Jank to Dank™ Design Method
Take Your Craft to the #NextLevel with These Ten Steps
The number one goal for all designers is to take broken, unintuitive products and make them elegant and simple. I call that process Jank to Dank™ (for obvious reasons). Check out my method below, and put it into practice as soon as you possibly can. Let’s make the world a better place through dank design in everything!
1. Pound La Croix
Before you even get to your desk, you gotta hydrate. Nothing refreshes better than the bubbly innocence of La Croix: Wisconsin’s liquid courage. When I crush a six pack of those naturally essenced, heaven-sent cans of pure refreshment, I’m on my A-game. Although La Croix is known by many names — Holy Water, Sprinkle Sparkle, Dab’ll Do Ya, Eau de Vie — I call it “Dank Drank.” La Croix is necessary for the dank lifestyle.
2. Get #Inspired
Hop on Instagram and hit up the #DankLife tag. This is key: you gotta get your daily inspo before you can even think about being creative.
🔑: Inspo before creativity.
3. Daily Self-Discovery Exercises
“Know thyself.” Sounds familiar, don’t it? That’s because a dude named Socrates said it. Ever heard of him? Socrates knew what all the coolest cats have always known: you gotta know who you are before you can do anything else! That’s why I jump into a self-discovery exercise every single day.
Here’s a good example: imagine that you are meeting yourself for the first time (which you probably are). What would you think of yourself if you saw you?
4. Peep the Haters
Your competitors, frenemies, former clients, exes, evil cousins, disgruntled neighbors, arch nemeses…You’re only successful if they fail. Keep tabs on their social media, check in with them anonymously, sabotage their self-confidence — do whatever you have to do, just make sure that they’re jealous of you.
🔑: Spend as much time as possible comparing yourself to others.
5. Self-Care Hour
By this point, you’re well past the halfway mark for your workday, and dang, dank design is tiring! After a hardy hour and a half for lunch, it’s time to take care of number one. Do whatever sounds good in the moment: watch TV, take a nap, call a friend. For the next hour, it’s all about you, baby!
6. Build Your Personal Brand
How can a client expect you to build their brand if you don’t have a solid brand yourself? Have an on-brand moment, go outside and make it known that you’re you, and your brand is the best.
Self-promotion used to be frowned upon, but you don’t have time for humility, wisdom, or even common sense in this competitive personal brand landscape! So get to it!
🔑: Your brand is better than anybody else’s brand.
7. Chill with Dope Artists
Nothing is better for an artist than other legit artists. Get some hang time in with visionaries. Don’t talk about work, design, tools, or anything like that. Just chill, and enjoy the presence of other enlightened people in your life.
8. Draft a Not-Do List
Define what you aren’t going to do, so you don’t waste time when you’re doing what you are going to do. This list might get long if you get into a creative, abstract state of mind. If that happens, ride the wave and keep that stream of consciousness going!
9. Invest in the Best
An artist is only as good as their tools, so spend time shopping. But don’t just browse for new design tools, think bigger! Clothes, decorations, food, toys, music…it’s all a part of it! Your body is your design tool, so invest in you, and your craft will follow!
🔑: Anytime you get paid, spend it all within 24 hours.
10. Catch Plenty of Zs
A fresh mind is the direct result of a good night’s sleep. So, after all your hard work caring for yourself, building your brand, hanging out with friends, and everything else, get yourself to bed, man! You’re going to need at least twelve hours of sleep to do it all over again the next day. I also take Mondays off to rest after a long weekend of chillin’.
If you’re already a dank designer, share your work in the comments. If you’re new to dank design (or just an all-around janky person), send me an email so I can laugh at the garbage that you’re designing.
