1. Have ideas.
2. Make those ideas happen.
3. A whole bunch of designery stuff.
4. Draw.
Number 1 is harder than you might think. Everyone has ideas, but your job is to have ideas on demand and to share those ideas with everyone else. People will try and restrict you to "good ideas" only. Don't fooled. There are no good or bad ideas. There are ideas that never went anywhere and there are ideas that you made happen, which brings me on to point Number 2.
Back in the days when Macs began to invade design studios people used to say that now everyone can use a DTP programme all that separates designers from computer operators are ideas. Wrong. As I've said, everyone has ideas. (Remember that birthday cake your mum made? Remember those wedding invites your sister-in-law made? How many clients come to you with an idea they just need artworking? A lot I'll guess.) What separates you from the others is that you can make an idea happen. You can stick with it through the bad times, you can defend it against internal and external forces. You know when to stop. You can make it happen.
I'll admit Number 3 sounds odd. But having been able to do the above you still need to be able to do all the other stuff. You need to know what kerning is, and why it is. You need to understand colours, contrast, impact and space. You need to be able to make marks on things, whether it's a screen, a piece of paper or a tablet of stone. And you need to be able to present. You need to be able to read a train timetable and a map. You need to be able to tell the time and to count. You need to remember people's names. You need to know how to turn a Mac on. And a PC. Without any help.
And yes, you need to be able to draw. Drawing teaches you so much about space, contrast, light and dark, mark making. It teaches you useful things like chiaroscuro and the golden section. It teaches you about yourself. You can do it anywhere, on anything, about anything. And if you don't do it, or you can't do it, I won't give you a job.
And now you're going to ask me which is the most important?
That's easy. Number 4.
Comments