Overcoming Discouragement as a Creative

-



Discouragement they say is the loss of enthusiasm. I experienced that some days ago. Let me share my story with you and of course the lessons I learnt. So, I got this job, okay I had quite a lot of jobs to handle at a time, coupled with pulling off recruitment process on time. But I happened to place priority on it because the owner needed it quite urgently. And of course, it was a new client so I couldn’t afford to disappoint her. The job was to create a logo for a start-up. Being a start-up actually didn’t matter, I wanted to create something for them that they can use for years before even thinking of rebranding. So, I met up with the representative from the brand, I got my design brief answered as we talked and I set out to work. Of course, as the process of design said, I started out with my mind mapping, then moved on to sketching. Yes, the pay was not much but I still wanted to do a great job. After I had done all those required things in the process of design, I came up with a design (the blockbuster) #laughs. Yes, it was the blockbuster to me. Now I understand why design gurus say that you should be the first person to be dissatisfied with your work. Well, we keep learning.

Delivery day came, I was all up and ready to deliver my blockbuster. I was so professional, (you know in presenting your logo, you have to show that you know what you are saying). After I did all my presentation - please note, it was on WhatsApp, physical presentation was not possible - I got a shock. My ‘blockbuster’ didn’t get as much as a glance from the head of the approval committee. The other person said it was not resonating. To be sincere, I was broken. Like I followed the rules (I am not much of a rule breaker anyway). I took my time, I digested the brief, I did what I thought was best for the start-up.  That night was a not good at all, I was aloof, discouraged, thinking of what I didn’t do right. At some point, I considered returning the money paid and just give up. That was how much I was discouraged.

But something kept me going. The thought that this will not be the only time that it will happen. The thought that I just have to keep going.  Then I decided to try it again. Research again, make adjustments and come up with something different. And yes, I came up with two designs that are totally new, in less than 12 hours. Remember, it was supposed to be needed urgently. Then I saw a post on LinkedIn by Chidi Nwaogu who with his twin, after months of consistency and not being discouraged they landed their first big job in 2012. Of course, the stories are different but the key thing being that don’t allow discouragement to affect you to the point of giving up. 

I presented again and I got another feedback of it looking familiar, like something seen online before. I wasn’t really affected this time, because by now I had built a thick skin. Approval has not been finally done but it promises to be great and I look forward to it.

Okay, so I decided to share a bit of my own experience with discouragement as a creative. It will always happen. But your response to it matters. Discouragement is like a rope, you can either allow it to take you down or you climb up with it (I hope I am talking like a motivational speaker o)

Have you had your share of discouragement in the creative world? Would you like to share it with the community? 

Common, let people learn from you too. You can go on to talk about it in the comment session. Looking to hear from you.

Have you subscribed? No!? Why? You definitely should. Do you know that with your subscription, you get notified for every post going forward and you also get to join our mailing list, where we plan to start dishing out something sizzling to you weekly? Subscribe now.

Also, you can send in a request for me to talk about a topic, I will gladly do it, just for you #winks. Don’t forget to invite other creatives around you, let’s sip some tea, have some fun and enjoy learning together in our corner, the Creatives’ Corner.

See ya!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Design: How should it be done for productivity?

-
Image
Design is one of the three fundamental dimensions of human intelligence. Most people think design is a tool i.e. involving only the use of Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and other software. It is actually the process which takes ideas through a number of CRITICAL THINKING to creation of prototypes and then to reach an innovative product that targets solving consumers’ problems and addressing their needs. You see!? Design is not about knowing how to use the tools but about going through a process. In my first post about Creativity, I mentioned that being creative gives you the opportunity to try out new ideas, new ways of thinking and getting a problem solved. With this definition, let’s just say Design is the process of using our creativity. So! We have seen what design is all about. Let’s look at this, how do we design? A lot of graphic designers make a mistake of diving into a job on getting it. And most times if not all, this rush in causes a quick rush out. What do I mean by a ru...
Read more

Brand: What it is and what it is not

-
Image
As the saying by Aesop goes that "Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before we commit ourselves to either." I am glad to tell you that BRANDING is not an exception. This is why we will be talking about the topic of Branding: What it is and what it is not. To know what a brand is not, we will have to look at what a brand is. A Brand can be defined as the sum total of experiences of your customers when they come in contact with you. It is the collection of perceptions about you (your business) in the mind of the customer . It involves what you represent to your customers and what they think of you, ranging from the way you respond to their mails, the music they hear when on hold on the phone, your tweets, your logo and so on. For example, when I think of 7up, I automatically think of a quick soothing feeling and when I think of Veleta, I think of Enjoyment…shey you get? Now that we know what brand is, let us look at what brand is not. Please don’t f...
Read more

LOGO

-
Image
A logo they say has to be timeless, able to stay relevant for years, passing out the right emotions in the hearts of people who come across it. For us to be able to achieve that, we have to know the right things about logo before creating it. This is why we will be learning about LOGO today. It is imperative to know very well about logo before starting out to create one…oh yes, I have created logos before I got the knowledge about it too. So, don’t be discouraged. Logo is a graphical representation of your brand. It is that picture that represents the collection of promised experiences which in turn creates a mindset in the minds of those who come in contact with your brand. It is the FACE OF YOUR BRAND. You can see how important a Logo is for a brand. It is what represents your brand to the outside world with your brand name. So, let's talk about the types of Logos that there are. There are 4 major types and we will be looking at each one.   1. Wordmark Logo This type of...
Read more