Q & A from Front-End Design Conference

Dan and Cherrie Denney, two of the nicest people I’ve ever met, run one of the nicest conferences in our industry. They recently sent me a lovely gift in the mail.

Sean McCabe, known by many as Sean Wes, captured sketch notes during my talk earlier this year:

Below is his (abbreviated) transcript of my remarks. Video from the full presentation will be posted soon.

How do you balance everything?

I don’t. I prioritize. Not everything has to be top priority all the time. Long term goals help balance and shift short term priorities.

What’s the most significant mistake you’ve made?

My worst mistakes are the ones I didn’t learn anything from. Ask yourself: What can you do better?

How can I make a name for myself?

Write. Write passionately about something—regardless of whether you feel like you’re qualified. Write consistently & passionately.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to break into our field?

1) Copy. Imitate. “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” As we develop our own style, we can integrate some uniqueness into that. 2) Push yourself. Try things you don’t know how to do. 3) Understand and learn hierarchy. It is so fundamental to everything that we do. It’s often overlooked how important that one principle is.