Iris’s Reviews > Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design > Status Update

“I have too many ideas, and I have difficulty choosing among the options...If I can't choose the best book cover out of twenty, then I figure my indecisiveness is itself the decision. In other words, if no cover jumps out of the pack, then maybe no cover is good enough yet. They're just mediocre.”

“Because so much can be done digitally, I have to remind myself to incorporate the marks of humanity into my designs...intentionally sneak in imperfections...I slow down, let my work sit a while, edit and rework things carefully. I have the urge to fire things off as soon as I'm done with them, but I'm always relieved when I decide to let things sit an extra day or even a month.”

Advice for making and selling a product: Does the world really want this? What is the human element of the work?; believe in the project; show it to as many people as you can, take advice, rework it and show again, repeating until you get only excitement from those who experience it; commit to investing money as well as time; ask for help when you need it, you don't have to do it alone.

“I'm finding that I'm not influenced by the look of a historical typeface but wondering about the thinking behind it. It's usually a theoretical underpinning that precipitates a new design rather than merely the look of something old.” – Johnathan Hoefler

Art Chantry. Sort of a cynical perspective of the design industry and where it's going but it's an interesting view.

“Often people don't know what designers do and therefore don't find it important or valuable. Respect is hard to come by in design.”

“Being serious is easy. But being human is memorable. Funny, imperfect, soulful work is the stuff that will touch your heart.”