Since joining the team a little over a year ago I’ve learned some things about myself. One thing I realized early on is that I was allowing myself to settle for “good”. It’s easy to create “good” design, and it’s way too popular these days. I know this because I see “good” design all over the web: blogs, portfolios, and galleries. It’s cheap.
When I first joined the team it was difficult to hear Joey (the Classy Llama Creative Director) pick apart my designs, and force me to rethink, redo, and start over. I would think in the back of my mind, “It’s good enough, why is he creating such a fuss about this?”. After far too long I finally began to realize that I was unfortunately right. It was “good enough”.
But should I be satisfied with just being “good enough”? This was a slap in the face, to say the least. And although it took some time for me to understand, I finally realized that I didn’t want my work to be “good enough”, and neither did Joey. Actually, I couldn’t ask for a better environment to grow, learn and stretch myself. And, luckily, Joey didn’t give up on me. What I’ve learned from this team will never be forgotten, and I hope that I will continue to apply it to every area of my life, not just design.
I want to be great at what I do, not just good enough.
I challenge you, even if you’re not a designer or artist, to look at yourself and ask “Is the effort I’m putting into this just ‘good enough’, or could I push a little harder?” Ask yourself this on a daily basis, and be brutally honest with yourself, you won’t regret it.
-Jeremy Wells, Lead Artist