Design after 5p.m.

I know a lot of other print & web designers who literally eat and breathe the industry. They subscribe to all the magazines, go to all the lectures, start designer networking sites and keep blogs about typography. I’ve never been into graphic design on that level. I like it and I like to believe I’m very good at it, but I’ve never been able to keep up that much energy about it.

Maybe it’s because illustration was my first choice and I had to fallback on design when my stuff wasn’t good enough, or maybe it’s because heading into the 8th year of my career I’ve gotten comfortable working as an in-house designer. Either way I‘ve been getting concerned about how much longer I can keep doing this.

Recently, I finished an excruciating final semester of grad school. Between work and classes I was spending 14-18 hours a day rotating between my iMac and a coffee maker. My blood pressure was up and I was annoyed by just about everything and everyone. It was the very definition of ‘burnt out.’ So over the past month I’ve made some changes.

Change #1

Life as a Designer Ends at 5pm
No freelance, no blogs, no AIGA events (BLEND doesn’t count) and no bringing home my laptop for the weekend. I needed some time away from the industry and within a week I noticed a difference. I was starting to sleep better and had more energy. I was able to better plan my design projects knowing there was a definitive cut off to get them done.

Change #2

No More Glowing Rectangles
The Onion brought this one up. Taking a break from Photoshop wasn’t enough. I cut it all down as much as possible. Television, Internet, Wii, iPhone apps, EVERTHING. I was spending too much time sitting on my ass staring at screens.

I decided my yard was the best place to avoid temptation and got started on some exterior projects. I weeded out the front flowerbed, fixed the flagpole, did some landscaping and got some tomatoes growing in the back. Last week I started restoring my deck. It was a good work out the break helped me focus when I was at work. I found I wasn’t as fidgety sitting at the computer after all that physical exertion in the evening and on weekends.

Change #3

Find a Different Creative Outlet
This was something I had tried several times before but it never worked out, probably because I would always try something to similar to design. I enjoy drawing, painting and photography but that was too close. I gave writing a shot for awhile but it was still sitting in front of a computer. Finally the answer became clear –TACOS.

A lot of my current friends don’t know, but in a previous life I was in fact the fajita grilling, burrito rolling, wing frying , champion of the world. I even had my own belt at one point, though mine was made of old Natural Light cans. Now with out grad school consuming my life I have time to cook again. It’s a completely different creative outlet from what I do during the day and provides the mental rest I need to be fresh when I sit back down in that cubicle at 9am. 


BALANCE
I feel like these change have help me regain the balance in my life that UB had taken away. When I go to work now, projects are running smoother, I’m more comfortable sitting in front of the computer and my creative concepts have been getting stronger. It turns out I am still very interested in my career.

I still have another year with my current employer before I have to decide what direction I want go. Teaching remains of interest but more importantly I think it’s time to pick one aspect of graphic art to excel in. I’ve spent the past decade trying to know everything – print, web, video, Flash etc. and I feel that has lead to being good at a lot of things but not really great at anything.

Hopefully this blog will help me figure that out.