THE ART OF FAILURE BY ASHTON SPANN

So, let’s talk about failure.

It’s a topic that we love to hate, and something that is hard to admit. But failure has come to be one of the most important steps in anything daring or different I’ve tried to accomplish.

My best lessons in failure have been taught to me in my design classes. As a graphic design major, you have to become okay with failing everyday. When working on projects, we’ll have critiques every so often on the progress of your work. You’ll probably spend many days and sleepless nights trying to find the right answer. You’ll put your heart and soul into it. And when it’s done, you’ll hang it up on the wall with pride only have its flaws marked up. 

Welcome to the rise and fall and trial and error of a design project. Don’t get me wrong, it is frustrating to have all of your hard work, for your seemingly original idea, to be seen as “expected.” However, this has helped me grow not only as a designer, but also as a person.

This idea that failure is an important part of the process has carried me through in my efforts of starting my own student organization as well as in my pursuit of challenging courses, such as Friedman’s 252 class.

I challenge you to welcome failure in your everyday life. To fully embrace imperfection and see it more as an opportunity instead of a setback. See where it takes you and see what exciting new ideas come out of the experience.