Starting off our fall semester speaker series were Justin Colt and Jose Fresneda, MFAD alumni (2013). They spoke to our grad students about their past experiences at SVA – setting the bar incredibly high for us as Justin showcased his project, Delivering Golden Cheeseburgers to Fast Food Employees, for Stefan Sagmeister’s “Can Design Touch Someone’s Heart” class.

They graciously gave us a glimpse of how they started their own design studio, The Collected Works and the many eye-candy, drool-worthy projects they did for their awesome clients such as Nike, The Governors Ball, The National etc…

Below are ten lessons they learned as designers so read carefully:

Embrace Collaboration
Do What You Love Now, Not Later
Stay Small Look Big
Embrace Small Budgets
Just Stay Afloat
Design for Yourself
Toughen Up
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
We’re Lucky
Be Interesting

Check them out and prepare to be amazed.