Words: Kate Rintoul / Image: Ash Tailor

This talk promised to ”give the lowdown on everything eager young designers need to know” and it definitely delivered. Wolff gave some great anecdotal stories and metaphores as well as some fantastic advice of which we´ve picked the best below:

There has never been a better time to be a designer: Now things have gone wrong companies value imagination, the world knows there is a journey that needs to be taken.

Your ability to notice is key as a designer: The scope for improving things is almost infinite, this comes from noticing things that are done well and badly and building on them.

Logos are not the be all and end all: The relationship between people and logos is highly complex, often they will accept the familiar and reject anything new. There is no point in playing with symbols if they are only going to be seen by a limited amount of people, Penguin only works because it is on millions of books. Equally a symbol alone cannot change people’s perceptions, Shell might be a brilliant logo but this cannot offset people’s reactions to some of the negative things it has done.

Be weary of your experience: The essence of experience is that it can make you assume that you already know what to do in certain situations. Creativity comes from not knowing what to do, you need a state of nothing in order to create.

Creative people need three muscles: Curiosity, appreciation and imagination. Ask questions, being open to discovery and transformation will nourish your imagination.

At whatever level you work at you are only working with another human being: The more empathy you have, the more you connect with the people you’re working with the more open they will be to your ideas. 

You need to win the right to be recieved: Don’t assualt your contacts with your work, prepare the ground and build relationships on shared mutual respect, other forms of approach are simply acts of seduction, which are always destined to fail.

Interviews and presentations are scary for both sides: In an interview find some ground for empathy and put yourself into their place. If you really want to work somewhere go to the office and see what the people look like, arrive to your interview looking like you belong. People won’t try new things, yourself included unless they have some basis of trust, you need to assure them that what you offer is something they would do if they had your skill.

Portfolios need to demonstrate something about you: Choose work that reflects your true character. Always ask for a meeting with the company, even if it is only 10 minutes, tell them about yourself and back this up with work to act as evidence of these skills.

Don’t limit yourself to one area of design: Whether this means finding a cluster of other designers to work with or just embracing different projects, anything that gives you an appreciation of the wider context will help you.