Formal Degrees vs. Natural Talent: What does it take to have a successful career in design?

I find it pretty fascinating that people are still so polarized on their belief that natural skill is, or is not, required to have a successful career in design.

So let’s discuss. I’ve met designers who are insanely talented who haven’t had any formal training at all, and I’ve met others who are insanely talented who worked their tails off to get here they are. Is formal training required to be successful? No. Is natural skill required to be successful? Not to the extent that some people feel.

I received some absolutely amazing parenting advice when my daughter was young. She is exceptionally gifted at math. She discovered a mathematical algorithm without being taught about it when she was in 3rd grade. I chatted with the head of the learning enrichment program at her school, and she mentioned that kids who have natural skill in music, art, or academics, are often told that they’re naturally talented so often that they stop pushing themselves to grow their skillsets. Then when they encounter people more skilled than they are as they get older, they get discouraged and they quit since their natural skills don’t measure up.

She mentioned that to combat this, it’s important to explain to kids, both kids with natural talent, and kids without…