Design has the power to move people, but only if it's birthed in truth. Like a movie that brings us to tears or a song that validates our feelings or a piece of art that takes our breath away, design that is birthed from real experiences and emotions will resonate with viewers and ideally, cause an emotional response.
Donald Judd said "Design has to work, art doesn't." Graphic design, at it's core is about communication. It's about content. If aesthetics and style are more important than the content and the message, the design has failed. The key to graphic design is communicating the message in an as simple and concise way as possible. That means decoration needs to take a backseat to communication.
It's easy to look at design annuals and the latest websites for inspiration. The only problem is, that is where everyone else is looking too. If you are only looking at other design for your inspiration, your work will suffer and just look like everyone else's. Inspiration is everywhere. Look to fashion, to architecture, to nature, to movies, to music, to poetry, to science, to industrial design. The fashion designer Paul Smith said "If you can't find inspiration in the things around you, you're not looking hard enough."
When one has become complacent, their work starts to all look the same. A designer must never stop learning and improving and expanding their portfolio. When you are in the place between what you already know and what you don't, you are forced to try new techniques, tools, and styles and more than likely, you're work will be better because of it.
There are times when every designer needs to get out from behind their computer screen and get their hands dirty. It's a nice change of pace to work with your hands, to actually touch your work. To turn it over and look at it from a different angle. It's incredibly refreshing to work on something without a command+Z option. You become much closer to your work when you are physically invested in it and it becomes something more than just a series of flickering pixels.
If you are not excited about the work you are doing, it will show. When you are truly excited about what you are doing, it no longer is work. It becomes something to get you out of bed in the morning. Something you can't stop thinking about. Find what you are excited about and give it everything you have. Once you do that, you'll find out you'll have a lot more fun.
You can very easily go an entire day without seeing on smile. There is so much in life that can make you depressed, discouraged, and unhappy. Design can be used to destroy, to ruin, and to tear apart. But it can also be used for good. It can rebuild, repair, and renew. At the end of the day, all that's really important is whether the work you are doing matters. Whether it's making a difference. If you can make someone smile, you are making a difference. And that's what it's all about; just make someone happy.