I think I was one of the only people in the history of high school to actually take up the guidance counselor on her offer to help me find the perfect career. I inquired, and she led me to an interactive workstation that allowed me to pursue the options before me.
Basically, she sat me down in front of Yahoo.com.
I liked the idea of advertising. It sounded cool, and by that time I had mastered MS Paint. Maybe something with art, I thought. Do people actually get jobs in that?
Graphic designers didn’t make enough money, I decided. I would need to become a creative director.
This was my junior year. Five years later, I was a certified and in-debt graphic designer. By then, I had accepted the realization that you have to start at the bottom. I was on my way.
A Creative Director
Now that I own my own company I get to be whatever I want. I get to be that creative director if I feel like it. This past week, I tried it on for size on the profile page of our website.
Garrett Moon, Creative Director
It didn’t feel right. What is a creative director anyhow? It sounds more like something from Fantasia than an actual job title. Plus, I always find it tacky when people give themselves fancy titles. Who cares if you are the creative director for a company of one?
Either way, it didn’t feel like me, especially since I have grown to dislike branding and advertising, ideas which that title feels very attached too.
Yahoo: not so great after all.
So what am I? Undefinable I guess.
I like the design. I am good at design. But, I am not your stereotypical creative. I am very practical.
A left-brained designer, perhaps? Who likes business, no less? This is an identity crisis.
If it didn’t sound so ridiculous I would call myself a ‘maker’ or something. I make stuff.
Starter? Entrepreneur?
Self-proclaimed visionary? A bit bold.
For now, I guess I am Garrett Moon, the most practical designer in the world.*
*possibly not true
This post was originally published on Medium.com, August of 2013.