Designer Stefan Mumaw (co-author of the wonderful creativity book Caffeine for the Creative Mind) just sent me a list of 17 rules for designers compiled from suggestions he received in response to one of the creative challenges he emails to friends and colleagues every morning.

1. Pay attention to detail and everything that surrounds you.
A designer should have to be able to pay attention to the small details in both design and life. Sometimes the details that most individuals would either overlook or be too lazy to pay attention to will make a project great. Spell check everything, find value in correct punctuation, calibrate your monitors, color-correct images, go to press checks, make sure it works on every browser and every platform, build a mockup, name your layers, organize fonts, call…don’t email, backup your files and stop naming things FINAL. Like insurance, the positive and negative results are usually magnified in crisis. This is true of one’s environment too. Noticing the details of an eroded piece of wood might lead to you using it as a brush or background image in a project that you’re working on. Design is all around us wherever we go (even nature has it’s own design), and being able to pay attention to it often helps in some way or another.

2. Outwardly express your passion.
Passionless design is like a grill with no propane. If you're not passionate about what you do, your work will show it, your character will show it, your life will show it, so find some charcoal or do something else.

3. Fail triumphantly.
This is stolen from Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons” but it's 100% true. If you're not willing to go so far out on a limb that you fail miserably, you're not getting any better. Success may not be at the end of the branch, but anyone and everyone can grab the answers that are around the roots.

4. Know your limitations.
My kids often bite off more than they can chew at dinner and the result is really uncomfortable to watch. It usually involves watery eyes and a fresh napkin. Know what we have the ability to do and where we’ll need help early in the process. There’s nothing wrong with getting help or saying “no.”

5. Respect your barista.

6. Always be able to explain why you've made a creative choice.
On a rare occasion, it's okay if the reason is "because I wanted to". But otherwise, be able to defend your decisions.

7. DOH!
Constantly save your work.

8. Remove thy pride.
We pour ourselves into our work, we're proud of the solutions and ideas we generate, but what separates us is the client. We do this for them, we are communicators first, and as such, we need to be able to put aside our pride for the sake of the client and their wishes/goals/business. It's completely acceptable and encouraged to defend one's work, but it's also equally acceptable and encouraged to be able to remove our own pride from a situation and serve the client.

9. Nice Printer…
The printer is not your friend. Expect it to (insert appropriate defeatist verb here) you at all times.

10. Play.
Ideas don’t always appear when you’re sitting in an expensive business suit and staring at your computer monitor. Put on a Mexican wrestler’s mask, play some office hockey, finally set up and execute that practical joke on the new guy. Sometimes being able to play and laugh releases ideas that are stuck inside your brain. Designers should be curious creatures, and with curiosity comes playfulness. You don't have to be silly or a jester all day long, but a certain measure of playfulness goes a long way to promoting creative thought and it certainly makes what we do a lot more fun.

11. Take advantage of the perks.
Have fun. We’ll never get paid as much as the sales guy in the building next door. I guarantee we have more fun at work though.

12. Sleep.
We’ve all pulled all-nighters. We’ve all stayed up late. You don’t feel too hot the next day, do you? Well, try coming up with that “brilliant idea” next time you’ve gone without sleep for 2 days. Not going to happen. Sleep is essential resting time for your pooped little brain, and without it all you’d be thinking about is poofy white sheep and your comfy bed.

13. Never, ever, ever stop learning.
The moment you think you know everything, your learning/growing/executing curve stops right there and you will be doomed to a life of simply repeating what you know. This industry is constantly turning over with new technology, new avenues of communication and new techniques to reach new people.  The desire to constantly relearn the technical skills required to execute our ideas is crucial to our future success, but moreover, our desire to improve our ability to generate better ideas and conceptualize stronger solutions is of greater importance. Anyone can use Photoshop. Only you can decide why to use it.

14. Assemble the right group.
Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you and truly support your creative endeavors. Don’t under estimate the importance of people who genuinely encourage your passions. You’ll need them. Alot.

15. Look behind everything that is in front of you.
The obvious may be the right answer, but you’ll never know until you’ve looked beyond it to see.

16. Fall in love with the aesthetics of the world.
Typefaces, color, architecture, music, the human body… There are even beautiful curves to emotions and conversations. Pay attention to the beauty in mediums outside of that project on your desk and you might find that inspiration you’re looking for.

17. If all else fails: http://www.happyafro.com

Posted by Megan