I had the honor of being one of Law Alsobrook's students when I studied at VCUQ in the spring of my sophomore year. Although it's been two or three years since then, there are things I haven't forgotten about him. He was always full of energy - never in one place for too long, quick to draw a diagram or to scribble notes on the whiteboard. The classes he taught with Leland Hill always seemed to hum with anxiety, excitement, and laughter. Law had high expectations for us students. We had to be dedicated to research, iteration, and making things with intentionality. I look back at that semester now, and I see it as a time when I cut my teeth and began to understand what design is and how it works.
I remember one day Law talked me through a moment of self-doubt and despair. I was designing postage stamps and I wanted so badly to make something meaningful, beautiful, and good. At a certain point in the process I got so stuck and twisted up about these tiny stamps that I broke down. I was beginning to seriously doubt if I was capable of being a designer.
Law told me to trust the process and to not be so hard on myself. He reminded me that they were just stamps, and not the Mona Lisa. He also explained to me that there are naturally going to be moments when you doubt your process and capabilities, and that founduation-shaking mega-existential meltdowns happen from time to time. I remember leaving the studio that day feeling humbled, relieved, and at peace.
Law was one of the first to help me understand what design is and how it works. Here he is again, reminding me and everyone of design's power, intensity, and importance.
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