I think this also contributes to an “anxiety of shipping” (at least for me) since we can only talk about what’s gone public, but it’s only a small part of what we make and things don’t always go to production for a plethora of arbitrary reasons
I hate NDAs. Designers have to be silent for most of their tenure at a company. When they leave, they have to sneak their work out for their portfolio or they’ll have nothing to show employers. We get hired based on what we make, but we can’t talk about or show what we make.
“Just show what ships” I had a project not ship once because an engineer went on a yoga retreat and decided to become a reiki instructor. I can’t be held responsible for what gets to prod.
I have signed many NDAs, and (technically) broken every single one of them, because A) they’re stupid, and B) no one cares, they just care to say that they made people sign one
In cases where I as the founder have asked folks to sign one, I’ve called them “FrienDA’s” and it was just a peice of paper, that said: “Don’t be a dick about it”
Can relate to this so much. Have not been able to share most of my work over the years to the point where it feels like I did NOTHING. Then just when you’re lucky enough to share something 5 y down the road, the work already feels outdated.
Start writing about your projects. Naming can be vague but you still can describe your work in detail. That can work wonders when you need to show someone your portfolio.