Graphic Designer & Calligrapher
Webstock ’13: Mike Monteiro – How Designers Destroyed the World from Webstock on Vimeo.
Mike Monteiro hits the nail on the head with how being a designer and not caring can ruin someones life. This speech made me reassess my process and to care even more.
What do you think about it?
I thoroughly enjoyed this talk from Mike Giant. What I found great about this was the showing of how his style progressed and changed over time. This makes me wonder how many designers work would look if they showed how their work looked from the beginning to where they are now. It seems as if they only show the good work.
Alan Watts always has thought provoking speeches which make me think more deeply upon the subject of which he is speaking.
When applying for Jobs you can feel as if nobody is giving you a chance. You are a fresh graduate working to improve your skills and portfolio. Then you’ve been applying for Jobs and following up with no luck. What you should do can seem like its going to be impossible to ever find a job in your field.
I for one as you all may or may not know I graduated with an associates degree in graphic design. I will admit I have gotten frustrated when I have not secured a Job. But you know what I did I did not feel sorry for myself and go cry in a corner. I kept going and going and going. I know you are capable of doing the same thing.
Because if you are going through a hard time its not going to last. You will get out of it what you believe you will. If you look up anyone who is famous beyond measure they have went through some very hard times. Here’s some tips to keep you motivated and to keep going.
I recently began to pay more attention to hand painted signs. When you see a hand painted sign its as if you can imagine the time it took to create sign and many other things. Knowing there’s a store that stilll uses hand painted signs I’m pretty sure the vibe and feel of the place is very different compared to other stores.
“That point where it happens… that’s where it all happens”.
When I first came across this video I did not know what to expect. This is simply a scenario that we can use in all of our lives. When you take care of someone you never know when or how they will pay you back.
Being a graphic design graduate can be frustrating especially when you do not get any responses from the jobs you’ve applied to. While you are applying to those Jobs what are you doing to set yourself apart from the rest of the other designers. Many people who claim to be a designer next year they will probably not be one or trying to be one.
I have learned recently that while whatever you are pursuing make sure you are busy working. Meaning “Do not sit and watch TV or do anything that will not help move you forward”. If you are for example a fashion designer and you want to become a better fashion designer then learning a new skill will help. One of the most important things I learned from a 50 cent words of wisdom video is when he said ” When I started making music it was full time everyday”.
Just think about how much your life would improve if you took action instead of just thinking about it. You may be a person who says they are waiting for the right time. I’ll admit I used to think there was a time for certain things. But in actuality whenever your time comes are you going to be prepared? Learning new skills will help you in the long haul. Just think of people who found a job thought they would not need to learn other skills, then got laid off and struggled to find work.
There really is not any reason why everyone nowadays does not have more then one skill. You have access to millions probably billions of free articles, videos, tutorials on whatever you want to learn. Remember whatever you are going through someone else has to learn from them. Stop just thinking about something you want to do and go do it.
Make it a priority to take action and if you fail at least you tried and then keep trying until you succeed. The only thing that comes to someone who wishes is a dream without any results.
It was so refreshing to finally see a new interview with Dieter Rams. He always drops some new knowledge that one would not have thought of saying. Also when they ask him about people who think going to school for design does not matter. But anyhow enjoy.
One of the big debates that people seem to get confused is having a design style vs approach. To me a style is what you come up with from the approach to completing a project. Because if you want to design a poster in a swiss design style then you would have to learn the principles and then take an approach to come up with a similar style.
Your style will mold itself when you continue to work on your approach to projects. The way to improve your approach is to practice thinking about how to approach the project differently. The approach could range from doing things differently then you normally would to designing in a different place.
So with this said do not worry so much about your design style. Style is something that everyone seems to want to have. Your style will develop overtime through looking at more design and designing more. Your approach will develop the more you look at how you are working from beginning to end.
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