It’s about process…. not product.
I’ve been a product oriented designer for nearly a decade. Nine years of producing as much work as possible as quickly as possible. This approach has produced some good work, some mediocre work and some great work. At times I produced work not for the work but because I really needed to pay rent… or my car payment… or any number of bills that come with being a human. This past summer I decided to take a step backward, with the promise of a step forward, and develop my skills as a process oriented designer.
Process is challenging.
As a process oriented designer you need to be cognizant of your intention and choices. How are your creative decisions meeting the goals and needs of the client. One solution does not fit all and there are times when the solution doesn’t seems to come as easy as has previously. Spending the last six months back in design school has forced me to show my work to other designers and take their feedback to create better work. Constantly sharpening my skills; on purpose.
I should tell you that at this point in my career I have spent most of my design time in isolation. I haven’t had a long term “job” in over six years. The beauty of working by yourself is that you call the shots and you please the clients. The downside of working by yourself is that your work may become stale and stagnent… and you may not even know it. Clearly you can tell if you are gaining and maintaining your client base, which is a decent representation of the work that you are doing… but you don’t have a group of people reviewing your work to challenge you to work just a little harder and think a little more.
Before beginning a professional design career I had met with a number of local designers to ask them questions about their careers. These designers had varying business models and varying business sizes ranging from a one man show to a large ad agency. One of my favorite interviews was with Bob Moorehouse, Chief Creative Officer and owner of Vermillion — http://vermilion.com/. His business is rather impressive and I was curious to know how he did it. How did he build his company.
For all of his success, Bob is very humble and generous with his time. He put it very plainly… “Well,” he said “I started with one small project… completed that… then got another small project… completed that… and eventually I had a big project and needed to hire someone to get it done.” At that point he just kept at it. When I asked him about the internal process at Vermillion, he was just as plain… “Usually our team will produce something… it won’t look very good. And then we rework it and rework it and ultimately we have something that we can share with a client.” It’s about the process.
Process driven design takes time, patience and guts. The first solution may be a good solution and might even be worth putting time and effort into, but it’s not a stopping point. Getting the feedback of your peers can be tough, but it can make for better work, and ultimately will take you farther and farther in a creative career.
Choosing to be back in school has been terribly challenging for me because I am not used to having to justify my decisions or take live feedback from my peers. I am not used to working on a team to produce work for a 48 hour design sprint. Managing the process takes extra time and energy that I haven’t ever been exposed to. And although it is challenging, it is extremely rewarding to see the work come together for the presentation.
Balancing process and product is tricky. The pending deadline keeps you moving forward and process can feel like you are moving in circles… and you need to move forward. Although it’s hard, design is a process and good design is in the process.
