Hey, everyone!
I've been reflecting a lot in the past three weeks.
Looking back at my career, I found one thing that influenced it more than others.
It's the people I had a chance to learn from. Mentors, who believed in me, taught me their best tricks and made me into who I am today. I wouldn't be here without them, and I'm forever grateful.
I already spoke about the importance of having mentors at my public talks in the past. But I didn't go much into details about the lessons I learned.
Today's post seems like a good time to publicly share some of my experiences. So without further ado, let me tell you about two of them.
Always giving my 100%
When I tried to apply for my first design job in 2008, it was Martin who gave me the opportunity to join a local agency. I only knew a few basics, and I didn't even know how to resize canvas in Photoshop. But he hired me anyway and taught me everything from scratch. Tools, web design, know-how, theory, where to collect inspiration. Everything.
I saw how an agency and the whole industry work, and I was fascinated. Martin helped me to find my passion for design. (Btw. It still lasts today.)
One of the biggest lessons he gave me was when I sent him "finished" work and tried to leave home early without notice. I was just on my way out, packing up my things. But he stopped me and asked if this was the best I could do. The work didn't look good to him compared to my standard delivery.
He was right, and I knew it. I kind of half-assed it, not giving my best. He asked me to either leave if I genuinely believe this is the best or stay a little longer so we can give it another look. Five seconds pause. I sat down, turned on my laptop again, and reviewed the work. We worked together, fixed details, revisited ideas, and made it better by giving it proper care.
I never sent unfinished or half-baked work ever again. Not only to Martin but to anyone I worked with after that. From that moment onward, I told myself that I would always give my work 100% no matter what. My reputation is not worth the risk.
Having a sense of care
A few years later (~2013), I learned another great lesson.
I was working at a different agency. A little more experienced, but I still considered myself a junior back then. Tomas led the design team and had an excellent reputation because of his experience and skills.
We mostly collaborated over social media posts, websites, or marketing campaigns (sometimes pre-sales). Tomas was a great leader. Always supportive and open-minded. No ego.
Building on top of what I knew from Martin, Tomas guided me further into the design world. He showed me to make work more unique and focus on details. And in general, he helped me to deepen my love for design and the craft itself.
But his biggest lesson to me was something completely unrelated. One evening, I struggled with a long list of to-dos but only had limited time to finish them all on deadline. Tomas was done for the day, walking around the office as he was packing things to leave. He had already said bye, but then, while opening the main door, he asked how much work I had left and if I was ok. I admitted I was probably not going to make it, and I felt overwhelmed.
He walked back, looked at my screen, and then asked me to send him half of the work so he could help me finish it sooner. We were close friends and colleagues, but technically, he's still my boss. I'd never expect him to do something like this. It was such a nice gesture, and it spoke a lot about his character, which I have always admired. Maybe even more than the experience and skills.
Besides making me a better designer, he also made me a better human. He left a mark on me forever, making me a more cautious, humble, and empathic person. His example made me realize that a great career in design is what you make and who you are.
Taking own initiative
But a mentor doesn't need to be someone you only meet in the office. There were times when I was freelancing or joined a team as the most experienced designer. I had no one to learn from in person, so I went online.
I followed people whose work or process spoke to me. I did not even reach out but observed what they were doing and tried to study their moves.
When it comes to those who had a huge influence on my work over the years, I'd mention the following. I consider them my "online mentors" even when we never met:
Anton&Irene - I always loved their case studies and the way they document work. I started following them when they were still at Fantasy.
Teehan+Lax - Again, great case studies to learn from. The studio was later bought by Facebook and closed its doors.
Basecamp - Back then, they were called 37signals and used to have the best product ideas and designs. Sad to see their 2021 controversy.
Marc Anderson - Another former Fantasy designer. Later on, he founded his design studio called Rainfall.
Wunderlist - Considered one of the best design teams in Europe. Then joined Microsoft. I followed every single designer from their team!
Over the last few years, the list has grown and changed, so it's not the most up-to-date (I may share that one in the next posts). But these are the "online OGs" that I used to follow the most. There is a piece of each in my process or how I approach my work today. And they are not even aware!
Careful who you listen to
Generally, I think that mentors are important at any stage of a career.
It's not just a matter of new people trying to break into the industry. But also the more experienced ones trying to navigate where they are at.
The hard part is that when we look at the "online” part, there are too many options and “noise” in the community. It makes it hard to choose who to follow or take advice from. Nowadays, everyone has a masterclass. But it doesn't necessarily mean it's backed by proven experience. It can be tricky.
My take is that I prefer to engage with people or teams that have real work to back up their credibility. I like those who do more work than talking and build up their reputation with time. Those are the ones that catch my attention, and I'm interested in their story and know-how.
For example, I recently found a great YouTube channel from Brian Lovin. I wish more designers shared their processes like this. Easy to follow and learn from.
Have a great week and talk again soon!
A.
PS: I shared a small video preview of the upcoming Showreelz website on Twitter. The response has been great so far!
Links & inspiration
A collection of links to stuff I'm currently digging
🔤 Font - Okay Serif - Loud display serif that comes in a single weight with matching italic style, but appears to have many different tones.
💻 Website - Scout - Portfolio/team website with beautiful and well-made 3D models. (Try moving your mouse around to see reflections).
🛠 Tool - Tome - Minimal storytelling tool for work. Reminds me of Pitch, but looks even easier to use when you need to create nice visual presentations.
🧩 Plugin - SVG motion (Figma) - Create attractive animations for your designs. Includes access to a library with preconfigured settings.
📐 UX - Page Flows - Design better user flows by learning from proven products. A growing library of 2,678 recordings of tried & tested products
Hi Aleš! Great newsletter as always! Right now I am in the position where I am not sure who my mentor is and I indeed do miss one so your newsletter speaks to my heart. Anyway, keep the great work! :-)