👨‍🎓 Learning Rather Than Competition · The Bunker #07

Let’s get started!

I still really don’t know why, but throughout my life as a designer I have been taught that you have to work hard, otherwise the designer next door will step on you and take away all your opportunities.

We live in a society where we are told from an early age that you have to work to be something in life, that you have to work hard. That if you are walking there are 3 people running at the same time. That there are people running and moving forward while you are resting.

Honestly, I don't know why, but many designers think that their victory is the root of the other's failure. And it doesn't quite work like that:

The world of design has always been a competition, because of the premise of: Look what I know how to do. And you probably don't. Therefore I'll get the clients and you won't.

It's normal that in a very visual world, the premise is: I know how to do this incredibly cool thing, and look what you do.

Reality is not like that.

I studied at a private Graphic Design University, i.e. a place where competition was everywhere, mostly because of the grades the school gave you based on the delivery you handed in. The grade sometimes wasn't the only thing, but people's comments (which could translate into clients or your audience on social media). In other words, the perfect scenario to see how competitive it was.

Reality doesn't work like that. Every designer has their own path, and one will be very good at 3D, but won't be as good as you at animation. Or he'll have the same skills as you in different software, but he won't have the same problem-solving skills as you. Or he will be an amazing designer, but as a person he is unhappy, he doesn't know how to balance his life and his partner has left him because of his obsession with work.

The bottom line is that each of them has a completely different context and trajectory.

Why is the subject of today's post about this? Because I have been a designer and, in general, an overly competitive person and I was going for my life in everything I did, including design. I couldn't allow people around me to do things better than me.

The thing is that this led me to a cloud of toxicity and gigantic frustration, because as I mentioned in the previous chapter, instead of celebrating the successes of others and saying "hey, how cool is this thing you did, how did you do it?

7 years later, I have learned two things. And this is what I want you to take away from this post:

1. Each person has a completely different context. You'll never know if what they've done is because they've copied it from somewhere else, if they've been inspired by 30 sources. If they've done 30 hours of research, if they've asked another designer. You only see the result, but if you really find it interesting how they came to that conclusion. Ask them.
2. Ask as much as you can. Instead of getting angry, or more than angry, frustrated or angry with yourself "why don't I know how to do this", ask them how they did it. You'd be surprised how simple things are sometimes but for fear of asking we never find out.
3. Celebrate each other's successes, succeeding together is possible. And I've seen it. The design world is huge and everyone has a skill that the other is not so good at, and vice versa. Instead of competing, you have to join forces. If you are very good at web design, and your partner is very good at illustration, copywriting or information architecture, join forces and complement each other. Join forces and complement each other. Create an agency together and work together.

In short, competition is the most toxic and unhealthy aspect that exists in this world of design. Unhealthy, because it is the nº1 reason that makes you stop learning new things, and instead of asking and showing your interest, you are too proud because you didn't know how to do it.

Toxic competition (I can and you can't) is the #1 reason to stop learning.

Healthy competition is the number 1 reason to motivate you to keep growing and creating.

What does healthy mean? That you are both willing to share your newly acquired knowledge with each other.

One of the coolest and healthiest things I do with my super-designer colleagues is that every once in a while I do something really cool, I go up to them and say "guys, look what I did today, I did it like this, and like this". And then the next day they're the ones who share something with me.

Sharing is living, and succeeding together is a reality. It's not about you or me.

Really, this is the true path to new knowledge. Open your mind to new knowledge. Show your ignorance and your interest to new learning.

Cheers, Jordi Espinosa.