Portfolio Development: My portfolio has evolved fairly well over the past several years – particularly in the graphic design arena. The evolution from where I began and where I am today shows a clear positive trajectory. Recent digital illustration work using the Cintiq and Photoshop also show tremendous potential. The opportunity here is two-fold. First, when solid progress is being made, I tend to move on to another challenge without spending additional time to further develop / refine my existing skills. In some strange way, the possibility for greater success deters me from moving forward. Second, while the portfolio is looking increasingly professional, it is heavily weighted in graphic design and less so in other disciplines (e.g. 3D modeling, rendering).
Community Engagement: The past several years have focused heavily on portfolio development and the creation of my personal brand. While there has been significant success in both fronts, the communication and level of engagement has been unidirectional. My original belief of “build it and they will come” places heavy responsibility on external parties to not only learn about me, but to engage in further discussion. There is an opportunity to change this unidirectional approach through increased engagement / participation on my end.
Process of Elimination: One of the challenges that I’ve faced with Big Generator is that it has lacked clear direction. While it started out as a pure information design firm, it quickly expanded to become involved in brand strategy and other related offerings. The opportunity is to refocus the company and establish a clear business strategy so that it can truly be successful over the long-term.
Out of Balance: One of my biggest challenges that I’ve been working to correct over the past two years involves a clear imbalance between my professional career thus far and the skills that are required to move beyond this realm of expertise. While my efforts have shown true promise in correcting this “right brain / left brain” imbalance, there is still more work to be done. The opportunity here is to take greater and more strategic steps to bridge this gap and clearly convey my strengths and potential as a design leader.
Emphasis on Innovation: Being creative for creative’s sake is beneficial, but leveraging creativity to solve real-world problems can be extremely powerful. While my thoughts and designs are truly “mine”, the bulk of my efforts has been focused inward (self-development, strength building, creative exploration). The opportunity is to shift gears and transfer more energy towards addressing real-world challenges and designing and creating with true purpose.
Mental Barriers: One of the keys to one’s success is the ability to maintain a high-level of optimism independent of the challenge faced. With a realization that my optimism level is classified as “average”, there is a clear opportunity to employ constructive techniques to quickly move past barriers that would have normally impeded progress. With the world moving at a faster pace, there is no better time to find ways to accelerate my ability to navigate through these challenges.