Designapalooza – Part Seven

June 5, 2008

Table of contents:

Read Everything

This has been my life for the last several months. I’ve read more design articles then I can honestly count at this point, and I’ve only just begun. I’ve started subscribing to Podcasts so that while I’m at work I can listen to them. Yes, I can listen to Podcasts and work because I’m just that good (not actually that good). My Google Reader is growing, my participation in social networks is slowly expanding, I’m starting to look beyond what’s cool to try and understand the why behind it. This is progress, and this is what I want to share today.

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Grains of Salt are Heavy. And Salty.

In part one I talked about reading everything with an open mind and with an understanding that the authors of the articles you’ll read probably know more than you. After five months I still feel that way, and I’m glad for it. It proves that I know nothing in comparison to those living and breathing the field. Does that mean I’m stupid? No, at least I don’t think so. What it means is that there are people out there better than me, simple as that. It’s only a bad thing if you turn your nose up at them and decide not to learn from them.

A trend I have noticed amongst the Web, which is one I’ve noticed starting to bleed into real life, is the idea of collaboration; sharing information, tips, helpful tidbits, resources, etc. Instead of clinging to intellectual property and waving a searing iron of distrust at others, people are actually sharing their ideas. Though many business people will cringe at the idea, that’s the way things are headed and there’s nothing to be done about it. What does that mean for those deciding to learn? You are now being presented with a plethora of free information that is actually useful. To ignore this information (willingly or unwittingly) is an outright sin.

The problem with this flood of information is the fact that anyone and everyone (myself included) is writing it! All information is suspect at this point. Unless what you’re reading is coming from a known expert, you can never be sure if the article you are reading is legit. This is where the grain(s) of salt comes in. I implore you to read as much as you can about as many facets of design as possible, because information is power. I also implore you to take everything with a grain of salt. If you find something suspect or interesting: look it up, and find more on the subject. You can clear things up pretty quickly with one or two Google searches.

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Hear Typeface, and Read Audiocasts

Expand your media. I started off reading RSS feeds from random locations. Since then I have actively tried to find affiliates to those blogs to read new aspects on different subjects. I’ve started listening to Podcasts to expand my learning even further. Hell I’ve even watched a video or three about design topics. What I’m saying is that the Internet is full of different mediums, and I’d suggest checking out more then the three design sites you may be subscribed to.

When you do find yourself overwhelmed with your intake of information (everyone suffers from information overload) start to prioritize your inputs. If you know 5 sites, and a podcast always bring you the most consistent, well-formed ideas and articles, make the effort to read and hear and see those first. Don’t forget about the others, but when you only have so many hours in a day, It’s beneficial to yourself to keep your eyes on the prize.

So what happens to those neglected feeds? Read them when you have the time. Don’t let them interfere with your day to day life (some of us have jobs that consume their free time) and you can’t let yourself get side-tracked with a 40 minute podcast that ends up being rambling.

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Keeping an Open Mind is the Key to [insert something prophetic here]

I couldn’t think of a cool way to end the header, but the first part is golden. Keep an open mind about what you read. You will, in your travels, come across people who you disagree with. Maybe you have sound reason behind it, maybe you just don’t like the look of their display picture. Try and stay objective about it all.

If you disagree with something, figure out what it is you disagree with, and read up on it. It could be that the article is right on the money and it’s your perception that’s incorrect. The article could also be a total crock, in which case you were right to double-check things. If you feel strongly enough about the topic, I invite you to open discussion with the article writer(s) (if possible) and debate on the subject. Remember not to make personal attacks during these debates, because that just runs a good conversation/opportunity to learn right into the ground.

What I’m getting at here is that you shouldn’t shoot ideas down for pretty much any reason. Even the really, really silly-sounding ones should at least be discussed. Remember that people don’t always talk completely out of their ass. Sometimes, but not always. Discussions and debates allow for an expansion on the topic(s) at hand and everyone – or at the very least you – can walk away with even more knowledge then you would have had by simply reading the original post.

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My personal Stash

And I’m ending this article off with a list of every website I subscribe to, participate in, or otherwise know about. I assume that many of these will be common knowledge, but I hope that someone out there will be able to use at least one of these. Without further ado, the list:

Note: For the record these are not in order of preference.

As for sites that I’m a part of, I’d like to state that though I am a member of some of these, I am not using them to their full potential. I’m working on it.

I would actually love anyone and everyone willing to contribute to comment on this post with their favorite Feeds, Blogs, Social sites, and/or other resources that you use to gain insight into the world of design.

This is the seventh and final part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I hope that anyone who followed along with this series can come away with something from it. I thank you for taking the time to read the ramblings of someone who happens to love design, despite having the official documentation to back it up.

Have fun, and keep learning.

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