About two weeks ago, a friend told me to do something that scares me every day. We had been talking about how I haven't taken enough risks in my life, haven't stepped out of my comfort zone often enough. I worry about the "right" thing to do, if I'll upset someone, how my actions will affect others. In the end, I often choose the safe route and avoid anything that may bring attention to me.
Her words, as simple as they were, stuck with me. I'm too comfortable with my status quo. I yearn for something bigger and better, but I don't go after it for fear of failure and rejection. Be it career, social life, dating, even hobbies ... if I can't guarantee that I'm going to do extremely well, I don't want to do it. Too risky.
Last week, I took the plunge and did something scary. I submitted an entry for a logo design contest. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. My skills are strong in certain aspects of design, but weak in others. So, I'm working with my strengths, pushing myself in the weaker areas and trying my best.
My first design submission was for a contest to design a logo for a perfume company. My attempt, according to the contest holder, was too fun and casual. They wanted more luxury and upscale.
So, I moved on to another contest to design a logo for a frog breeding farm. I wasn't sure how to create a frog in Illustrator, so I went for a lily pad design instead. I submitted a few different lily pad designs, as well as two more abstract takes on the logo. The feedback I received from the contest holder was great; he was impressed that I went outside the box and came up with the lily pad. He even commented that he was surprised no one else had thought of it. And, one of my lily pad designs earned 3 out of 5 stars. He wanted me to try and add a frog to the lily pad though, so I spent hours with my computer screen divided between a tutorial on drawing a frog and Illustrator. Hours later, I had a decent frog, a bit more cartoon-like than I would have preferred, but I felt good about at least creating a graphic that actually looked like a frog. In the end, I didn't make the cut into the next round of judging, but it was a great experience, and receiving positive feedback was a major help.
Since the frog and perfume logos, I have entered two other contests. I've submitted several design options to each, and am working on more designs still. Unfortunately, not all contest holders are as good as the ones from my first two, with some people not leaving any feedback. Which means, I never know why my designs were eliminated. On the other hand, I received a 4 out of 5 star rating on one of my designs this week. That's very encouraging! I'm hoping to make it to the second round in that contest.
It's scary to put my work out there and be judged. I'm not as refined and skilled as some of the designers I'm up against, but I'm perfecting my skills daily. Some day, I'll be a top contender.
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