A while back I did something I should have done a long time before. My wife and I make it a habit to tell each other “I love you” many times a day. Every once in a while she would come back with “why do you love me?”. And I would either say “just because” or stumble for some brilliant or romantic response, usually without much success. I’m a designer, after all, not a writer. So on the occasion of our 25th anniversary, I made a giant poster/card for her listing the top 25 reasons why I loved her. In retrospect, one of my better presents. In honor of that, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Disciple Design, here are the 25 reasons I love design:
- It beats working for a living
- I get to learn about all kinds of new cool stuff before anybody else
- I get to meet famous people like athletes and celebrities and act cool about it
- I get to draw all day and somebody (usually) pays me for it
- Doing work for non-profits keeps my perspective in perspective
- How cool is it to see a logo you designed on SportsCenter?
- How cool is it to see a logo you designed on license plates all over the city?
- How cool is it to see a name and logo you dreamed up on backpacks all over the world?
- I was Apple before Apple was cool
- No ties
- Or dress pants
- Or dress shirts (unless I want to)
- Did I mention flip flops?
- Working with great photographers & videographers on location all over the world
- Almost every day is something new and different and challenging
- It keeps me young and hip (at least I like to think so)
- I’m constantly learning new things from clients I work with
- It makes me keep up with the latest technology (you know, old dog, new tricks…)
- In what other job does doing something like going looking for cool props constitute work?
- Working with a really great writer who “gets it”
- Working with a really great client who “gets it”
- The rush I get when the “big idea” hits you
- The struggle to get that “big idea”
- Breaking rules is part of the job description
- My parents still don’t understand what I do for a living