aesthetics are great and all, but having a purpose to compliment all those good looks is equally important.

on the other side of that nickel you'll find something that works great but never gets a second look, because nobody gave it a chance to shine.

when something is created it's of utmost importance to strike a balance between form and function, and it's never an exact science. every project is a new adventure in problem solving, and only those who embrace that fact truly succeed in merging these two most important aspects of design.

you can teach an old...well...older dog a few new tricks.

typically the primary purpose of good design is to convey a message, but more and more often that concept needs to be taken a few steps further. I've been designing for print a good amount of time now, but several years ago I realized that limiting myself to print was simply limiting myself. period.

it helps that i'm the type that
likes to tinker.

the steady advancement of interactive technologies demands that consistent learning and improvement be a necessity. design and form will forever be a subjective arena, but the mechanics of technology cannot be argued. although boundaries can be pushed in every direction and applied creatively, the rules of function must be learned and obeyed to build a successful product. Whether you want to polish off the rough edges of a Website with transitions and animation or build a full-fledged database application, the ability to develop is as important as an eye for design, and vice-versa, or both aspects suffer as a result.

the best thing about a career in design is that it's like taking an art class for life. it's fun, your successes depend on consistently becoming more and more creative and you never stop learning something new.

it really isn't much different from "drawing and painting 2" from high school junior year: you're a little more educated, a little more mature, and you still have a few stoners and jocks rocking the back rows hoping for an easy "a." but like class, if you're serious and there for the duration it shows in your work, and it's equally obvious in those expecting the blowoff. the rewards become a little more rewarding as well when grades begin to actually mean something and recognition begins to flow. however the most important way to measure success, in both class and career, is to look at yourself at the end of the day and ask yourself if you know something as a result of today that you didn't know yesterday. if you can answer "yes" congratulations. if not, there's always overtime...unpaid, of course.