I was walking into a coffee shop this weekend to get to work, all the final projects are coming up due soon and just sort of scrambling to get everything done on time, and I was waiting in line I saw this elderly gentleman in front of me. With his conversation with the barista/owner it was clear he goes there a lot and had been a customer for a long time. He was struggling with his credit card and the machine wasn’t reading his chip. You could just see it on his face that he was embarrassed and nervous about it. And then the owner just said it’s fine. Comped him on the spot. It’s not some enormous gesture but it was just really nice to see something like that, I feel like I hadn’t seen an act like that since I moved to Seattle.
While it may be a bit of a stretch, I think it related to the creative process, or at least my own. I think often times when I’m working, I try to exist and design in a bubble, without much input from my other classmates, and I think most of the time that works. But I have had a few instances where I might just not be getting something, and that frustration builds and people see it on your face, and they just walk over and try to help. I think this industry can probably be pretty isolated and lonely, and sometimes that’s great and exactly what I want, but it can be a double edged sword, and it’s nice to surround yourself with people who know you well enough that they can help you, even without you having to ask.