Almost ten years ago now, I had one of those moments that impacted the way I have seen the world ever since. It wasn’t a big event. It was a simple conversation. A conversation with a few colleagues about a particular event we were involved in. I asked them how they felt it went.

One responded pretty quickly, “It was good. I thought it went well.”

The other paused for a few moments as he stared the other down. “No it wasn’t. It wasn’t good at all. It sucked. How could you possibly think that was a good meeting? Nobody was engaged. Nobody cares. Everyone simply wanted to walk out the door.”

If you’ve been following Designer Sobriety at all, you’ll understand that we frequently return to a couple of basic concepts. One, is our ability to define reality in a particular situation. The other is our willingness to see different.

Personally, one of my greatest fears in life is eventually becoming like the colleague referenced above - oblivious and/or complacent to reality. It is all too common that at some point in life, we move into a robotic-like mode and say whatever we need to say to not rock the boat.

But often the boat simply needs to be rocked.

As in the situation referenced above, we should welcome the haters. We need the perspective of the other side.

One of the best examples of this in the current marketplace is none other than Miracle Whip. With their new campaign “Are you Miracle Whip?”, they take the plunge in defining reality and a willingness to see different. To do this, they have pushed an online campaign to welcome not on the Miracle Whip lovers, but the haters as well.

It would feel hypocritical at this point if we did not practice what we preach. So, as we invite you to define reality and/or welcome the haters, we want to do the same. Tell us what you love. But more importantly, tell us what you hate.

#50 Intern programs provide the ability to give back, stay current, see diff approach, teach, challenge yourself & always have fresh coffee.

When I was a junior, I worked as an intern for 30 days. I felt like I learned more in those 30 days than I did in 3 years of school. I promised myself that if I was ever in the position to provide that experience for someone else, I was going to do it. I’ve kept that promise, and I’ve discovered that internships are one of the best ways for me to teach, expand my own art directing, and help foster the future leaders of the design field. I’ve also learned to face the challenge of communicating with students who don’t know what they don’t know. You know?

Having students in the studio also inspires us to ask different questions than we normally might, and at times, try things we typically wouldn’t try – because sometimes that exploratory instinct gets lost. Overall, internships can be a really great part of your studio, giving you that extra boost of energy that comes from teaching and listening to a younger creative. But like anything, the more prepared you are, the better. Take it seriously. Have a job description. If you’re going to really put them to work, then pay them something. And in all honesty, have them get you coffee or run an errand for you now and then. It sounds silly, but I truly believe that younger generations have developed this horrible sense of entitlement. A little humility or humbling now and then will prepare them for the upcoming reality of what we all face when presenting our ideas and living our design life.

Have you had any internship pros or cons? Do you have any additional tips or advice?

PS: I wrote a similar post for the Notes on Design blog - read that here.

June 2009 will mark the one-year anniversary I first gave “The Designer Sobriety” talk. Above is the opening video for the talk which highlights some of the spirit of this initiative. As a business owner and/or decision maker, a lot of things fly at you during the day. What do you do to manage it? How do you still try to enjoy it and just flat-out have a life outside of this crazy business that we’re in? The idea for this blog was born from wanting to share the various tips and advice we’ve learned, observed, or read about. Our posts are intended to be useful and inspirational. We’ll also share design-minded products we discover that you can implement and utilize to keep you going.

We hope you read, enjoy, share and comment. This community is only as good as its content and participation - so please be a part of it.