I have been designing for a couple of years now, and I like to still learn new things and new tricks to make my designs look better. I have been designing for so long that I am not only critical of what the things on my computer look like, but that habit is starting to follow me to the outside world.
If you have been designing for a while online, have you ever started applying your online design principles to the designs in the real world? It’s amazing how bad it can get
I have changed some things in my life that all come directly from my design habits online. I like to keep everything organized, in best condition, I now appreciate art, live a simple lifestyle and love Apple products.
But this post is about the funny stuff I picked up from designing for so long. The stuff I am about to list below are all things that come through my mind every once in a while and get me thinking “I’ve been designing for way too long!”
Design Principles I live by Offline
1. Just because a color scheme looks good on a website doesn’t mean it looks good on your clothes
Trying funky color schemes to design a website is something I do a lot. But, I don’t go crazy over the way I dress. A sweatshirt and some jeans will work for me, but I don’t go all crazy and try funky colors like purple and yellow just because I saw it on a website and thought it looked cool.
2. I keep my room simple and love it, but others hate it
In my room, everything is simply done. I have a desk, a television, a bed and two chairs in my room. I have plenty of space on the ground and wall. But every time a friend comes over, or my family walks in it’s always “wow, what a boring room.” No one understands minimalism like a web designer I suppose.
3. In school, I really go overboard while formatting notes
It’s crazy how over the top I get. When we go over Power Point presentations and are forced to take down those useless little notes, I find entertainment in doing stuff I would normally do on a website. Like centering text, keeping inside the lines and all of that designer stuff.
4. Working in a public area blows
They say working in public areas like Starbucks or something makes you more productive because of all the activity around you. Not only does it make you unproductive, but you look like a total douchebag.
I tried working in an office at my dads restaurant in Florida. It’s distracting enough that people are constantly walking through there trying to get help from the boss, but it’s another thing sitting there with a MacBook Pro and having people who have never seen an actual Mac asking if they can see it. I will never work out of my own office again. 
5. No matter what, my handwriting will never look like Georgia
Georgia is the best font ever, and my handwriting is probably the worst ever. Not only did I come to realize my handwriting doesn’t look like Georgia, it doesn’t look like Arial, Tahoma, Verdana or eve Comic Sans. Just crap.
6. There’s no CMD/CNTRL + Z in life…dammit
Wouldn’t this be a useful feature in life? You fail a test, bam — CMD + Z. But it’s not that easy, and no matter how hard you wish, you can’t undo mistakes in real life.
7. You look worse “powering on” than you do “shutting down”
This is just kind of from computers, but usually at the end of a workday, the computer is all hot and maybe a little slow for being on all day and it just wants to shut down. When you power the computer on, it’s fast as hell and ready to work. But when we as humans go through that process of powering on and powering off…it’s more like the opposite.
8. “I could have done so much better”
Whenever I get a worksheet in school, or see a flyer on the wall at a store, I get so picky about it and lists of improvements on how it could be better just race through my mind.
Have you been designing too long as well?
When I put this post into retrospect, it seems like I have been designing for a while and maybe too long for someone at the ripe old age of 16.
But I seriously think that being a designer has changed my views offline so dramatically, and even for the best. My mind is always on the creative side and in constant thought which I think is good for me. I respect the tools I have and live with, and I don’t have anything I don’t use every day.
This was just a fun little post I would bring up here. Hope you enjoyed it!
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Alex! I don’t consider myself a designer by any means, but just by working so much on the Internet, I’m starting to pick up on these things too. Whenever I see a poster, I analyze the gradients and shadows. When I write a paper, I spend the first 15 minutes choosing my fonts, headings and color schemes.
And the FedEx logo is starting to drive me nuts! Everyone knows about the arrow between the “Ex” but it was recently brought to my attention that the “e” and “d” hang lower than the other letters. You’ll never look at that logo the same again.
Nice post!
.-= Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Don’t Buy a Book Without Finding Where It’s Cheapest =-.
Great post, Alex!
The best way to improve your creativity in designing is by spending more and more time, studying and collecting designing work by other.
Funny post. When we are experts in something we often take it to the extreme.
.-= PSP Go´s last blog ..Buy Sony PSP Go – Quick Buying Q&A =-.
Interesting thoughts on design. I agree with you on the Georgia font – I thought most of the powerful themes use Georgia.
However not sure if leaving a lot of whitespace on real web walls is a good idea
.-= Ajith´s last blog ..10 Most Annoying Ads and their irritating features =-.
I am not designing that much. But I’ve been with computers for a while now. I wouldn’t mind if I had restart button in real life as well.
.-= Internethow Blog´s last blog ..How a simple taxi ride made me earn £110 per week? =-.
Great Post.
I think the best way to create good designs is by getting inpsiration by looking at templates at templatmonster or resources. Also keep practising and you’ll get better and better
.-= Teen Blogger´s last blog ..Top 5 Critical Mistakes Bloggers Make =-.
Funny post, nice one!
I too have been designing long enough that the creative juice flows over to my everyday life. Seeing crappy ad’s makes me cringe and noone knows why. People think I am weird when I see fonts I like and I say that is real nice typography.
.-= Montana Flynn´s last blog ..Automate 404 discovery, the easy PHP way. =-.
great post, nice read!
Through the years, I’ve worked with so many designers. What I appreciate about them is their uniqueness. Some tend to be a bit quirky but that’s what makes their designs spectacular.
You know I think I have taken something from every job I ever had, even the really bad ones when I was younger. Everything is a learning experience.
.-= PSP Go´s last blog ..Buy Sony PSP Go – Quick Buying Q&A =-.
This was a funny post. I especially liked #4 since a lot of times for my writing I’ve had to work in a public space and I feel more than a little awkward.
.-= Koi Fish´s last blog ..All Koi in the online catalog are newly harvested! =-.
Designer is a special intelligence as I have read in an article. I agree with that idea because not all of us have that. Being a designer happens to be in a person who is good in abstract. They know how to mix colors, pictures, objects which seems to be unmatch but still looks good together through a work of art. They arrange things in a way that an ordinary mind just can’t do. I salute designers so much. They are but a few.
Lol. I like the point when you said that your font will never look like georgia.
Point 6. No ctrl + z in real life is a real bummer and I have been known to try and do it in real life (or at least think about it).
The last time was when I moved some furniture in the room and I didn’t like the way it looked… man, ctrl+z would have been sooooo useful then.
.-= Tom@Your Practice Website´s last blog ..Websites for accountants – 7 specialist suppliers in the UK =-.
No 5 is the best while my handwriting really really sucks. Great post!
Waw, that’s very funny
Keep posting funny things
cheers
.-= lady kingdom´s last blog ..Justin Bieber syphilis =-.
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