I don’t have many regrets. And trust me, it’s not because I have lived a perfect life, or because I did not made numerous mistakes along the way. I don’t have many regrets because I still feel like I have chances to learn new things. Several days ago, I was daydreaming, something I find critical to the creative process. Total freedom to imagine, if you will. I suddenly remembered I am fifty-five years old. “Jesus, you are getting old,” I thought to myself. “What would it be like to be twenty-five again?” “What would I do differently?”
I recently quit YouTube, something most of you are well aware of. I didn’t imagine how my life would change, only that I wanted to get away from the platform. But my life has changed, and for the better. I just completed an 80-page, portfolio sample book from my time in Antarctica. (Shipping is delayed, one of the C19 impacted industries that is still not right.) The book looks different from anything I’ve done because I had the time to learn new tricks in InDesign. This is just the first test book, so not what the final book will look like, but it felt great to learn so many new things and complete the book in just a matter of a few hours a day. (With shipping, the book cost me $118. And for those of you out there still thinking I only make Blurb books because I work for the company, be reminded ONCE AGAIN, I pay for all my own books. Always have.)
As I took a deeper dive into the design software, I began to realize my love of design had been pushed to the background as photography and Blurb took over my life. Names and faces and books and brands and projects and exhibitions slowly began to creep into the edge of my mental viewfinder. Names like Richter, Escher, Arnoldi, and a guy named Stefan Sagmeister. How Austrian can you be? And yes, his voice sounds exactly like Arnold! I’ve never met Stefan, and odds are I never will, but his name, work, and perhaps most importantly, his strategy, are typically standing somewhere in the background of my mind.
Recently, I listened to a Design Matters podcast hosted by Debbie Millman. Debbie has been podcasting as long as anyone I can remember, so when it comes to infiltrating the design world, she does it well. This episode was with Sagmeister. He spoke about his upbringing, his parents, schooling, his first job in advertising (Hong Kong), and his eventual move to New York to work for his mentor Tibor Kalman. When asked about the best piece of advice he has ever received, Sagmeister referenced the following quote from Kalman.
“The only difficulty in running a design studio is to figure out how not to grow large. Everything else is easy.” Tibor Kalman.
I should probably follow this up with a Webster’s definition of “counterintuitive,” but I’ll leave that to you to look up. How not to grow large. Interesting. When I heard this, because I’m self-centered, I thought about YouTube and about this site. Growing large on YouTube most often means selling out to the whims of the audience. (Why so many YouTubers eventually have mental health issues.) And you could probably say the same for this site. If I only posted what YOU wanted this would no longer be my site, but it would also mean I would be posting about things I don’t want to discuss. (Gear.)
But Sagmeister’s unusual strategy goes far beyond this quote. He is famous for his TED Talk about taking a full year off every seven years, and he has now gone even further by leaving commercial work entirely. (I can see where some of you are coming off the rails right now, but keep reading.) His commercial work will be handled by his partner Jessica Walsh, one of the lone female design agency heads, leaving Sagmeister to focus on self-assigned design work. For those of you who are now pissed off and ranting about privilege or that he did plenty of commerical work, or whatever is making you hate the guy for his success, I hear ya. But you have to admit, his strategy isn’t a PR stunt and he’s been at it for DECADES. Not to mention, he makes great work. Making original work….GIVES YOU POWER AND FREEDOM. Something that photographers in particular are SO hesitant to comprehend.
Sagmeister believes that a three to five person office is the sweet spot. Enough staff to handle the task at hand, but that’s it. And the tasks should me meaningful, not just profitable. You might think this is easy but the entire world is pushing in the other direction. What are the two most destructive words of the modern era? Exponential growth. In short, it is killing us, both as a species and as a culture. And Kalman’s advice touched on this concept as well while Sagmeister was leaving for his first major job in Hong Kong advertising.
“Just don’t go and spend the money they pay you or you are going to be the whore of the ad agencies for the rest of your life,” Kalman said.
At this moment, my mind flutters between two thoughts. First, what would happen if I convinced Blurb to allow me a paid, one year sabbatical? (Not even contemplating this.) What could I produce during that time that would be worthy of such a stretch? And two, how do I build this site, and newsletter, with Sagmeister-style ideology? Work on only what matters. Don’t try to build my list, or future membership, based on size but rather potency. And how do I make you and me feel great about it? I’m skipping the “unique work” aspect for now because that makes my neck hurt.
As you age, it feels like the clock speeds up. You eventually begin to make better decisions, and your understanding of time and opportunity sharpens to a razor’s edge. (Yes, a reference to one of my favorite books.) You might think aging is a bummer, and physically it can be, but mentally the exact opposite is true. Aging gives you Xray vision. The ability to see through the bullshit. Aging gives you environmental mastery. Aging allows for things like quitting YouTube and cracking open InDesign. Where this is headed is anyone’s guess, but I’m enjoying the idea of not quite knowing what will happen. Hopefully, you will be there as I experience life’s ups and down.
Comments 22
Tal vez porque tengo casi tu misma edad, porque trabajo en algo creativo – aunque no en fotografía que es sólo una pasión – porque sigo tus newsletters, es que finalmente encuentro muchas coincidencias en la forma de pensar. Esto que escribiste respecto al “exponental growth” me pega en la línea de flotación del barco, me ayuda a ordenar algo que vengo pensando para mi empresa, exactamente en este momento. Precisamente en este momento, estamos discutiendo, para quién finalmente estamos trabajando, cuando es evidente que no es para nosotros mismos. Debe ser un problema de muchas empresas, profesionales, emprendedores y creativos. Agregar valor, reducir el volúmen, darle sentido a las cosas. Genial GRACIAS. Y escribo en español en la esperanza que tu visita en Uruguay te haya dejado algo del idioma, además del costumbre de tomar Mate 🙂 Saludos!
Author
Mate, Spanish, Uruguay, exponential growth. What’s not to like. Glad this post triggered something for you.
Another interesting insight.
Having just scored 6 nil myself this hit right in the feels.
Yet another set of most destructive words..
KPI’s
Or as I like to say,
Killing People Indiscriminately.
Author
That’s always a bad thing but we sure seem to do it on a regular basis.
His book, Things I Have Learned So Far, was one of the first design books I ever bought and as a result of this post I’ve just got it off the shelf again. It’s superb.
I’ll be 50 this year and I can already feel the ‘Don’t Give a Shit (so long as no harm is being done)’ metre cranking up to a higher level.
Author
That is one of the few books I would consider buying. I have stopped buying books because we have run out of room.
Daniel-San:
You are knocking it out of the park right now. I’m absolutely loving these Shifter posts. Love how you’re posting things that are tangential to photography, but not directly about photography. More please!
Author
Oh ya. Just remember. I’m interested in the WIDER, LARGER conversation, not just photography.
Hi Dan, A year long “gap year” every seven years, and paid? I wish I would have started doing that thirty years ago. I think your premise here is on point–do only what matters and keep it small. And as far as the age thing…my bullshit meter is “Gold, Jerry. Gold!”
Author
Ha, that’s great. And I too wish I had done the one year off thing. Heck, I want to do it now.
Hey Dan, am catching up a bit with reading the Shifter site. I think you’ve made a wise move, as YT is starting to act more and more like social media nowadays. I recently was talking to a friend where I mentioned enjoying the getting older. I’m 42 now and am experiencing that “See through the bullshit” that you’re mentioning. It’s quite fascinating.
Author
YT is a mess. Some GREAT people are there, but lots of passive aggressive, lonely, trolls as well. And it’s odd. To be around so many people who are wasting so much time is an odd thing. Didn’t realize how bad that was until I left.
Your articles are always inspiring to me Milnor, keep up the great work. I feel that in a world where everyone wants to be a name brand that caters to a large following that you have taken the path less traveled, you’re “big” to the right people, and quitting the YouTube stepping stone will give you time to achieve what other people consider the impossible; social media is a gateway to bigger and better things, not a crutch to hang on to in the way that a drowning man grips to a piece of wood—some people can’t let go and stale out or become the tired rat who can’t get off the treadmill and they finally crash and burn.
You’re an intelligent man, doing great work and I’m here for it. Cheers!
Often, the ideas are better than the designs. (The save my name thing doesn’t seem to be working)
“Sagmeister believes that a three to five person office is the sweat spot.” Typo or Freudian slip? I’m gonna guess the former, but it works both ways 🙂
I used to subscribe to the idea that two days shooting required three days in the darkroom – sometimes including working through the night. I really wonder how that would have worked out if digital had existed at the time. Maybe it would have forced Sunday working too.
Author
I think at first, but once your efficiency was refined probably not.
Author
Ha, fixed. Good catch. Sweat shop!
Well, I was always the one-man-band, with my wife helping out when there was need. I used to claim that I remained a unit of one because I wanted to do my own processing and printing, and feel in control. The reality may have been slightly different: I didn’t ever face the situation where the need to hire additional hands arose. I guess that making a living as a fashion photographer has always been tough as old turds, and in an aesthetically deprived ambience as was the Scotland of the 50s thru 80 (I departed for good in ‘81, so have little idea what happened after that, other than that during trips back over, I saw that many competitors had closed shop), good work was very scarce, much of the stuff really worth doing being automatically farmed a few hundred miles down south to London. I can’t honestly blame those weavers and knitters… in a metropolis where the best models in Britain fight for work, why not use the place? I would, and when I moved away from fashion into calendar production, I did exactly the same thing: the girls there had no emotional problems about doing pin-ups, and the ones I booked all had the experience.
Not so the Scottish lot. My last project for a very important Scottish calendar client became the last project because they insisted I shop for local Glaswegian models instead, rather than cast the gig in London, as for the previous five or six productions I’d done for them.
I soon realised where this was going, so I decided that I’d do a TMAR production: take the money and run. I was right: when the shit hit the fan, the only non-company employee head available to bloody the axe was mine. Funny, that.
But yeah, self-employment is good, just as long as there is enough high-value work coming your way. If not, try another career, because the psychological impact of your personal reality vis-à-vis that of the star players who made you aware of the career as a possibility will crucify you. I really don’t understand how anybody attempting to set up as a photographer today can finance it; maybe they don’t, and it’s all hire what you need as you need it. Without our own studios, my generation wouldn’t have stood a chance. As William Kline remarked during the BBC documentary about him, you need to have more than a good eye…
Author
It depends on how you define “photographer.” As a YT photog you don’t really need much. As an industry person, yes, it’s gonna be a grind.
Been on a seven year ‘GAP’ year myself… and now down to one camera, one lens and a hundred bags… still can’t define myself as anything but hell yea, always up in the middle of the night to ‘catch’ up, love the focus and get it done!
Author
I want to live in a GAP year. And ya, the bag thing never ends……it’s our curse.