10 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR DESIGNERS
via the terrifyingly well-informed Eric Alba comes this listicle with a heart. My favorite bit? Right here:
3. Stop trying to save bad work The most common question I get from designers after pointing out what is wrong with their work is, “Can I save this?” You are not Jesus and comps aren’t for saving. If something isn’t working, start over. Otherwise the goal you’re working towards is saving your work, not solving the problem. Also, comps do not have feelings. You are not abandoning them. (You have no idea how much therapy that sentence took. Seriously.) This urge comes from not wanting to feel like the time they’ve spent on that comp is wasted. The only possible way you can waste time is by being dishonest with yourself about its value. If you just spent an hour on a comp thinking it was working, then that was time spent honestly trying to solve a problem. The minute you realise the comp isn’t working and you start trying to “save it”, you’re no longer working towards good design. You’re working towards ego salvage. You gonna bill for that? That’s what I mean by dishonest time.
I personally wouldn’t call this a “New Year’s Resolutions” list as much as a list of things to keep in mind as you try to do your job like a fucking professional instead of the lucky bastard who gets paid to have a hobby, but that isn’t nearly as tidy, and .Net Magazine seems like it might be too classy for that sort of language.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but let’s face it, if it were my hobby, there would be lots of parts that I’d just ignore.
