In preparation for a recent lecture at East Carolina University, I revisited Sister Corita Kent’s "10 Rules for Students and Teachers." Reflecting on my practice and mentorship within Span, I found that ten rules were a tidy form to summarize the concepts that underpin my work. Inspired by this, I created a new set of ten rules (more like guidelines) to consider:

Graphic designers have no licensing body, certification or journalist code of ethics. How about a Hippocratic oath?

Often students have asked me about style: “How do you know what your style is?” My response has always been something about how your work should be in response to the brief at hand; that it should respond to the client and not your artificially imposed aesthetics. At Thirst, we call this “being one with the subject matter.” I think my response is a little different, but my answer to that question isn’t any easier. You only find your style by doing the work, and a lot of it. Over time you’ll discover that you respond to design briefs in a way that’s unique to you. If you are aware of this uniqueness, then you can refine it, developing your own style along the way.

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