Finally, wings for the cobbler’’s child.

Scott Ward — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:16:49 +0000

I know I am not alone in acknowledging that, as a designer, I find it hardest of all to design and produce my own marketing materials. I am never entirely comfortable tooting my own horn. Between the perennial refinements and my sometimes-painful perfectionism, I am, unquestionably, my most difficult client. Then, there’s the time element. Inevitably, another, more pressing, more time-sensitive project jumps to the head of the line. So, like the cobbler whose children have no shoes, I am – like many of my colleagues – the first to put off this most demanding assignment.

It is always much easier to answer my clients’ needs with a thoughtful, engaging design solution without a moment of hand wringing or self-doubt. By design, I am clear, objective, strategic, focused, timely.

But it is a very different thing to cull through, catalog, and take stock of my work: what I’ve done, where I’ve been, who I am, where I’m going. I’m bombarded with my own questions. Is it good enough? Does it convey everything I want it to, and nothing I do not? How will it be received? Is there nothing I would change or tweak? Did I forget to put the milk away before I left this morning? Is it ready? So many questions. And yet, just a website. Well, my website. Yet like all websites, it is not a static and unchanging thing. Its content necessarily will evolve over time. On that level, it remains a work in progress.

It’s been an illuminating journey. Now, it is finally designed, written, and launched. Like a butterfly emerging from its safe, unexamined cocoon into the public eye. I’m excited, dare I say, ready, to finally give it not only the shoes it deserves, but also, its wings.

byDesignPartners.com

Finally, wings for the cobbler’’s child.