Posted by admin | Posted in Creativity | Posted on 02-10-2008
As a creative professional, chances are the same talents and gifts that make us creative and artsy also leave us with a few more emotions and sensitivities.
This blessing can also be a curse. While it allows us to tap into our creativity. It also often leaves us emotionally and mentally connected to our work. As artists we know that strictly by nature, our jobs are in a purely subjective field.
Unfortunately, merely knowing this and being able to develop a thick skin while listening to a client or colleague rip our design to shreds is hard. How do we deal with this perceived rejection?
1. Step back. Take a step back from the situation and ask yourself, "if this wasn’t my work, would I feel the same way about it?"
2. Evaluate the criticism. Criticism can be birthed out of many motivations. Fairly evaluate the critic. Is the criticism constructive or cruel? You’ll be able to tell the difference. Constructive criticism is ideas/suggestions that will make your work stronger and should be followed.
3. Categorize the concern. Is the concern demographically related? If so this does not mean that your design was bad. Perhaps the target simply changed. Perhaps your design was just TOO cool!
Above all it’s important for us to realize that regardless of the pieces that are tweaked, changed or rehashed, as a designer, we cannot allow those challenges to destroy our confidence. At the same time, we must balance, between confidence and arrogance.
It’s vital that designers are constantly learning. We learn from our success and we learn from our failures.
Most importantly we have the unique position to be able to recycle our own creativity. Many times, I’ve created a piece that was rejected by one client, normally, they felt the design was "beyond" their target audience. I’ve took the same idea, customized it for another client that absolutely loved it. Not only did it save me time, but more importantly it restored a bit of my confidence.
Keep your feelings off your sleeve and go out and design from your heart. If the first client doesn’t like your work. Keep growing and designing. You’ll make it!
