never got around to posting about them. There are other variations floating around the intrawebs somewhere. I'll post those as well when I find them.

I really dig mine; Sagittarius.

iBAKESALE, IT WAS TO EASY

Adholes founder Marc Lefton recently passed on a freelance gig with OnCardMarketing and in doing so, recommended me for the job. Thanks-man!

OnCard Hired me to create a logo for their new community-based fund raising program; iBakeSale.

Sourced from their website,

"Based on feedback from people like you, iBakeSale has created a stress-free, easy and rewarding program to increase fundraising for any community organization.

iBakeSale helps charities, local schools, sports teams, houses of worship, other community organizations and even larger charities raise money from everyday purchases.

We offer consumers cash-back rewards at hundreds of merchants. Members can elect to keep the rewards or give them to any local group they want to support.

No more selling raffle tickets, cookies, wrapping paper or chocolate door to door. iBakeSale has found a way for you to raise money without any effort."

This turned out to be an extremely easy client to deal with. From the creative brief to payments and communication in general. They were receptive to all suggestions and the revision process itself, was fast and concise. The gig was completed in two working days.

I want to use this post to talk about a problem I think a lot of designers, illustrators and agencies run into. I know I've been a victim of it and unfortunately might be subjected to it in the future.

IDEAS AND PROFIT
This entire project took two complete business days to finish. And by business day, I mean billable time. Which included account service, production and creative. The client was initially quoted one week with final deliverables on the last day. On day two, the quote remained the same. I didn't change it, the client didn't request it.

My point;
There are times when ideation; inception; inspiration ( whatever you call it ) takes no more then a split-second. The solution is quick, accurate and representative of the clients objects. Basically, you nailed it. And you know you did. But you know that the client wouldn't perceive any value in a process that took all of five minutes.

Creative time is billed on the executional end. Not the ideation end. And it bites us in the ass all the time. I'm not sure why a client doesn't perceive the value and expertise a designer, art director or creative has in providing a solution quickly and effectively. If I were to guess, as this is the problem most of the time, it would be because we walk the line of art. And all though it is an art-form, design and advertising communications is far from art. We're often thrown in with ear-cutting deviants. Client education, collaboration and our ability to communicate our ideas clearly, is key. I often find design solutions very quickly. But I've earned the skill/talent. I've spent years learning, unlearning, being taught and teaching. I consider myself a professional, like the rest of the business class in the world. My field of expertise is a creative field. I'm paid to combined things that were previously considered unrelated.

I'm not sure where the link is, but I recall watching a video years ago with a creative at Pentagram ( NYC ) discussing the redesign she created for Citi's mark. If I remember correctly, the designer found the solution within five minutes of the initial meeting.

As a business owner, I would have considered that a profit! Job done–onto the next project.

Maybe we should start billing for meetings instead. We might have less of them.

I've attached the four initial concepts that were presented to OnCard for their iBakeSale property. The final logo can be viewed on the website.

FIVE TOP TIPS FOR PRODUCTIVITY

Or, at-the-least, my personal productivity. ( or lack off? )

Aaron Russell has tagged me with this meme. Which isn't helping with my productivity.

So here goes;
NOTES
A note pad. Always. With a writing utensil of some sort. I once used pigeon poop to jot a campaign down. Ok- I didn't but, it's a funny visual. I'm huddled in the ground mixing poop with a twig, drawing the concept on a leaf.

The one thing I find needs organizing the most are; any ideas that might pop up throughout the day. Unfortunately there are not enough hours in the day to execute 98% of them. So a notepad is key for me. I work in advertising communications. We sell ideas. Which isn't a very tangible product and those ideas need to be readily available. They need to be stock-piled. So writing things down as they are incepted is a key task of my day.

COFFEE
A good helping from your local free Wi-Fi distributor. Get yourself a fancy mug and sip it. Tea is great too. I actually know the procedures of some of the local cafés around downtown. I've helped brew a pot or two. Seriously-don't laugh. Don't mess with my coffee.

RUNNING
Or any other outdoor activity. Walking. Jogging. I relieve a great deal of stress with a good jog, subsequently giving me a lot of clarity in the process. And the high lasts a lot longer then coffee. So-don't mess with my running schedule or coffee drinking.

GOOD MUSIC
I can't/won't offer anything specific. Music, especially something you listen too while working, is a very personal thing. If I'm working on the visual plane, I like something with passion and energy. If I'm writing, I like ambient sounds and abstract work.

LINEAR FASHION
No matter the task, I approach all of them simplistically in a linear-fashion. Unless it's a task with a collaborative effort. Multi-tasking is a farce as far as I am concerned. I find it ironic that most business professionals offer advice such as; "Be great at one thing first," yet completely contradicting that statement is, "You need to know how to multi-task." Personally, I suck at multi-tasking. I'm to anal to let something go at 50%. I get disenchanted and worry. I like to see things through.

MEMES
Not answering them can be very productive.

Ok-here are five (four) random blogs this time around. Please don't feel obligated to repost.
Blinkr, A New Wave, Why Advertising Sucks and Johno. ( your tagged man ;)

THE MONSTER ENGINE

What would a child's drawing look like if it were painted realistically?

The Monster Engine, from Dave Devries's gives us a look.
Below are a few of my favorites. You can view more here.

THE OTHER CREATIVE PROCESS

A concept, within a concept, within a concept, within another.