I could say interning at FoxFuel has felt like a marathon, but honestly, that’s just because I’ve also been training for one. This summer has been a double feature: prepping for my longest race and diving headfirst into the world of design. Surprisingly, the overlap between the two isn’t as thin as I’d hoped. So now, mentally spent and with just enough energy to type this out, here are the top three things both FoxFuel and running have taught me about design.
1. Pace Yourself
When it comes to a race the scale of a marathon, the key to finishing well is setting a strong pace. You run too fast, you’re crawling by mile 12. Too slow, and you find yourself staring at the finish with a half tank of gas waiting to be burned. Working at an agency like FoxFuel is very much the same. Burnout is real, and working long hours and overcommitting to any single project is a surefire way to injure yourself creatively. You need to learn to take on tasks one by one, little by little, bit by bit. The turtle and the hare and all that jazz.
2. First Steps First
Before I acquainted myself with a marathon, running was casual. Bad day? Take it off. However, with a race on the horizon, every mile counts, no matter how comfy the bed, how bad the weather, or how sore the legs. Design is very much the same, especially in an agency setting. Gone are late nights of last minute grinds and random bursts of creative fury. Here are the hours of 9 to 5, and a computer that’s waiting. With a tough run, often all it takes is that first step out the front door. In the office, perhaps just opening an artboard or starting a new file. When exercised regularly, creativity becomes a discipline. Start logging those hours.
3. The Little Guy
When you have your eyes on 26.2 miles, it’s easy to write off the 2 mile easy run. When you have a large project sitting in your to-do list, a simple typesetting task seems a waste of time. But the truth is, it’s in the small mundane tasks that you start to grow. Every experienced runner has thousands of easy and forgettable miles behind them, and every strong creative has hard drives full of projects that aren’t exciting or rewarding. Big surprise: it’s in those drives that their talent was born.
Though my legs feel like jelly and my eyes burn from moving anchor points back and forth, I’ve now learned how the rest of the world keeps moving. So slow down, put your next foot forward, and take the wins as they come. I’ll see you at the finish— and if you see me walking, mind your own business.
Kaleb is our summer intern at FoxFuel. He enjoys woodworking, short sunrise hikes, and good coffee.