Design on Your Own Time
This is a brief reply to an interesting post from nikography that is quickly making its rounds in the tumblr community. The post focuses on the dedication of artists and, in particular, of web designers. I agree with most of the points that are raised, although on several key points I am in strong disagreement:
When I started college, I had faith that I would be in classes filled with enthusiastic people who were ready and willing to grow.
First mistake. I thought this when I started my undergrad and again when I entered grad school. When it’s my own money, I always bet against the potential of the heard. The best we can do is find one or two kindred spirits who will help bring out the best in us, and us in them.
Design is not a hat, it’s a full body tattoo. It does not come off.
I am always suspicious when I see web design being referred to as an heroic enterprise. As far as I can tell, the designers all volunteered—none were conscripted. Also, the world does not revolve around web design alone, and nor should our lives. It is for the best that we take the design cap off every now and again, if only so that we can see how the rest of the world is living.
Believe it or not, but some of us have loved ones that would prefer that we didn’t come home from work only to bury ourselves into our laptops. With a child on the way, I anticipate that soon I’ll have little time for my own personal projects. Does this in any way mean that I don’t have “the dedication and effort required to innovate”? Obviously not. It simply means that those who are able to devote their lives to web design are in a privileged position and should realize as much.
Designing for yourself is fulfilling because you get to call the shots, be as edgy or abstract as you want, and see what works and what doesn’t…
Totally agreed. Everything interesting began as a personal project. This is the first law of cool.
