Disconnected and out of touch...

I've been MIA for the past few days. This was planned and much needed because I have a feeling the flood gates are going to open and I will be drowning in work for the next two months. So I have taken time to take a few deep breaths and am now ready to dive deep into endless hours and constant work. The best part about this weekend vacation to rural Pennsylvania was that I was completely disconnected from everything. I had no internet access, no phone reception, and only a couple channels of television which were constantly showing golf (I love golf but after two hours I can do without watching it). So what did I do? I read. I read a couple books about our little design community. These books offered advice, tips and tricks to make it in our field, and even some humor about the stereotypes we designers are given. They were great reads and I'll be making a post soon about books to look into as a designer. I figured in a month or so it would be great to have a list for summer reading.

Now you may ask yourself, why do we care what Chris did on vacation. Good question and really I'm using my relative abandonment of technology as an excuse for me not having a post for my Who Are We series. I use the internet to do the majority of my research so it was nearly impossible for me this weekend. I promise I'll have one tomorrow. You should check back to see who I've decided to highlight this week.

This isn't the only reason why I've decided to mention my weekend plans. It dawned on me a couple days ago that even though I was on vacation, I really wasn't. I was still reading about graphic design, I was still out networking and picking up clients, I was even still designing (albeit on a napkin in a bar one night but it may have won me some work... so it counts). I think that as a young person still trying to secure my place in the graphic design community, I have learned that you are never really done working. You may be at the office for ten to fourteen hours a day but that doesn't mean when you walk out that door your are done. At the bar talking with people, you may be networking which is helping your freelance career. Even while you are sleeping, you mind should be subconsciously thinking of graphic treatment, typography, and color choice.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't mean that if you are not dreaming of design you are a bad designer. I am just saying that there are people out there that are. They eat, sleep, and breathe design. There is not a single activity or second that is dedicated to anything else but their design career/work. Maybe as you gain more experience and amass a larger reputation, you can afford the luxury of complete relaxation but I tend to think that isn't the case. Our field is a highly competitive one and to play game with all of the competition out there, you have to make some sacrifices. Thankfully we have a field that allows for work to be fun, exciting, social, and evolving so this level of dedication isn't awful and dull. So think about your level of commitment and ask yourself, "Am I disconnected and out of touch with the design field, or am I living design?"