Young designers – stop trying to do everything creative under the sun. Its unrealistic, impractical and sometimes a tad obnoxious, to be frank. It is great that you have interests in other disciplines and verticals within the creative industry, but in the beginning you should really focus on what you love the most  - and what you do the best (lets hope they are one in the same). I realize that when working on small freelance or ‘after-hours’ projects you probably will have to wear many hats, so lets keep this conversation in the 9-5 studio capacity please. This also does not also include those rare geniuses that actually can do everything perfectly – damn them. This is for your average, hard-working Joe (designer).

In all likelihood you were hired, fresh out of school, to do one job – design. So do it, and do it bloody well. Let the writers, producers, 3D artists, photographers, music composers, illustrators, etc. do their jobs and you do yours. Develop the most innovative and conceptually relevant designs for your client that you possibly can. Because if you are completely focused on this one task, you will then know if you need assistance from any of these other disciplines to enhance your design. It will also allow you to work with experts in these fields, which in turn will expand your knowledge of them.

I have gone off on this little tirade not because I want to stop young designers from exploring, but because I want young designers to be determined to master their craft first and foremost. I see too many portfolios full of “a little of everything” mixed in with “I like to do it all”, which usually leads to “don’t call us, we’ll call you.”

So before you pick up that fancy SLR… or go get the latest version of Pro-Tools… or take a stab at Cinema 4D… would you please learn how to kern some friggin’ type. I promise, five years down the road you will understand and most likely agree with me.

That’s all from the desk this time.

Erik.

ManvsMachine is a design and motion studio based in London, England. Those of who live in the UK might recognize some of the work they did for a little channel called E4 and Five? They’ve collaborated with some of the world’s most prolific agencies on motion projects (including the late, great Precursor R.I.P), and the sheer attention to craft in their print work also warrants a look. This is first-rate material across the board.

Okay, not sure how this works exactly. So in a previous post, I asked if somebody knew of the official site of Korean photographer Bae Byung-Woo. And a nice person by the name of Hsin Yin Low sent me the official site. However his name is different here. Bae Bien-U? Not sure how it works. Regardless, here is a nice repository of more of his works. The only thing that I am missing from this site are some of those more gritty pictures of age that were captivitating in the first post. Regardless. Enjoy!

Many times I’ll pick a new restaurant to try out not because I hear the food is wonderful but because the restaurant is beautifully designed. Above are images from the book, Gusto: A Journey Through Restaurant Design. It’s a great collection of restaurants from all around the world.

Above are images from the book Eat Out! published by Gestalten. I’m going to use these books as travel guides when I head out one day on my foodie world tour.

Asylum is a Singapore based design firm that has a portfolio filled with amazing environmental designs. Also, if time permits, check out the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards.

This is an inspirational documentary that goes beyond paper folding and crosses boundaries between art, design, math and science. All designers interested in the creative process, designing objects, prototyping ideas and thinking through by making should see this film.