Gordonated

I have failed.

I consider things I learn in life as important. Especially concerning things that are closely related to me (work, family, etc.) but seem distant when it comes to preferences. Problem is I prefer to do things out of my routine. I have a very short attention span in things at times. But that doesn’t mean I reject the idea that spending time and effort on a certain issue/project whole-heartedly bears good fruits. It’s just the state of mind when I’m in that makes me want to distract myself into doing other things.

Being a designer handling a few jobs simultaneously is not an easy thing to do. I did have a certain amount of confidence when in school, handling 5 subjects together and did fairly well. Now, I feel that I don’t seem to do so well as I used to.

The list of reasons on the top of my head which I listed down are as below:

1. Trying too hard to imitate my heroes.
   I love to take the “What would Tibor Kalman do?” approach. Or perhaps “What would Bill Cahan do?”. Or anything that comes up from Vince Frost’s studio is cool. I even wished I was Phil Baines and can critique like Rick Poynor. Or be like Max Huber and be the grandson of Jan Tschichold. The list goes on.
2. Complexity is cool.
   Like the way God created the human body, its cool to be really complex and beautiful at the same time. Forgot that God is God.
3. Where’s my inspiration?
   I spend an awful amount of time in front of the computer everyday. Its ridicules really.
4. Wrong interpretation.
   The problem with most designers is this. We feel that our opinion stands out in the crowd, even comparing it with or peers.
5. Fear.
   What if my client doesn’t like it? What if my peers think its rubbish? What if it doesn’t go well and generates 0 results? Will people consider me an amateur than? I have a constant fear that my work will be considered amateurish and not professional.

The list could go on. But I though that giving it an honest though might help. Perhaps it helps to look into another different realm where trying out different disciplines or approaches will help.

Be it using an obscure typeface. Daring grids. Stunning overprints. Unimaginable colour combinations.

Not to post something highly inspiring here folks really.

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Coincidently, when I was writing this post half way through I saw Matt Soar’s recent post on failure on Design Observer!