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How to deal with not everyone liking you and your design work

You may be saying why would not everyone like me? I am a good person and I treat people nicely. Well let me break it down for you. There are people who think the same way as you.
Then you have those who just want to hate everything you do with no reason. Also you have those people who secretly want to see you fail. So you have to accept this and not be afraid of it. Because when someone learns this its hard to swallow.

For me when I was younger I did not think anyone would have a reason to dislike me. No matter how good I am and positive I am I will never be perfect in certain peoples eyes. But you know what I don’t care what they think. Honestly the only people’s opinions that matter first to me are my family members. Then after its friends opinions and how they see me.

When I first experienced a grueling critique of my design work in college I was devastated. But you know during the time of it I did not let it effect me. I was strong through the whole critique and dug deep mentally that I was not going to let it destroy my dreams. You may have experienced a time when someone was so brutal and almost made you want to give up.

Use those experiences to make people eat their words with how they made you feel. Like Frank Sinatra said the greatest type of revenge is massive success. I know that professors are only doing it to make you better. But lets be honest not everyone will see it that way. Some will either get offended and or make up an excuse to why they did so many things a certain way and others will just not care.

Use everyone experience as a learning curve to get better. Every thing someone says, that they do to you use it as energy to get through the tough times. There have been many times I had absolutely no drive to do certain things. But you know I always remember what I was told in design school about my typography and I most likely will never forget it.

Its the little things that will push you and drive you forward. So stop worrying and getting discouraged. Believe in yourself and most of all be honest with yourself.

When the Going gets tough

When ever the times get tough it will either make you or break you. Well not just the times a lot of heartbreak and failure. For example if you are applying to jobs and never get a call back. Experiencing things like that can make you want to give up. I for one experienced it many times.

But you know whenever things like that come my way I know that I will get through it. The same thing will be capable of you. But before you can get through it you have to believe you can get through it. If you do not believe you will make it through then 9 times out of 10 you will not.

First you have to be honest with yourself and what it is that you are doing. Recently I started working at FedEx office. The shift that I am working is third shift. Third shift is such a new experience for me and not something I have ever worked. But you know what I am going to do I am going to do my best while I am working there.

There have been times when I was frustrated because  did not know how to do such things. Another thing that I have to change is to realize that I have a team to help each other. The mentality of my previous day job was completing things in an instant. I know that over time I will it will be a breeze for me. Knowing that it will come easy for me is the same mentality you should say for your situation.

Because We both know that you can do it. Then you and me both will give it the most effort we possibly can. So why would you want to give otherwise. I know many people love sleeping and getting rest. I for the longest only have needed no more than 5 hours of sleep. I am not bragging about having such little sleep. I just feel bad if I wake up and have wasted my whole day in the bed.

I for one want to be all that I can possibly be. No matter how difficult the task may be. No matter how frustrating the task will be you can do it. The reason why I say you can do it instead of getting frustrated or going in your room to lay down face the rough times without fear. You have to run towards them and make them run from you.

Work like your poor

When I posted this on my instagram i got different types of responses. When I knew that such a thing would happen. I like to be an open person and share different view points to instill a discussion. Because seeing how different people think is always a plus.

I first heard this quote Work like your poor from a youtube video. With the mentality of working like you’re poor it takes upon a various different types of meanings. Some can be either positive or good. Poor to me is more so a mindset that one has developed over time.

Because being poor is something that you can overcome easily. The reason why I say easily is because you can do anything you put your mind to. I for one was skeptical of this phrase at first. But earlier this year I was working at a company and my financial situation was not healthy at all.

Over time I devoted myself that I was going to get out of the rut. I was in a situation and not happy about it at all. You know I had even thought about giving up and joining the Navy at one point.  Because I just did not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But you know that I had to say to myself I had to stop being a little bitch about everything that was happening. I had to say to myself everyday is that you are not happy here and you are living poor. Because I know that I am capable of doing what ever I set my mind to. So there is not a reason why I should be working anywhere that I am not happy.

If you are feeling trapped at a job and feeling poor you should work like you are Poor to get out of there. By that I mean lets take someone from a less privileged country and see how they would act if they were in your position to find a better job. A lot of us who are graphic designers we tend to sell our selves short too often. By that I am referring to those of us who know that are work is not shitty or poorly designed but we just do it to get by.

I for one will not sit and pretend as if i was not the type of person who would just take whatever I could get. Because I was one of those people who did. I was scared to say no and not say my full rate. There was something that would happen in my brain that I would be scared of them saying ” oh that is too high for us to pay”.

See this whole poor lifestyle and or poor financial situation is all from a mindset that we create. Because our action tend to be the main results of everything that we have. If you are a graphic designer and you work like you’re still in college you may need a reality check.

Even if you are not poor you should continue to have the hustle and drive to maintain what you have. The reason I say this is because there is always someone who is willing to come and take what you have. Then you have to risk a lot of the things you value starting to fade away slowly. So just take the time to think if there is something that you have been neglecting and let fall to the wayside.  Do yourself a favor and start being honest with yourself.

Watch people say no to spec work

 

This video is a great example of how people in  Other professions look at spec work. If you are not familiar with Spec work spec work is when someone wants something done with the guarantee if a benefit of some sort. Well that is how I define spec work.

 

Taking a creative Break

Taking a creative break is not a bad thing to do at all. I from time to time take creative breaks. The reason is because I do not want to start hating what I do. When I am working on something and If I feel I am forcing myself to do the work I stop. Because then I feel I would not be producing my best work.

When I work on a project I am focused 110% and I will not stop till I am done. Doing project after project can wear you out and bore you. A lot of people may be thinking take a break? What is that or do you mean take a vacation? You could set a certain of the week when you are not going to do any work. The day will be your day off.

Another thing is that you could have a queue of work that is stacked up. Having a queue of work gives you freedom to take a break. The secret is being great with managing the time that you have set out.

How develop your style from the past, present and future

Developing ones style is sometimes a difficult thing. The reason being is because a lot of people just start out copying one another. Well let me be the first to say copying is something that we all do. Copying is a way of studying. But you should never try to pass someones work as your own.

Because the reason you do not want to pass the work of someone else as your own is because it will discredit you immediately. You will have the label that you are a copycat. Trust me you do not want to ruin your reputation as a designer or whatever profession you are in.

So the first thing you should do is learn the history. When I started learning graphic design and going to school for it I learned a bit here and there. But it was me who took it upon myself to learn what has happened before. Then I learned the different styles of graphic design. Because every place in the world the design work has a certain aesthetic to it that makes it unique.

A lot of designers are influenced by the swiss design principles. Because the swiss design principles are what is very attractive. By attractive I mean simple and easy to understand from my point of view. For others it may be completely different. Which is good to be able to understand what works and what does not.

Just because a style of work looks cool to you there is not a reason for you to start doing it in everything.  You have to realize that just  because it looks cool to you that does not mean it will work for everything. Because a lot of designers fall into this trap.

So after learning about the past you want to learn about the present. By the present I mean you want to take time to learn about what is going on now. By learning what is currently happening you will be more in the now. Being in the now you will not get left behind and have a more familiar vision of how the industry is evolving and growing.

Learning about the future well there is not a way to do such a thing. By that I mean there is no better way to draw style from the future other than to develop your own style after learning from the past present and the now. Because with all this said your work should reflect the thoughts that you put down with your pencil or whatever tool and or tools you use to do your work.

 

Why as a creative person you need to understand business

So I was contacted recently to sell my artwork on a site. The idea of me selling my calligraphy  is always a great thing. By my artwork I was referring to my calligraphy work and etc. At first I was like “oh yeah” why not? Well let me tell you why I am not going to do it.

Being a creative person whether your a designer or not you need to understand business. By business understanding profit/loss and many other things. If you are ever offered to do business or sell your artwork take the time to understand what you are giving up. You could be giving up rights and even profits.

So the organization said that I would receive 10% of profits. Ten percent is a joke especially when there are other places where I can get 95% or even greater of the profits. This is where a lot of people get taken advantage of and or they think the artist is not knowledgeable.

I want you to avoid having the mindset of I cannot do such a thing on my own. Well you can if you are willing to educate yourself. Do not fall into the trap of letting other people decide things for you. If you are in business as a freelancer or wherever there is nothing wrong with asking for advice on things. But you need to do what you feel is right.

Then learn the difference between a crappy deal and a good deal. There are a lot of people who will give you crappy deals just because. Know your value and worth stop selling yourself short. Because there is not a reason in the world you are not good enough. But all of this boils down to how much you believe in yourself and how much you value your work.

What has happened in my life recently

Well a lot of good things have happened in my life recently. I have started a new job at FedEx office. Before I was working at officemax. At officemax I worked in the print department. The experience that I gained from working at officeMax as not bad. A lot of the things I learned I still will continue to use.

The coworkers that I had from officeMax especially my supervisor he trained me very well. We had a great relationship because he taught me a lot about designing in the real world. Another thing was the types of jobs that we did for customers. I also while working at officemax I was freelancing at Herman advertising for awhile.

The other day I just sat back and thought about how my life has been over this past year. When I all of the trials and tribulations that I experienced wanted to break me I smile. I smile because they are nothing to me now and are so easy. Then I take time and appreciate myself for surviving them.

At FedEx the culture is so much better and it at first was overwhelming. By overwhelming I was pretty touched by the amount of care that is taken into consideration when hiring people, the training and also how my coworkers take the job serious.

The Moral of the story is that you may be going through a tough time or in a job that you’ve been with for awhile and no longer enjoy, but you know what get out of there. There should be no reason for you to go into your job and get emotionally upset. The major thing I would say is to go where you are appreciated and not tolerated.

Learn to use what you’ve learned in a current position to propel you forward. Also do not be afraid to talk with people and network. When you take the time to talk to people and get to know them you will have an even better life. Remember that the conversation is not always about you.