Design demonstrated to me how to be OK with not being perfect -30-

Designing for the Daily Bruin taught me that near perfection is perfection enough.

From the moment I stepped into the Daily Bruin office in fall quarter of my freshman year, I wondered if I was qualified enough to become a designer. Knowing I only got accepted when another intern candidate dropped out, I felt the need to prove myself worthy of designing for the Daily Bruin. However, with Microsoft PowerPoint as my only prior design experience, I constantly felt intimidated working among previous high school newspaper designers and editors with years of Adobe InDesign experience. Even when I became a staff designer two years later with multiple PRIME layouts under my belt, I was never satisfied. I was constantly critiquing my own designs, forever reaching for that perfect design I wasn’t even sure existed.

Of course, print production shifts don’t necessarily require innovation. Bounded by guidelines and rules, filling the empty pages with content every week was like solving a puzzle. In many ways, I embraced these design rules with open arms. I didn’t have to think about what font or color to use or whether my design choices matched the tone of the article. As a materials engineer who thrives in structure and order, this formulated design style gave me solace in the chaotic world of design.

However, projects were a different story. They had no guidelines, other than the fact that you had to include the provided content and art. It was freeing, perhaps a little too much so. There was so much potential to create something beautiful – or disastrous. Though a good design enriches a piece, a bad design can absolutely ruin it.

Taking on design projects over the years in different mediums allowed me to experiment with various styles and techniques. I have spent hours scrolling through fonts, changing colors and tweaking spacings for each project in hopes that it would be one step closer to becoming the perfect design. Designing for the Daily Bruin forced me out of my comfort zone, but it also helped me realize that I should not chase after perfection. Unlike a math problem, there is no right answer to design choices. Unlike a technical project, there is never quite the satisfaction of attaching the definitive final piece. There is no perfection to be achieved, but this constant potential for improvement has shown me that though a project may never be completely finished, sometimes near perfection is perfection enough.

Stepping back into the office this year, I’m grateful for all the people I’ve met during my time as a designer. I’ll never forget the creativity my design projects have sparked in me, the bucket of Design candy – or lack thereof – and the fun times I’ve had with the most wholesome section at the Daily Bruin.

Not everything can be perfect, but my time at Daily Bruin was as perfect as could be.

Shen was a Design contributor 2018-2020 and Design staff 2020-2022.