On this date ten years ago, I reflected on the first decade of my career as a designer, a professional milestone not unlike reaching a scenic overlook on a steep mountain climb or a mile marker on a rocky long-distance trek. As I looked back over the years and wrote each lesson, I conjured up …
Tag: work
Choosing Your Own Career Journey
What do you want to do with your life? Who hasn’t dreaded hearing this question? Finding the answer can take many forms: a buddinging talent during childhood, a sudden epiphany, a meandering life-long quest. Often, the choice is specific and fairly well-defined, some thing to aspire to: doctor, lawyer, teacher, painter, musician, football player, and so on. …
The “Busy” Trap
I used to think being busy was a good thing, a necessary thing. “Busy” meant your mind was occupied, gears turning, neurons firing, things getting done. A mind at work was a healthy mind, an efficient mind that saw no challenge too great, no work pile too daunting. As I’ve cycled through different phases of “busy” in my still …
Putting Visual Thinking to Work
Much like other crossover sensations from the creative world such as design thinking and information design, the visual thinking phenomenon has sustained interest for some time now. From the most staid corporate institutions to the most enlightened young startups, visual thinking techniques are being sought after as part of a new business toolkit in the …
10 Years / 10 Learnings
Back in 1999, when I began my career as a graphic designer, I really had very little idea of what I was in for. Sure, there were plenty of glimpses into the field from classes, design lectures, books, magazine articles, and conversations with professional designers, but nothing ever spelled out what it was like to …