I’m so grabbing this question from another thread but I thought it would be fun to post as its own topic.
I’m feeling Fonty right now but that could change…
I worked in a psychiatric hospital for 6 years- no joke. That was somewhat different than scheduled appointments in an outpatient psychiatric setting, but similar in some aspects as well. I worked with people on all different functioning levels, running groups, 1:1 counseling, verbal/physical intervention, etc.
I got burned out and did a career change in my early 20s. I have no desire to go back to psyche in any capacity- it wouldn't be right anyway, because my heart's not in it any longer. I do think the experience has helped me be a better designer on a psychological aspect- I'm pretty good at getting a feel for what clients will like... it's hard to explain so briefly here.
If I weren't an illustrator, I'd want to be a rock star. Get up on stage and deafen myself as I pound the crap out of my instrument and then go drink beer after the show. Maybe run off with some adoring fan. I say this because I thought working with type would be similar, and man what a let down that has been. :)
If I couldn't be the rock star and needed to get something a little more "down to earth", I'd go into sales.
> I can’t imagine not doing something that doesn’t involve design,
> so perhaps the “right” answer is dead.
Linda, do you live to design or design to live?
> A gardener. They don’t need upgrades, validation, registration numbers
and don’t expire in 2 years and decompose on their own.
__ A gardener. They don’t need Typophies, validation, registration members
and do multiply in 2 years and don’t decompose in town.
Vinceconnare, we need a quick change of direction?!
Aziz, what do you mean by 'Designer'?
'Cause I understand 'Designer' as one who can communicate - and one who can communicate in many different disciplines is one as valid(?) as one who can communicate in a single discipline ie. Type.
I'm a grad of the Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture, (only because it was the lesser of all evils), and I have dabbled in fashion design, graphic design, and industrial design. Unfortunately, and with deep regret, I only got a grip on the design of Type a year or so ago.
Az man, if I couldn't design - I would die of a broken heart - serious.
_________
Hiro
> Aziz, what do you mean by ‘Designer’?
* Hiroshige, All the above-mentioned + the One who does Construction+Deconstruction+Destruction with XXX?!
Actually, I wasn't kidding about the Kung Fu Master answer, though I did forget to mention teacher.
For me art, design, typography, calligraphy, martial arts (I've studied nearly fifteen years traditional Japanese and Chinese martial arts with asian masters) and teaching are all part of being... and each one shares or infuses meaning into the others.
Though not typically connected in Western thought, becoming a master swordsman or calligrapher was not seen as very different from an Eastern viewpoint.

Aziz, you wrote Linda, do you live to design or design to live?
Probably both. ;-) After having a career as a successful writer and broadcaster, I trained and practiced as an interior designer in NYC, and combined the two by doing pretty much everything in PR, marketing, communications and publications design -- for "fun", I did "craft."
Then I went back to graduate school to do a Masters in Environmental Design and started exploring a lot more of the graphic/typography side of wayfinding and how we interact with our world. Now I've brought that part of me together with the craft side to design and bind books.
And write a little.
Terry, you wrote I’d probably be either a filmmaker/animator or an illustrator/artist.
Doesn't count, man: that's still "design." ;-)
I’d probably be either a filmmaker/animator or an illustrator/artist.
I know Linda will object to 2/3 of my answer (and rightly so!), but it is pretty close to Terry's: If I weren't a designer, I would perhaps be a filmmaker, an illustrator, or a writer.
Now if you pay me 5 cents Ricardo, I can pay Patty what I owe her.
Here ya go, Chris. :-)

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