h2b a GD w/o LYS. ch 234

My book is filthy. 

It was such a crisp, clean, cyan and white book. 

I tried to keep it that way.

Now its sort of floppier, gray-tinted with unintended textures gracing the cover. 

Oh well. The deep sighs of relief that each turning page provides me when I'm on the bus...waiting for the bus...walking off the bus...walking to the bus...laying in bed, eating breakfast, during coffee break at work...the ease of breathing is worth destroying its fresh aesthetics.   

Coming close to graduation, the questions of my designer-future have been transforming from hypothetical 'if' questions to actual 'when' consternation. I have been gathering experienced designer friends and connections for coffee and insight. I've been gathering piece of mind, and not taking 'you'll just have to wait until you get there to find out', for an answer.

Thank you friends, thank you teachers, thank you connections, thank you how to be a graphic designer without losing your soul...thank you for helping me feel like I've got at least a wheel on track, and helping me feel prepared. 

Here are some jewels I have picked up thus far: 

• Everything I see and touch makes me a better designer

• Acquiring fluency in the design languages, most notably type, is an ongoing process. 

• Being a young graphic designer is not easy, physically or emotionally. We enter the field with talent, potential and personality as our primary assets, at an average age of 23, where we are not exactly kids anymore but surely not responsible adults yet

• Human relationships are important in the process of finding a job

• Look for ways of making yourself indispensable

• There is a price to be paid to live the privileged life as a designer, and that price is unflinching commitment. You have to be prepared to make sacrifices

• You're not much of a graphic designer unless you've designed a successful letterhead

• Persistence, doggedness and barefaced cheek will pay off

• Any studio that doesn't pay its interns is not worth working for

• Trust your personality and trust your work

• Learn to enjoy interviews