How Design School Helped me Make Uncertainty my Best Friend
A.I. disrupts the best thing that helps define a young designer’s visual voice: good, old-fashioned trial and error
Growing up in Brazil, I felt like I finally got the hang of school when I began pulling all-nighters prepping for my exams. When I was accepted into the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, I had no idea how many sleepless nights I’d have to endure. I hated it. But apparently, It’s common for design students to pull all-nighters doing projects, obsessing over the same thing for hours and perfecting the details of a thoughtless design, just “polishing turds,” as some say.
I learned so much from these endeavors, like getting to know uncertainty and making it my best friend. Here are a few more lessons I learned as a design student and what I’ve realized after my first year in the field.
The design program at SVA is demanding. But all that struggle shaped me as a graphic designer.
Throughout my four years I was in a constant cycle of sleep-deprivation, fighting to meet deadlines, and frustrated by work comparison. To whomever went through that and graduated, I give my most considerable kudos because it’s no joke. As painful as it was, this rollercoaster of struggle dramatically improved my development as a designer. Through trial and error I learned more about what I’m best at and what I love the most.
Through trial and error I learned more about what I’m best at and what I love the most.
One of the things I love the most is sitting down with a pen and paper at the start of every project. I absorb myself in relevant research, sketching ideas as they come. Looking back at my sketchbooks, I find the seed of ideas that bloomed into my best work (and countless bad ideas that landed in the trash).
I find the seed of ideas that bloomed into my best work (and countless bad ideas that landed in the trash).
This was the process that all my best instructors advised because, according to them, “the most prestigious designs in history began as a sketch.” I took this note to heart.
Now as artificial intelligence tools are becoming mainstream, the way emerging graphic designers develop their visual vocabulary will be forever changed.
A.I. shortcuts will interfere with how a young designer develops their visual voice.
The process of trial and error just isn’t the same if a program can compose a fully-developed work in mere seconds. It’s in the mistakes that we learn what not to do, and the process of overcoming those failures is what leads us to our unique visual voice.
It’s in the mistakes that we learn what not to do, and the process of overcoming those failures is what leads us to our unique visual voice.
A.I. image generators are trained to produce visuals that would have required a skilled designer many hours to conceptualize and compile in the past. Sounds great! Especially for clients that reduce a designer’s work to peanuts and suffer from a severe underappreciation of good design.
Some of these tools are powerful and deliver great results. You no longer need an expensive computer or hundreds of hours of training to generate hyper-specific 3D graphics and then combine different ideas into an unimaginable composition. Designers have even used A.I. to build an entire brand’s asset library like the skilled team at &Walsh. But all this power comes at a high cost.
What worries me the most is the lack of contextual consideration, and the disruption of trial and error.
What worries me the most is the lack of contextual consideration, and the disruption of trial and error.
The tools will be increasingly unavoidable for design students. But I advise them to use them carefully and not to fall into the trap of A.I. shortcuts, where they can quickly create “good” but passionless work.
Experimentation is messy. Learning to acknowledge it is messier.
I remember sitting at home in the middle of night in despair from not knowing what to do next. I’d finished my second round of sketches and spent the whole night trying different things, but the concept still wasn’t clear. I had all these graphic assets but couldn’t figure out how to legitimize them in applications.
When I brought them to my professor, he quickly sketched out what he saw as a successful student process from point A to B. The sketch was chaotic! The point he was trying to make was that experimentation and failure is critical to the success of a project. Especially when you’re learning. He also pointed out that most of what we do as designers never sees the light of day.
Experimentation and failure is critical to the success of a project. Especially when you’re learning.
The key lesson is being in a constant state of questioning and continually taking a step back to ask yourself “what have I done?”
The next step was focussing on what my creation needed rather than what I was trying to impose based on my biases. Enhancing my design sensibility is a lifelong journey, but detaching from the default mode challenged my definition of beauty and led me to a more authentic outcome.
Detaching from the default mode challenged my definition of beauty and led me to a more authentic outcome.
Three years ago, I wondered if my work would ever be “good.” I was self-conscious about my taste, and ability to keep up with the changing industry. Luckily I had great teachers who inspired me to power through the struggle and to never shy away from expressing the weird quirks that make my work truly unique to me.
I had great teachers who inspired me to power through the struggle and to never shy away from expressing the weird quirks that make my work truly unique to me.
Distinguishing the psychological differences between desire and pleasure can help crafters better appreciate the process.
I view shortcuts through a psychological lens. We formulate our goals based on desire and pleasure. Desire is the instinct that motivates us to work towards a specific goal. Pleasure is the consequence of a desired achievement.
In this instant gratification culture we live in, fueled by modern capitalism, the shortened process quickly leads to pleasure. But by reducing the process, we remove the adversity that builds desire and, as a result, designers will be less resistant to stress and lack adaptability.
By reducing the process (of trial and error), we remove the adversity that builds desire and, as a result, designers will be less resistant to stress and lack adaptability.
Keep questioning and stay human.
In our fast-paced society, we will have to learn to live with new technology, and young design students shouldn’t be fooled. Human production will have to be elevated through craft and thinking, visually eliciting emotions and beliefs through storytelling, a commonly known weakness in the cold-hearted machines.
Good reminders I have found to be useful along the way:
- Don’t let yourself be numbed to an absolute answer
- Create space for failure and experimentation
- Fight the urge for the normalcy (AKA default mode)
- Geek out on what sparks your interest
Keep hunting for your true passions to find the graphic voice that speaks to you. No magic tricks will raise your creation to greatness, only time and practice will do it.
Most importantly, stop pulling all nighters. A rational mind can’t run just on coffee, bagels, and no sleep.
I’m still on my journey to find my most authentic self, and I wish all the luck to other beginners as they find theirs.
B.
Special thanks to my former teacher, Peter Ahlberg, who, amidst challenging times, cared so dearly for his students, showing up with top-notch assignments and meaningful, in-depth feedback.
*Yes, all the graphics were crafted by me, if not entirely, then partially. (Except the meme.)
Have some deep-rooted design fears or philosphies to share? Want to talk A.I.? Don’t be a stranger. Come chat (or work with us) at Coalesce: hello@coalesce.nyc
