THE STRUGGLE REDUX
STANLEY HAINSWORTH 
I’VE HAD SUCCESSES AND MADE MISTAKES ON MY DESIGN JOURNEY. BUT I CONTINUALLY LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS FROM THE EXAMPLE AND WISDOM OF OTHERS WHEN I LIVE EACH DAY WITH MY DESIGN EYES WIDE OPEN.
BE YOURSELF. If you’ve ever laughed with Sean Adams, you know he is without guile. If we are honest about who we are and try not to pretend to be something we’re not, our gaps will be quickly opened to ideas and inspirations. We will become smarter, more intuitive, and better able to mine our own experiences and interests for creative solutions.
IT’S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU. The more I search for inspiration in exotic places, the more I realize, like Agnete Oernsholt, that a brilliant creative solution is under your hands or in your refrigerator. Great thinkers find ideas from the world around them—even the seemingly mundane can spark creative solutions.
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. I was creative director at Nike, Lego, and Starbucks. These were incredible companies that I worked for. One of the reasons that I moved on from each of these companies was to get out of my comfort zone. We get good at what we practice day after day. And like Joel Nakamura, when we chart a new course, we will find surprising sources of inspiration that will ultimately enhance who we are and make our futures even more rewarding.
LOOK FOR MAGIC IN THE MUNDANE. Being able to convert the ordinary into something amazing is what great creative minds have always done. Designers like John Hoke are able to look at the world with a childlike perspective. Everything is wonder-worthy and fodder for creative problem solving. And out of that simple curiosity come magical solutions.
THE CLIENT IS THE CLIENT. We are hired to do work for our clients. I’ve always been bothered when designers speak disparagingly of their clients as though we, as designers, are somehow smarter than they are. Lorenzo Shakespear reminds me that the client is the catalyst for our work. They are the ones who bring the spark of the idea to us, and we have the opportunity to turn it into something touchable, craveable, and sellable.
DESIGN CAN CHANGE. Whether it’s the eclectic talents of Ulyana Kalashnikova, Fiodor Sumkin, or Wang Xu, I’m reminded that design can spark wonder and provoke. As designers, we have some of the most powerful tools on Earth. We have the visual acumen to make the unreal look real. We can charge emotions and alter the future. What will we do with the power we have?