Design Professor Shares Witty Wisdom in Honest Charts About Creative Life

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider our portfolio.

When you’re a graphic design student, you’ve got more questions than answers. They range from the technical queries, like how to use Photoshop, to existential crises that force you to consider (and reconsider) your entire creative practice. Mitch Goldstein, an Assistant Professor of Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has channeled the uncertainty and insecurity that comes with being a designer into a series of amusing Venn diagrams aptly called A Helpful Diagram.

The refined designs are simple in their execution but exercise a brilliant wit. Using a few colors and a handful of words, Goldstein’s pictorial reflections and sage advice are both helpful for students and sure to speak to any career designer. They're comforting reminders that whether you're entering the industry for the first time or been in it for years, you're not alone in your font hoarding, love/hate relationship with Adobe, and quest to design what you love.

Glean Goldstein’s wisdom in the charts below.

Assistant professor Mitch Goldstein has created a series of helpful venn diagram charts that are geared towards every student of graphic design…

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we understand art school.

… although professionals are sure to find these relatable, too!

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider the results of hoarding.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider the distraction of argument.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider our relationship to technology.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we lament our font collection.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider how we spend our time.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we understand our scope of knowledge.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we beat a dead horse.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we get inspired.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we attend art school.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we lament our digital instability.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider what deserves our attention.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we contextualize ourselves.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we have a social life.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we understand corporations.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we learn to have agency.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider the role of sports in design.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we have a reality check.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider specialization.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider how to procure employment.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

In which we consider finals week.

Venn Diagram for Every Graphic Design Student

A Helpful Diagram: Website 

My Modern Met granted permission to use images by Mitch Goldstein.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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