Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Response: My process

If any of you couldn't tell, I sometimes get uncomfortable when I talk about my process. I think it's something I don't spend a lot of time thinking about, and if I do, it's still not typically something I want to share with others. Still, Jan is right. Everyone is different, and it certainly is interesting to learn about how other people work. I can't say I'll be working in the my bathtub anytime soon, but I think we can pick up a lot of help and advice by listening to how others work.

I think I can tell you more about how I work when I design logos because they're usually the most challenging and time-consuming to execute well. One day, when I was working at NPR, my boss literally would not let me leave for lunch until I had talked him through my process of designing a prototype for the now deceased Bryant Park Project. I remember how strange it was for me to hear myself explain an intimate and complex thought process to someone. This was different than trying to sell a client on a brand; I was trying to understand myself and my design process. When I was finally able to "get it all out," Jacques was able to tell me how I could improve, how I could work more efficiently, how I didn't have nearly enough sketches. That was the first time I truly examined how I worked, and after I finally ate lunch, I started piecing things together differently. I think serious self re-evaluation every once in a while is good. It makes you challenge yourself when you start to get too comfortable. Which, I think, might have been what happened today.

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