Things I Wish I Knew Before I Enrolled at BDW
1. You won’t actually be able to define what BDW is. Seriously, if you come up with a definition that doesn’t send friends and visitors bee lining for the cheese plate at parties, I would honestly like to know what it is.
2. Your teachers will literally con you into being a better version of yourself. And you will do some weird and super challenging stuff to try and impress them.
3. You will unwittingly become a coding rapper and designer of superbly badass Adobe Joke T-Shirts with “Crop it like its Hawt” and cat calls of “GitInit JSON!” running ramped.
4. You won’t master everything but you will have an interest in almost every aspect of the creative industry.
5. Feedback. Oh, the fickle mistress. It can feel like you just prepared the most in depth deck of ideas the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, when you hear something that seems like it should have been obvious, you are going to feel idiotic. This is not the case. But do start to make a list of the things that people tell you. Start this list as soon as possible and add to as much as possible. Surprisingly, honest feedback is HARD to get while in industry. Make the most of it.
6. Things are going to get intense. It will come in the form of excitement, disagreement and rapid ideation. As your vocabulary changes and kerning and UX become expectations; you will start to carry these beliefs to the world around you. Even to the hour-long line at the pharmacy when you ask them if they need UX help. Because in fact, you will have a lot of ideas on how to improve their process.
7. The measure of your success. It cannot be compared to anyone but you. People come to BDW with a thousand different ideas, backgrounds and goals. This is both absolutely wonderful and deeply irritating as your comfort zone will constantly be pushed and your expectations made greater.
8. Bring your own fork! BDW has two of them. Forks are worth their weight while you do time at BDW. My cohort members have had to innovate by eating salads with spoons…
9. There really aren’t any days off. Whether it is at 1:45 in the morning and a classmate sends you logo design mockup to put in the deck, or you end up standing around at a party thinking about the UX of the apartment’s parking area. Constantly being around these people inevitably brings you closer to your cohort.
10. BDW students have a reputation for being arrogant. With that said, you are going to be a T shaped contributor to society. NEVER be over confident. But, NEVER SETTLE for something that is less than your own expectations. You represent a family at BDW and it is a privilege to be apart of it.
