The T-shirt idea isn’t the only creative impulse I’ve discovered since working on this topic. The funny thing is that by the end of the project I had become a designer myself. I designed some of the line art for the book, created promotional slideshows and videos that I posted on YouTube, made fun business cards, and most impressively (to my husband) taught myself enough web design to create a community magablog for the book.
This is a new and exhilarating direction for me. Whether I’ll continue to literally design things in the future, I’m not sure (my T-shaped history suggests I’ll move along at some point). But I know now that I’m going to continue to design my life. My “golden years” will be upon me sooner than I like and I want to make sure they’re the best they can be. How do I do that? I’m still trying to figure that out, but I know one thing—whatever happens, I want to make sure it happens by design.
Laura E. Kelly’s cards now say “Editorial Project Director” rather than “VP, Editor-in-Chief.” Check out the magablog she created for the new book GLIMMER: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World.
