Have you sat back this week and thought about how great it is to be a designer? Take a second and think about it quick. It’s pretty awesome right? Yes, you get to wear hoodies and graphic tees, and play with typography, color etc., but that’s really not what makes being a designer so awesome.
What makes being a designer so great is that it comes with so many gifts and responsibilities that are only available to us designers. No other person can truly see or experience what we can as a designer. Here’s few reasons why I think it’s great to be a designer:
One of our biggest assets is our ability to visualize and view the world through a creative lens. We can see the end solution before others. We can also use this gift to help others understand things in a way they may not have been able to before. Let me give you an example. In the last year, I’ve done less design than I’ve ever had, but I still feel like I have been able to create and achieve some amazing things. Since I’m a designer, I’ve been able to help those I’m around everyday see the “big idea” through visualization and being descriptive with my words in ways only a designer can. It’s been great to see so many awesome things happen by just helping other folks visualize their world differently.
The other awesome thing about being a designer is that we have the ability to take complex ideas and communicate them more clearly and simpler through whatever medium is needed. We don’t see the medium as a barrier to our ideas, as much as we see it as an option available to us. This is why I think so many designers who may have started off as a print designer have been able to jump to being a web designer pretty easily. This is also why I think you see so many designers now embracing code. This is also why in recent months, I’ve been able to create compelling scripts, courses and videos that teach. No.. I’m not a videographer and I’m far from being a writer, but I’m a designer and at my core I take complex challenges and help communicate them in a simplistic ways.
As designers we are definitely passionate and emotional. Perhaps that’s the “artist” in us. Think about it, why do we get so upset by a typography or color change? It’s because we’re truly passionate about what we create. We pour our entire soul into every little design decision that we make. There’s a purpose for each item that sits on the page, just like there’s a reason each brush stroke is placed where it is on a painting. It just hurts when someone challenges us on that decision right or wrong. Even though I wish I could protect my emotions by not getting so attached to my work, I know I wouldn’t change it one bit. Why? Because that same passion and detail is the same reason why I’ll kern a headline, or do the things that the client probably never even notices, but also has an impact on the outcome and professionalism of a design.
Sounds cliche, but it’s totally true. We take it for granted every time we create a new brand, launch a new website or build a new product for someone to use. We do this stuff because it’s relatively easy compared to what we could be doing. Even though it may be easy to us, it’s hard for others and we don’t put enough emphasis on the fact that with each push of code or launch of an idea, we’re changing the world and creating things that move companies and the economy forward. It’s amazing to be able to create things that impact the world. The more things we create the bigger impact it will have.
These are just a few of the reasons why I’m proud to be a designer. Yes, somedays it feels like we’re a commodity and in many ways it feels like we’re building the tools that will eliminate us all together, but the truth is I don’t see it happening. A designer is not defined by the colors we pick, the code we write or the fonts and layouts we choose. We’re strategic thinkers. Even if you strip us of our color pickers, font books or Photoshop, we’re still needed. We’re actually needed more now than we’ve ever been. Businesses need help communicating their ideas to their customers through all sorts of new mediums, and in many ways they can’t. They need a people like us. They need a designers perspective.
So what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Lets chat about it.
