Dear Designer,
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called Stop Waiting to Be Picked for a Design Job that called for designers to rethink their professional relationship with employers. The post received a lot of interest and even generated a few calls — and I wanted to expand upon it, especially since last week’s post Wild Life was well, wild, freeform and abstract.
I like to think on the best of days Dear Designer will be of assistance to designers alternatively skating and skirting those lines.
So, let’s talk pragmatics and more rational futures.
There is no better time to invest in your self
To state it plainly, right now is the time to become the designer you have always wanted to be — on your own amazing terms. If there was ever a time to go out on your own, to become a freelancer or a solopreneuer, or even to start a small studio with other likeminded designers and technologists, now is that time.
What kind of world were we bringing our daughter into?
I somehow convinced my wife that it was a good idea — or she simply had much more faith in me than I had in myself. And so, I started doing the first thing that all young, budding designers do — I looked up domain names. A few weeks later, I registered manoverboard.com as well as an LLC in that name and I got to work.
Why am I telling you this?
Because those times were difficult — as they are now. Design and tech jobs were scarce — as they are now. I did not know if the Internet was a fad or a public utility like electricity — and we still don’t. There was the real threat of global instability — as there is today.
- My family and friends were living in both precarity and peace — like so many of you are right now.
- I started my little design business in 2000 not out of fear but out of hope. I knew that I could create something that was entirely my own.
- I had zero dollars and an old computer but I knew that I could build a business that would help others — if I cared.
In addition to the distinctive economic and political similarities between 25 years ago and today, I’ll give you three reasons, dear designer, why now is your time to start that design business.
- Salaries have not gone up in 20 years. There is a reason why food is so expensive, housing is outrageous and savings are in the crapper. It’s because salaries have not kept up with inflation. A $15 restaurant meal in 2005 would cost approximately $25 in 2025.
- Most employers are unreliable at best. When and if the next recession occurs — and there is an increasingly likely chance that it will take place within the next year — employers will be no different than they were in 2000, 2008 or 2020.
- AI will change communications — but not all visual design. We are in the midst of a mild to major revolution in how we communicate, who we trust, and what work is done by people and machines. Visual design of all forms and flavours will be changed, though.
Thank you and talk soon.
Image of the week
The Muslim polymath Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206) invented dozens of objects, including an elephant clock in which a large timing mechanism in the shape of an elephant indicated every half hour using cascading water and various parts. Al Jazarihat wrote “The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices” in Arabic — he is considered to be the inventor of robotics. I love this image above, dated 1206. It shows a mechanical “male servant” beautifully robed in a green patterned frock with purple sleeves and a golden cup in one hand and a fish in the other. The red leggings match his hat. From what I can understand, this robot is meant to serve future guests. From what I can also understand about the future of robotics, I can only hope someone as cool looking as him will be feeding me when I am very old.
Quote of the week
“We all do what we can
So we can do just one more thing
We can all be free
Maybe not in words
Maybe not with a look
But with your mind.”
— Chan Marshall / Cat Power (TypeQuote)