See Things Through Different Eyes

If you’ve seen the movie (which I’m sort of assuming you have), you’ll know that in Avatar the main guy (Jake Sully) is brought to a military base on a moon called Pandora. Jake is then subsequently put into a machine which allows him to control one of the creatures that inhabit the planet called the Na’vi. Jake (who cannot walk) is given the ability to do so through the body of this Na’vi creature, and experiences life through a different pair of eyes.

How can this help me?

Seeing things through different eyes can help you to put your project into perspective. Basically, if you’re staring at the same design for hours you’ll either start to think it looks fine, even if it doesn’t, or you’ll start to see it as a pile of awfulness inside the fiery depths of hell.

Asking someone for their opinion on it (a friend or someone who you know will give you honest advice) can help you put your design into perspective.  This can help you to improve your design. Accept their criticism and work on improving it. In the end, it’ what the general public think of your design, and not what you think after hours of staring at it that matters.

Transform

Throughout Avatar Jake changes back into his Na’vi form, and it becomes a much more frequent occurrence as the movie goes on. Originally Jake had wanted to infiltrate the Na’vi, but as the movie progresses he wants to protect them, and his perspective on them changes completely.

How can this help me?

Changing your techniques and improving your abilities are so important in web design, so that you can stay ahead of your competitors. Try to learn something new regularly so that you can stay up to date with what’s happening.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in the web design world, what other’s are doing and what the latest techniques are. By doing this you’ll be able to constantly improve, and become better at your job.

Store Your Progress

Jake made many video logs about his progress for the scientists at the military facility on Pandora, so that he could store his journey. Logging the data like this was a great way for the scientists to go back, and check up on what he did, and his progress with the Na’vi tribe.

How can this help me?

Storing all your progress is a good idea. I have a folder that’s full of stuff that I’ve collected such as snippets of code, images, etc. This is just for quick access, so that I can easily add things to a design. Another great way to do this is to use actions in Photoshop, so you just have to click one button to do something you do a lot.

If you see an icon pack, a brush set or even a PSD of something that you’re going to need again, save it so that you have it handy next time you need it. This way you can speed up your projects, and you’ll also have a bunch of stuff sitting around to experiment with.

See Inspiration in Everything

The Na’vi people see the forest and their way of life as a delicate ecosystem. They take inspiration from their way of life, and as the movie progresses you realize that the Na’vi don’t like technology but instead take their way of life from what nature provides for them directly.

How can this help me?

Taking inspiration from stuff is really important when you’re a web designer. Looking at other people’s work, or just the world around you for inspiration can really help you in coming up with ideas for your next project or design. Check out our post on how to stay inspired for a few quick tips on how to boost your inspiration.

Learn from others

Throughout Avatar the Na’vi teach Jake how to live their way of life. They teach him how to fly, how to ride a horse, how to hunt and what they believed. He eventually became part of their tribe but even then the learning process continued, and he began learning more about the Na’vi people.

By learning their way he becomes a more important part of the community. This allows him to delve deeper into the Na’vi tribe and become more part of it.

How can this help me?

By learning from other peoples mistakes you can help to improve your ability. Rather than making the same mistakes that everyone else makes, you can help yourself by seeing what other people have done wrong and, well, not doing it.

Never Give Up

When Jake was faced with a giant alien rhino did he give up? When humanity decided to obliterate the Na’vi people did he give up? When the giant psycho robot military sergeant guy tried to kill Jake in his Na’vi (and human) form did he give up? No, no is the answer to all of those rhetorical questions.

Even when faced with insurmountable odds Jake didn’t give up in the face of danger. He was even described as being fearless (hell yeah).

How can this help me?

Even when things are looking down, even when you’re having a bad day, even when something didn’t work out for you, never give up. If you give up, you’ll never know if it could’ve worked. If you’re new to the industry it can take ages to get yourself concretely in position to be successful, and if you give up you’ll never get an opportunity to get to that place.

Take a page out of Jake’s book, and even when things look impossible, never give in. Try hard and hopefully you’ll achieve something spectacular, even if it takes a while.

Gain Respect from the Community

Jake slowly gains respect from the community: when he arrives he is shunned by the tribe, but as the movie progresses you see that he becomes more and more respected amongst the Na’vi. Near the end of the movie he loses almost all respect from the Na’vi after they realize he was sent by the humans. He regains this respect through sheer badassery belief in himself, and not giving up when the going got tough (see previous point)

How can this help me?

Gaining respect from the web design community is important. By getting respect from the community you can help to make connections, get new clients and get noticed. On top of everything else, it’s fun to make new friends when you’re a freelancer.

As a respected member of the community, you can get publicity easier, and means you’re higher up in that all important social hierarchy (even if it is on the internet). Heck, you might even learn something new on the way from all your new friends.