If you're not learning, you're getting left behind.
When I was a young adult, I desperately wanted to work in newspaper advertising design. Maybe it was in my blood because my dad was a pressman. Maybe.
I spent many years at print shops as a teenager getting paid one dollar an hour collating papers amongst the smell of ink and rolls of paper. I would sneak upstairs to the art department and be in awe of the compugraphic equipment, xacto knives, and sticky wax machine.
I only knew that I wanted to be a graphics designer and work in art. I wasn't sure how to get there, there weren't any schools for that field at the time, but I wanted to design.
I applied for a graphic design position at the local newspaper, but there were no openings with the exception of one in the circulation department so I took it. After a grueling year of answering phones and organizing paperwork, there was an opening in the graphic design department and I thankfully took it.
It was definitely a learning experience since I had no idea what to do with no training but I learned along the way and loved every step. The first two years I was at this job I was awarded an honorable mention in advertising design. I had found my "Element" as
Sir Ken Robinson would say.
Little did I know then that the graphic design industry would change, and change, and then change again. I am constantly on the move to learn the next new kind of technology or way of doing business. These are exciting times and I can't wait for the next step.
In the meantime, I'll keep up with what's new instead of being left behind. Instead of an xacto knife, I'll be using my iPad2.
Bring it on!
