Last week, I turned in an ad redesign project for an outdoor Head and Shoulders Ad to one of my communication teachers. After the presentations and seeing the work that my classmates had done and comparing it to my groups’ redesign concept, I wasn’t so sure how to feel about the hours I spent stressing on trying to find a good idea, implementing that idea and then pitching that idea. It was only a week long project, groups of 3, naturally we didn’t come up with anything good until Wednesday or so, slapped it onto the paper and printed it Thursday night. Things went wrong, but overall it was a solid ad. The concept was targeting what I’ll call new age women, the ones who go out with their girlfriends to get pedicures and haircuts and lunch while their kids are at school. They are social, middle age, middle income, middle class, practical, reasonable, but fun loving women.
I’m discovering this is a trying process to get a good concept to look good on paper.
On my way out the door of my advertising class, the professor commented “I loved it.” as I placed the sheet of paper on his table. I think he was sincere. I said I was glad and left the room.
Immediate these words ran through my head:
I could have done better.
As a graphic designer, you have to deal with situations like this were you come to blocks in brainstorming, problems with printing, and strong competition. It is a disheartening and difficult process, but it is also rewarding and inspirational.
If you haven’t had the chance to watch the video I posted earlier on the creative process through type by Bret Barton, you need to. For me, it embodies so much of the experience I’ve had in individual designs and trying to discover what works and what doesn’t for whichever project.
In the end, if you’re not confident with your concept, bag it. You’ll come up with something better. But, for my situation, where I knew I had a good concept and then was still feeling wet feet with the submission and presentation, you have to go at it one hundred percent. Because sometimes what it comes down to is that if you’re not convinced, then what will convince anyone else?
It’s kind of that concept where if you do all that you can do you won’t be left with regrets. You know, those awful could’a should’as that keep you in the past and feeling critical of past projects that you should have learned and moved on from.
Confidence is more than a happy face, it’s a successful pitch.
Pitching an idea to your client, or for many first time designers, to your peers and professors takes a lot of preparation and organization. No matter what stage you are at in your designing career, you’ll be faced with many moments when you’ll need to share your ideas and get some feedback. And all you’ll need to back you up in those moments is a brick wall of confidence. Here are a few tips you’ll want to keep in mind when those instances present themselves.
Building confidence in your designs:
1. Lets get visual. Professionalism and physical organization make a huge difference in showcasing your work. No doubt your ideas will look more legitimate as physical print outs than the image of you whisking your hands around and attempting to share this amazing idea you have formulating in your mind. Images sell. Being able to have a visual representation of your designs is a powerful point in selling your ideas.
Under Selling the Idea of the book The Complete Graphic Designer, author Ryan Hembree points out: “Presenting ideas to the client for feedback is the next crucial step in the design process. The designer must be able to not only speak intelligently about her work and the rationale behind it (if a creative brief is followed, the design will meet the client’s goals and objectives), she must also be able to prove that the visual solution works. To generate excitement, acceptance, and approval, ideas must be refined and executed in full-color, rendered mockups that help clients visualize the final design solution.”
The idea here is to get your idea on paper. A rough sketch will do wonders to solidify mere ideas which could present themselves as possible design solutions for a company or project.
2. Practice, Practice, Practice. In many cases, confidence is best gained by an increase in experience. Take every chance you have to design and always learn something new. Discover more and you’ll find the quest for knowledge makes you less vulnerable to rejection.
In his post titled 10 Steps to Becoming a Successful Freelance Designer, Preston Lee writes “Nothing will help you increase in confidence and ability more than practice. If work is a little slow, nail down some of those personal projects you’ve been meaning to finish. Join a group at school or in the community where you can freshen your skills. Participate in design forums, contests, and workshops. Nothing can take the place of real life application and experience.” I love that he mentions personal projects. So you’re not assigned any venues to give you more practice. Your teachers are supplying you with additional projects. Clients aren’t knocking at your door requesting new logos, business cards, web sites, etc. The answer is create your own. Find projects and practice.
3. Get some solid feedback. At every twist and turn in your design process, try to get some feedback. In her blog post at slicedbreaddesign.com, Laura Klein has a great post on 6 Stupid Excuses Not to Get Feedback. She takes things as more of a customer-product-testing approach, but the information still applies. She says getting feedback from members of your intended audience is crucial in formulating products (or designs in our case) and adapting them for a greater rate of success. She also encourages designers to get input from anyone they can, even if they’re out of your intended target range. You never know how their insight could encourage your design or even give you new direction.
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