Design is Hard

The online design world is such an illusion, especially for new designers. Scrolling through Instagram, all you see are perfect sketches and realistic renders. It can make you believe that designers only produce flawless work and are filled with endless creativity. This can feel very overwhelming, the need to meet that standard can easily become an endless climb for this perceived perfection. What I have come to realize is beneath the surface design is messy and challenging. I don’t think it’s said enough… design is hard.

My search for honesty in this crazy field began back in 2021. I had just been accepted to Offsite (an online design program) and was immediately plagued by imposter syndrome. I was in my third year of design school about to be in class with graduates (or soon to be grads) and professionals. Looking at their work I felt so underqualified and was filled with self -doubt. Around the same time I was being told I wasn’t good or dedicated enough to get a job in ID by my professors at school. These comments heavily influenced my confidence and how I viewed myself as a designer. In all this self doubt, I realized I was falling into the same trap as everyone else. I only posted the positive parts of my portfolio review form and was creating the same curated Instagram page as everyone else. In that realization, I decided to try to write a little more honestly in my instagram captions and was pleasantly surprised by the reception. For the first time, I was told my imposter syndrome was relatable and that my “girly” mood board had value. I was seeing firsthand the flaws in traditional design education and Offsite was proving that there were solutions. I was being embraced by the most amazing, supportive community of students and instructors, which I was and still am so grateful to be a part of. It made me more and more aware of the problems within this field. I desperately wanted to share my frustrations and messy work online, so much so that I began writing a manifesto. Unfortunately, as a student looking for an internship it can be risky to share stuff like that publicly, so I didn’t. 

Since I couldn’t do it myself, I began searching for honesty through others, which was a lot harder than one may think. Around this time, Offsite began hosting Offsite Sessions, lectures given by professionals on different design topics. One of these sessions was called “Being Human First” hosted by Rebecca Goesling. I loved her talk so much and it remains my all time favorite. I realized the reason I loved it so much was because it was honest. It was the first time I heard someone talk about their struggles in this field. In being taken seriously for her passion for color, in finding her place in the industry and even how ID worked her into a stress- induced illness. It was more relatable than anything else I had seen and I still feel that way watching it back now. When I had my own stress-induced illness last year, that left me questioning my future in this field, I remembered her story and it made me feel less alone. I was so grateful for what that video did for me and it reignited my desire to shed a light on the hard parts of design and the challenges we have to overcome as designers.

To me, with honesty comes empathy, connection, and creativity. It’s what makes us human and what makes a great designer. So to everyone reading: share the messy, share your truth, and acknowledge that design is hard. 

Thank you to everyone who read this. I was really nervous about posting something so vulnerable, but I hope people can relate to it and maybe feel less alone in this crazy industry. More thoughts to come… ❤️ Julie