Looking Elsewhere

[music: Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground]
[mood: bleh]

I've been reading different design books for roughly two years now. I've been taking notes and been trying to 'study' what's being said about the craft, method and principles of design. Another thing I try to get a sense of is the author's philosophy.

There is a steady number of elements that seem to be in common in most of these books. That is, they look 'elsewhere' for inspiration.

I recently did a poster for a musician who's doing a performance where I work. Since there was no photo to use at the time, I thought a typographic solution would be best. I left several of the layouts on my drawing table. A freelancer who came into my office to ask me something spotted the layouts and said, "Hey, these are niiice... you going David Carson on me?"

She seemed to genuinely like it, and I know she was making a comparison to what I normally produce, but it got me thinking that I've been affraid of what other designers think of my work for so long that I forget that I'm not designing for them. I was by no means offended by what she said. At the same time, I can't help but wonder if I've been going about things the wrong way.

This, of course, swirls up loads of questions that I need to ponder over. Do I really need therapy? What am I really affraid of? Am I kidding myself? Well, so far I've taken a big step and decided to be more open about these types of matters, so I guess that's saying something.

In the mean time, let me be inspired...