Steal Like an Artist

Steal Like an Artist"Write a blog post about someone you admire and link to their site."

-Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist

Link to Austin Kleon's website

 

This week, I read Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, as part of the prework that General Assembly assigned for their User Experience Design Immersive.  This is a fantastic book that you can (and probably will) finish without ever putting it down.  It's not specifically UX-related, but it has some inspiring insights, many of which I will be implementing in my life and in this blog.

Some snippets of advice that I will be stealing (like an artist):

  • "Study everything there is to know about one thinker you really love.  Then find 3 people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them." I'm starting with you, Austin.
  • "Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. Get used to pulling it out and jotting down your thoughts and observations." "Keep a logbook [to list the things you do every day]" I have taken the liberty of combining these into one handy all-purpose notebook.
  • "The Internet can be more than just a resting place to publish your finished ideas--it can also be an incubator for developing work that you haven't started yet." I loved reading this advice just after starting this blog. Even though this is only my second post, I've already found sharing my thoughts to be a great way to understand where I am in this process and develop ideas that have been floating around in my head.

Some particularly awesome quotes found in this book:

  • "The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life." -Jessica Hische
  • "Don't throw any of yourself away.  Don't worry about a grand scheme or unified vision for your work.  Don't worry about unity--what unifies your work is the fact that you made it.  One day, you'll look back and it will all make sense." -Austin Kleon
  • "It's one of my theories that when people give you advice, they're really just talking to themselves in the past." -Austin Kleon

This is going to be my go-to holiday gift this year.  I feel like people from all sorts of backgrounds can get something significant out of Steal Like an Artist, so I'm going to do my best to share it.

 

A couple more highlights from this week:

First, thank you to those of you who have subscribed to get weekly updates!  Only 18 more days until I start at General Assembly, and then these posts will become UXDi-focused.

  • Dash, General Assembly's online HTML, CSS, and Javascript class.  Dash has been a fun and interactive way to get an introduction to building websites, and the course gives you the freedom to experiment and create your own projects. I would recommend it to anyone entering UX, whether or not you plan on attending GA. It is available to the public for free, so you might as well try it!  More on Dash

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