“The Box”

I had an eye opening encounter today that I thought I would share with people I know involved in the design field.? I found “the box” today.? Inside the box were the products of the last eight years of my print design career.? It was overflowing and very disorganized.? So, piece by piece I pulled out the printed projects.? Some pieces brought back memories of sleepless nights and looming deadlines.? Others brought back feelings of “uck” knowing that this one missed the deadline or I had to eat the print cost because I didn’t do the job right.? I felt the sadness from dozens of funeral programs. And still other pieces brought a pure satisfaction of accomplishment knowing everything went off without a hitch through the entire process.? Finally, when I was finished I looked at my trash pile and my “keep” pile.? The trash pile was mountainous compared to what I decided to archive.

Then it hit me.? My blood, sweat, and tears of the past eight years were poured into the printed papers that lay on the ground before me.? The sum of my print career could be placed in one box.? I asked myself, “What else do I have to show for all this hard work?”? My mind raced from event to event trying to pull a meaningful experience that really, truly impacted my life, and sadly I couldn’t find one.? I remember in 2004 I lost an entire month of sleep doing all nighters.? The effects of those decisions are with me today as I have an enormous sleep debt I am still trying to pay off.? At the end of the day, all I have to show for all of this hard work is valuable knowledge, experience, some good life lessons, and a box of paper.

In the grand scheme of reality, all of these things are relatively meaningless.? The lesson I learned the most from my box of stuff is that we can pour ourselves into projects and events, but when they are finished, they don’t mean much.? How much time do we spend on projects that take away from family time, or even time with friends.? We develop designs, but sometimes designers don’t take time to develop relationships.? “The box” really won’t mean much on our death bed.? The people we love and the memories with them are what we will cherish.? It’s great to use our talents to provide for our families and help others succeed in business, but not at the expense of what is really important in life.

Lastly, I feel as though at times I allowed design to consume my life.? My self-worth became derived from accomplishment.? When one project was done, I had to go to the next one to feel good about myself because I wasn’t spending enough time with people.? Thank God for my wife who has helped change my life.? I am not addicted to event driven design anymore, but now I find my worth from meaningful times with God and family.? I actually go to bed and get much needed rest nowadays!? Overall, I enjoyed my tenure in print design.? So, I hope you can learn or be reminded from my experiences that design is inanimate, but the people who love you are living and breathing and want to spend time quality time with you.? At the end of your career, don’t be reduced to “the box.”