Tips for new design students

in no particular order

One

Work hard. You can sleep after you graduate.

Two

Explore. Design firms look for creative problem solvers and the college years are arguably the best time to push your creative potential. Travel and paint and draw. A lot. Eat Indian food and learn how to order sushi in Japanese. Watch old monster movies and learn how to play a musical instrument.

Three

Be passionate. Love design. Design everything. Re-arrange furniture in hotel lobbies because “it flows better for people traffic.” Redesign your church’s bulletin because the church secretary is not a designer. Use gorilla tactics if necessary. You are going to save the world from bad design.

Four

Get a hobby.

Five

Read and write a lot. I know... I know.... You don't really like to write and reading takes away from your TV time, but designers are communicators and reading/writing unlocks many key brain cells that will help you communicate better. Trust me. You don't have to read about design, in fact, you can read just about anything.

Six

Solve problems. You might start out solving crossword puzzles or 3D ones like the ring through the chained horseshoe that was at my barbershop while I was growing up. You'll eventually develop a habit of problem solving - just for the fun of it.

Greg Skaggs