How to Become a Designer: Confessions from the Middle Ground

I am entering middle age, and truthfully, my natural talents are quite average. When I chose design, it wasn't driven by some grand, artistic calling. I followed the traditional, pragmatic route: I simply wanted to find a job and survive independently in this society. But by some stroke of fate, I discovered that this path wasn't so bad after all.

If you are a student, or someone hesitating at the crossroads of becoming a designer, you might find some value in my ramblings. This is a collection of my growth, struggles, and real experiences over the past ten years. You can use it as a reference, or at the very least, a map to avoid the mistakes I’ve made.

I’ve always loved a metaphor from one of Voltaire’s novels. Everyone tends to believe they are the most miserable person in the world, carrying the heaviest burden. But when we sit down together and listen to each other's stories, we realize our suffering isn't so unique after all. The pain dissolves into a shared human experience, and with a newfound peace, we get back up and continue with our lives.

Here are a few of my stories. I hope they bring you a little bit of that peace.

• Chapter 1: The Art of Survival

  • Why I abandoned Fine Arts for Commercial Design 

  • Surviving Business School as a Designer 

• Chapter 2: The Paris Illusions

  • What 10 Years in Parisian Luxury Taught Me About "Value" 

  • The Hunger Marketing Trap

• Chapter 3: Healing & Aesthetics

  • Creating Fairies Whisper: Finding Joy in the Little Things

  • Overcoming Anxiety: Why Mental Wellness is the Ultimate Luxury

     

• Chapter 4: The Architecture of the Mind — Running, Reading, and a Mother’s Lesson

• Chapter 5: The Glamour, The Madness, and The Art of Outliving Genius

 

• Chapter 6: The Working Muse — Idols, Agony, and the Magic of Running

 

• Chapter 7: The Creator's Choreography — Collecting Fragments and Daily Fundamentals

 

• Chapeter 8: 100% Original Design Is Almost a Nightmare — Here's What I Learned in Paris

 

• Chapeter 9:How Designers Face AI Anxiety-Technology Isn’t the Problem-It’s How We Use It

 

• Chapeter 10: I Don't Want to Adapt to This Era — I Want to Reshape It

 

• Chapeter 11: Becoming My Own Meaning: Why I Stopped Following and Started Building

 

• Chapeter 12: Different Views on Money, Different Worlds — And Why 'Just Get Rich' Is the Wrong Answer

 

• Chapeter 13:Though I Was Free, I Locked Myself Inside a Mental Cage — And How I Got Out

 

• Chapeter 14 :What Is Style? A Personal Declaration to the World

 

• Chapeter 15:The Buffer Between Knowing and Doing — Why the Gap Is Years, Not Weeks

 

• Chapeter 16:I Spent 7 Days and 100 Attempts Learning the Real Limits of AI — Here's What I Found

 

• Chapeter 17: