The Vicious Circle of Starting out

Starting out is always hard. Design is no different. There's so much to read, watch, and listen to. As a junior, you're unable to differentiate what is and what isn't important.

Starting out is always hard. Whether it's cycling, cooking, or woodworking. Design is no different. The vast amount of learning combined with the high expectations we have for ourselves make it hard to start. Besides that, we want to learn fast, ideally fast enough to match someone with several years of experience in the field. That’s why we think we need a perfect plan - a complete list of every step to get there. But that's where the big struggle comes from.

Because how do you plan every step for discovering the unknown? That’s pretty impossible. But still, that's what we want. And so we look for quick tips and hints. We check social media, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube. We Google stuff, ending up with so much to read, watch and check. Achieving only the feeling of being overwhelmed, frustrated, and lost. The worst thing – we fail even to plan the very first step. And the question is still there: how do we plan every step for discovering the unknown? My answer: You don’t.

Obviously, you have to start somewhere, but quick answers, hints, and tips won’t help you much. They are just scratching the surface, but you need much deeper knowledge. In a perfect world, that would be somebody, a mentor, who would help you get into a new field. She would answer all your questions whenever you need and have patience with you. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Luckily, there are books.

“Books are long and boring. I don’t like reading books. I prefer articles and videos.” This is what I’ve heard quite a few times from juniors during a job interview. And I get that. From the outside, the field’s pace seems super fast. There’s a new trend born every day. If you want to keep pace with that, you can’t sit still. Books don't stand a chance compared to that. But such a comparison doesn’t make any sense.

Most books don’t follow trends. Books explain principles. These are basic ideas on why and how something works, and it’s where it gets interesting. Because if you understand principles, you can assess trends: Is this new trend good, bad, or helpful? Without decent knowledge, you can’t really tell. As a junior, you don’t have such knowledge. And what you find on Google or social media is mostly trends. Not because that’s the majority of their content, but because it catches people’s attention, and so it gets promoted. That’s a vicious circle you are in.

I am here to help.

In a small series of upcoming articles, I'll explore this further and offer helpful advice for juniors starting in the design field. I will share thoughts on what mistakes juniors make, what I consider a cause of such mistakes, and what you can do about it. But don’t expect any quick recipes.

Design is awesome.

Tom

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