Follow the Gentle Sign

Junior Year in Retrospect

Junior year… where to begin? I’ve learned so much over the past two semesters, and grown so much as a designer, that I don’t know how to put words to all of it.

One area that I’ve grown a lot in over the past year is my ability to work and function is a group. Previous to this school year, I hadn’t really been a part of a group design project, so I definitely had to learn a lot about how groups function in the design world. The more I was able to work in groups, the more I realized just how crucial collaboration is to the design process. It was a joy to be able to see the different skills and assets that each group member brought to the table, as well as to see how each separate skill set was utilized throughout the course of the project. I realized that the final products of these groups would never be able to produced without the different ideas and input that were provided by each of the group members. That collaboration is also what often got me out of design “ruts,” or past that wall that designers so often hit at some point in the design process. Others are able to view your work in a different way than you are, and that different perspective is often the thing that is needed to push your project farther.

Another thing that I’ve really grown to appreciate is the community that our junior class has formed over the past year. Since we’ve been able to gotten to spend so much time together over the past two semesters, our class of 21 has grown a lot closer and become our own weird little graphic design family. It’s a great group of incredibly talented people, and I’m privileged to be a part of it.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned about myself is the way I approach my design projects. Every designer has a different design process, and, through the course of this year, I was able to figure out the way that works best for me: how I best come up with creative solutions, and what to do when I can’t come up with those solutions. For starters, I’ve realized that I really like to have a good, solid concept behind everything that I do (and if I don’t have one, then I work and work and work until I do). I also don’t like to move forward with a project until that concept is good and finalized, which, to some extent, holds me back, but also saves me from doing a bunch of unnecessary work.

I also discovered the importance of taking breaks from design work, and the simple pleasures of getting inspiration from the outside world. If I’m stuck on an idea, I often just need to take a step back and do something to get my mind off of things for a short period of time. When I do hit that wall, I’ve also found it very helpful to stop my work, and to go back and focus on the ultimate goals of that project. If my design isn’t functioning as an effective solution to that problem, then something has to change.

That being said, I’ve also discovered that, once I get an idea, I tend to hold onto it and get stuck on that particular idea, and it’s hard for me to move past that first level and to refine it. I need to be willing to push that idea farther, rather than just settle for the first idea or design that jumps out at me.

So what can I say? It’s been a crazy, stressful year, but I’ve learned a ton, and I know for a fact that I’m a much better designer than I was a year ago. I can’t wait to see what the next 12 months have in store for me!

Lesson No. 23

emilywatz:

I get by with a little help from my friends.

image via Ryan

I’m feeling very reflective as my semester winds down. Final presentations are done, process packets are handed in and I got to thinking, “What was all of this for? What have I learned?”
Among the things I have learned this year about design and about myself, I’ve learned much more about my friends and classmates who went through this year with me. They’ve become a big part of who I am. Makes sense since I see them every day!

This is what they’ve taught me:

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Couldn’t have said it better myself. I love my design family. :)

(Oh and for the record, Emily, I did roll my eyes. Hahaha)