My limitations:

Technological: creating pdf files. Thankfully we have one person here who does them now because it was too hard to keep everyone up-to-date on the various printers' spec changes. But I purposely have stayed away from applying to jobs that have it in the job description. Is there anyone one else out there that feel like that? I work with designers who also seem to be technological wizards.

Design: redoing samples. By the fourth or fifth round I get that burned out, slighly hysterical feeling, especially when the only direction I get is "It's nice, but it's not quite there." So I make a list and get clear about the changes that have to be made (as opposed to differences in opinion) and do one change here and one there thruout the day. And then I have to let it go. Until the next round . . .

When I'm burned out on a project I've found that dealing with it in small time increments is a way not to get overwhelmed. But I'm lucky to work with deadlines that aren't too tight.

What are you talking about Sam? I do everything right.

Obviously, that is not true. I am a terrible illustrator and I can't sketch to save my life. Anything that has to do with manual labor (like putting mock-ups together) is a very frigthening thought. I try to stay away from stuff that requires craftsmanship in that sense.

I used to be scared to death of doing all-Flash sites. I was very comfortable doing linear animations but I knew the time would come where I would have to actually do an interactive piece. And how did I do it? Well I just dove in, spent tons of extra hours figuring it out, made a lot of errors, made more errors and in the end I just corrected those errors. Now my Flashophobia is over and I can do stuff like this for Mrs. Vit.

What else... I stay away from PowerPoint stuff, not only because it is excrement, but because I really don't know how to use the damn program. My graphs in PP would send IPOs to jail because they'd be so screwed up.

Moral of the story? Just frickin do it, it ain't that hard.

My graphs in PP would send IPOs to jail because they'd be so screwed up.

Or even worse, crash space shuttles.

Check out the new PP poster on his homepage too, it's pretty funny.

I'm pretty bad at sketching too, I'm intimidated of programming/coding, and wish I understood typography better.

On the flip side, how do you get up the nerve to do the stuff you want to do but think you can't?

Just do it. Practice makes perfect. Oh how cliché!

What are some creative ways of working around limitations or blocks?

If you can't do it, find someone who can. Otherwise it may lead to bad things. I just looked for a post that discussed this, I can't seem to find it.

totally totally web work.

I was trained as a print designer & illustrator, so I have and always will be scared of the web. When I made my first little website it was indeed daunting...but after it was done I was very surprised (and pleased) with myself. I was always so intimidated by all of the technical things that I did not know (and still do not know) More I am realizing though that there are many people in the world who do web work who don't know a stick about design. So at least I would like to think I know good design, its just the technical side that gets in my way.

Also, I cannot cut a straight line.

I can't do an identity to save my life.

Like Amanda, I'm struggling with web work. It's just so imprecise and restricting. But I'm obviously coming from a print bias.

I used to be like you Armin -- no fear on any program. But it's not fear, but time, or the lack of that's now my biggest deterrent to trying new things.

Plus, there's just soo much left to do in print. There are countless identities to conquer, annuals to master, posters to create.

But yes, yes, dive into it. I know the drill. I'm going to try my hand at Flash soon. Then, watch out.

There are other things I avoid -- less out of fear and more because of a hatred or a desire to not waste my time. I hate it when a client asks for a Word or Pagemaker template. Or a Powerpoint anything. Blech!

Experience is the best teacher is what I have to say. That's the only way to get over fear or hesitation. Besides, in an industry like this you have to say, "Yes, I can!" even if the real answer is, "Maybe. Maybe not."

Hell, I'm afraid of everything. After every print job, I'm always holding my breath until everything's done and finished. Flash & ActionScript -- I am NOT an expert at. And CSS stuffs for web, I am better than most, but still only a beginner. I have no idea how "inheritance" works. ;_;

But, in the course of my career, I am sure I will be able to overcome all my fears -- if out of necessity. Funny how food on the table is a strong motivating factor in how fast you learn something and get it done right. ;)

how do you get up the nerve to do the stuff you want to do but think you can't? What are some creative ways of working around limitations or blocks?

Collaboration!

Collaborate with others that have skills that you don't have and share knowledge in the process. This has worked for me.

The other extreme is to just go out there... Score the job... and force yourself to learn and deliver. You'll be amazed what can be achieved under extreme pressure. This has worked for me too.

There's no one particular thing that I'm really afraid to try, but I feel overwhelmed at the idea of trying to learn everything.

It's impossible to learn to do everything well. Designers now have to be typesetters and pre-press techs—and after 9 years of doing this, I'm still learning more about these aspects of design. If I go out on my own, I also need to be a good salesman and businessman. To do all of these things well isn't easy. So do I really want to invest the time to really learn web design, especially when it's not a big interest of mine to begin with?

I agree with noodlem about collaboration—I think it's going to become more and more important, because I really see design as becoming more specialized.

If there's one thing I am *awful* at (there are lots, actually), it's the entire meeting / review process. I can do pretty okay work, but if the client is unhappy, I clam up and get annoyed. Talk about the wrong way to handle a situation!

I've tried working on my delivery, and I can usually defend my work to myself (yeah, but it's easy to justify anything when you're at your own desk), but as soon as I meet the slightest resistance or question, I get all flustered and my fight or flight reflex kicks in... usually for the latter.

I think I need to work on that.

-R

Rick, i have the same tendencies. What I've learned is that in those situations, it's my job to educate the client as much as I can. When I start to get angry, I actually imagine the client as a child who needs a little extra attention.

I learned this from a designer I once worked for. I always thought the client would be insulted by the way he (very nicely and diplomaticly) talked to them as if they were chidren. And each time, I was surprised at how well the client responded.

At the risk of sounding like false modesty, but I think --that is, worry-- all the time about the limitations of my own taste. I'm very afraid that my work will suffer because I accept non-existent or self-imposed limitations. I tend to internalize what's The Right Way To Do Things and this pretty much always sets me back creatively. And I've always found that stuff I hated at first turned out to be really good--everything from Emigre magazine to tomatoes to ice skating. What if I'm irredeemably unvisionary? I've never been rebellious or avant-garde or cutting edge. What if it's because I'm just chickenshit? This scares me. Makes me more chickenshit, maybe.

Anyway, it always seems like giving yourself permission to experiment produces something good. It is a form of just doing it (Damn if that isn't the greatest slogan of all time; I mean, it really might be.)--but there's a psychological thing that happens with having permission to be free that makes it possible to dive right in to whatever the specific challenge is.

Picking up on an earlier comment.

I don't think it is neccessary to learn everything and pick up every skill under the sun. Grasping the basic concepts and knowing how something is put together (what can be done/ can't be done) without getting into a hands-on-keyboard role can be adequate enough to conceive and produce work in areas that you may not specialise in - via collaboration that is eg. print-web.

I do however believe that it is good to have at least one other skill than that which you commonly use. Eggs in 2 baskets so to speak.

btw, "domain of noodle-eating hoodlums" is freaking hi-larious!

On Rick G and David E's convo about dealing with clients...

I have learnt that it helps alot in those situations with clients when you start with " Client name, Yes. I understand exactly your sentiments and position and they are not without merit, but i believe it is better and more effective......"

(although you may not neccessarily hold the first few words to heart)

Tan, I totally agree with you on the web stuff. I find it very frustrating that designing on the web just cannot be open canvas (like print). I always do these perty concepts in illustrator, and then when I show my web friends the comps so they can help me out, they laugh at me and say how crazy that would be to actually execute. arg.

>I always do these perty concepts in illustrator, and then when I show my web friends the comps so they can help me out, they laugh at me and say how crazy that would be to actually execute. arg.

That's because they are just plain lazy. At marchFIRST I had the same problem, they were like "Uh, we can't do strokes around the boxes, 'cause it's like, uh, hard and stuff." It drove me crazy, then I learned how to do it myself and was able to translate my Illustrator ideas into web pages.

As opposed to the go-team-go collaborative mentality I opt for the If you want something done right do it yourself approach. Which sometimes can be limiting and time consuming, but I can control the end result.

I fear I am coming close to reaching my limitation in identity work. It's my absolute favorite type of work to do, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that all my identity work is going at one volume, it all resonates with a certain feeling of 'sameness'. I have spent too much time doing entertainment design, and it has infected the rest of my work. I can't break out of the certain look I have nor can I gain any traction towards progressing my designs. I feel like there is some invisible wall that I keep running into, but can't figure out how to move past.

I try as hard as I can to refuse web work. It is the only type of design that I derive no pleasure from. I love planning out the website architecture and functionality, but designing and implementing the design bores me to tears.

But on a positive note, I have finally learned how to make a halfway decent poster. I was never able to make a poster at school, I tried to make them work from the wrong distance - I wanted all my posters to be viewed up close, which is great for a magazine ad, but not for a poster. Within the last 2 years, I feel that I've finally figured out the poster medium.

To the contrary of what many others have said, I absolutely abhor the limitations of print versus interactive design. I like to be able to work with small files and see what the end product will look like on screen, rather than after 100 botched printouts...

Other weaknesses I'll admit to:

Proofreading (another great thing about the web -- nothing is ever final).

I'm horribly critical of my own work -- by the time a project is finished I'm so sick of looking at it that I'm convinced it's just the worst thing I've ever created.

Dealing with clients. I'm getting better, but I need to work on my patience. Just because I know what I heard the client say doesn't mean the client really said it.

Getting clients to pay in a reasonable amount of time is another place I need help. Thank goodness I'm not dependent on freelance income to pay my rent (anymore).

Forgive us Sam for we have sinned,

I can draw like a champ but i have an enormous fear of the software. i still refuse to learn how to program and only recently have made ammends with Illustrator after the better part of a decade long war against "vectors".

i still do most of my design outside the box then sit next to the desk with a manual in my hand trying to figure out how to "do" what i just did. And then there's the 2am phone calls to the friends on the west coast to talk me off of the ledge with a little tech support.

what else? oh yeah, i've very recently been told that i'm deficient for never having read any Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I guess the joy in getting older is meeting new people to remind you how far you have to go.

good god, i'm a wreck.

oh yeah, i've very recently been told that i'm deficient for never having read any Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Eric, my mother is all over me for not reading "her favorite author." How could we?

Armin comments, "As opposed to the go-team-go collaborative mentality I opt for the If you want something done right do it yourself approach."

Jesus. That's me, plain and simple. And while this doesn't exactly inhibit me from seeking collaborators, it makes me anxious as heck when I have to collaborate with someone. I just don't think I know how to do it very well. I can't delegate worth a damn.

Archiving. I am terrible at this. I just throw the shit in a box (if that) and hope I can find it later...

It probably goes without saying that my portfolio is painfully out of date as well.

Not being critical enough of my own work. When I do something I like, Im soooo happy with myself. I sit there looking at the computer screen beaming with pride.

I used to be a lot worse, as i imagine most young designers are. I was fortunate enough to work with some very talented creative directors who would very quickly critique my stuff (and often harshly). I'd wonder how they were able to see all these things that I couldn't until they pointed them out.

So I've trained myself to look more critically at my work. My wife, who would claim to have no interest and know nothing about design, is actually a great critic—especially if i show her more than one solution.

btw, "domain of noodle-eating hoodlums" is freaking hi-larious!

Huh? Was it?

Wasn't meant to be...

Hah.

Noodles Rock. Eat 'Em.

btw, "domain of noodle-eating hoodlums" is freaking hi-larious!

Huh? Was it?

Wasn't meant to be...

Hah.

Noodles Rock. Eat 'Em.

PHP/MySQL scares the living crap out of me. I have the books, I have the dev environment set up on my Mac, but even though I know I could learn them, I keep thinking to myself "Wouldn't you rather spend your time designing a book cover or a rock poster?"