Design For Good
Why do I always blog at 3 in the morning? I don't know why. Perhaps it's because it's the time when inspiration flows. And don't make fun of me. But it's basically 6 in the afternoon in Hong Kong. Maybe that's why. I moved to Seattle about 7 years ago (August would officially mark my 7th year here, hooray). But the connection I have with home is still strong and that is possibly why I decide to stay up until 3 in the morning to blog. It could also be because on some days, I have to wake up by 3:30 in the morning. Perhaps it's my biological clock telling me that 'Hey, it's time to get up for work' but today I can proudly say that I don't have to work tomorrow (or today I suppose).
Life has been boring. I have officially graduated from the WDI program two months ago. The job market is flourishing but the lack of experience has been a bummer. I haven't been able to land a real software developer job from the past two interviews. Maybe I was just straight-up terrible at voicing my passions. Or maybe my head is floating somewhere else while I was at the interview. I don't know if the former is more real or the latter is a more authentic depiction of reality.
I was fortunate enough to attend the AIGA Design for Good 2016 Kickoff Event. What made it even better was I never won raffle prizes but tonight I did. The raffle prize includes Change By Design by Tim Brown and Design for Social Change (which I already owned so I kindly handed that to my friend) and two notebooks (perfect, now I can get my hands on some shitty sketching sessions). I always love to receive books as prizes or presents because they are practical. From friends, it means that they recognize my eagerness to learn more. From strangers, it just feels good because I do like to read. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to dedicate too much time to read books. I still have a long lineup of books I wish to complete. We shall see how that goes.
One thing I have learned from the talk (perhaps there were more things I learned but I only recall one for now) is that it takes time to develop a passion. I am beginning to think that maybe that is why I can't seem to get my heart into web development. I enjoy problem-solving. But perhaps I enjoy problem-solving in a more liberal arts way. What I mean is maybe I just don't have the mind to really solve problems through technology and programming. Prior to graduating college, I was a Political Science major with an emphasis in Political Economy. My goal was to either go to law school or get my Master's in Public Policy. Then I tweaked that goal a little bit because I realized I also want to establish a connection with users (or whoever the audience might be). I found the similarities between User Experience Design and Public Policy in a way that we are explorers and seekers set out to idealize concepts then to mold them into actual practical processes that would make a difference to society.
I think those are the things that ultimately intrigues me the most. Those are my real passions. I want to design for good, I want to design for a purpose. I want to be able to design something that alleviates pain points. I want to contribute to society through the lens of creativity. I know I can easily do that with programming and software development. But perhaps that is not my forte. So I should probably go back to doing what I am good at and that would be research. I enjoy reading and writing so much (I can't yet establish myself as a good reader). And honestly, I am at times a procrastinator. Not because I was born to be like that but because I always find something 'more meaningful' to do than the task at hand. I don't think it's a major problem cause my greatest form(s) of procrastination comes in the form of discovering good music and finding inspiration for my next design project.
I really enjoyed Mark Randall, the founder of Worldstudios and also the keynote speaker tonight. He seemed to have pointed out a direction for me. I could feel my head nodding several times and couldn't help but to agree with him on several points he made. I already mentioned one of them - it takes time to develop a passion and I truly believe that. It doesn't just happen like an explosion. You have to nurture it and cultivate it.
That being said, I am ready to take on another contract project. This time I will be developing a banner for a website. I am excited to see where I take my creativity. I haven't done design work in a while. I have always been self-motivated when it comes to design. I look at things and I try to grab a few key elements and incorporate them into my designs. I might not be good but at least I am heading somewhere with my skills and I am always happen to lend my skills.