Networking is broken, because folks think they can do it en masse. You know this is nonsense, just like I do. Fact is, you can’t maintain thousands of meaningful connections. Thus, your LinkedIn connections amount to almost nothing. Real networking happens when you actually collaborate with people and get to know one another. You don’t need many such connections to propel your career. In fact, even one or two good connections will make all the difference in your life. So, find some people you want to work with, and build a side-project together. Maybe limit the time commitment, so it doesn’t become a burden. Just build something together—and finish it. Once you have, you can always come back together to add to it, or build another one. Eric Karjaluoto.

I hate the word passion. Everyone seems to be «passionate» these days, but little of this passion seeps out. That’s because saying the word passion doesn’t cost anything (it doesn’t buy you much either). So, when you tell a prospective employer that you’re, «passionate about x,» what he/she is thinking is, «OK—prove it.» Most people can’t. This is because they aren’t actually passionate—they just think that’s what they’re supposed to say. We don’t want to hear about your passion, we just want to see what you’ve done. Once you’ve launched a side-project, no matter how small, you have evidence of what you’re about. And once you do, you don’t necessarily need to talk about it. Others will see what you’ve done and possibly reach out, asking you to help them do the same. Eric Karjaluoto.

When you’re stuck, the worst thing you can do is remain idle. I say this because I’ve been there. The empty inbox, the absence of telephone rings, and the lack of opportunities—that silence is a killer. It’ll lead you to poisonous thinking, in which you dwell on your perceived inadequacies and the obstacles you face. Instead, you need to do. The moment you start making something, you’ve taken control of your destiny. You’ll see action in front of you. You’ll feel invigorated. You’ll feed off the energy of creating—and new ideas will start to form. I know of no better means of becoming more creative, than to do a greater number of creative things. Eric Karjaluoto.

If design is really about deeply understanding people and then strategizing around that, we need design leaders with broad skills. Corporate executives often don’t understand that there are different kinds of design: There is brand design. There is industrial design. There is interior design. There is UX and experience design. And there is innovation in strategy. So, you need a leader who can manage all the different phases of design in a very smart way—someone with a holistic vision. Mauro Porcini.

I strongly believe that design and innovation are exactly the same thing. Design is more than the aesthetics and artifacts associated with products; it’s a strategic function that focuses on what people want and need and dream of, then crafts experiences across the full brand ecosystem that are meaningful and relevant for customers. Mauro Porcini.

One, never depend on any one type of work or client. And two, don’t just sit and wait for phone to ring. You have to come up with your own projects. It’s the only way you’ll find your own voice.Louise Fili.

Don’t tell me what to change. Tell me what you don’t like about the way it is now, and I’ll fix it. Louise Fili.

Most things worth making/doing are challenging. That’s why so few make extraordinary things happen: they hit the snooze button instead of doing the hard work. And, even if you do this work, you still might fail. The question for you, is whether you are persistent enough to make your vision a reality. (Often, it’s not those who’re smartest/best who achieve their goals; rather, it’s those who keep the faith.) Eric Karjaluoto.

… uniqueness and voice are on two completely separate plains — uniqueness is a metric regarding a fonts usage, where voice is the personality the font puts forth.

But also, sometimes fonts are unique because they are currently unfound by the sea of designers hopelessly awaiting the next typographic trend. Without their work placed under a spotlight, adoption obviously suffers, and in turn, these new fonts remain unfound, and thereby unique. So if designers are not aware of a font’s existence, then of course it will difficult to achieve uniqueness!

Jesse Chase.

The other thing with interpolation is how it makes things move too quickly. When you build out with masters, it’s so easy to miss details you know need to be fixed. I can imagine someone using an interpolation tool and move a slider and thinking «OH it’s a whole new typeface and it’s done!» No, it’s not done. It’s only an idea of what the design will be. James Todd.