Its an age old conundrum that plagues many people, and none more than of artists and professionals. The aim of seeking approval from your peers, the yearning to be accepted amongst the best of class and considered to be excellent amongst your field of profession. The fear of not being accepted or having your work rejected by people or a community can be devastative for your motivation and conviction to your work. But even more so is the fear of being rejection for your personality.
Creatives may say, “I don’t care what people think”, when in reality, they do, but reflected from a certain audience. The work that they creative is aimed at a particular audience, who follow you for what you do, they enjoy the quality of your work 1st, then after, seek to know you as a person. This is when they get to know your goals, and your passions.
When you speak with passion and conviction about your goals, you can attract comments both positive and critical, from people with different backgrounds and viewpoints, they see the world in a different light. Everybody is different, even you and your work.
The sooner you realise that people and even professionals from whom you seek approval from, are surrounded by a different set of circumstances, the more you can feel confident about the quality of the work you post publicly. The work will always speak for itself, focus on quality.
Thats not to say you should be ignoring comments made about your work (which is another topic entirely), but when your starting off, encouragement from outside sources goes a very long way. A lot can be said for a kind word from another artist who appreciates your work. From a like on your Instagram to a supportive comment on Facebook. It all factors towards a positive outlook of your work and builds your confidence when you start off, reassuring yourself that this is why you started in the first place. Encouragement is key to a young artist.
I recently received comments about my newly designed website that you see before you. The feedback was received from several people from different backgrounds, some asked, some not asked. This made me think about subjective and objective views towards design and the decision making process.
Subjective – personal opinions, interpretations, points of view, emotions and judgment.
Objective – fact-based, measurable and observable.
After weighing up and analysing the comments, I realised some where from a subjective viewpoint. These are the types of comments that discredit your decision making ability and question your choice of a particular element in your process. In something that is loosely termed, a ‘backseat designer’. “use this”, “this is better”, “I think”. We have all heard this about our work.
But here’s the thing. You chose a particular design because that is what you decided was the best possible solution to the problem. Not anyone else. You made that decision, through your thought process, breaking down, weighing different concepts and reviewing in different situations and circumstances. What you should understand wit regards to caring about what others think about your work, is that someone has an outside view to your mindset. Your set of circumstances are entirely different where outside views don’t take into account the criteria, boundaries, the aim/objective and the style, of which was asked of you to create when you approach a piece of work.
Don’t get discouraged, keep working, you will be discovered. Don’t take it personally, your work is an influence to someone, even if you don’t realise.
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