The Layout #17
A layout of design highlights and thoughts
Welcome to The Layout #17 everyone. It’s been a while since I posted an issue and consistency is key in these matters. Well, (deep breath) let’s do this
Don’t get sucked in by the extreme.
The world is ending! There is too much violence in the world! There is no longer hope! We are all doomed! Don’t bring kids into this world!
Our world has a tendency to be filled with extremist thoughts that are meant to scare us and make us fear the unknown. These statements or thoughts attack our limbic brain and make us do irrational things that we wouldn’t have done before. It also convinces us that we are very special and enlightened, unlike the rest of humanity that act asleep.
The problem with these thoughts is that assume that humanity is a simplistic conundrum that can be solved with a simple formula but experience shows that the world is very complex and it can’t always be explained in simple terms. We have to cultivate a thinking model of second-order effects i.e. the actions we take and what are the long-term effects of our situation and the people around us. Also, we need to focus on the things we can control and not the things we can’t control.
These steps bring clarity to our actions and mind which reduces our chances to fall into the extremist trap.
You gotta 'void the engagement trap.
Speaking of traps. We have to talk about the engagement one. As designers, we tend to fall prey to this one. Designers create material(Graphic or otherwise) and post it on the internet and when they see that they barely get any engagements, they feel like failures. I am very guilty of this (why didn’t that poster bang I put a lot of work into that)
This creates discouragement and leads us to abandon interesting concepts we may have generated. The key to posting your work on the internet is to do it not for the likes or the shares but for the sake that you brought your work into the light. We must make sure that we don’t tie our design worth to how many engagements we are able to get but we should focus on improving the quality of our work and getting good design feedback to improve our flaws. Keep posting your work irrespective of the engagement you get, friends.
Resource Break
Iconbuddy: A huge repository of open-source icons for your design need. Click here to use.
Recent.Design: A website to get interesting web, interface, and interaction designs Check it out here.
Neurascapes: Free AI images for creatives and professionals. Check it out.
To Get Your Groove On
I have a little Afro-Cuban special for you.
Have a wonderful week and keep creating. Please subscribe and share with your friends if you found this helpful. Thank you and God Bless.