22 important lessons from this talk:
Tag: designers
Designers have broad interests. Your strength is solving the problem that other people haven’t solved. Therefore designers are drawn to new problems.
The idea of solving the same problems over and over again and benefiting from repeated observation and repeated application and building expertise terrifies you.
The world does not need another full service marketing communications agency. Expertise is the only meaningful differentiator of a design firm.
Interrogating clients is an essential part of being a designer. If we don’t learn to ask questions, we run the risk of never getting to the heart of what good design can be. No question is ever too dumb to ask, and if we are frightened of exposing our ignorance we will never understand anything.
There’s a rough magic in the word ‘no’. Clients often react badly at first, but they usually end up respecting the designer who says ‘no’ to unpaid pitching more than the one who says ‘yes’.