On Friday, I went back to Cal state to go hear Seth Johnson speak. Now normally, I hate listening to people speak for long amounts of time, but I really enjoyed listening to him. I have never learned much about the business aspect about design, and some of the things he said really stuck with me. He gave a little bit of background info on himself, and talked about how having experience in the graphic design field made it easy for him to get a job, even though he had only taken one graphic design class in his life. He had experiential learning, which our class had discussed on the first day. One of the interesting things he said was, "I tell my clients what to say, how to say it, and to whom." Seth mentioned the team he utilizes during his projects. His team contains a copyrighter, client, vendor, web, marketing, and imagery. He stated that we should, "let the plumbers do the plumbing," meaning that if we cannot do it well, then have someone who can do it. After, he listed six points of things that he has learned and thought that we needed to learn by the end.
1) It's your job to tell your clients what you think they need
2) Make your own work
3) Do a lot with a little
4) Shut up and listen
5) You have an obligation to make things better
6) Always be curious, never be satisfied
To me, number six was the best piece of advice that I could have been given. Seth gave an example of number six when he was talking about his job at a small design company. He had learned all that he could from them, and could not move up in the company, so it was time for him to move on. I have never learned much from the jobs I have had. I only had taken them for the money, and I love the idea of being able to learn new things as I work. The other points he made were also great. Numbers one and four talk about how, as the designer, you should give your client direction and tell them what you think would be the best thing to do. Sometimes though, you need to listen to the clients opinions, and work with them to create better designs that please them. Number two on the list was talking about how a designer should not wait around for work to come to them. You should make a project that says something about you, and shows the passion you have for it. It will set your portfolio apart from others. Number three referred to the fact that not all clients have a lot of money to spend. As the designer, you really have to learn to come up with great things on a tight budget. The last topic, number five, talked about how designers have an obligation to make things better than they already are. If there is a problem in a design, its our job to fix it. All in all, i gained a lot from going to hear this speech. I plan on utilizing these points in the future, when it is time for me to join the workforce as a designer.
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