I’ve been a designer since 1996. The first place I ever worked at was an ad agency that was just making the transition to digital. They still had—and used—a stat machine for shooting Rubylith (if that sounds like Greek to you, don’t worry about it). Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’m old. I’m not old, old but I’m design-world old.
Being old has its perks. It literally comes with decades of experience. Over the years I’ve worked at ad agencies, print shops, web shops, and in-house. I’ve hired a lot of designers and, unfortunately, fired a few. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things, mostly the hard way.
I want to share what I’ve learned, particularly with younger designers and with small business owners and early-stage startups. Business owners and designers are often pretty hesitant about each other. They don’t speak each others’ language. They don’t really understand what each other does. But they need each other.
Are you a designer or a small business owner? In charge of marketing at an early-stage startup? What questions do you have? Drop me a line and let me know.
