Originally posted 2020-11-11 12:20:55.
This is a tribute to those who taught me many things. Personally I haven’t met them but one day I will meet.
There was a time when we used to think like normal designers, there was no story behind our work. I thought we were doing great until I saw one video of Chris Do – Founder of Blind and TheFutur.
He was discussing branding, designs, helping designers grow, how to know your value as a designer, how to negotiate with clients and so on. It was so good that I followed his process and one video that shook me was he was charging $50,000 for a Logo and $30,000 for strategy and another $10,000 for a Visiting Card.
Yes, that was surprising for me as there was so much money involved and there are clients who can pay for such services. Yes Money was involved but my major concern or rather I say the turning point was The Process.
The process which involves in creating such things, how he did everything, how he reached at this level and what kind of knowledge he has. I was more focused on that and I was thinking if I want to become a better businessman, better human, I have to learn those skills.
So What Changed Me?
I believed in his knowledge and things started to change. The true meaning of design, colors, how a story can give a new life was so exciting while I was learning.
I knew about specialization but after hearing from him and Marty Neumeier, I got more clarity on this.
I cannot forget his words
You don’t need to be a bigger company, you just need to be specialized that they couldn’t afford to do the same thing
Which means the bigger the market is, the more you need to be specialized in that particular field.
If you are a solopreneur, how to learn the language which is easy to convey and explain. This can be related to big agencies too.
Talk about one thing that only you can do and no one else could do.
These are very few things which they told me and I have made notes so that it stays with me forever and I can implement the same at Mount Woods Studio too.
With time, everyone evolves and definitely we have and will evolve but the basics cannot be forgotten. I am a person who always strives for hunger of knowledge, admires people and their work, the thought process which they were having trying to build something unique. This is what I always try to learn.
What I Learn’t?
I also learned more about brand strategy, brand guidelines through his videos and I think you should definitely watch them to get more insights. Just in case you need any help, I’m also there.
Frankly speaking he has helped me a lot and I’m glad to gain knowledge from him. He introduced me to many people that I have never heard of before, given suggestions on books which I don’t think anyone else would have suggested to me.
Now you might be thinking about being a Founder Why I should read these and learn, Well, answer is simple
If I’m not educating myself how can I teach others
So it is very important to keep learning and grow yourself. For a Founder the roles and responsibilities are much bigger than any other person in the company. Others play the role and we have to play our own.
Talking about me, I am into multiple things like handling marketing, sales, designing, managing and sometimes development too. So as you can see I have to be present everywhere and at the same time not forget about specialization.
When you have a team and resources on which you can rely you can spend time on other things too. So, you have to manage everything properly and these kinds of skills can only be gained by studying and practising.
I don’t like losing and for that I have to keep upgrading myself.
For me, I found Chris Do, Marty Neumeier, Blair Enns, Michael Gerber, Pablo Stanley, Video of Awwwards, Aiga Design, my team members who always helped me. If they are willing to give their knowledge it’s my duty to give results.
So God is a Designer is not just a title, but a way for me of finding things what I really want in life. It’s a direction which has been shown to me on which I have to walk. Learn as much as I can and grow my self to become better version of myself.
So What Do you think God is a Designer?
I want you to be a part of my journey, teach me and fellow designers, share your experiences and support Mount Woods Studio Design Academy to build a designing community where there is so much knowledge and topics to discuss.
Please share your experiences with others, teach them from your mistakes so that they don’t commit those again.
You can always connect with me on social media, or commenting down below and help Mount Woods Studio to build a design community. A community where all the knowledge is shared from different people and different parts of the world.
