I fill a large sketchbook front and back in about a month. Before I execute anything in Photoshop or Illustrator, I am shaping my ideas the old fashioned way. But it’s not an old fashioned way of the creative process. Going through some of my sketch books in 2011 I see how much I have grown in my user experience. Each wireframe becomes more methodical and clear. I really dedicated myself to UX last year. It was the one area I really wanted to excel in and I believe I have become a lot closer to it now that I am in 2012. Sketching played a huge role in fulfilling that goal. Sketching allows me to pour out all of my creative ideas into pages I can look back on. Working with pixels and points is a great medium, but it’s not much of a tangible medium. Unless, it’s on a computer or device but even then, there is nothing like holding a sketch book in my hands.

The same goes for sketching out your career and life goals as a designer. Or whoever you may be or want to be.
Writing down your goals maybe even in your sketch book on the first page will help you accomplish those tangible dreams.

Drawing your own goals and making a wireframe for your career is pivotal.

We design user experiences everyday, for other people. Yet I wonder if a lot of us have actually sat down and made their own wireframe for their life and career. It’s always great to have a map of where you are now and where you want to be. I am the type of the person who has goals and ambitions and then a little wiggle room for whatever else life may bring.

I’ve come to realize that if you dedicate yourself to one area of design you will master it. It just takes time for all the pieces to come into place. Last year it was UX and this year it will still be UX but I want my visual skills to become even better. I want to broaden my style and be able to make even more colorful illustrations and products that have life in them. So this new goal will go into my Goal Wireframe. Where I will go back often to make sure I am still on track and that the experience is where I want it to be.

I’ve come to a place in my life that anything is possible, that I can be whoever I want to be with a lot of effort time and work. But in the end it’s all worth it, because I just need to apply who I truly am.

And it all starts with a little sketch book…

What are your thoughts on this and how would you achieve making goals in your life?