“Chapter 10: Working with Others” from Mike Monteiro’s Design is a Job
Working well with others is one of the most important abilities a person learns throughout life. It is required at school, home, work, and just about any other setting involving other people. Being part of the same group bonds individuals together, even if they share nothing else in common. Monteiro mentions that workers from the same profession have an unspoken code of mannerisms towards each other. I’ve noticed this treatment on several occasions, from meeting a stranger that lived in my hometown to acknowledging fellow Alpha Phi Omega service members while traveling. It immediately forms a connection in which the two individuals can relate and feel more comfortable being around.
Monteiro points out that subconscious connection is anything but similar for designers. He believes that designers are catty towards each other and do not hold respect for other individuals in their field. Since I do not work as a designer, I do not know how accurate this statement is and if others feel the same way. To me, this seems a bit hard to believe, as several other professions encounter competition as well. Meeting another designer off the job is much different from dealing with another on the job. The sooner a designer can surpass this obstacle, the faster a job can be done.
Designers offer many criticisms and arguments towards others’ ideas. I agree with Monteiro when he says that working with disagreeing designers will help more than working with one that agrees with everything. It will help me learn how to get my point across well enough for others to listen to me instead of always believing my idea is great without knowing why. Just like Monteiro’s experience at art school, ripping a person’s work to shreds can either make or break the artist. The people who stayed through it all developed better habits as artists. This is something less prominent in interactive multimedia. Yes, there are times for critiques, but for every positive comment there is a soft suggestion. I have not yet experienced the heartbreak that comes with harsh critique.
Something that stood out to me in this reading was Monteiro’s warning to not involve myself in another designer’s work. This does not apply to working in the same group as another designer, but if a designer finds himself or herself trying to correct someone else’s work, it can come across as insulting. This follows suit with designers being catty to other designers and lacking respect for others in their field. Monteiro urges others to not fall victim to being involved in firing another designer. We should work with each other, not against each other.
