Design time . . . dream big or go home!

So this summer has been packed with various activities, primarily freelance opportunities that I can't even begin to believe that I've had. The survey link on the left got me energized about being a design professional – while it's focused on web design, questions like "Where do you see yourself in 5 years" really make me feel like I'm 15 again, telling people that "I wanna be a graphic designer when I grow up." Well, ok, maybe it was more like "I want to own my own advertising firm in New York," but I don't like to admit how much of a nerd I was back then. In any case, the exciting thing to think about is where will I be a year from now? With my MFA (hopefully) under my belt and no more classes to take, what will July 31, 2009 look like? I truly hope that this year I can focus on launching a collaborative design co-op with young (and old . . . what the heck!) professionals from all creative fields. What does that look like? How does it work? And what sort of design model will we use to keep ourselves ahead of the rest of the pack? Can this relate to an emergent identity? Can this collaborative be emergent while using principles of emergence to create a true "interactive design" model and methodology?

I love design. And I love people. I want to help people, work with people and for the people and truly make a difference in this world. Can that be done? And if so, how? I'm excited by the prospects.