Tuesday, July 14th, 2009...12:30 am
TMI – Does it even exist anymore?
TMI – the popular acronym for To Much Information. There used to be a time when this was called out among many on the Internet and in face-to-face conversation. There were just some things that we didn’t want to know about those around us. However, when it comes to today’s design field, it seems as if there is no such thing as TMI. On the contrary, the demand for information is so great, so high and so vast that you could literally and figuratively drown yourself in books and web pages on the subject of design. It’s beginning to make me wonder – shouldn’t some of us be calling out “TMI!” ?
Every so often I wonder what the world would be like if doctors started to develop blogs that had tutorials on everything from do it yourself stitches to how to shop for an organ transplant. Would we suddenly surrounded by self-proclaimed physicians? Would the cost of health care drop because everyone already had the information?
The chances of this happening, however, are, slim to none. Life saving medical procedures don’t seem to be something doctors are willing to share with just anyone. These trade secrets stay within the trade. And for good reason. Protecting this kind of information in turn protects us all, and we are truly grateful for it.
Over the weekend I was asked if I had advanced work that I would be able to write tutorials on. The answer was yes, I have quite a few things in my portfolio that are considered advanced. But was I willing to write out step-by-step instructions on how they came to be? No, I have no interest in this and I politely declined. To me, this idea felt a bit invasive and frankly it made me uncomfortable. In my head, it was TMI.
Although this is the age of information, and if you are unable to keep up then you miss out, I wonder if maybe we, as designers, should be bringing the TMI acronym back into our vocabularies. It seems to me that if you give away everything, eventually you will have nothing left that people will want.
But, if you don’t agree with me – then feel free to get a second opinion.
Ask your doctor.
I totally agree! I have a certain “secret” technique I use in some of my restorations that I’d be fairly comfortable saying no one else uses, or if they do, I haven’t found them, yet. I’m not tellig what it is, either. I’ll share absolutely everything I know about restoration (which, let’s face it, isn’t brain surgery) except that. That’s my TMI point.
I agree that we as designers ‘give away’ too much – but not in terms of knowledge. It’s my experience that most people don’t WANT to do the work. I’ve taught people my extraction tricks, most times to have them say, “isn’t there an easier way?” To which my answer is, “no, not if you want the kind of results I get”. I know many who aspired to design only to be appalled at the amount of time it takes and quit. Where I think we give away too much is undervaluing our work, and giving things away free. I think good work should command a fair price, but just like with coffee, if someone’s selling cheaper many won’t care about the quality and buy on price. Not much you can do about that except educate folks about quality. My ex-designer students are my best customers, as they understand what it takes.
[...] Does "TMI" exist anymore? [...]