A Designer’s Path

I love when an article, book, blog post, podcast focuses on a designer and what they have gone through to get to where they are now. I especially like this article, Drawing Board to Desktop: A Designer’s Path on the New York Times where Michael Bierut remembers the days where his career began.

Like a chef, I brought my knives with me.

I didn’t begin my career in the way that Mr. Bierut did, but that is how my study in the field of design began. In tenth grade I opted to enroll in the Commercial Art program which was part of the Vo-Tech program in our county that allowed me to pursue a field of interest. We did paste-ups, color theory and much more. We dabbled on the computer but it wasn’t the sole tool that we relied on like today. I too, have my T-square (although it’s stored in a cabinet) and I still enjoy my sketch book to avoid a complete overload on my brain from the glow of the monitor. Great article, highly recommended reading!

Still, I wonder if we haven’t lost something in the process: the deliberation that comes with a slower pace, the attention to detail required when mistakes can’t be undone with the click of a mouse.