Read the vladimir tod series
The phrase "corporate identity design" seems to be a bit exclusive it sometimes frightens the smaller client who can't relate because they don't consider themselves "corporate. "
Discipline is doing what you don't wanna do so you can do what you really want to do.
The K. I. S. S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle was pounded into my head in school and I still follow it today in most of my designs. I know that my most successful efforts are the simplest. I always find myself trying to subtract detail from design concepts in an attempt to distill the idea down to the most basic communication tool.
My kids are athletic, but they don't run.
External research never depends on the size of the payment being received it is primarily determined by what is needed to create the best possible solution to the client's desires and requirements. The research required is also dependent upon the specific project or industry.
For me, between "Reference" and "Sketching & Conceptualizing" is the "Get the Hell Out of the Studio" step. I most often NEED to shut off the computer, push myself back from my desk and escape the studio space to let possible ideas percolate in my gray matter before committing anything to paper or digital imagery as a sketch or a concept.
Britney Spears became my talisman. I became obsessed with wearing Britney T-shirts. I felt it would bring me luck. And it did.
Abstract art has helped us to experience the emotional power inherent in pure form.
I think one of my biggest lessons so far in life is that hard work really does pay off. It may not culminate in the way you expected it to, but I have found that when I really put my head down and apply myself, I often get a good result.
Morals were restrictive, but they were grounded on human experience.