The ego has crash landed

Originally posted on May 5th, 2010

It is embarrassing to think that a lot of what drives design is ego, and yet I understand this because it drives me. However, it is one thing to be honest about it, and another to pass it off as being ‘altruistic’ in nature. I believe that a lot of designers fool themselves in believing that they are good people. Most of the time, its a lie. There are good outcomes, but ultimately we need to face the fact that we’re all in it for ourselves.

Mind me, that isn’t a bad thing.

The bad thing is believing, and selling yourself otherwise.

I am currently working on a team which posts their contributions on a blog for others to review. When I joined the group I noticed that before each blog the author makes it clear that they were a contributing factor and that they ‘get credit’ for what they post. Now, this isn’t a bad thing in practice. It can be argued that it is not ego driven, but that of accountability -but that’s pure smokescreen.

The fact is that there exists some sort of mental gratification which comes from putting your name on work regardless of your level of contribution. It could be that you’ve made a comment, suggestion, critique and then posted a link to the work. Does that make your a contributor? The question is a moral one.

My manager recently sent out an email attributing designers with their responsibilities and contributions. The email was quickly appended by another colleague attributing herself to particular projects of which she had made minor contributions to. I don’t know about common opinion, but suggesting that a line is a pixel off, doesn’t exactly deem ‘contribution’.

What bugs me is the obvious need for attention. The word ‘opportunist’ comes in mind. I mean, seriously, such an act is a pretty pathetic (and obvious) call for undeserved attention.

I myself, detest the whole “I did this!” mentality, and I definitely don’t respect those who feel the need to garner such attention.

A designer’s skill should be self-evident in their work, and those who need to be made aware of said designer’s contribution are poor leaders.

That said, I pity those who feel the need to ‘sign’ their names to collaborative work in order to gain attraction.

It is the quality of work that defines a person. Feeling that you must promote oneself with a signature is a desperate call for personal relevance.