Earlier this year, my professors invited me to speak to younger designers at my college, Old Dominion University.
In retrospect, this was a big jump in the Character Development™ department as I’ve never been the one to like public speaking — heck, you’d have to really push me to talk in class, let alone be in front of more than a dozen up-and-coming designers.
But life happened. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(And doing presentations at work every other week over the last two years has done wonders.)
I want to share a few of my slides which I've painstakingly revised and rearranged and reworded for about a month up until the day before the presentation.
It was a daunting material to prepare. I was on my own weird career path, and these people are off on their own adventures. What I find relevant in my own thing may not mean much for theirs, so it is a question of what I could possibly impart that would be of value for someone who's just about to get started.
So, instead of just the usual talk about design, techniques and advertising case studies, I talked about doubts.
And when I was a student, I had plenty.
This should be a wallpaper
Back then, I've always felt like I was running out of time. No matter what I did, there was always that huge distance between who I was and what I wanted to be. I went out of the way to get opportunities — difficult for an introvert — and pursued other things that aren't in the school curriculum.
But there was such a fine line between passion and pressure, and part of what really helped me cope was a sense of purpose.
I chose design because I loved making nice things for people using new technologies. In the end, I want them to enjoy the stuff I'm doing. Bonus points if they find it helpful. This was my guide to becoming a good designer; to me, the solution to learning more about interactive stuff is to join hackathons. But for others, it could be a totally different thing and it's really up to them to figure out what they love and want to pursue.
Woooo. Look at all these bullet points and concrete steps.
I think this whole speaking thing was a good exercise — and a wake-up call to me too. I didn't think that I'd be at the other side of the table talking about experiences since I still feel like I have a long way to go and still really trying to figure out this career. But I remember that there were some things that I needed to hear when I was that age, and people who are more experienced than me took time to stop and answer my questions. I suppose we give back in any way we can, in whatever stage we're in.
This has also given me more appreciation for the mentors I've had, who taught me not just to be a good designer and do good work, but also have that good emanate in all aspects. And perhaps, if there's anything I wanted to leave them, it's these lessons my mentors have given me:
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prguitarman
amandla
pixelskylines
germansingergirl
tangentwithtanner
vaporwave
origamiaround
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