It’s always nice to receive a fresh batch of advice for a class at the start of the semester. Nerves can be high during this time, so having someone who made it through the class before tell you, “it’s going to be ok,” or point out simple things to pay attention to during the semester can be extremely helpful and oddly comforting.
When reading advice from last years type students, I found I kept going back to a student who said, “If you can’t sell it, no one is buying it.” It is probably because this little piece of advice is beautifully written, but it also speaks to one of my weaknesses as a designer personally. I struggle with having confidence in my designs. I am always afraid to show others what I have done or what I am doing because I know it is far from perfect. But like someone else said, “no design is ever finished.” And ironically, showing work to others can actually get you past the imperfections you cant seem to fix because others can offer new, fresh perspectives. I have to trust that what I have designed is the right choice for things, that I have thought through every element and each has a meaning or purpose for being where it is. I have to have the confidence that I made the best decisions and I have to sell that.
Another point that really hit home regarding confidence as a designer was that this is a class of developing designers, each with a different style and personality. By that reason alone, every design, every perspective, every interpretation isn’t going to be the same. That doesn’t make the choices I have made wrong or any less successful. It just makes them different. As I am new to design, I don’t know if I have found “my style” yet. So my goal for this semester is to trust the work I produce and use this time to figure out who I am as a designer, find my style, and grow.
Embrace your instincts but listen to critiques with humility. That goes a long way in developing a style that works.