In 2010 I am going to be a better designer and developer. I am going to outperform 2009 like nobody’s business, and I have written my manifesto on how I am going to get there.
- Listen. Listen more. Question. Understand.
- Exercise the creative muscle. Be creative every day. And not by doing client work. Create something daily that has no restrictions.
- Get away from the computer. It can be for a date with my oft neglected sketchbook or something of the New York Times best seller list, but even the computer needs a rest every now and then.
- Learn new coding techniques. The more ways there are to solve a problem, the better the final solution will be.
- Revel in accidents. Sometimes they are even happy.
- Have a connection. Both with the creation and the audience.
- Ignore convention. The masses are rarely right.
- Take field trips. Change the scenery.
- Collect inspiration. Harvest ideas. Grow creativity.
- Stretch. Adapt. Bend.
This list is meant to guide my way through 2010 and beyond. To make it better than 2009. To aid my choices. I know that being creative takes effort and growth. I know I need to listen better to clients and myself in order to understand their needs and my ability to fulfill those needs. I know I need to create outside of the confines of client work and grad school portfolio pieces to become truly creative. I need to step away from my computer, even though it is my main tool, it should not be my only tool or my only connection to the outside world.
Development techniques are always changing, it would be stupid not to learn new techniques. I have grand plans for my skills. This year is the year that it all happens. And we all know that accidents happen. Make them happy and learn something. Or maybe they are happy and you already have something useful for them. All creation should be personal and bear a personal creation. It should never be about the money.
The masses are frequently wrong. And my friends, with websites looking so much alike in this age of infinite possibility, that is not a good thing. Grids are for breaking, trends are for ignoring.
I am going to get out of the office more this year. I am going to enjoy the view both in Chicago and around the world. The more I see, the more inspiration I can collect. I can have more ideas from which to pluck the good ones. I can grow as a designer, or “creative”.
I will adapt to the changing landscape of design and make this world my own. I will bend my designs to the limits of today’s technologies.
I will be better.
Have you written your own manifesto? Do you have professional resolutions for the new year?
