What do you think the most important thing about graphic design is?
knowing what graphic design is (or isn’t!)?
learning about the Elements and Principles of design?
being flexible and adapting to be what the client needs, be it illustrator, designer, copy writer or web developer?
a set of rules or a creed?
just practicing?
problem solving skills?
being artistically inclined and having an innate talent?
creating pretty pictures?
being an innovative strategist and forward thinker?
organizing information effectively, aside from the aesthetic appeal?
I was reading about the Designer of 2015 on AIGA and it sounds pretty intimidating! As a single designer not working in an agency, not working with an art director nor a team of other designers, how can I produce such “wide and deep” results?
…and you thought I was going to give you answers!
I can totally relate to this right now even… Yesterday, I was doing a quote for a company, and the design was only half of the brief.
The design was for a 2m high stand with a ‘wheel of fortune’ style spinning wheel built into the top. I had to quote for the whole structural make-up of the thing.
It got me thinking, am I doing Graphic Design or Industrial design? When I finish the project, Ill write a pot about the process.
AIGA’s competencies are basically acquired through experience. They aren’t easily developed in classroom settings, and in the shielded insular world of larger agencies you don’t have the kind of crossover experiences needed to develop those competencies.
Working with a smaller group — say an organization of no more than about 15 people — would probably be the best way to develop AIGA’s punchlist.
That said, the “most important” thing about graphic design is probably not to suck at it.
Warren’s last blog post..Get ready for insipid pulpitry.
Andrew,
Do you like the challenges different clients present you with, like the wheel structure? Or would you rather stick to what you know? Creating designs for new-to-me mediums is an opportunity to learn, and I do like that part! It’s intimidating at first (not so long ago I started working with large format print), but then you figure it out and it’s pretty fun!
Warren,
Do you think all those things will be required of designers in the future? The more I think about it, the more it sounds like they want a marketing visionary, not a graphic designer.
I have the feeling AIGA is being a bit unrealistic, but possibly not by much. The problem is that in order to be so well-rounded, you’ve got to be … well, older, and there’s a conceit in much of the design field that over 30 or so = burnt out.
That could be one reason they’ve made the bar so high, as it happens. Maybe they’re worried about their hireability in 7 years.
Your objection is sensible, though — what AIGA described is not a graphic designer or graphic artist, but essentially a complete design firm in one individual.
Warren,
Interesting observation about the age thing. Being on the lower end of the age spectrum myself at 25, I rather envy the “old” guys because they have so much experience! They understand the area of visual communication and what an opportunity it would be to work with them! I suppose when reading studies like this you do have to take into account the bias the writers may have, though one would hope they keep it out of their report. Haha, yes, a whole design, advertising and marketing firm rolled into one!
It seems like AIGA wants us to be more of a strategist than a technician. The same thing is happening in public relations (or has happened already in the USA). The practitioner is more a part of the executive team, proposing broad strategic communication goals than ‘the guy down the hall writing press releases’.
To me is seems like Graphic Design is heading that way too. More research, more interlinking with the businesses’ communication goals.
I am studying graphic design in Australia at the moment, and we do PR and advertising courses as well as design courses. I guess they are preparing us for the future.
Eivind’s last blog post..Legibility and readability defined by design-academics
A nice Seth Godin like post
I think an issue that arises from these sorts of discussions is that we tend to over complicate things..
As designers we are charged with the role of expressing a message. A very dumbed-down comment, yes, but it’s at the root of all of the articles you linked to, I feel.
It gets complicated when you realise how hard it is to communicate a message well to a wide audience. You need a broadly ranged understanding of software/delivery systems because people receive messages across a broad range of mediums. I don’t think you need to be an expert in all of them, but proficient enough to know what it is capable of and be able to have an intelligent conversation with someone who is an expert..
At the core of your delivery of the message needs to be something so elegant that it doesn’t start to crumble when it gets larger (logos and branding are great examples), so it can scale well..
Then there’s the audience – to effectively communicate the message, you need to understand the audience; how they think and feel, respect them, what will get, and more importantly, hold their attention..
And something that most of us are anyway— you just need to be a good person — don’t use too many inks (full colour with 4 spots.. really?), heavily processed paper or anything like that when you absolutely don’t need to.. and even then, think of how to do it better.. don’t lie to the audience, don’t give your client something that isn’t going to be continually strong or something that becomes useless soon as it rolls off the press..
A lot of these deeper lessons we need to learn to be good designers, now and in the future, are expansions on how to communicate a message well. The rest is up to being a good, passionate creative. If you love what you do, you’ll find you learn and pick up a lot of what you need to know..
What do you think?
woah, sorry to ramble in the comments lauren :/
Alex Charchar’s last blog post..50 Movie Poster Remakes (H-L)
The most important thing about graphic design is knowing enough of the rules to break them effectively.
Thought I’d take a stab at a definition, but that’s one I’m still working on!
David Airey’s last blog post..Focus on reader comments #3
Eivind,
I think you’ve nailed it! “More of a strategist than a technician.” I think the reason for this is that people in less wealthy countries are always going to be able to produce things cheaper than we can in first-world countries and still make a good living. Perhaps what AIGA is saying is that it’s the “idea” people that are going to make the big bucks in the future. But hasn’t it always been that way?
Alex,
No worries!! I’m glad you feel comfortable to share your thoughts in the comments. Hahaha, ooo, you are so right. We do over-complicate things! When you mentioned the part about being proficient enough to converse with an expert, that’s how I feel about web design, especially the CSS coding. I understand it, but I can’t create it very well myself.
The part about the audience is interesting. I think to create the best pieces, there needs to be more than one person in on the project, and that person would be better to be more of an anthropologist than a designer. To design impactful stuff, you need a team of experts. And I whole-heartedly agree with the part about being passionate. If you are passionate, you have to motivation and real desire to improve. I’ve found that in life in general, if you want to do something, chances are you’ll find a way to do it.
David,
I hold you in such high regard in the design community and–selfish as it may be of me–I find it comforting that you struggle with this as much as I do! I’ve been pondering when and how to break the rules lately. What’s a design rule that you’ve broken effectively recently?
From CreativeReview: What is Graphic Design
That’s very kind of you to say, Lauren! Good question too, and a toughy. I’ll have to give it some thought.
David Airey’s last blog post..Focus on reader comments #3
maybe for a free lancer, these skills are more important. reading from the comments on that page, most agree its just a rehash of the conditions now. im just a student and its really intimidating the thought of where things will go in 2015. but thats just me. maybe the job description for ‘designer’ is just so varied, that it really depends on what you do, what is more important.
in the stuff questioned in this post of ‘what is most important’, i think my answer is to know yourself, know what i enjoy most, what i’m most good at, and use that strength to set me apart. i took this interesting personality test online http://mypersonality.info it says im an INTJ, or ‘the strategizer’, and it got me thinking, well, thats really how i am. im not naturally an artistic person. my visual intelligence itself isnt as developed as my others too. but, in my personality, it sets me apart on what kind of designer i can be, as compared to one who is naturally an ‘artist’ or loves to create. then some people will focus on making pretty pictures and use that as their edge, and then some, who love rules, and use them with precision. maybe knowing enough on all, but having one key strengths is the way to go.
Mitch,
I don’t think it’s just you that feels that way. I feel that way too! I liked what we’ve said above, that AIGA seems to be looking more for a marketing pro than a graphic designer.
You have a good answer about knowing yourself! I’m discovering that myself, too. You can’t compartmentalize your life into personal growth and business goals. You might also like to take the Enneagram personality test (scroll down to the bottom). I like it much better than the Myers-Briggs system.
No, I love new challenges and experimenting in varied mediums – it’s what keeps graphic design fresh. The point I was making was the role of the graphic designer is not only changing in regards to print and web, but we as designers partake in industrial design and maybe even structural design (in my case). There’s also copyrighting text and SEO too. In this brave new world the designer needs the whole toolset, not just the hammer
maybe one reason for me why design is intimidating is also because we have so many options, we can do industrial design, print, web, animation, illustration, exhibits, at least from a students POV, the same time it keeps it exciting and fresh, it also raises the bar on what we expect of ourselves (atleast myself) to be able to compete and at the same time have options. so its a bit ”brain scattering”
For me, designing and laying out books, it’s to know enough about what I do to be able to break rules knowingly and for a reason I can see the book will benefit from. That said, I don’t do a great, great deal of stuff that I think violates any rules per se, as I do think one inviolable rule of book design—interiors—is to not distract the reader from the reading.
I design brochures and such, but over the years I’ve picked up so many adjunct skills — design, writing, proofreading/editing, photography, website coding — I sometimes wonder what to call myself. I used to be a sign painter too, but I dropped that for lack of time and shop space.
I’ve learned not to tell prospective clients up front everything I do. It just seems like overkill, or bragging. I even have separate business cards for some of it.
As to the age thing, I doubt I’d have been able to pick up the whole package of skills, or maintain them, at a much younger age — web work alone could keep you busy for a lifetime. Currently I work in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Flash … and I don’t think I’m really great at any of it.
Andrew,
Hehe, I agree that we wear many hats.
mitch,
We do indeed have a lot to choose from in the design field. But I think that good employers/clients (and the ones you want to work for) will know that a jack of all trades is a master of none and there is value in hiring a specialist.
Steve,
That’s a good rule. I wonder if a good designer can also keep the reader interested just by the design (I’m thinking of all those booooooring textbooks in college!)
Hank,
Wow, that’s quite a full plate of skills! I worked in the non-profit industry for a bit and I had to be many things, too–webmaster, print designer, copywriter, emergency receptionist. All these little things we dabble in help us understand better whatever it is we do best. I’ve see lots of designers say a great way to keep your designs fresh is to have other interests! I bet you learned a lot about typography from being a sign painter. How fun!
Lauren, a textbook–boring or not–there’s a captive audience. So you really have to scotch it up badly to drive away readers. I mean, the students the book is assigned to simply MUST use it. Many textbooks are almost sold in advance because of who their authors are, often known authorities in their fields. So the designer has to do a pretty horrible job to drive away sales and readers.
That said, it’s a good habit to get into, working to make the book comfortably readable and not distracting the reader from the author’s work.
Well, I think learning about the Elements and Principles is the most significant. This is what I apply in my life. And thus for me, it applies also to whatever designs.