On design blogging

I’ve never liked the term “blogging”. It sounds a bit buzzy but I guess it’s becoming more acceptable these days. I still refuse to use the word “tweeting” in real life conversation without following it up with “I can’t believe I said that”. Ignoring the vocabulary blogging and tweeting have become a big part of my professional life since leaving University.

While studying design it’s easy to get trapped inside a small world. It takes time and realisation to understand and really know the industry you’re planning to work in. A good work placement is enlightening and the first year in a job gives you a perspective on the design community as a whole. Design conferences, talks and networking are all great, but let’s face it there’s not nearly enough time or money for enough of those things.

I guess what I value most is first hand opinion. The way I’ve learnt to connect to the design world is through that much loved phrase “social media”. Following personal and professional design blogs and tweeting designers is hugely beneficial to gaining design knowledge, inspiration, motivation, perspective and critique. In fact, I’d say it’s essential.

Why I blog

For those reasons I blog about design myself. I write my personal ideas here at dbushell.com and @dbushell, and I write about other peoples ideas at Design Heroes. All of these websites have transformed over the last year in the way I use them but the aim remains the same – to share, discuss, inform (hopefully) and promote.

Ego trip aside writing a design blog is a powerful tool in self-education. It engages your brain into thinking about design and encourages research. Writing about design you like forces you to open your eyes further than normal. Simply browsing showcases and portfolios isn’t enough. When you write about design you are forced to think about what makes it so special instead of just thinking “that’s pretty”.

I could go on but Take a Journey of Inspiration by Alex Charchar says it far more eloquently than I ever could.

Despite the social stigma from people who don’t “get it”, Twitter is an amazing way to communicate with fellow designers. From design news to the latest hot topics, to the upcoming events and everything in-between Twitter guarantees you’re up to speed. At the same time you’re making casual connections to designers around the world. It’s also a nice feeling when a senior creative with far more experience than yourself choses to follow you. It’s important to remember that Twitter isn’t your Facebook status; meaning people may actually read and care about what you’re posting (note to self).

From the feedback I get on this site and my other online ventures blogging continues to be a immensely rewarding experience. You could say it’s an extension to my profession as a designer.

I encourage you all to blog about design!

(and delete your Facebook account - Facebook is a truly evil company!)

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