#WinningWednesday: When Rejection Sparks the Designer Spirit
Featured Image: Pexels/Sharon McCutcheon
No matter who Travis Lima spoke with, everyone told him to concentrate on core subjects like biology, accounting, and science in secondary school. The advice was logical and sound, and it appealed to him that he had a clear career path that he could follow.
To cut out distractions, Travis never focused on the creative field or any “arty” subjects. He felt that if he did, it would be a waste time. He wanted to be successful. However, despite following their advice, after he finished school Travis had trouble deciding what he wanted to do when he grew up.
Travis Lima
Travis shuffled through various jobs after school, including sales, real estate, accounting, and engineering. No matter what job he was in, he wasn’t happy with it. The quality of life was missing. He wanted to find a career path that made him successful and happy.
It wasn’t until a friend gave him the opportunity to help design a sales brochure for an online business that Travis found he could be happy as a designer.
“I loved the fact that designing incorporated creativity and logical thinking. I could sit next to my best friend while I worked and share a joke now and then. I could even do my work on the other side of the world as long as I had my laptop and an internet connection.”
After struggling to find something that wouldn’t make him hate going to work every day, Travis finally knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
Rejection can shatter you – Don’t let it!
Travis applied to a reputable branding and design college soon after. He realized designing was his dream career! In his application, Travis explained to them his story and the reason for his lack of portfolio pieces.
The university politely informed Travis that he was not creative enough.
Disappointed and heartbroken, he went back to the engineering industry. And he hated every moment of it! He found that the high stress working conditions, the long work weeks, and the travelling wore him down.
It didn’t take long for him to want to change his life.
“In a way, I’m glad that I tried this industry out because this is what sparked my desire to make a career for myself in design. I decided I wanted to become a designer come rain or shine. I started to teach myself in my spare time.”
Hard work can make your dream come true
Travis dedicated two years of self-study before he felt confident in his work. During this time, he often under charged for his designs and underestimated the time it took to complete projects. His rejection to the branding and design college had hit his confidence hard. It was difficult to escape the underlining feeling of never being good enough.
“The turning point came when a fellow designer (College Student) praised me for my work and asked for some tips. Over time, I consciously took a stand against this insecurity.”
It was a difficult process, but Travis knew that with a little dedication, hard work, and perseverance, he would succeed to overcome his fears. His work grew with his confidence, and his portfolio is full of his creativity and brilliant ideas.
Travis’ Self-Study Guide
Travis used his free time to educate himself on what it took to become a great designer. His process:
- Video tutorials – Search YouTube, Vimeo, and video tutorials by fellow designers to learn new techniques
- Written tutorials – Read guides to help explain how to use software, choosing design tools, and more
- Read blogs and view case studies – What have successful designers accomplished and how did they do it?
- Buy design books – Always build your knowledge on a solid base of color theory, typography, and design elements
- Practice everything you learned
- Learn something new every day
Travis’s parting advice to designers
Choose your clients with care!
“I am a firm believer that you and your client should “gel” to a certain degree. There may be times when the client disagrees with what you have designed, but a good client will be fair to you. Of course, you should also be fair to them.”
How do you handle rejection? Do you react like Travis? Feel free to brag about your successes in the comments!
All images source: https://travislima.com/
Very good article Trav. You have a gift, my friend!
Interviewing Travis was certainly inspiring!