We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dustin Edward Arnold. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dustin below.
Dustin, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
It’s a cocktail of self-esteem issues, and having self-discipline modeled to me at a young age by my parents. Both who are self-proclaimed perfectionists. They taught me to invest. To sacrifice in the moment for a larger return later, and to actively recognize and look for opportunities to do so. I’m the Stanford marshmallow experiment in action.
Self-discipline hasn’t been an issue for me. The fallout from it has. There is such a thing as toxic self-discipline. It’s a co-dependent, harsh inner-critic thing. Because of that I’ve re-framed the idea of discipline. For me, it’s about moving from discipline to devotion. To embrace the devotional nature of the work. It’s messy, it’s complex, it’s relational— but it’s driven by love.
At the same time, excellence demands sacrifice. If you want to paint a masterpiece you have to mix some of your own blood onto your palette; there’s no substitute for that shade of red.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I grew up in a small town on the Central Coast of California playing D&D, Fly Fishing, backpacking, and going to hardcore shows. I liked computers. I liked art. I liked that when I combined them both, I could methodically work in a trance-like state for hours on end. So I mashed them together in a desperate attempt to have a career plan, and at age 17, ended up with Graphic Design as a professional pursuit.
In 2001, I moved to Los Angeles to attend Art Center College of Design, later graduating in 2003. Compared to my small town, Los Angeles felt like the nexus of the universe. It was there that I made the decision to specialize my practice towards beauty and prestige brands. A decision which has colored my creative output to this day.
Fast-forward 20+ years, my personal and professional practice has expanded to photography, industrial design, film, and sculpture. All which started as artistic projects, with skill sets later bleeding into commercial work. For me, it’s the cross-pollination of disciplines into a singular artistic approach which excites me.
Currently, I’m the Executive Design Director for AKQA San Francisco where I co-lead a team of 90+ creatives for clients such as IBM, Apple, The North Face, and Levis.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Curiosity: The catalyst for great work. Curiosity helps in detaching your ego from positive and negative outcomes, allowing you to explore without judgment or censoring yourself. It helps us become free, child-like, and see with fresh eyes. It’s a crucial first step in understanding both the world, and oneself.
Cultivating curiosity is as simple as asking sincere questions with no supposition. It’s not rocket science, but in terms of collaboration, I like to use the Madlibs model of continually asking the “What if we _________?” question.
2) Adaptability: Personally this has proven to be the most difficult of the three. It’s taken a long time for me to cultivate and learn to sit with the feelings of discomfort that changing course and embracing the unknown instills.
It’s an odd thing. Continuing to go down a path even when it’s proven to fail, feels better than changing tactics and embracing the unknown. In a twisted way it can be more comforting to fail because it’s predictable. Weird right? For ways out of this trap refer to point 1) Curiosity.
3) Perseverance: Failing is a necessary part of succeeding. Full stop. No one can get around it, so start failing early when the stakes are low.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
I’m constantly asking myself where the commercial value of creativity lies. Especially how creativity will be marketed in the age of AI. Creativity is multivalent. So How will this change in business, the (commercial) creative industry, and the art world? Where is the intersection of automation and the human hand? Is it a zero sum game?
The past 10 years have been revolutionary within the creative industry. The tools, the landscape, the expectations- all vastly different. Yet the industry business model has remained the same. The majority of us have been working within a broken system the last 10+ years. With AI, there’s a shift that feels as big or bigger than the advent of the internet. It feels like a come to Jesus moment. With this revolution is a suite of new tools to learn. Equally important are the new processes and workflows to integrate those tools.
I don’t have a one-size fits all solution to move gracefully with this change. If you want to evolve authentically, the challenge lies in knowing oneself. Taking the time to reflect on personal values, what inspires you, and the current path you are on. Making connections between where you are in that pursuit, your personal roadblocks, and the opportunities this new way of working (and being) will create. It’s the excitement for new forms of expression which I know I will need to move into the future with some measure of grace, and face the challenges we collectively will have to overcome.
That being said, my personal barometer of success is more about what I can do, than what I can get. For me, the ‘get’ part comes later. Many people have it the other way around.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dustinedwardarnold.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustinedwardarnold/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinedwardarnold/
- Other: https://dea.studio
