What happens when a designer decides to quit his day job, hang his shingle, and wakes up seven years later nowhere remotely close to where he imagined he would be? This frank, semi-informal presentation on the pros, cons, and potential progressions of a designer’s career explores service niching, product creation, and the web designer's future.

2. Alternate Titles
that we considered...
• How I went from working hard at
home to playing games at the office.
• No really, who needs clients?
• The Designer of Tomorrow

3. A Few Caveats
Just so you know...
• Your results may vary
• Not everything will apply
• Be prepared for Happy Accidents
• Transitions are key
• There is no boardroom

4. Boss
Bedroom
Band
Boardroom
Beach

5. Discover Your D.N.A.
(Designer’s Natural Aptitude)
• Personality
• Family & Upbringing
• Education
• Interests, Hobbies & Passions
• Bent

6. Dealing
w the Boss

7. Embrace Your Place
• If you are working for The Man —
or The Woman — make sure they’re
willing to invest in you
• Don’t rely on the office to be
your creative exercise

8. Success
in Bedroom

9. Narrow Services
Broad Interests
• Focus professionally on niches
• Become an expert or advocate
• Get outside of yourself on a
“personal” level

10. Beware of the Good
Embrace the Great
• Avoid projects — even seemingly
profitable ones — if they do not fit
your designer DNA
• Narrow focus enables growth
and sparks profits
• Misfit projects drag you down

11. Prepare for Calamity
• Growth will make you a target
• Some people can be mean
• Remember “Happy Accidents”

12. Assembling
Band

13. When One is Not Enough
• Focus allows you to identity
compatible and complementary
people for your team
• Know the DNA of your team
• Don’t align with others simply
for the sake of alignment. Be
careful working with friends & family

14. Building
Product

15. Transition Time
• Stay true to your niche
• Use profits to fuel projects
• Be persistent throughout
mistakes, shortcomings, and
miscalculations

16. Building Awareness
• Keep an email list
• Bake in the buzz
• Make it remarkable

17. Some Stories

18. Blinksale
DNA = Fascination with business finance met
disdain for desktop software solutions
Lesson = Products almost always take
more time to hit mass than you think
Result = Blinksale is profitable
& growing

19. IconBuffet
DNA = Team’s obsession with iconic art
and a love for design community sites
Lesson = Profits not always key success
Result = IconBuffet’s primary
success was the visibility that it
brought to our studio. Our best
clients were landed via IconBuffet.

20. PackRat
DNA = Team’s obsession with iconic art
and a love for community sites
...and gaming
Lesson = Happy Accidents
Result = We have no idea

21. e Designer Tomorrow
• Goes beyond design, embraces creation
• Transitions skillfully between
focused niches and multiple disciplines
• Raises the bar for the industry
• Brings other designers along
for the ride