Though I will be writing particularly about Graphic Design, I guess this can be applied across the board.
I guess the past couple months, I’ve had a lot of personal time to reflect and look back over a lot of situations and periods in my life. It has been a fascinating thing, looking back and truly realising that I had gained skills and experience that would be valuable for others, especially those that were just finding their feet in the field I am based in. Even if it’s just me discussing my journey and sharing how I got through different situations and trials, it can encourage people.
I’m the sort of person that doesn’t feel I have the right to be egotistic about my work at all, because there’s always room for growth and so much I want to keep learning about. I will admit I haven’t truly felt content with my work, I see areas I want to keep improving and I feel I’ve still got a long journey ahead. Every day I’m always learning something new and discovering areas of myself that need improvements and growth.
I guess it really opened my eyes when I had the rare opportunity of being in a chat with younger ARMY getting to grasps with Graphic Design. Me speaking from my experience and supporting them where I could meant so much to them and it surprised me that even just offering a kind word about a piece they’d produced or telling them it’s okay to rest, really went a long way. It’s a shame that it’s so rare to receive this kind of encouragement. It’s rare for those perhaps more experienced in design to be willing to sit down with someone starting out and give them some tips and support them along the way.
I was really encouraged by Kel Lauren’s recent Instagram post regarding this as well. If we truly want the Graphic Design community to be inclusive and supportive and more positive, we have to start that change. We are that change. It doesn’t have to be something big to start things off, just having a heart for others and an open ear can be more than enough.
Even if we don’t have a big platform, we can start small with those we know, on social media we can comment encouraging things under people’s designs and even share some of our process on our accounts. With social media, there’s so many ways to do it. If we keep encouraging and uplifting each other, then this community will become warmer and it will change into what we wish it to be.
