105 - The Maker's Manifesto

What this episode covers

Making stuff automatically makes you better. Music and links from this episode Venga Bus by Pierlo Walking Alone by Telegraphy Barbarian by Pierlo Do the Pump by MrJuan Line-by-line notes INTRO No matter what you do as a job I think you should be doing this thing in your spare time Whether you're an accountant, a developer, a designer or a lawyer, doing this thing makes you automatically better at your job That thing is stuff And the thing you should be doing with it is making it Because making stuff makes you better This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess By the way, I’m feeling in a bit of a Friday mood today So today’s music is quite weekendy... PLAY MID SONG After recording another episode of AADA a few days ago, I started to think about what I could tell my younger 18 year old self That if I could go back in time, what is the one most important thing that's turned me into the human I am today? Im too humble to call myself successful, but I'm happy, and I lead a life I enjoy with no limitations. I got to thinking about what makes a good designer, and what one thing you could teach a young designer that could potentially turn that young designer into a great one When I sit down and really think about the things I've learnt in my short career of 11 years so far There's lots of things I could mention Creative ability Curiosity A passion for learning Networking Being friendly Helping others Having a vision And never giving up Yes, they're all important And really, it's impossible or not really that important to pick one But if I think about one thing specifically It's the simple act of making things And making things often Let me explain Making things can be anything, and I think that's why it's such a powerful concept to any industry In my world, making things meant designing stuff Even before I got my first design job, I've always just designed stuff Ever since I started my design education I became obsessed And started just making stuff all the time Because I was constantly making stuff I was constantly getting better I was getting 10000 hours of practice in just by designing stuff all the time And at the time when I first started out Almost 99 percent of it was for myself Just making stuff completely for the fun of it Some people would call this pointless But for me It was and still is some of the best work I do Because you get to explore things And learn new things And you're doing it for yourself and for nobody else I live for making work like this And making things At the minute I'm spending 2 hours a day making a podcast And some people might think that's quite a lot of time And it is But I do it because I just love the act of making things I'd prefer to spend 2 hours learning and making Than 2 hours vegetating Watching crap television The simple and sometimes complex act of making Has a deeper meaning for me It's like my daily meditation Or my daily exercise for my brain Im a maker at heart And if I'm not making things, I'm getting twitchy and not feeling myself Making stuff makes me a better human in so many ways So if there's one thing young designers should do Is make more stuff And keep making more stuff Because making more stuff than everybody else Automatically makes you better OUTRO  This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess. Music featured in this episode was Venga Bus by Pierlo Walking Alone by Telegraphy Barbarian by Pierlo Do the Pump by MrJuan For a line-by-line run down of this episode, go to askadesignernaything.com/ep105 I’m back tomorrow for another episode of AADA Support Ask a Designer Anything Ask a Designer Anything Website Twitter (@craigburgess) Ask a Designer Anything on Facebook Leave me a review on iTunes