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I.
It is always difficult for a person to write an account of their own work, to dig deep down inside and harness words to describe the intangible. Inspiration, the source of ideas, that moment when the concept finally comes into view, these are all elusive, dream-like phenomena. To try and verbalize that, to even attempt to fashion some sort of grotesque personal marketing statement, to me, defeats the purpose of how I've decided to present myself with this online portfolio. I hope that this is not the first page you clicked on from the landing page, but if you were willing to resist the temptation to click on a link or two from the projects listed to the left, I will now tell you not to resist temptation, click on the links, out of order, however you would like, whatever looks interesting to you! If you already clicked on a few (or all) of the links, and you are looking for more information about me, then I'll do my best to accommodate.
"I guess I just wasn't made for these times."
The Beach Boys
People nowadays, especially in the professional world, have allowed themselves, even dedicated themselves to pursuing a very laser-focused path. Skillsets fall into a neat little box-- salesperson, analyst, accountant, manager, and yes, even designer. For some companies, often very large ones, these commodity skillsets are a perfect match for a position that gets accompanied by a roman numeral. I wasn't made for times like these, but fortunately neither were plenty of us out there. If your objective requires people of a different sort of mindset, some higher purpose, requiring a vast range of knowledges and competencies, then we are beginning to speak the same language.
"For several years, it has been apparent that design studios and corporate departments have been looking for a new kind of designer, one that has traditional skills and yet a much broader perspective on problem solving."
AIGA, Defining The Designer of 2015
The key issue that seems to scare people into a neatly-packaged skillset is the fear of confronting the unfamiliar. Whether it stems from a lack of a sense of adventure, or simply a lack of experience, they shy away from learning on the fly, from getting dirty, even in the face of a shiny metaphorical trophy that comes with solving the new problem, and the perpetual benefits inherent in that newly obtained knowledge. Going with the metaphor, I'm like a cat, drawn to shiny things like new ideas, new solutions to new problems (and old ones, too). I don't mind getting my hands dirty, I don't mind picking up a new skill in order to get through the task at hand-- if it takes a single day or an entire year. To me, timeframe is impossible when it comes to skills, because the development and refinement of a skill is an ongoing, lifelong process.
II.
One could spend years, as I did, pursuing these creative impulses, exploring, achieving, failing, learning, yet without motivation and direction, inspiration and aspiration, the chances of meaningful progress are diminished exponentially. Often, one need look no further than their own unfulfilled desires, be them material or immaterial, to find a reason to stand up and do something, and that convergence between the form (creation) and the function (needs and wants) is what I think we, as designers, strive for.
"To measure up to all that is demanded of him, a man must overestimate his capacities"
Not sure, found in a fortune cookie one evening
To be continued...
