Coming to grips with the fact that I am no longer a Visual Designer.
almost 7 years ago from Matt Smadner, Ask about me.
It's been a long time coming. Over the summer I have had to accept the fact that I am no longer a Designer. In my heart at least. I started my career in graphic design at 15. Designing rave flyers for techno events in my hometown of New Orleans, LA. By the time I was 19 I had a full fledged web studio with 4 employees in the back of the office of my grandfather's real estate company. Complete with beer fridge and hammocks, way before startup culture was trendy. By my 25th birthday I had worked for a number of well established web-studios and had a hefty client list under my belt. At 30 I decided to devote my life to working exclusively for charities. Non-profits are always the last place you find great design because they can rarely compete with the salaries offered in the private sector. Now on the eve of my 35th birthday I am composing what I think will be my last digital style guide. There is paper explaining our online typography and color options for our UI spread all over my office. But I know in my heart that I have taken this as far as I can and it's time to move on.
Next Wednesday I have an interview for a new position that is outside of the design field. My idea, as it stands now, is to take the process I use to make great visual products and apply it to other areas of our business. I know this isn’t a new idea but I hope it's something that will give my organization a fresh lens to see problems though. I also think it's something that almost twenty years of design experience has been preparing me for this whole time.
Just thought I would share the moment.
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