Design is a social profession // In the end, you're trying to deliver a message to an audience with a hopeful intention (buy, vote, exit here, etc)… and to do that you'll need to become comfortable communicating with people in real life. As you go through your day, make the attempt to look up, smile and even engage people in conversation. I ride BART every day and meet all kinds of folks — many of whom surprise me. I love that part. The teenager in a sports jersey and sideways baseball cap reading an advanced physics book (and had plans to go into the army); The burly biker with lots of tattoos who turned out to be really nice; and Joe. Before he retired in May 2014, I rode the train with Joe for almost 2 years and first started talking to him when I saw him reading a book in Thai. Joe is a tall, older American and the last person I would expect to see reading a book like that. I found this interesting and asked him about it one day. Come to find out, he was in the Air Force in the South Pacific for years and he speaks both Thai and Japanese (and his wife is Thai). Every day he told me something new about Thai or Asian culture — for instance, when Thai people ask what you would like to eat, the translation is "what would you like with rice?"... the assumption being that you eat rice at every meal. I would know a lot less if I had not taken the time (and taken the risk) to talk to Joe the very first time.
Practice, Practice, Practice // No matter what you're doing, practicing will make you better — the guitar, chess, Super Mario Brothers… even design. Take every opportunity to practice and integrate it into your everyday life. For instance, if I wanted to get fit, would I find success by only thinking about (and practicing) fitness the 1 hour I spend at the gym every few days? No… well, at least not quickly. But, if I incorporate fitness into my life: eat better, take the stairs, go on a hike on the weekends, I'll find success much earlier and it will be a more holistic, fulfilling experience. The same goes for design. If you only think about design when you're in class, will you find success quickly? Probably not. However, if you integrate "design thinking" (thinking like a designer) into your every day life, things will become much more natural much more quickly. You can think about design when you pick out your clothing in the morning, when you go shopping, when you re-arrange your bedroom — everything can be a design exercise if you challenge yourself.
Surround yourself with people who will make you a better person // And to the point of challenging yourself, it will be much easier if you surround yourself with people who inspire you to be a better ___ (designer, runner, chess player, guitarist, etc). If I wanted to get fit, my friend who plays video games all day is likely not someone who will inspire me. How can I find folks that will? Well, I might need to get out of the house and meet new people — and you might, too.
Broaden your influences // If I wanted to start a band and all I listened to was Blink-182, the likelihood of my band sounding like Blink-182 is very high. However, if we listened to Blink-182, The Beatles, The Police, John Coltraine and Metallica, our music will very likely not sound like any one of these bands because they're all so diverse (but excellent in their own way). If all you look at is Swiss Modernism and the work of Josef Muller Brockmann, it's very likely that your work will look just like that. While there could be worse things, it's best if diversify your influences. By doing so, you'll also be less likely to dip into unintentional plagiarism. By looking at only one thing, it's very like that you might be so influenced that you might accidentally copy it one day.
Expect (and embrace) change // Many of you travelled a great distance to be here. You've left your homes and families and friends and come to San Francisco to experience something new. Embrace that change. Take advantage of the diversity of the city and our student body. Make friends with a girl from Sweden, a guy from Hong Kong (and a girl from Beijing because Hong Kong and Beijing are very different places). Find someone from Texas and Brazil… All of you decided to come back to school, so take advantage of this great opportunity. This should be a transformative experience — you should expect to emerge a a very different person.
This is so great. Kudos Hunter.
Posted by: Kristin Riger | 10/03/2014 at 05:42 PM