What? The sun doesn't revolve around me?

 

I had another one of those damned epiphanies (or ongoing realizations) today at a meeting ironically about designs for a company store that would sell, among other things, t-shirts. As you may or may not know, I work in public transportation. And we are trying to merchandize products that appeal to what the industry affectionately call transit enthusiasts. 

I, however, have been in the business too long to affectionately call anyone an enthusiast who gets overexcited when they see a train. I call them a foamer. I believe I shared my Trainbie design some time ago with an undead person with a train engineer cap on eating a locomotive. I thought it was quite amusing. 

So as I looked at the tame and boring t-shirt designs that were being shared with me for transit enthusiasts I couldn't help but pop my Trainbie design into the meeting chat thinking once again everyone would appreciate how very clever I am.

The only comment I got was "Terrifying." 

Once again I realized that what I thought should have elicited laughter and appreciation for my creative talents was met with more or less "crickets." 

Part of me was thinking that I was dealing with designers and my experience with designers over the year is that they tend to act like they are the only ones who hold the secret to what is aesthetic and appealing visually. So my Trainbie design wasn't what they would consider good design.

After all, I had created it before I found Art AI. And I had crudely put it together with various images via Google. 

So I deleted the design from the meeting chat and later this evening I asked Artie to create a Trainbie design for me.

Here was the one I created:

And here was one that Artie created with my direction:

Okay, I admit Artie brought in a bit more details, but I still think the essence of what I was trying convey about transit enthusiasts was the same.

Then I had another epiphany. The reason why I felt the t-shirt designs I was being shone at the meeting were boring and lackluster was that they were created by a designer without any direction. They created what they thought was a good design from a designers point of view.

I believe that what really makes a good design is starting with a good idea. There needs to be a Creative Director orchestrating things. And regardless of whether or not anyone appreciated my foamer design, I think it was a good idea. And when I asked Artie to riff on it, my friend AI artist did so without the hinderance of ego or making it what a designer would want. 

It was my vision. And I think it was a good one.

Now if only others would have that epiphany.