Design Thought Leader

I design to a client and their audience. We design for them. I’m—and perhaps, unfortunately so—not one who has a particularly strong design aesthetic that I lean on. I’m not known for a ‘look’ and there’s nothing wrong with either side of the coin. I try to push each project in the direction it naturally should fall into—this isn’t always easy, this isn’t always profitable. I’ve done an identity, an initial web design direction and gone through with a small beta site before getting the nagging feeling that it just wasn’t right for the client and therefore communicated with the client about it, who was too polite to tell me that they too, while content with what they were seeing, just didn’t feel all there. So, we re-started. Not entirely from scratch but in a new direction from what we originally had. At no extra cost because it wasn’t right. And sometimes, doing the right thing is much, much more rewarding and satisfying than worrying about the bottom line (i.e. profit margins, and terms like that which make me squirm a bit). This isn’t the rule nor is it the exception, it was something that made sense and was appropriate. There was room in that project to do work that we were both happy with. Not all projects can end this way but sometimes, honesty and communication can go a long way. … Listen, communicate, design well.

Naz Hamid
Co-Founder and Designer, Weightshift

Freelancers know how to hustle. As a freelancer, you can’t afford to become irrelevant, because that could mean that the next gig will never come. Freelancers are constantly networking, marketing, and staying on top of the latest and greatest tools and news in their field to make themselves the go-to person for a certain kind of service or expertise. Good freelancers live on their toes. They’re adaptable to changing opportunities, and can quickly shift gears, evaluate different jobs, refer potential clients to their freelancer friends, and chat at the virtual watercooler about who needs what. Freelancers know when it’s time to pull an all-nighter and when they can take an afternoon off to catch a matinee. Freelancers don’t put their careers on cruise control for long periods of time because they’re setting the course—not their boss or company.

Gina Trapani
Founding Editor, Lifehacker.com

This is so cool: because we only look at things we want to look at, only talk about things worth talking about, the amount of fabulous in the world continues to rise exponentially. … Not only do I notice more fabulous, but it sure seems as though the creators of it are more engaged, dedicated and yes, joyful, than I can remember. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can’t say, ‘but I need to make a fortune instead,’ because that’s not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, ‘I love doing this.’

Seth Godin
Author

Like I said before, make sure that you are communicating in a constructive way, and understand that collaborating consists of a lot of give and take. While your final idea may not be exactly how you initially conceived of it, most of the time your ideas will come out better because of the back and forth. Two heads are definitely better than one!

Anna Corpron
Co-Founder, Sub-Studio

Do good work. For us the quality of the work coming out of our studio is THE most important thing, above all else. You are only as good as your last job. Sometimes its easy to get sidetracked by commercial requirements, but for us the number one principle is absolute commitment to work of the highest quality. We try not to stray from that.

Tim Beard, Jonathon Jeffrey and Mason Wells
Directors, Bibliothèque

I think it’s absolutely critical to have a strong culture in a studio. A design studio is a living, breathing thing and people generally work extremely hard, so its important the environment and culture supports that. They’re creatively investing themselves in their outcomes so there’s a bit of your blood in everything you deliver. I think that brings a bit more emotion and passion to the process and more emotion and passion means more potential conflict or just more intensity.

It’s very important that people feel valued, that they’re part of the team and that they’re supported. We’ve developed out Quality Assurance system for delivering projects, so that people feel they could go out on a limb and make mistakes, stuff up and not ruin a project. Because part of design is that element of chance and surprise, if you manage that out of your creative process you miss out on a whole world of interesting outcomes. You’ve got to allow people to make mistakes and you’ve got to allow people to grow in a business.

Soren Luckins
Founder and Director, Büro North

I usually work in a direction until I know how to do it, then I stop. At the time that I am bored or understand—I use those words interchangeably—another appetite has formed. A lot of people try to think up ideas. I’m not one. I’d rather accept the irresistible possibilities of what I can’t ignore.

Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008)
Artist