What was created after 5,126 failed prototypes?
Sir James Dyson suffered through 5,126 failed prototypes before he landed on the first working Dyson vacuum. So, don’t underestimate failure, as David Sedaris says. When Mr. Sedaris references failure, he means that it takes a lot of work and polish to get it right. I believe this quote could be interpreted as - learn from your work, because that’s what it takes!
I often hear from young designers asking those in the field already working for some time - how do you get inspiration and how do you know when it’s done?
Options to consider:
Do not get obsessed with one idea. Whether you believe it or not, design evolves it changes and many times for the better, sometimes proving that the initial design was indeed the best. An art director once told me years ago, if you only have one great idea then you are not very good!
Do not take it personally when your art director or the client - does not like your idea, or a part of it. This is not about you (and the extension of you - your design) this is about solving the client’s problem. Learn to listen to what you are being told without being defensive and you will probably hear some key points that will spark your next iteration.
Do not try to do everything yourself. Today it is actually much easier to subcontract or to collaborate. Think about it, if we were all masters of all the skills we needed, then there would not be any design studios or digital agencies there would be only amazing freelancers (without any hair and a constant ulcer). No one person is great at everything, even when you get stuck and need some new inspiration, a conversation with a fellow designer, maybe hailing from another specialization … can be very! helpful.
Learn from failure, it is not a bad word! In my language, that means ‘it didn’t work … YET’ and by that I mean, try again, re-iterate, re-think, re-position yourself, so that you can think differently.
I had an opportunity to work with 2 different languages. Their letterform structure was different. One read from the left and one read from the right. I was asked to create a company logo and make sure it could be read and ‘understood’ in both languages. The challenge definitely intrigued me but definitely stumped me.
At some point and that was was after creating many concepts and spending many frustrating hours, some part of my work ended up upside down (I don’t recollect how that happened - hummm). It was then that I saw a new direction I could explore. Seeing the letterforms upside down, unable to be read immediately caused me to only see shapes. Those forms lead me to see the simplest of elements within the language and then I realized that from here I could reconfigure these simple shapes and create the ‘other’ language. Ultimately I was able to visually cause the eye to see unity between the two languages not their differences - et voila - they were insync and they worked together.
I conclude with a quote from Carl Sandburg, author and poet - ‘I have not failed - I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work’.
Remember - ‘it doesn’t work … yet’ - If you allow yourself to learn this mantra, you will succeed. What can you loose?