When my sister was a little kid, about 3, she loved dressing up so much that she could never decide what to wear. So she would wear the fairy dress, the wellies, the hat, hippy jeans, and a jumper, all at once. Now that is the kind of indecision you cant afford!

I could only a find picture of this two dress combo; the sleeves belong to another dress worn underneath. circa 1974.

 



 

 

 


How to make decisions:

It's really annoying to see people stuck on a project just because they can't make a decision. I've seen really good designers lose weeks of working time because they have two great options and can't decide between them. There comes a time when we all have to bite the bullet and take the bull by the horns. Make your mind up. Your first, gut instinct is usually the best choice. In my experience people can deliberate over options for days and often come back to the first choice they made.

One thing to remember is, the other option (the one that got away) could always be useful at some other time. Learn to record , in sketchbooks or similar , the ideas that you didn't have time to develop. I've gone back to sketchbooks from years ago and picked up ideas and developed them. It's fun to see how good or bad you were way back then . M ine go back 20 years!

If you worry about every idea being precious you'll never make any decisions and might not make any work.

You can always ask people for advice but that can take up loads of time too. And I can assure you, the more people you ask, the more confused you'll be. The sign of a desperate student is one that asks every tutor, researcher and other student what they should do. Pull yourself together. Make the decision and then get on with the work. Your idea might end up not being as good as you thought , but then your other ideas might not have worked either !

For your tutor or supervisor to see you after a week and you've made no decisions is a very infuriating thing. Great designers sitting worrying about whether A is better than B ( when both could have been developed in the time it took to decide ) is a crime.

Does this sound confusing? That's because decisions are confusing. Make a list, decide which thing you like best, or make a " for and against " list, ask a friend or two (no more) but most importantly do all of this quickly. If it comes to it to the crunch...flip a coin. It's all your work. You made it. You have to stand behind it.

 

Rory Hamilton 2005


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