Jamie Wieck: The 50

With the next year of graduates just around the corner Jamie Wieck launched The 50 last Thursday. Highlighting ‘The 50 things every graphic design student should know’ the idea is disseminated through Twitter using the hashtag #the50 and the site received instant approval. Including sound advice like “2. There is always someone better”, and “31. Make your invoice stand out” we caught up with Jamie to find out more…

How would you sum up The 50 in 140 characters?

The 50 is perhaps the first fully Tweetable primer for graphic design students and graduates-to-be.

Where did the idea come from?

The schism between the safety of art college and the reality of the creative industry is well known, but from speaking to students earlier this year, I came to realise the questions and frustrations I had all those years ago were still there, still the same, and still not being fully addressed. I figured it was about time someone answered these queries – the very questions I had as a student – and gave them away to be freely shared. A hash-tagged primer crafted for Twitter proved to be an ideal solution.

Who has contributed to The 50?

Some of the points were bounced around during Airside’s numerous coffee breaks, and many come from my own frequently rocky experiences, but honestly a lot of these points have been crafted on the shoulders of giants. Paul Arden certainly deserves a mention as does Bob Gill, for these individuals broke creativity down into universal and timeless truths. Building on these inspirations I synthesised everything I’d ever read, seen and done (including my mistakes) into 50 points of 140 characters or less.

What was the most solid piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

This will sound awfully saccharine, but the best piece of advice I’ve ever received is from my father. His mantra was simple: ‘Do your best – that’s all you can do.’ The logic of this deceptively simple rule freed me from my crippling self-doubt – so it made number 32.

Where does The 50 go now?

With over 150,000 visits and counting The 50’s been embraced by more people and more disciplines than I ever imagined, but it would be rather bullish of me to suggest that these 50 points had all the answers. With this in mind, I decided to open up the next 50 points to anyone who had an opinion on The 50. My goal is to ultimately have The 50 to become The 100, with points 51 to 100 submitted and suggested by other creatives of all experiences. Whether they’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, I believe sound advice can be given by anyone – because good advice stems from universal truths, and it’s damn hard to argue with wisdom like that. To suggest a point for The 100, leave a comment or visit www.the-100.org.