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Glorifying Fast: Being Terrified of Going Slow
Gabe Lopez
March 22, 2024
Hi Brave People,
In today’s newsletter, we are exploring the concept of the pace at which the design world moves. We’ve normalized how fast trends come and go or even the rate at which we design for clients. Why are we rushing? What can we do to slow down?
Rushing Around, For What?
A few examples of times we are rushing around 👇
1. Rapid Client Demands and Tight Deadlines
If you are designing for clients (or maybe for your boss) you are probably no stranger to how fast time ticks nowadays. Meeting tight deadlines is not just a skill but a necessity, and designers find themselves racing against the clock to deliver impactful visuals.
To push back:
If a client is insistent on a shortened timeline, we you should ensure a “rush-fee” is active.
Ask why deadlines need to be tight — will the project be totally derailed if things were extended? A lot of the times the answer is no.
@thejamiebrindle Do clients ever change the deadline on you? #freelancer #talktoclients
2. Keeping Up with Industry Trends
With access to too much information, it seems like we are always behind. Or even not pushing the boundary far enough. This is far from the truth, we have simply just desistenized ourselves to normal paces of working.
To push back:
Don’t subscribe to the quick trends. Figure out which ones resonate with you and explore them further. Within every big trend, there are micro ways to make something fresh and exciting.
@envato It’s graphic design trends prediction season! 🔮 In 2024, we’re predicting the rise of: ✂️ Collage: Piecing together components from multip... See more
3. The Role of Efficiency and Productivity
Does working faster really make us more productive? Fastness does not equal efficiency. You could do speedy work that ends up terrible and that you have to redo — which in reality could take you the same amount of time or even longer than just doing it slow in the first place.
To push back:
Research in-depth, don’t rush this stage of the process.
Explore mediums for inspiration that aren’t technology. Get out in the world!
Practice more frequent breaks.
Look up from your phone.
Listen to music without words.
If you have been feeling burnout, don’t worry. You are not alone! We hope this blog gives you the headspace to rethink how we work when it comes to the pace at which we are producing our work.