•:*John Coy*:•

Everything John Coy spoke about at the Gauge event was meant to give us a better understanding of the real world of design and to give us advice about how to succeed.

One of the main things he wanted us to understand was that there is no such thing as competition. He believes that everyone is unique in their own way and that is what will help you succeed in your career. His advice to us was that we should discover what makes us unique and develop it further. When we stick with what we're good at, doors will open for us. We should focus on what's most interesting to us and build upon it to stay on track; every assignment and every project should help us explore what we like and should be meaningful.

He also spoke to us about continuing our education like going into graduate school, for instance. The graduating seniors seemed to be terrified to go into the real world and John Coy basically told us to continue on the track we feel comfortable with. If we feel like we should continue onto graduate school or take on more internships before getting a job in a design firm or going into freelance work, then we should do that. There is no right answer to that question; it's up to us to determine what path best suits our needs.

One of the other things I found interesting was his concept of us as "vibrating beings." He believes that we are constantly receiving information from the universe and if we put ourselves out there, positive things are sure to come our way. The way we utilize the information will guide us through our lives and careers.

He also suggested we keep ourselves as happy as possible, no matter what. We should never "not like" a project we're working on and should remain optimistic in any design project. Negative energy begets negative forces and poor results.

He concluded the event by explaining to us that there is no separation between what a designer is and who a designer is; we are intertwined and one in the same. He told us that we should absolutely love what we do and to immerse ourselves in it. We should be the artists we were born to be and never lose our sense of self.