A Love Letter to Design

This piece goes out in the 24th edition of Ding! (our beloved newsletter) on the 8th month of the year 2023. It's a web of serendipity because the two numbers have an everlasting level of symbolism. We are not Basketball nerds, design is our Jam, but as it turns out, the jersey numbers 8 and 24 were worn by the iconic Kobe Bryant.

The number 8 for him reflected his grit, love, and dedication to the game, while 24 manifested his maturity and insight into playing the game. Noticing the two numbers got us thinking about his love for the game of Basketball, like that feeling-alive in the eyes of Designers.

So today's read is a love letter to design. To design is to love, live and breathe life into things. As basketballers glide across courts, you dance fluidly through each project with passion and pride.

It's rarely a job to you- a calling is a more accurate description. You can't fight the urge to craft something meaningful out of nothing. The blank canvas taunts and thrills you, leaving your senses tingling. Like basketballers obsess over mastering their game, you relentlessly practice and study to improve your gift.

You constantly push yourself to get your work to the next level because you know too well the deep satisfaction of visualizing a concept, iterating, and tweaking the colors, type, and layout until you birth your imagination.

The feeling that comes after the buzzer sound is why you do it- Arms folded, back reclined, a smile of self-admiration plastered across your face as you silently whisper to yourself, "I am the @#$&!".

But one thing you know too well is that coming up with the perfect play is not a casual walk on the court; it requires teamwork. So you constantly seek to listen, collaborate, and understand the distinct perspective of others. You leave the Ego out of the process, diving into a rhythm of back and forths to gain new ideas and establish a play that works.

Absolutely nothing is more rewarding than envisioning something, putting your skills to work, and manifesting a finished product that gets people's OOHs and AAHs out.

So Designer, if you have made it this far, your never-ending quest to achieve excellence in your craft will always be the ultimate adventure. Your focused creativity is always in action; you just constantly find yourself on the court.

Keep shooting your shots, and never stop chasing the thrill of watching your vision come to life.

If you’ve got 3 mins and 57 seconds, quickly give Kobe Bryant’s Oscar Winning Short Film. It's was his love letter to the game. Slide into our DMs, if it had you in your feels.