From Avoidance to Confidence

Jan. 26 - 30

Week four, and I’m feeling like Michael Bublé. Needless to say, I’m feeling good.

• I now know how to make my own mockups instead of relying on templates or premade assets.

• I can create well-designed documents in InDesign and translate them into templates that work in Google Docs or Word.

• I trained a new hire.

• I’ve been directed to begin phase two of the Rixida project, which is focused on ideation and experimentation.

• I also took some time this week, with my boss’s permission, to go through LinkedIn Learning and find videos that could help the team grow and improve our skills.

That’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been doing this week and what I’m most excited about. I never really learned how to create mockups in Photoshop until now. I’ve been relying on outside resources and honestly trying to avoid Photoshop when I could. I know how to use it, but it’s always been my weaker program.

I love InDesign and typography, and there’s something so satisfying and comfortable about Illustrator, so Photoshop has always felt like the big, scary one. Now, though, I feel like I have superpowers.

The project that pushed me in this area involves a client who wants the I-Center to feel more celebratory for graduation. We’re creating a proposal with a range of design ideas. We weren’t given many parameters, so we explored a mix of directions. Some ideas are simple, while others are more expressive.

From there, we send the proposal through a quality assurance channel. Once it’s been checked for grammar, spelling, and any design sins, we pass it along to the project manager. Sometimes designs come back with client revisions. Sometimes the direction changes, budgets don’t align, or we miss the vision entirely.

I’m learning quickly that very few people can clearly visualize or communicate what they want. They might have an idea for how something should look, but unless we present something that feels real, it can make clients or stakeholders anxious.

Personally, I think it would help if mind reading were an option, but unfortunately that’s not happening anytime soon. Sorry, Professor X.

I also know I need to spend more time refining my craft, especially in Photoshop. People value what we do, but they don’t always understand how we do it. They care about execution. If I want to succeed as a designer, I need to keep strengthening my technical skills.