We all get the question, “What do you do?”
If the person asking is unfamiliar with the industry you work in, your response typically paints a super broad picture of the influence you have at your company, and the aspirations you have of being more than your job title. When people ask me that question, I usually say something along the lines of “I’m a Product Designer at Company.” Typically, I’ll toggle ‘Product’ for Interaction, UX, or even Digital Interface, depending on who I’m talking to. The usual response is “Cool!”, then the conversation somehow traverses into how high rent prices are in the Bay Area, followed by recommendations on where to find breakfast burritos.

The real challenge is when someone follows up and asks,

“What’s it like being a designer? What do you do?”

You have to somehow organize everything you do in a week, month, or year, and try to break it down into some non-tactical summarization. For me, there is no day-to-day routine and it truly depends on what project I’m working on. So depending on the setting and the amount of time I have to answer, my response will generally get distilled down to what tools I use on a day-to-day basis, with a sizable dose of sarcasm.

“I use Photoshop everyday to create pretty pictures. At least that’s what engineers tell me.”

A year ago, my brother asked me the same question, and this is where I took it upon myself to create an analogy that felt honest to the process Designers experience when they get new project requests. First, I should give you some background on my brother. He’s my twin, and I’m older by five minutes (yes it matters!). He’s always been a creative person and has always had amazing penmanship. I loved it. It just so happens, he’s also the most empathetic person I know. So I’ve always seen him as someone I can open up to with complete transparency, without the fear of judgement. So, when he asked me, “What’s it like being a designer? What do you do?”, I wanted to break down not only my thought process, but how I’ve perceived how other designers take on new projects, where the solution is already pre-deteremined.

So I gave my dear brother the analogy, and now you:

Imagine you have two people, one Designer, and one Client. One night in the office, the Designer is working late. The Client comes to the Designer and says,

“I need a picture of a sunset.”

The Designer instinctively looks out the window, and realizes that the sky is near-black, and the sun is past the horizon. There’s no shot. The Designer turns to the Client and says, “Ok. I could book a flight, and fly across the world to capture a sunset somewhere. I’d send a few pics and we’d evaluate each one. However, there’s no real guarantee I’ll make it there on time for a sunset. Another option is to wait until tomorrow, and we could time-lapse a bunch of shots together. Or — we can research Sunsets together this week and find where to take the best one.”

The Client looks at the Designer, and replies, “I don’t care, just get me a picture of a sunset.”

The analogy was darker than I anticipated but it connected — at least metaphorically speaking. So I took it further. As Designers take on more projects, they’re exposed to new and different types of processes to solve different types of problems. Among those projects are going to be the rush projects (the flight), the collaborative projects, and the research driven projects. The more a Designer is exposed to these elements, the easier it is open up their process to other people, including the Clients.

I wanted my dear brother to understand that Designers don’t always have control over the process, nor do they always have control over the solution at hand. In this case, the Client just wanted a beautiful picture of a sunset, and it was the Designer’s job to deliver the best one.

Here we go.

Attack the Block

Attack on the Block is a UK Thriller about a diverse handful of a teens that fight off an alien invasion in their small South London town. It stars one of my favorite actors, John Boyega, who you SHOULD know from Star Wars. If you haven’t seen Star Wars, that’s ok, it’s not a requisite for Black History Month. AOTB is fun, because it’s a Science Fiction movie featuring British-accented troubled youths fighting aliens with Samurai swords and super soakers, which you will admit, was the plot of all your childhood fantasies. Oh, and there’s plenty of gore, if you’re into that kinda thing.

Dope

This is my favorite movie from 2015. ‘Dope’ is a coming-of-age story about Malcolm (pictured middle, played by Shameik Moore), who along with his two side-mates Diggy and Jib (respectively played by Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori), are obsessed with 90’s Hip-Hop culture. The movie follows Malcolm and his friends constantly being in the wrong place at the wrong time, eventually getting mixed up in a drug war and harassed by shoe thieves. Don’t worry, throughout the movie, you’ll probably browse online indie shops, wishing you dressed as cool as Malcolm.

Similar films: House Party, Poetic Justice

Top Five

“Top Five” is one of my guilty pleasures. I’m not sure exactly why I enjoyed it so much, but it does have some great comedic moments. I’ve always been a fan of Rosario Dawson, and Chris Rock seems to be self-reflecting on some of his past experiences here. The story is about a comedian taking on the non-trifling task of being seen as a serious actor after releasing a film about the 18th century Haitian rebellion. As you can imagine, it didn’t go well. Rock’s character Andre Allen, goes on radio shows trying to convince the world he is more than the type-cast of his former role as a walking-talking-bear police officer, called Hammy. There are a ton of cameos, but I won’t spoil you.

Similar films: Beyond the Lights, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?

Girlhood

Not many people know about this movie, but it’s definitely well made and well directed. The story follows Marieme (played by Karidja Touré), a young woman on the search for likeliness amongst her peers, eventually tagging along with the wrong crowd. The film was made in Paris, with real French speaking actresses, so you’ll have to follow along via subtitles. I’ll admit, the story is kind of depressing as there doesn’t seem to be any positive climaxes, but it’s definitely artistic and worth the watch.

Black Dynamite

Alright, here’s the deal. You’ve probably already seen this movie. Or, you know about it’s ridiculous dialog and goofy action scenes. If neither, then prepare yourself for a movie character known by no other name than “Black Dynamite”, who is essentially a mustache bearing melting pot of Shaft, Bruce LeRoy, Dolemite, Undercover Brother, and your black uncle Ronald. Our hero, Black Dynamite, is a crime fighting kung-fu ex-military vigilante, cleaning up the streets with nunchucks and boom-mics. Yep, during an action scene, Black Dynamite breaks the fourth wall by noticing the audio technician’s boom-mic above their heads. At the very least, you can brag to your co-workers on Monday that you watched a movie called Black Dynamite, forcing them to ask, “What the hell is Black Dynamite??”

Similar films: I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty

It’s not the wackiest movie I’ve ever seen… Ok, it’s the wackiest movie I’ve ever seen. Up there with Upstream Color and Mr Nobody. The first run through this film by filmmaker and main actor Terence Nance had me second guessing my purchase on iTunes. But on second viewing, I was quite intrigued. It also proves I shouldn’t watch indie self-star films at 2 in the morning. The story follows Terence as he prepares for an upcoming date, only to get stood up. Nance’s voice is quite addicting and it’s oddly strange how he never considers delivering the damn bed to his house. Poor guy.

Luv

I was initially conflicted about recommending this movie to you. It stars Common as Vincent, a slick ex-convict who takes his 11 year old nephew Woody (played by Michael Rainey Jr.) on a day of less-than suitable behavior for an 11-year old boy. The movie is heart wrenching and it truly does make you wonder what the hell the point is, until the very end.

Similar style film: Tangerine.

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All images are courtesy of their respective production companies.