Twenty + Years of Design

Design is not just making, but also the thinking. Design is a quite the problem solving queen.

My journey into design has been non-linear. I stumbled into this profession, or to put this more aptly ~ design found me. I remember my walls and books filled with doodles and anime style art. I was giving away paintings even before I learnt to sell them.

Through that journey, I ended up learning pagemaker and then adobe photoshop by myself and creating design for family or friends. Whether they were greeting cards or brochures or even invites. I did it all. With no actual learning.

Then I did end up learning some formally through a course and ended up running with it. I had the software and I created design, just because I could. Fundraiser needed? I would problem solve what could be done to get my friends or family what they needed with some cool illustration and content.I was a designer and it stuck with me.

Through the years I professionally found clients, worked with corporate, NGOs and small businesses building my portfolio … or maybe losing it with computer crashes. I learnt on the job and learnt much more than I would have in design school.

To do design is to fail many times.

That’s what I keep reminding my daughter, and myself. Design found me and it taught me that I failed many times before getting it just right for my clients needs.

It wasn’t just the making, it was the design strategy and thinking that went into the design. It has taken me so long to understand that my design value is much more than I realise.

To be honest, its how the industry is run. Quantity is more important, tech snobbery is more important, AI fear is more important.I focused so heavily in trying to fit into this space since I was alone and creating my own path, I forgot there was merit to my madness. To make a design my mind runs through a set of questions and then I quickly implement the concepts along with the design principles. All that I learnt on the job and from teaching myself by reading and learning by myself.

The leap in tech and AI around us now has seen a dearth of ready to make designs without needing a designer. But sometimes AI gets it wrong, so do the people using Canva or AI. Shiny object syndrome has always been my kryptonite.

I try one thing once atleast to see if it works with my process. Most times I end up using what I use normally because there will be something that is too clunky or redundant. I’ve seen many design tech and options fall like a shooting star, here today and gone the next.

The reason I can experiment and do what I do is because I have a design style yes, but I also have a design strategy. Design is not just the making of it, it is also the thinking behind it and my goodness how important is that part. It is a special kind of problem solving that lays the groundwork and leads you to the desired output that will help the client with their needs.

It’s a superpower every designer has I like to think.

Twenty+ years in design and it finally hit me, I am here because of all those failures, because of learning on the job, because I problem solve like no other and love this part. The Studio Libran is here now, because I walked that path so long. It’s time to take myself seriously.