Every project that I do usually has a deadline. We have to turn in a final product, but it doesn’t mean that product is final. Designers can always go back to their old work to make changes on it.
There are many different reasons one could go back to their old work. One of those being that the designer was on a time crunch. I’ve definitely experienced this a few times, where I was running out of time to do the thing I wanted in a project. I had to come up with an alternative solution to turn it in on time, then take note that I would make changes to it in the future. Managing time can help more with not having to go back and redesign, but sometimes it’s just unexpected and unavoidable.
Another reason you can go back to work on your old projects is because of new ideas. A good example I can talk about in my work involves the product spread in my magazine. I was able to create a layout that I really liked, but I know that I could go back and improve it even more. The giant blanket that I had didn’t really work anywhere in the photo, so I ended up putting it behind some text for the final product. Once school starts up again and I can get back in the studio, however, I am going to redo that photoshoot. Redoing the photos that I need will help me create a better layout for that spread, and I’ll be even happier with the final layout on that spread!
Speaking of photos, I need to go back to a lot of my old photos that have FPOs. These FPOs (also know as for-placement-only photos) are on my ads and main article spreads. I need to go and take some different photos of things like bagels, jewelry, and an axe board. They all seem like random things, but they will help with the final product of my magazine. Besides, I don’t want people seeing photos that I didn’t use with FPO pasted over the top of them!
If you ever have free time as a designer, don’t be afraid to go back and work on your old projects! It might just be the creative push that you need. Working on old projects and improving on them can also show how your skills have improved since initially starting that project. Going back to my first year projects is a fun activity of mine since it really shows that I can put my newfound knowledge to good work. It makes for a great show of improvement, and it’s a pretty fun activity! Be sure to try it!
TC
