Do you have the flexibility?

For a modern design life

Header Image Courtesy of Adeolu Osibodu

Existing in the modern design industry is changing by the day. Thinking all it takes is a great portfolio, then learning the relationships you make will take you further than your mastery of photoshop will. Calculating the value that others put on you and your skills and constantly coming up short. Searching for new opportunities, but only uncovering a constant need for creative hands for someone else’s uncreative mind.

Sending resumes into the bottomless belly of job descriptions on the internet. Finding nothing but short-term contract jobs or full-time positions that want a whole creative department in one person. Looking around you trying to make sense of where you fit into this madness.

I’m offering one solution for new designers entering the industry. Prepare yourself for what the industry is giving you. Build a life full of flexibility. If short-term and contract positions are making up a larger part of the opportunities, tailor your life to take advantage of that.

Depending on a full-time job to provide you with benefits will hamper your flexibility. Carrying a ton of debt and wasting your money will hamper your flexibility. And sadly, starting a family is also lovely handcuff to your flexibility.

Those taking advantage of the variety of experiences you can gain with contract work have built a life that fits what the industry is giving. This isn’t the only path through the industry, but simply one way to approach it. Just something to think about while you still have the freedom to make your own decisions.

Inspiration

• Thomas Evans captures the ever-present sorrow in the late, great Anthony Bourdain.
• Enyimba FC gets treated to a tidy interface by Sylvester Nnachi.
• Braids, textures and deep ebony form a monument in this image by August Udoh.
• And so much more, go CHECK THEM OUT

Education

• Following the early 2018 boom, the term properly Afrofuturism re-emerged into the public lexicon, launching countless explainers and think pieces.
• Gail Anderson talks about the arc of her career and her experiences creating SVA subway posters in this SVA Subway Series video.
• And Much More

Invocation

• Atlanta’s very own 6LACK gets honest with a mellow performance of “Disconnect”, off of his sophomore studio album East Atlanta Love Letter.
• A textural computer-generated experience lays the backdrop for this jazzy tune by Rejoicer.
• Atlanta’s own J.I.D.’s undeniable skill & lyricism come together for a smooth performance of his slick new record “Working Out”.

Congregation

• If you’re not part of the Black Designers United or the African American Graphic Designers groups on Facebook, you need to stop playing and come through.
• You can also find more creatives of color on 28 Days of the Web and Revision Path
• Plus over here at Creatives of Color and Adjust Your Margins and BlkCreatives.
• Get your hands on some melanated photos over at Tonl and Nappy and Women of Color in Tech and Jopwell and Blend Images and Create Her Stock.

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