Anti-consensus critique
“Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.” — Oscar Wilde
Category: Design Thoughts
Time and Graphic Design
Inspiration and learning opportunities are found where fields or disciplines overlap. Many aspects of filmmaking are connected to graphic design. For instance, a long established technique in film is the establishing shot. An exterior of a building is shown followed by the camera cutting to an interior shot. Our brains …
A Big Pile of Good Graphic Design Related Movies
You will find no shortage of offerings if you Google “graphic design movies.” There is much overlap on these lists and a canon of sorts has developed. Below is an aggregation of the most frequently mentioned films on the aforementioned lists. They are all fine films and deserve their respective …
Robots will take your design job.
The graphic design process is satisficing, not developing the ideal solution, but the best solution within constraints. What happens to the process if one of the constraints is eliminating the graphic designer? Every generation the graphic design field changes in substantive ways. I was taught how to make comps with …
The Lawyer and The Designer
The other day my friend mention she was a big fan of lawyers. Her reasoning is that their primary goal is to protect their client and they accomplish this by drilling down really deep on a single subject. The drilling down deep comment made me think of graphic design. …
Are Graphic Designers Stupid?
A portion of the public* thinks graphic designers are stupid. What else can be the rationale for offers we are presented? *at least here in the US What is your procedure when hiring a service professional? Imagine approaching a plumber, “I have a leak that needs to be fixed ASAP, …
Design Process and Pricing
At first, a quote of $1000.00 or even $500.00 dollars for a “simple” logo may seem expensive. When assessing the price of anything there are multiple factors worth considering, including value you get from the thing over time and the effort that went in to it’s creation. I am concerned …
Design as Advocacy
A useful way to think of graphic designers is as advocates. I propose this description as a framework to help understand some of the activities and responsibilities of designers. The notion of mediator is a similar and sometimes valid descriptor, but a mediator is primarily concerned with resolving conflict, which …
Logo, Identity and Brand
It is irksome when professionals misuse terms related to their respective profession. Part of being a professional involves the ability to communicate well. The foundation of good communication is agreeing on the definitions of words. A graphic design colleague mention they were hired for a “rebranding” job. I knew the …
Ugly is Not a Design Problem.
There are a set of tropes designers use to critique, principles that are ingrained from the first days of design school. Some of the more repeated rules include, never stretch type, more than two fonts are yucky, gradients are bad and of course kerning, the kerning is always bad. Designers, …