« Robert Houser Expands His Vision | Main | Mind and Mood Set Us Apart »

March 25, 2006

Designing for the Trash Can

by Ryan Saghir

"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."
Thomas Edison

This is possibly one of the hardest concepts for a designer to come to grips with. You put your heart and soul into a project, constantly think about it during your waking (and as common with designers, unwaking) hours. You go through dozens upon dozens of design concepts in your head long before even putting pencil to paper, or cursor to document. You study your audience, ponder the effect, create the mockup, rework the mockup, and finally arrive at the completed piece -- only to have it completely rejected (usually by someone with little design experience.) A flurry of emotions ensue: anger, frustration, discouragement, and in many cases abandonment.

It's funny, because the portfolios of prolific designers probably account for only 5% of the actual work they've done. The final pieces are rarely the 'best' pieces either, just the 'accepted' ones. The majority of commercial artwork viewable by the public has no resemblance to the original piece spawned by the creative mind. It's the on-going battle that every designer must face, and one that most designers simply can't handle. But to continue in this field, you must learn how to deal with the inevitable rejection - learn not to take it personally - and understand that the design may have a purpose someday. Set the design aside for future use. Abandonment should never be the result. The rejected design was missing something that you didn't see (perhaps because you were too close), so saving it for later use will allow you to bring it back from the ashes, and rework it until it's better.

So rather than designing for public consumption, try designing for the Trash Can. Realize that this design will probably never see the light of day, and you should prepare yourself ahead of time so that rejection doesn't create an obstacle for future progress. Self sabotage is the leading cause of bad design.

Once you've come to that realization, treat the Trash Can like an Archive instead (ala Gmail), so you can take some comfort in the rejection. Embrace the disposable nature of artwork and in turn abandonment won't ensue. Perhaps another client will find the value in your vision

Posted by Pat at March 25, 2006 12:15 AM

Comments

Post a comment