Nikita Nova — designer.
Nikita Nova — designer.
Tips for all aspiring designers that will save your money from consultations, courses and masterminds.
You can’t go anywhere without them. Now you may notice that a certain part of the job (for example, searching for options) or even an entire area (for example, research) is better than others. This is fine. In the beginning it’s like that for everyone. This happens because before design you were still doing something: drawing at school, arguing with everyone, or reading books. And you have more training in this.
Every second designer in consultation with me makes the following conclusion:
— Since I can’t do this, I’ll improve other skills that I can achieve. You say to strengthen the strong, behold!
Don’t do this. It’s too early for you to make this decision. If now you find it difficult to make something beautiful, talk to a customer, or sell services, it’s because you’re at the beginning. Previous life experience is not enough. And yes, you definitely need to learn this to a strong intermediate level. And then, when everything is strong and average, you can go strengthen the strong and become a unique specialist. But without an average base in all design areas there is nothing further to do.
There is nothing shameful or wrong about not doing everything yourself. The power is in the team. Always. Most great things have been done by teams.
Of course, if we are talking about something more than cards on VB. Although, I think even good profitable cards are made by teams of 2-3 people.
Yes, publishing team work is more difficult. You need to be able to speak diplomatically so as not to piss off people within the team. And everyone considered themselves quite important and appreciated.
Self-presentation skills are required. So that any recruiter has no doubt about your contribution to the common cause. A well-made and well-written group project gives 10 times more points in the coolness box.
Especially if you only do academic work. Or you are making a design purely for yourself. Or getting ready for your first job. In general, you exist without external deadlines and agreements with other people.
Create internal restrictions. Artificial.
Swinging in design is the same as rocking. It’s not just one 10-hour workout that makes the difference. And the frequency of hour-long training with different exercises for different muscle groups.
You will still win from the first cases and hide them in a couple of years. Or they will be blocked by new fucking works. So, the ban on finishing your work endlessly will help bring this moment closer. Just imagine how many new and interesting projects you miss while you delve into one thing.
The most destructive thing about designers is to improve each of their work to perfection. And only then, after months of torment and suffering… no, not publish it. Be disappointed and put it away on the table.
Everything published should be 85-90% good.
But where can you find the courage and courage to publish something imperfect? For example, in the book “The Courage to Create.” By what criteria do we understand what is possible? Is it time?
The only criterion for publishing anything is “it does not contradict my principles.”
There are no more criteria. And it can’t be. Today you like your job, tomorrow you won’t. Today you love yourself - tomorrow you won’t. Today one expert praised you, tomorrow another one craps on you. Everything changes - fashion, mood, tastes, expertise.
So the point is to cling to the fundamental.
Your principles and views on life change less often than your mood and “opinion leaders.” Therefore, what is published can be any degree of awesomeness, professionalism and coolness - as long as it does not contradict the principles.
You won’t be able to choose just one thing.
If you choose only an external assessment, then you will always work for less money than you are actually worth. Simply because in business it is customary to save money and optimize expenses.
If you choose only an internal assessment, then you become that misunderstood genius from the cash register in the five. With an unstable reliance on the world and a separation from reality in fantasies about one’s omnipotence and fearlessness.
The combination also gives the desire to work and compete. And the courage to ask for more money, to stand up for one’s own, to say no.
About those same geniuses…
Imagine that you are sitting at an interview between two candidates. The first one, Andrew Netakovich-Kakvseshkin, is a genius, but he looks like a homeless person. It also stinks. The second one, Sasha Khoroshov, is, on the contrary, a pleasant specialist, but he’s just smart. He has experience and knows how to solve problems. He’s definitely smarter than average. But not a genius.
The stump is clear - you need a second candidate.
And not only because all people choose based on their appearance. But also because he is more adequate in his perception of the world. Sasha knows social norms. It is advisable to brush your teeth. Don’t cause problems. He knows the basic principles of the psychology of influencing people. Able to create a pleasant feeling.
Such a person gives signs that you can work with him. He will not break the system for the sake of his righteousness and freedom. The potential of his mind will work for the result and the team. And not to confirm its uniqueness.
Genius is worthless if nothing can be done with it.
This is because, a priori, all people have their own tactics. And they stick to it. At a basic level, they don’t care about business or team goals. Imagine how difficult it is to pull a person out of the world of his own needs and motivate him to work not only in his own interests.
In order not to become like Andrew Netakovich-Kakvseshkin, you need to be a pleasant person and offer understandable benefits in your future together. Then the person switched from his world to yours.
In an exceptionally toxic work environment, this certainly doesn’t work. There are orders, kanbans, deadlines - well, you need to eat dosed minced meat for a salary for a grocery basket.
It is cheaper for both teams and companies to work with Sasha Khoroshov.
He understands how important it is to give a compliment and say hello at the beginning of the day. Listen to a story about a cat from the village. Set expectations, don’t break them. Know how to conduct calls. Don’t show ass explosions. And work with other emotions.
It’s nice to work with people who understand that they are the ones living in society. And it wasn’t that society appeared around them by chance.
A vacancy for a cashier in the top five awaits all misunderstood geniuses.
This is called authenticity.
Content is everywhere. There are more themes around you than there are atoms. If you learn to simply reflect on life based on the fact of existence, then you can learn to see these themes. Imagine your face if you started to see every atom.
Generating an idea is more difficult. Connecting it to the topic is even more difficult. This is how life is.
People also pick up on the dialect of your channel. I could remove all the pussies and tits from the text. But I really talk like that. Okay, when asked, I can speak normally. But it’s more interesting to squeeze out a metaphor or a funny word. So read the calls of new lips on the scales of a tin fish.
Maybe these are high demands on yourself and any of your work. Maybe you consider this text to be overly important in general.
In fact, 1 good text is 1 flash of importance. Also, not every text will turn out good. And a high-quality, high-calorie blog is worth 50-100 flashes in your reader’s memory.
It turns out that you need to give out a little every day for several months to increase the value and calorie content.
Here is a series of tips that came out. In October and November, I conducted 21 consultations for aspiring designers and students. What I most often retold from time to time became the basis for this note.