The interesting thing about design is....
Actually, it's many different things...
I was fortunate to stumble across an interesting website earlier today, Design Observer. Where, in one of their archives, it goes through a list of 10 things that were not taught to the auther while they were in design school.
The one that really sticks out to me is the one mentioning that 95% of the work is horrible. I have to concure. The fact of the matter is that there are not many designs that I produce that I am actually very happy with. Usually the client is very happy, and I'm a very fortunate to get near the required result early in the process. But, there are not very meny designs that I feel proud about. Yes, it's a sad thing. Yes, I feel that it is something that could be rectified, but really the world is in fact governed by mediocrity. Because clients are scared. And designers are scared...
Of course we like to believe we'd do bold and daring designs if only the customer would have the vision to see that our revolutionary design would change their business' image tenfold. "The general public are smart people! They will understand! They will see that you have spent money and considerable thought on your advertising!" Will they ever... They will take a cursory glance at your lovingly created leaflet/promo pack/website (tick as appropriate) and throw it on the floor/in the wastebaket/close the browser window (tick as appropriate). So as a result, the customer invariably wants "a certain thing," and the designer gives it to them before they ask for it.
There are occasions when fantastic creativity gets a hold of us... We get so lost in the idea of our own greatness, that we sometimes lose sight of the message, the usability for the audience. I am guilty of it myself, and truly, it is a certain discipline to keep your creativity in check to make sure it stays in the realm of usability. Which brings me to this...
I tried out an application called blender3D tonight. By the accounts that I have read, and re-read, it is a decent application. and it is open-source, which means it's free. I spent a little time trying to just get a very basic handle on it's method and usage.... Is 1 hour enough to judge an application? Perhaps. The real litmus test is the usability feel test. The "Do I feel like this application will do the job I need it to do in an acceptable time frame for me to learn it?" test. On my second cursory usage, it fails this test. Sadly. Especially as the program is free.
One of the things that I was not taught in design school, is the need to try and keep a tab on the time that you have to spend on a job. On the idea of prioritising tasks. the fact that everyone needs their work 2 weeks ago, and you really dont have the brain space to learn the program that will allow them to have that cool feature/look that they'll probably pay bottom dollar for. This is why Strata 3D is valuable. I already know it. I am able to choose the app that will actually aid in my productivity rather than having to take a step backward in the hope that I'll go forward.
So to summarise? The interesting thing about design is that you seem to be making choices all the time. And these choices are affecting more people than just the designer themselves. To me this is why we as designers, are a privileged people. Even though 95% of the work is horrible, you'd still give your least useful appendage to do the stuff. Or is that only me?
I was fortunate to stumble across an interesting website earlier today, Design Observer. Where, in one of their archives, it goes through a list of 10 things that were not taught to the auther while they were in design school.
The one that really sticks out to me is the one mentioning that 95% of the work is horrible. I have to concure. The fact of the matter is that there are not many designs that I produce that I am actually very happy with. Usually the client is very happy, and I'm a very fortunate to get near the required result early in the process. But, there are not very meny designs that I feel proud about. Yes, it's a sad thing. Yes, I feel that it is something that could be rectified, but really the world is in fact governed by mediocrity. Because clients are scared. And designers are scared...
Of course we like to believe we'd do bold and daring designs if only the customer would have the vision to see that our revolutionary design would change their business' image tenfold. "The general public are smart people! They will understand! They will see that you have spent money and considerable thought on your advertising!" Will they ever... They will take a cursory glance at your lovingly created leaflet/promo pack/website (tick as appropriate) and throw it on the floor/in the wastebaket/close the browser window (tick as appropriate). So as a result, the customer invariably wants "a certain thing," and the designer gives it to them before they ask for it.
There are occasions when fantastic creativity gets a hold of us... We get so lost in the idea of our own greatness, that we sometimes lose sight of the message, the usability for the audience. I am guilty of it myself, and truly, it is a certain discipline to keep your creativity in check to make sure it stays in the realm of usability. Which brings me to this...
I tried out an application called blender3D tonight. By the accounts that I have read, and re-read, it is a decent application. and it is open-source, which means it's free. I spent a little time trying to just get a very basic handle on it's method and usage.... Is 1 hour enough to judge an application? Perhaps. The real litmus test is the usability feel test. The "Do I feel like this application will do the job I need it to do in an acceptable time frame for me to learn it?" test. On my second cursory usage, it fails this test. Sadly. Especially as the program is free.
One of the things that I was not taught in design school, is the need to try and keep a tab on the time that you have to spend on a job. On the idea of prioritising tasks. the fact that everyone needs their work 2 weeks ago, and you really dont have the brain space to learn the program that will allow them to have that cool feature/look that they'll probably pay bottom dollar for. This is why Strata 3D is valuable. I already know it. I am able to choose the app that will actually aid in my productivity rather than having to take a step backward in the hope that I'll go forward.
So to summarise? The interesting thing about design is that you seem to be making choices all the time. And these choices are affecting more people than just the designer themselves. To me this is why we as designers, are a privileged people. Even though 95% of the work is horrible, you'd still give your least useful appendage to do the stuff. Or is that only me?
posted by Aaronius at 12:27 am
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