Why Are You a Graphic Designer? Or the question could also be “Why do you want to be a graphic designer?” Although these questions seem to be somewhat simplistic it is an important step in determining if you have what it takes to become one.
But let’s take this a few steps beyond; you may have what it takes to become a successful graphic designer but will you be a fulfilled and happy graphic designer?
Learning from the Best In this series we’ll draw from the insights of designers not only in graphic design but other fields outside the scope of the liberal arts.
Hopefully we’ll be able to glean some sage wisdom from their experiences in the real world of design.
Some of their statements will ring unusually true with us because they are based upon situations that we have either experienced or seen.
But in the long run this series will try to provide solace and wisdom to designers who “put it out there” every day for the love of designing and not necessarily the money.
Failure: The Consequences
“The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”
–Edwin H. Land
Edwin Land was the inventor and designer of the Polaroid Instant Camera. His invention enabled people to take photographs and have a developed print in hand in less than 60 seconds.
Land’s work ethic was legendary as he would often forget to eat, change his clothes or take needed rest breaks because he was so intent on his research and development.
He would literally wear out his assistants with his incredible focus and energy. To keep up with his marathon work schedule he assigned different teams to assist him. When one team was exhausted, the next team would come in and so on.
Dr. Land understood that failure can either stop you dead in your tracts or afford valuable information and experience on how to improve and find a solution to a problem.
He opted for the later and the result of his efforts was the Instant Camera.
Creativity and Rejection If you are in the creative arts you can probably identify with how failure or rejection can sometimes sting.
But as Edwin Land discovered, failure is sometimes the prerequisite for continued creativity and growth.
Coping with rejection and failure is easier said than done but if we can catch a glimpse of what Edward Land saw in being unafraid of failure; we can keep our creativity alive and well.
First Things First: Graphic Design School The saying goes that you can’t run before you learn to walk. Design is similar; you can’t design before you have the tools. Graphic design colleges can help you to understand design principles and techniques.
Graphic design schools can polish up your raw talent and point you in the right direction for a design career so check with your local graphic design college for its course curriculum and classes.
Next Time… If you are a graphic designer or manager and need your staff or coworkers to help you accomplish a task, have you ever wondered what the best way to motivate them is?
Find out next week in part two of Graphic Design for Love or Money. You may be surprised.
It’s More Than Just a Box Going to the supermarket or store can be a very interesting experience if you look at it from a design perspective; the shelves are literally jammed with packaging that screams out for your attention.
The art and technology of packaging still relies heavily on the box concept but more and more product manufacturers are realizing that interesting and unique packaging can also drive sales.
The Contest Categories There are two competition categories that you may enter:
Theme One - Design a Package for a National Product In this category select a something that is well recognized as being a typical product from your country. According to the contest guidelines:
“It does not mean that we expect packaging for maple syrup from Canada and spaghetti from Italy, everyone is free to decide which product would today be considered national and which should represent his [or her] country on the international field.
“National product must be different from all the other common products and its origin must be evident at the first sight - it must stand out from the rest.”
Theme Two - A Different View: The Book as a Container for Words When people think of packaging it usually is connected to food products, electronics or sundries. But in this theme the book is the container—a container for words.
In this theme designers are encouraged to design a book jacket or book cover that shows imagination, artistic sense, creativity, originality, quality of the presentation, and even a sense of humor. All entries must be original and not already in print.
The sponsors state:
“Information can be packaged, too! We wrap our ideas in words, words into sentences and sentences into coherent texts that get published in books. Wrap your message in a paper and let your ideas materialize.”
Submission Guidelines This contest is different from many others in that the entries must be physical pieces and not images presented in digital form. All entries that are sent as CDs, DVDs or digital files will be disqualified.
You must register with the contest site and receive an authorized submission number to send in with your entries.
For complete submission details on acceptable media see the information links at the conclusion of this article.
All completed entries should be sent to:
CZECHDESIGN.CZ, o.s. Vojt?šská 3 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic
Please take into consideration the shipping time needed for your materials to arrive at the contest offices.
Prizes 1st Place Product Package Category — 30 years-old or younger: €1000 (1320 USD) 1st Place Product Package Category—High School Student: €1000 1st Place Book Jacket/Cover Category— €1000 (1320 USD)
Contest Links and Other Information The following links will provide addition details and important contest information:
The deadline for submission is March 15, 2011. All contest participants are required to register with the contest sponsors to be eligible for this completion. See rules for complete details.
There are no entry fees required for this contest.
Mistakes Anyone? Whatever you call them—mistakes, oversights, errors in judgment or just your plain old oopsies we’ve all pulled our share of slip-ups or miscalculations when designing something.
The problem with mistakes in graphic design is that they tend to multiply exponentially.
For instance: the client has an idea but has a design mistake. The designer includes the ill conceived mistake into the design, and the art director or editor approves it-for all to see.
In part three of Graphic Design: The Humorous Side of Things we’ll see that the little mistake gremlins can have pretty funny results—unintentionally of course.
Enjoy and learn from the mistakes of others.
Remedial Math Needed What better way to celebrate a milestone of an organization then to proudly display the dates of its inception and the date of celebration?
In this case, the magazine design layout presents a rather funny and embarrassing result.
…………………………….. It’s apparent that the graphic designer wasn’t trying to show a math problem but unfortunately underscored the dates in a way that the graphic looks like a subtraction problem; ergo 1992 subtracted from 2007 does not equal 25 years.
The humor is especially strong because the magazine article is about education. Oh, well.
Moral of this ad: Double check your design layout before you approve it. . Really? As you’ll see, graphic design (or a lack thereof) is important on the Internet as well.
…………….. It’s hard to not smile and chuckle a little because the advertisement is about good website design and presenting a professional image. Now, if we could just get over the beach balls and loud set design in this video, we might even believe the spokesperson’s message. ;D
Moral of this ad: Video isn’t exempt from graphic design principles.
When Graphic Designers Have Too Much Free Time What do graphic designers do when they have a little free time on their hands? In this video they do wonderful things in their spare time. . ………………
Sometimes creativity can soar when the pressure is off of you. These examples aren’t mistakes but are great examples of what your creative juices can do if you let them run wild.
Moral of this video: Take a break for fun.
Graphic Design School and You While mistake gremlins always try to sneak into your designs you can prepare and prevent them by getting the proper training at the graphic design college of your choice.
You’ll learn techniques and principles of design, art and layout to give you the best chance of designing pieces that can help you in your career. Keep your mistakes down to a minimum by paying attention to the details and obtaining a proper design education at a qualified graphic design school.
Next Time… We hope you’ve enjoyed this series. We’ll be back next time with some more articles on graphic design and how you can keep up with design trends.
Graphic Design vs Opinion Have you ever had your designs rejected even though you knew deep down inside that your piece was exactly what your client needed?
Or perhaps your design was good but was turned down because the client (or the assistant) felt troubled because it was “too small,” “lacked enough bright colors” or even worse, “It reminds me of another ad we did…” . . The adage that too many cooks spoil the broth can come true when you are dealing with certain clients; everyone, including the office secretary, has an opinion on your design.
Funny or Tragic? As a professional graphic designer you do your best in trying to meet the needs of your clients. But sometimes it seems that they don’t understand your concepts or your talent. Have you ever felt like doing this? . ………………
This movie scene is from the tense confrontation between Tom Cruise’s character and Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie, A Few Good Men. Of course the dialogue between the two is cleverly overdubbed.
In this instance Nicholson plays the role of a graphic designer fighting for his creative license by dressing down a junior designer. Nicholson presents his credentials as seasoned designer and is outraged that his judgment has been criticized.
But in the real world is such an outburst necessary or warranted?
Solve the Problem Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software has this to say about customers:
“When customers have a problem and you fix it, they’re actually going to be even more satisfied than if they never had a problem in the first place.
“So when someone calls [us], and immediately gets through to a human, with no voice mail or phone menus, and that person turns out to be nice and friendly and actually solves their problem, they’re apt to think even more highly of us…”
Graphic Design Schools and Problem Solving Although an education at a graphic design college means necessary career training it also prepares you for problem solving. Clients come to you to solve a graphic design need or problem.
You can be prepared to solve these problems by utilizing all that you have learned in graphic design school to produce a unique visual and graphic solution.
Never forget that design knowledge is important but that action combined with this knowledge is wisdom and good business.
Next Time… Attention to detail, or a lack thereof, can make the difference between a great graphic design or something that draws unintentional smiles. Next time we meet we’ll go over the importance of looking out for the “small stuff” when creating your pieces.
Let’s Have Some Fun Designers, artists and those who work in the arts have a good sense of humor; it’s an essential trait to have when faced with constant deadlines, pressures, and the high expectations that goes along with these jobs.
Watch this video and see if you can identify. . ……………….. . Humor finds itself in everyday situations because it usually points out a truth that most people can relate to. Graphic design is no different and if you have been in this career field or one that relies on creativity you know how it “only hurts when I laugh.” . Changes for the Worse The video you viewed holds a lot of truth in that it presents many of the “requests” you may have heard from clients regarding projects you have been hired to do.
The project you are working on could be an advertisement, a poster or a logo but sometimes the suggestions for changes do not make the design better.
Your job, as a graphic designer, is to correlate all the information necessary from the client to produce a piece that meets specifications, is professional looking and informative.
The Client is Sometimes Wrong But in some cases the design guidelines from your client may not be the best graphic design. A common concern for some clients is too much “empty space” or lack of size. In the design world, negative space can help to enhance a design.
But in the client’s eyes it may mean not getting enough for his money. In cases where the customer wants more color, size, or other “eye catching” graphics you may need to point out what works and what doesn’t.
Graphic Design School and Proper Design Because virtually everyone has access to a computer some think that the job of design is an easy one. All you need to do is to get some clip art, use the comic sans font, some bright colors and you’re a designer!
Unfortunately bad design abounds in the world because of the misconception of “design is easy.” Everyone may have access to some sort of graphics program but this doesn’t mean they can automatically become David Carson.
Getting the proper education from a graphic design college is essential in understanding design concepts, art principles, and the numerous computer design software and hardware that are available today.
If you are interested in the field of graphic design there are online classes, graphic design schools and community colleges that provide the essential tools you’ll need to get your graphic design career going.
Next Time… In part two of Graphic Design: The Humorous Side of Things we’ll see a re-dubbed dialogue track of a well known movie that demonstrates what can happen when a graphic designer takes a stand against corporate mediocrity.
Design a Resource Responsible Apartment In today’s modern society individuals use an immense amount of energy and resources to just live out their daily lives.
Some say that the wave of the future is to live more responsibly by curbing our overall impact on the environment.
The Jovoto Life Edited Product Design Contest wants designers to take up the challenge of creating the apartment of the future, which will substantially be more energy/resource efficient and present a smaller physical footprint. . The sponsor states: .
With some design and technology magic, even small space can allow for almost anything - so we’re asking you to redesign a small space thinking about these core ideas:
* Transforming space - use one space for work, play, sleep, guests * Digitize everything - photos, books, music * From ownership to access - think car-sharing instead of owning, pay-per-view instead of ….downloading, smart space-sharing and subletting * Only the essentials - cut down on extraneous stuff, leaving only what’s really necessary
Contest Details The apartment design must allow the apartment dweller to work, cook, and entertain. . According to the contest guidelines, other considerations for your design should include:
* Comfortable lounging option for 8 people * Space for 2 guests with some visual and ideally auditory ….privacy * Home office * Work area with space for a rolling tool chest * Hideable kitchen
Judging Criteria Entries will be critiqued according to the following standards by a jury panel and community feedback:
* Does the design meet the contest requirements? * Is the design feasible and can it be produced in with a ….reasonable budget? * Will the design be attractive enough for people to consider ….from an economic perspective? * Will the design look good in 25 years? Will it influence people to “leave large and love little?”
Prizes and Awards Winners in all the various categories win cash awards, products and prizes. The total value amount that will be distributed is $70,000.
Contest Links and Other Information Follow these links for important contest resources and details.
Why Are You a Graphic Designer?
Learning from the Best
Edwin Land was the inventor and designer of the Polaroid Instant Camera. His invention enabled people to take photographs and have a developed print in hand in less than 60 seconds.
Creativity and Rejection
First Things First: Graphic Design School
It’s More Than Just a Box
In this category select a something that is well recognized as being a typical product from your country. According to the contest guidelines:
Prizes
Mistakes Anyone?
Graphic Design vs Opinion
Joel Spolsky, founder of 
Graphic Design Schools and Problem Solving
Changes for the Worse
Graphic Design School and Proper Design
Design a Resource Responsible Apartment
Contest Details
Contest Links and Other Information