Back from my annual leave - do you suffer from Impostor Syndrome?
To be honest, I know that most creatives do, and it comes from a slightly different place for each of us.
For me, I feel it because I'm a designer from a career change in my mid-thirties - I began by self-teaching before doing a 2-year HND at college.
And thus far, I've worked with some great companies and on some exciting projects - but I still feel like I'm 15 years behind people who studied for their design careers right out of school.
What's your take? Are you an impostor?!
Replies7
- An 83 year old advertising legend once told me he still gets nervous going on stage - he also said that if you don’t care about what you do, then you don’t feel anything and you may as well be dead.Unfortunately, feeling imposter syndrome is part of the job as a creative - it doesn’t go away but it gets easier to accept and manage.
- @Raafaye Ali Thank you for taking the time to give such an elaborate response - and yes, a lot of what you say resonates.Especially with things like Impostor Syndrome, the truth is, we know we shouldn't compare, we know we shouldn't put ourselves down, but it's hard to avoid at times, and yet when people point out how we shouldn't do it, we tell ourselves "yeah I know not to do that" but then we do it again!
- @Abigail Baldwin Your first paragraph was basically a blow-by-blow account of a recent episode I had!
- @Anna Negrini there's a Cantonese proverb that basically translates to: "person compare to person, compare to death" (works better if you know Cantonese because it rhymes HAHA) but yes, comparisons should always be avoided!
- I think it's very common among creative people. Even if you started in your twenties, it's very unlikely to do the same job forever, and career changes happen all the times. I learnt to let go the inner perfectionist and focus on my work, what excites me and I'm good at. Also always comparing yourself to others could be a huge trigger so stopping scrolling can be a healthy decision :).
- I had a wobble recently! Sometimes you become hyper aware of yourself and work. Then, you begin to second-guess yourself, and even wonder if people might think you're a joke. It sounds paranoid when you write it out, but imposter syndrome is real.@Raafaye Ali is totally right. Places that are inclusive with people that truly care are important. When you're in the right place with a supportive community, the imposter syndrome dissapears.
- I was 27ish when I first got my creative job, never having any mentors no support at all and I felt like that really impacted my state of mind.I often get thrown on project to project the only time I tend to have self doubt is when I’m not working, and I’ve started to use that time to find projects for myself to fill in and the more of those I do the more I’m able to develop my creative thinking, layouts typography, font design skills, logo development. All the things I often have doubts about. I purchase design books, I immerse myself in exhibition spaces look at how they do layouts I look at other graphic design on packaging I allow my eye to develop as I look at stuff with more appreciation to try implement it into my own stuff.You don’t get much out of comparing yourself to others it’s never benefited me, it’s worth considering we are all on our own path aspiring to grow. Aka forever a work in progressAll the doubts you have now are ones in which I myself have had and still have at times. But each time I make something I copy it paste it and catalogue it into a google slide, and it’s moments where I can recognise that I was able to bring something to life. It was me who made this happen, it might taken me longer then maybe some one who’s been in the industry for longer but it’s those moments of self reflection to see what I’ve achieved so far and looking back at that work that some times has been invaluable. Having this body of work archives which is easy to access had been helpful in building a sense of what I’ve done so far. How each time I’ve grown and developedI’ve been mentoring for a half of the time I’ve been in the industry despite not being in the industry for as long as most other creatives. I get so much from being able to offer support and being able to give advice to prevent others making some of the mistakes I made early on. Stuff you arnt taught at university. Some times helping others too also makes me feel of value and challnage the self doubt and imposter syndrome I have a mentee who’s 15 (was so happy I got my dbs enhanced check so I can work with people younger to give back to those who are still considering their paths, otherwise I’ve mentored maybe 80-90 people over the past 2 years, a hour here and there following up with them etc seeing the eir development and getting excited when they make stuff that’s beyond what I can do but I was still. Able to offer advice as to enhance their projects etcEven when you mentor it’s never too late for you to also get a mentor. I recall the dots founder pip once talking about having mentors for different things doesn’t have to be one mentor who’s great at everything. U can try find elements of things u wish to develop and reach out to those who are usually very generous with their time. As long as u don’t let ego get in the way and able to take constructive feedback and recognise being an eternal student is the ideal way to always grow. There’s never a time in design where I feel we should kno everything, it’s more like over time we have different ways to approach trouble shooting and problem solving and you can lean on these. Perhaps ask about other ppls process to get started might be invaluable for youFinal thing is that some times we work in places where they are what make us feel like an imposter as they arnt inclusive or do not make us feel valued. So it’s important to work somewhere that you feel appreciated.Hope this was helpfulKindest if regardsRaafaye
You must sign up or log in before you
add a comment.