I realized something at JBU* last friday. Something that I had never thought of before. Something that really, deeply scares me.** There are many things that make a person that make a designer outstanding. his talent,His skill,and his ability to always be creative. Talent is a special natural ability or aptitude. Its something you have naturally, no amount of study or classes can coax it out of you. Skill is an ability aquired through knowledge or practice. Creativity is birthed by originality of thought. The first and last of these scare me.
I have no artistic talent, I would love to, but I simply don’t. I have considered taking art classes, however if there is no seed of talent in me than there is no reason to try and grow that talent. Why water dirt if you know its just dirt. But then why not water dirt if you think that there might be a seed there. Who knows, I feel like there is a door in my head that hasn’t been opened, and I have no way to open it.
Second over the past few weeks I have struggled to come up with something, anything creative. The problem here is that I keep trying to come up with something creative and original, which is practically impossible for web design. There are millions*** of websites on the internet, how am I supposed to make one that is different, one that stands out. This goes for any kind of design, not just web design.
These two uncertainties have shaken up my ideas for my future career alot in the last week. I guess I will just keep doing what I am doing and hope for the best. If all goes well I will be fine. I hope I have the wisdom and conscienciousness of self to make it out in the world whatever I am stuck doing for work.
**I just realized that it is raining right now, thats pretty cool, but I don’t know if its really relevant to this article
***Possibly billions
Now you know how I feel, well- most of the time.
My web design skills aren’t much to be proud of, but when I get an idea- I run with it.
Mabye you just have good ideas, but you don’t think they are- I would suggest taking a break for a while- mabye a few weeks. That should help your brain relax and prepare to create something beautiful.
If ever I need inspiration (not just for web design) I always just sit outside for awhile and think…
Inspiration and creativity are two things that if taxed too much, can disappear forever from your brain- don’t overdrive them.
Jeremiah, I have few skills and most of them are mediocore, but the one thing I do really well is recognize talent. I know quality and professional level work when I see it. And my friend, you have talent!
Self doubt comes with the creative teritory. So do times of, for lack of a better term, designers block. To use a baseball metaphore, not every ball you hit is going to be a home-run knocked out of the park.
You say you have no artistic talent, well, I beg to differ with you. Taking an art class might do you more good than you think. Going to school and getting some skills and filling in some holes might be just what you need to open that door you are talking about.
I’ve seen your work and it is both creative and original. I think it does stand out. There are millions of websites and desgins out there but not very many of them are outstanding. Your work as a whole is outstanding. I know its scary, but you are good. If you can’t believe yourself that you are good, listen to your friends and the people who ask you to design things for them.
Creativity in any form is full of rejection. You design this thing that you’ve poured your heart and soul into and the person you designed it for doesn’t like it. It hurts but you have to keep going. Take actors for instance, 99% of the auditions they walk into they get rejected for, even the good actors, and it is painful to be rejected in this way because what you are doing is so much a part of you. Don’t let your confidence be shaken when that happens. You have to believe in yourself at the core and not be rocked by the criticizm.
As far as figuring out what you want to do with your life, I give you this advise, find out what you are truely passionate about and persue it with everything you have. And here’s a little secret, you don’t have to do that one thing for your whole life. Your passions may change as you get older and you can alter your course at that point. People these days don’t stay in one place doing one job, I think the latest stat is that an average person will have like 5 careers in their lifetime. So there is no reason to freak out about “the rest of your life”. Take it one step at a time. Decide if you want to go to college and if so what you want to study, or if you don’t want to go to college right away, figure out how you are going to support yourself and still move your life forward in the mean time. I will say that college is a good idea, even if you study something that you don’t plan on doing because it teaches you many things that have nothing to do with the content of your text books, but its ok to take a year or so off to settle your head, too.
And Tyler may be onto something as well. Some times we need to step back and take a break. You can’t pour inspiration out if you haven’t taken any in.
Ok I’ll shut up now. :-)