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Pay it Forward: Adobe MAX Speakers Share The Best Advice They Ever Got

07.13.16 | By
Pay it Forward: Adobe MAX Speakers Share The Best Advice They Ever Got

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Adobe is holding its annual creativity conference, Adobe Max, this year in San Diego – we’re thrilled to be a media partner and an exhibitor! The event will be held November 2-4th at the San Diego Convention Center with a pre-conference on October 31st and November 1st. Honestly, there’s no place that I’d rather be than SoCal in November (and I’m not just saying that because I live here!). The conference brings together creative thinkers, designers, educators and other experts to talk about graphic art and design, creative careers, web and app design, photography, typography, illustration, and video/creative imaging.

Interested in attending? Register here and use code PDM16 to get $400 off registration.

Not sure? Let me give you a taste of what’s to come. I talked to a few of the conference speakers and asked them about the best advice they ever got:

dan-stiles

Who: Dan Stiles
What: Illustration, identity, and design
Where: Portland, OR

Dan’s advice:

My dear friend, mentor, former professor, and former employer Michael Cronan once told me:

Bite off more than you can chew, and then chew it.

The only way you can grow personally or professionally is to get in a little above your head and then make it work. I still try and do it, and it’s still just as scary as it was the first time.

Dan’s work:

DKNG

Who: DKNG – Dan Kuhlken and Nathan Goldman
What: Graphic design and illustration
Where: Southern California

Dan and Nathan’s advice:

A meaningful piece of advice that has stuck with us comes from Scrojo, a poster artist who was one of our first inspirations. To paraphrase his sentiment:

Making good work requires loving what you do, but don’t become too attached. The capacity to evolve only comes once you allow yourself to say goodbye to older work and start taking risks.

Dan and Nathan’s work:

Photo by Elle Green

Photo by Elle Green

Who: Gemma O’Brien
What: Lettering, illustration, and typography
Where: Sydney, Australia

Gemma’s advice:

Various points from this advice from Jerry Saltz to art students have resonated with me, in particular:

Don’t worry about getting enough sleep. Worry about your work.

Take your work seriously, not yourself seriously.

Gemma’s work:

Installation in Laguna focused on words we see everyday online. \\\ Photo by David Zimmerman

Installation in Laguna focused on words we see everyday online. \\\ Photo by David Zimmerman

Photo © Jules Villbrandt

Photo © Jules Villbrandt

Who: Martina Flor
What: Design, illustration, and lettering
Where: Berlin, Germany

Martina’s advice:

Be unrespectful with your own drawings!

Martina’s work:

timothy-goodman

Who: Timothy Goodman
What: Design, illustration, and art direction
Where: NYC

Timothy’s advice:

You have to play a long time before you can play like yourself. —Miles Davis

Timothy’s work:

In addition to hearing more form these creative minds, you can stop by and hang out with Design Milk in the Community Pavilion – we’re cooking up a really exciting interactive experience! You won’t want to miss this one! Register here and use code PDM16 to get $400 off registration!!!

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.