I've Been Next Door at Words To Grow By

I have been spending more time over on my other blog lately. I have been focusing on business issues (more on that in a moment) and the Words To Grow By forum just seemed the better place to have that dialogue and share my findings. Basically, I have been trying to keep afloat in my design practice. In case you didn't know, its not easy being an independant designer of any sort in this country. Its a balancing act between offering services that have value in the marketplace (that is to say-reflect actual needs), that are affordable to offer, to deliver and that have a niche. In a climate as we have in Canada where design doesn't have the traction like in Italy, Japan or the Netherlands, a large part of my daily operations is educating the public about the nature of design. Couple that with clients who refuse to honor their commitments and pay for the services they've received and it can very easily become impossible to succeed. 

Why am I telling you this? Because you, dear reader, need to know that design is important. It enhances our quality of life not only in the products we consume or the things we buy, but in how we relate to each other and live together. Design needs an audience to succeed. But to get to that audience, design needs to step out from the shadows and be recognized and legitimized for all the value it offers all of us in our everyday lives. And with this post I pledge to do everything I can to raise visibility, support and awareness for it. And so should you.