I've been thinking a lot recently, about fear. The kind of fear that prevents me from doing things that are beneficial to me. I guess I'd call it self-defeating fear.
When I was a student, the thought of approaching a professional designer, and asking them to review my work was terrifying. In fact, the thought of working as a designer scared the crap out of me. At one point, the fear of what my crazy brain thought the future might be like was so overwhelming, that I considered abandoning my design studies. It wasn't until a very emotional long-distance call with my mom, that I realized how much I love design. I was eventually able to focus on studying design, rather than the uncertain future of practicing design.
On a daily basis, I recognize this exact brand of thinking in design students. When an opportunity to network with other students is presented, a large majority of students chose, for one reason or another, not to participate. When an chance to be inspired by a legendary designer is brought to campus, most find something else more pressing.
This sense of not taking risks can be incredibly problematic in young professionals.
In my capacity as VP, Education for AIGA, The Professional Association for Design, I see a wide variety of students in all the Los Angeles design programs. It seems that this low self-esteem is not limited to CSULA students.
In my teaching practice, I encourage students to, "Find your passion for design. You should push yourself to go beyond your comfort zone, and expand your horizon. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish, if you allow yourself to trust the design process, and work well."
In order to "go beyond your comfort zone", students must take action that makes them akward, and uncomfortable. Putting oneself out in the world, and exposing oneself to situations and people that you would not normally, makes one a more well-rounded person. People who practice, putting themselves out there in the world, become practiced at this. It may never be natural, but it becomes much more familiar, and easier to do.
Identifying this self-defeating thinking, and taking action contrary to it, will be a beneficial experience for all young designers.
- JimmyMoss
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Jimmy Moss, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale School of Art. Currently he is a professor in Department of Art at Cal State L.A., teaching Graphic Design/Visual Communication. Jimmy was recently elected as President of AIGA Los Angeles, the professional association for design. He has also been named as one of only 18 Behance Ambassadors, worldwide. He has been a visiting critic, curator or lecturer at Stanford University, San Francisco Art Institute, Academy of Art College, Woodbury University, Otis College of Art, Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Northridge, and Cal Poly Pomona. Previously, Jimmy was the Creative Director of Corbis Images, and a Senior Art Director for Foote, Cone & Belding Advertising in both San Francisco and Orange County. Jimmy’s clients have included Wells Fargo, Taco Bell, Levi Strauss, Disney as well as a variety of non-profit, technology and community organizations. Considered to be a design instigator, he maintains a strong interest in questions the role of design in public spaces and in service to movements of social change. Recently, Jimmy's been fascinated by the usage of English language typography in China.
5 comments:
I think it's a lot like people in life. You have your shy people, and your not-so-shy people. Kids that are always ready to go first, and the kids that sit in the back of the class on the first day. Breaking out of my shell was a hard thing to do, I still believe that I have not yet fully come out of my comfort zone yet, there are always a few things here and there that I am not comfortable with.
I also think that its our generation of kids. With how the world is today, with your 'beautiful people' and how everything is over analyzed, people are always worried about what everyone else thinks. It kind of makes me think about where the progression of design is going to go if the trend stays this way.
I know that me in particular am afraid break some rules in Design. I'm more by the day realizing how hard development process can be and frustrating at times. I enjoy type now more so than before. You have helped us see it in a new light. Its true Design is not just pretty pictures, there is so much more to it. But, I think start exploring more so I can be proffessional and succesfull designer.
Courage is found in fear. One can never know courage if one doesn’t have fear. We can have courage by knowing what our fear is. It is ok to fear. The important thing is to be award of our fear, and know where it comes from. Once we know where the fear’s coming from, it is easier to beat it. Take courage!!
You know, I have been waiting for some words of inspiration from someone who takes on all kinds of aspects of design. So thank you. Everything that I have going on as a student and professional has actualy been pretty overwhelming. It acually almost caused an anxiety attack a couple of weeks ago. That leads me to my next point: if you're taking on freelance, avoid taking very last minute jobs (like reel rasquache) when you already have a full time job and have time guzzling projects for class. Its really not good for your health. i am personally still recovering from all of that and am still kind of paranoid about how stress can get to me. It was a pretty horrifying experience and it freaks me out that my current lifestyle is not going to change within the next year. As a matter of fact, it can get a lot more heavy than it already is. But if you love design, you should go all out, but you still need the time to forget about it for a while, because the iterative process can really catch up to you if you don't manage yourself wisely.
Inspiring & Wise Words!!!
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