The adage “The best way to learn is to teach” has proven surprisingly true. After a decade of digging into a variety of creative avenues, I was able to teach college students just starting out on their own journeys. It allowed me a wonderful opportunity to deeply reflect on my experiences in the industry and to articulate what I have learnt. There were quite a few bits from my history and my own follies that I realized could offer a bit of insight to my students, but I also got a lot out of it too. Being around students who are excited about every new concept and tool is refreshing and I could not help but find my own excitement for the field reinvigorated. Most importantly, it clarified what was important to me and what I feel success and experience entail. 

I wish I could convince you that I can, by some magic, reach into my brain and pull out a great idea as though I was pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Wouldn’t that be amazing?! The truth is more arduous and a lot less sexy. I feel more like Quasimodo, hunched over my laptop, with nothing but Adobe to keep me company. Quality work involves research, deep insights into the context and a lot of creative problem solving. I believe this is one of the most important differences between an early-career designer/ artist and a more seasoned creative. Great work is not just about executing something that looks pretty on a superficial level, but should have an underlying concept and be the best solution for the creative problem, not the fastest.

But, the great advantage of being a creative is you get to spend the rest of your career evolving and learning new tools and techniques, ever changing, and improving.