So… Follow Along?
Six years is a long time.
For six year I worked by myself. I ran a solo practice in NYC. And while it was great, I really wanted to work with more people. One of the ways that I made up for the fact that, on the average day I was working alone—or maybe with a single client—was by trying to understand what the design community was thinking, talking about, and doing on a daily basis.
As a result of working alone I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts, read a lot of books, and been to a lot of meetups, and while it all felt great, it ultimately felt… a little bit lonely.
I’m no longer the only designer, but I still do a lot of self educating. And as such, I want to do this WITH YOU! Reading, listening, thinking, writing, conversing about design. Maybe we can do it together, or with your friends who are designers, or maybe they aren’t designers, but they love design.
Let’s talk. I mean it.
I’m going to write show notes for podcasts and other types of learning content (articles, books, vlogs… I’m open to suggestions) and I want us to talk about these things:
How do I start a design career?
How do I try something new?
How do I grow my skills?
How do I become a design leader?
One caveat:
I went to art school. I love art. Sometimes art is more flexible, when talking about systems. I will pepper these design notes with thoughts on art. I will think about and discuss systems, regardless of where they’ve been employed. And I hope that’s exciting.
When Tom Sachs gets a residency at JPL to make art, systems thinking is at play; JPL doesn’t let any slacker in the front door. And I think this variety will be good for us. And if you disagree, I want to know.
Let’s take this journey together.
Mike Neff
We can start here ↓
