Mentors, Not Masters
The art of paying it forward
Header Image Courtesy of Jay Clay
Sitting. Waiting. Delaying. Letting time slip by my fingers. After an unusually long hour and a half commute across the Carolina state lines, I still find myself 30 minutes early for the AIGA Mentor Matchup. Rather than deplete my remaining introvert conversation points I decide to decompress in the car before entering.
What awaits me inside is something I didn’t know I really wanted until I had one. A young, impressionable, corruptable design mind. Someone I can give the headstarts I never had. The soft skills I learned the hard way. The truth.
This is a joy and a pleasure I’m glad I forced myself to do. I’m far from a veteran of the design industry, but I’ve got a few purple hearts in life that give me a wiser perspective than other designers with my level of experience. Hoping to deposit a few gems in the account of my mentee, Andy.
Helping him to tell and sell the story of his design work, showing him the advantage of building relationships with the people who are in the places he wants to be, and cutting the fat from his portfolio could go a long way to pushing his career forward.
These are all lessons I’ve learned and continue to hone. Far from a master but I know enough to teach what I’ve learned. You don’t have to know everything to mentor or share some knowledge. All you have to do is pay it forward.
Inspiration
- Capturing contortions in black and white, Asiko seemingly builds letterforms out of bodies in this image.
- We only speak of beautiful things. Tongues like roses. Romeo Shagba documents the delicate words of a queen.
- Djeneba Aduayom finds new ways to address the sky from unthought of angles.
- And so much more, go CHECK THEM OUT
Education
- Derek Walker is sick and tired of being sick and tired about this industry. And if you’re not angry, you’re just not giving a damn.
- In this Jazz Night In America video, there’s nobody like Mark de Clive-Lowe to employ disparate musical strategies in an improvisational jazz space.
- And Much More
Invocation
- Tobe Nwigwe reflects on his roots over his usual sparse yet heavy production.
- You might be unfamiliar with Congolese rhythms, likely won’t understand the language and won’t know the vibe of Kinshasa street musicians, but trust me… Jupiter & Okwess are astonishing.
- In their latest album, ‘Your Queen Is A Reptile’, Sons of Kemet explore what it means to have female leaders and the influence of family on their music.
Congregation
- If you’re not part of the Black Designers United or the African American Graphic Designers groups on Facebook, you need to stop playing and come through.
- You can also find more creatives of color on 28 Days of the Web and Revision Path
- Plus over here at Creatives of Color and Adjust Your Margins and BlkCreatives.
- Get your hands on some melanated photos over at Tonl and Nappy and Women of Color in Tech and Jopwell and Blend Images and Create Her Stock.
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