Love the Work. Work to Love.

I've realized that my career is a constantly shifting target, and perhaps that's just the nature of being a creative. There's always this underlying drive to strive for better, to push boundaries, and to seek out work that truly resonates with our souls. I once heard someone say, "Your days are your life," and it struck a chord with me. Today, for the first time in almost two years, I have the luxury of working from home. Instead of braving an icy bicycle ride into the office, I found myself lingering in bed until 8:00 am, reflecting on the very reasons I chose the path of a designer.

Lately, when I think about work, it's become a laundry list of tasks to complete rather than a source of inspiration and fulfillment. I yearn for the kind of work that used to ignite my passion and energize me every morning. So, I've realized that it's time for a change. Every journey begins with a single step, and I've already taken that step in the right direction—now it's time to pick up the pace and charge forward!

It's time to envision the kind of world I want to inhabit and the work that truly excites me. I know it looks vastly different from what has been consuming my life in recent months. I was recently inspired by a talk by Tiffany Pratt, where she posed the question to her audience: "What are you synonymous with? What is authentic to you?" It got me thinking—what content would friends forward to me on Instagram? What would they think of when something reminded them of me?

Pratt's words reminded me that I need to bring spontaneity back into my life—to create the right environment for new opportunities to flourish. I want to collaborate with people who are just as excited to work with me as I am with them. Those people are out there, and it's time I stopped turning them away because of my overloaded schedule. "Find your tribe and love them hard”. As cheesy as this meme has become, I'm determined to live by those words.

It's time for a revolution—a revolution of passion, purpose, and authenticity.

Stromae my hero

I got the opportunity to see Stromae, a Belgian electronic artist at the Riviera last week. I was only familiar with a few of his songs after a coworker was telling me of an NPR she had been listening to on her way into work. I actively pursue things that get me out of my comfort bubble, and since I don't speak a word of French I was intrigued. 

As the show opened, Stromae projected an animation of a factory production line and digital replicas of himself on screen. When he came on stage and the performance began, it became obvious that my friend and I are the only two people in the room that do not speak french. I began to feel very isolated as I realized that we were the only ones that don't know the lyrics and I couldn't even pretend to sing along since I don't know the language. The excitement within me grew as I began to fall in love with his work. This is a good reminder that Chicago has amazing culture if you go looking for it. 

The love I felt from Stromae's fans is stronger than any show I've seen as of late. One of the more beautiful songs was dark and spooky and a projection of spider-like fingers grab at Stromae as he struggles to get away. This spider represents a demon-like force and by the end of the song it attacks and kills Stromae while seeming to devour his spirit. Upon researching this song I learned that it is titled Quand C'est, and Stromae was writing about his fear of cancer. 

What I loved most about this experience at the Riv is that I was able to feel based on visuals and music alone. Because I could not understand the lyrics, my other senses were heightened as I was straining to observe as much as possible. Sometimes you need a reminder, like this experience, to get you to continue to step outside of your comfort zone. It was a wonderful inspiration for me, I went to work the next day ready to conquer all design challenges. Check him out the next time he's in town, no regrets.

Thoughts on writing

Why does putting my thoughts into words make me so nervous? As I stare at the eight unfinished blog posts sitting in my drafts folder, I can’t help but wonder. I pour so much heart into my designs—yet sharing my writing feels far more daunting than the pain of launching my portfolio site.

Maybe it’s the uncertainty behind my writing skills. I haven’t taken a writing class since college, while I’ve spent thousands of hours refining my design craft. And let’s be honest: when I’m unsure of the right word to use, I have no problem making one up.

The whole point of this blog is to practice facing that fear head-on. If I can learn to write more cohesively, maybe I’ll feel more confident articulating my work aloud. Either way, this blog gives me another outlet to share and explore—plus, one more place to add sketches of line art!

Why is whitespace so important?

As a young designer, you often have complex ideas and may add clutter to your work to get your point across. You lack the confidence and schooling it takes to make educated decisions and probably do not understand balance or rhythm yet. I routinely attend talks via Creative Mornings, and recently had the pleasure of hearing Scott Wilson from Minimal Design speak. Scott explained that cluttered design is actually an under-designed piece. A final design is a result of a subtractive process and only the necessary elements should survive.

White space is actually referring to the negative space between words and pictures; it does not necessarily have to be white.  Negative space allows the work to breathe and directs your eye toward the content. Less clutter makes it easier to convey a message, and communication should always take priority over design.

Often a designer will receive feedback from a client to “make it bigger.” An untrained mind believes that “bigger” is easier to understand and will communicate their idea more clearly. I included an example of a quote by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli below. It is very apparent that the first “bigger” layout does not communicate Vignelli’s message as well as the second layout, which utilizes ample white space. Without a margin, the eye has difficulty focusing, and you can see that the message has taken a backseat to this design.

The difference between a thoughtful, yet simple layout and an empty page can be hard for some to perceive at first. A seasoned designer will begin with a clear purpose. He still begins the design process with many ideas, but the final piece should be boiled down to the purposeful essence. Valuable design takes time because it requires organization and obsessive detailing. E. F. Schumacher said it best: “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”

My advice to young designers is to refrain from decorating and be mindful that communication is the bottom line. Well-executed design will not require instruction or explanation. In fact, a good design often goes unnoticed because it is meant to carry the message rather than BE the message.