"I’m a hater, but respectfully"

Vibe Check Vol. 8

Sep 11, 2024

Ever asking yourself what are the current vibes? Subscribe to Vibe Check for all things creativity, art, design, music, straight to your inbox.

I’ve been enjoying my new interest in writing, but it still feels so new when it comes to stringing long ideas together. BUT this idea came out of the struggle and I’m super excited about this one.

Truth #1: As designers, we are value builders

Done right we create value out of nowhere. To our clients it can look like real magic when they believe in us. We turn your ideas on napkins into worlds that your viewers get to live in. People without access to our work suffer setbacks when their product is compared to ones we’ve worked on. Design to me is about communication and the goal is to clearly articulate what it is our client wants to say. The changes that can be made to be more clear is where the creative magic lies. There are infinite possibilities, but you need a partner who can see the right few and lead you to why they are right.

Truth #2: Social media content does not equal education

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and wanted to write a bigger piece on the topic, but it just didn’t feel right. Ultimately social media is great from some things and terrible for others. One thing it is terrible for is teaching much of anything. Most things on the internet lack nuance and the time to really dive into any topic. Most of the design ‘education’ influencers on socials are there to collect attention and lead you to pay walls where then you will hopefully get a chance to learn something. They always lead with the fact that they care about the next generation of designers, but to me it just feels disingenuous. Their content is most of the time empty calories. In the design community it looks like pointing at words on the screen while nodding really hard or making goofy faces. I’ve seen TikTok chefs post recipes and leave ingredients off to cause people to comment on the post. I’ve seen words spelled wrong, choreographed interactions, and of course violence. All primed for the algorithm. I just write this to say we even need to be carful with our attention when it comes to things that feel less harmful like education content. Save the searching for processes until after you have started a new creative project, not before.

Truth #3: I’m a hater, but respectfully

believe it or not I’m so passionate about design that when I see work that misses the mark sometimes I’m pissed at the missed opportunity. I’m the brand new comments section some days. I’ve now realized that it stems from not only the love for the medium, but also my fear of never getting the chance to get a swing at bigger opportunities. When you take being a black designer with the demographics of graphic design (black people make up 3% of graphic design) sometimes I worry that when I’m going after a new opportunities I won’t fit what a graphic designer is supposed to look like. Like I could say all the right things, but still not be accepted as someone who knows what they are talking about. And that is hard. I know that is not always real, but I feel like it has to be true sometimes. That’s the chip. When you are a person of color you live with a chip. I chose to keep going despite.

Truth #4: Start with intention

When it comes to my branding design process it is something I have pulled together from years and years of watching. I did not go to college for this. I really haven’t had much of a mentor. Everything that I have I’ve had to seek out and sometimes even pay to peer into someone else’s system. Something that I’ve learned from my time as a designer is it does matter how you start a project.

Lately I’ve been listening to other agencies talk about their processes and I’ve picked up something new that I’ve found interesting. I’ve listened to Smith & Diction and Trust Design Shop both talk about how they start brand design projects with an emphasis on copy or words. The idea of this kinda blew my mind, but listening to Mike Smith talk about world building it makes perfect sense. The best stories are made up of much more than just visuals. Of course there is dialogue, but when you read a story a writer can really draw you in in how they describe actions. You can say “At this moment he flew from here to there”, but to say “At this moment, minutes before the sun peaked over the horizon, with sweat dripping from his brow, he closed his eyes and gave it one more try. Light as a feather, he flew from here to there. Such a sight to see.” The extra description here provides the depth for the visuals to actually build from! It’s so fascinating to me.

→ THINGS I ‘M WATCHING

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

This is one that I did not expect to watch, but I really love a documentary. It honestly was so good, but at times made me sad. To see these woman picked over so harshly was hard to watch. One girl got cut because she was a little shorter than all the rest and they said something like, “It looks like a little sister chasing her older sisters.” Like how is that a real critique.

Bridgerton

I’ve never seen it before, but I’m definitely glued! Ran through seasons 1 and 2. I’m all about scandal and gossip so this one is right up my alley.

One Piece

I’m on episode 457 which has been a long road and still have a ton to go, but I will not lie One Piece might have dethroned Naruto for my favorite animes of all time. The friendship over everything vibes, mixed with the fights, and the story really can’t be beat. There is a reason it has been running for so long (1118 episodes).

→ FIRE PLAYLIST

It was my wife’s birthday this past weekend so we cooked up a bomb playlist for her party!

Vibe Check