My First Heartbreak with Design

It was 2005 and an opportunity of a lifetime occurred at school.

When you move districts, being the “new kid” can be hard. New class. New friends. It’s tough to put yourself out there.

Thankfully, our class was holding an art competition.

Our class was embarking on an upcoming NASA field trip, and the faculty wanted buttons designed for the students to wear and to keep. After having recently moved schools, the was a rare chance to prove that the quiet girl in the back of the class had a secret weapon, artistic talent.

Confident in my drawing skills, I knew using my gels pens would give the image an advantage.

And it did.

To no surprise at my overconfident elementary self, the class selected the button as the student favorite. To my horror, the submission was quickly disqualified.

Cheating? No. Jealousy? Not even.

An out-of-touch faculty complained it contained “violent” imagery. From what you ask? Well, from the meteor with a projectile straight towards planet Earth.

This catastrophe occurred because I invested too heavily in the process of the image. Obsessive on coloring and not to composition, I overlooked the fact that I created an impending-doom apocalyptic scene rather than the Utopian discovery of Mars I was going after.

Ultimately, the “entry” was eliminating from the picking and another submission was selected. A painful moment at the time, I learned the hard way on the importance of misinterpretation. Now comical, I can’t help but wonder what on earth I was thinking. 🌎