I also enjoyed the fact that Shaughnessy mentioned Graphic Design conventions and how they aesthetically can be a turn off. I can see how conventions can be helpful in that they bring much graphic design knowledge in one place, but I myself shy away from them. There are too many people, too many things to see (I get overwhelmed!), and it tends to be a hodge podge of many things. I personally love comics, and went to Comicon to see what was new in comics (as well as meet my idol Bruce Campbell )…but found that the thousands of booths and people was overwhelming. I never saw quite as much as I wanted to and half the time I had to leave the building for air. Because of this, I shy away from conventions, as I feel many people do, but they do have benefits. Listening to and artist for Mad comics was interesting and helpful as he described how he got into the comic world and, of course, seeing Bruce Campbell was, I must say, awesome. One must get through the awfulness of conventions in order to experience the good!

Chapter nine discussed how designers can keep up creativity and good design. I appreciate his mention of design, essentially, all being tied together. There is no truly original design…design is a mix of many influences. It is how one approaches and uses the influences that can make good or bad design. Good designers also acknowledge their influences, rather than take credit for it all.

I was glad that Shaughnessy spoke of creative briefs and how they are important in giving the designer a path to follow. The designer can choose to follow the path or break from it, but it is always a starting point. I myself find that creative briefs can be bothersome, mainly because I have to write them myself. I would prefer the client to write them! But they are nice to look back at so I can keep myself on track and never forget what the initial goal of the design was.

BRUCE CAMPBELL. so worth the convention hubbub. Yes, I am obsessed.....

Beginning a studio requires having a happy team of designers. Shaughnessy points out that in order to have happy designers, you have to give them some freedom. One simple thing that Shaughnessy does in his studio is allow the artist to put their name on their work and take credit. While this seems like a small thing, I believe it is very important as well. A designer puts a lot of effort in the pieces they create…it is a part of them. With your name on it, it will always be a part of you. An extension of you. If people are given more freedom, they tend to be happier, and happy people go with the flow and work better with others. Structure is key, but there must be some wiggle room. Otherwise, employees won’t stay too long or else they will be dissatisfied. Dissatisfied designers do not produce good work! I also like the idea of hiring a designer that is better than you. That way, you can play off of eachothers strengths and weaknesses and get a larger variety of work.

In terms of how to get work, I believe that personality is a large part of it. But personality can get you nowhere if you do not have the work to back up the charm. I enjoyed how Shaughnessy described the difference of showing a portfolio to another graphic designer versus to a client. Clients want to see what you have done in context and they don’t want to be bogged down by all the details. Always finding new work is a philosophy I have followed. I will take whatever comes my way. Right now, it is simply to build up my portfolio, but I have noticed that it produces a lot of word of mouth as well and I somehow always manage to have something to do. For now, I don’t get paid too much (often I get paid in beer…..) but I enjoy the practice and learning experience. This will change, of course, when I leave school and beer will no longer support me!

Shaughnessy also describes the client/graphic designer relationship. It is a poor craftsman that blames his tools and it is a poor designer that blames his client. I admit to blaming the client (I am in a constant battle with my boss at work who loves to use many type styles and faces in one ad….) but design is all about team work. The designer must learn how to be tactful when turning down a client’s idea and turn down the bad ideas quickly. The designer must also be willing to accept ideas and branch out of their comfortable little bubble. A designer cannot create in a vacuum and, after all, it is the client who is supposed to be happy in the end!

create a studio where people want to work and can get inspired!

5/18: cards mostly done, work on booklet

5/20: finish booklet, cards done

5/25: blog ready to go

5/27: hang up posters and drop box for post cards

6/1: begin collecting data and uploading to blog

Joining an independant studio can be a good approach as well. You will be able to work your creative muscles a little more, since there is more of a variety of jobs. Of course, that also means there will be those jobs you love and those you really despise. Such is the gamble! I feel like joining an independant studio is a good next step after spending some time in-house. You will have built up your skills to pump art out quickly, but in the new studio environment you will be able to expand upon that by taking on more creative jobs.

Opening up one’s own studio can be challenging, but it is one I dream of doing one day. I have had a few friends who have done this step straight out of college and while the first year or so was very tricky, once they got their client base, they became fairly successful. Still, I feel this step should happen after the two aforementioned options. I feel this way because after gaining varied experiences, you will be able to serve the client better. Plus, you will be able to deal with clients better, having experienced the business in various environments already. Finding a partner who fits with your style well is one I agree with as well, although Shaughnessy advises against working with friends, but does not explain why. Finding someone who is money savvy is something I find to be very important, since, well, I would rather be focusing on designing!

But in order to get to these steps, one has to get a job first. I found Shaughnessy’s interview tips to be helpful. The more one goes on interviews, the more their name gets out there. And, making a good impression on such interviews, whether you get the job or not, can leave lastin effects that could lead to jobs later. Interviews are important, and many are usually conducted before finding the proper job.

I found the tip of facing your portfolio TOWARDS the interviewer very important. It sounds silly....but it sounds like something I would probably forget! It is all about those niggling details....

moving on….ahem…reading the introduction and chapter 1 of this book, I am finding that most of what is being said is common sense, but it is certainly something that needs to be said. There is indeed alot of poor design in the world, and this often comes from designers who get pushed along by the client’s ideas and doesn’t have a voice of their own. At that point, the designer is no longer a designer, but someone who is being paid to do exactly what the client says. It simply isn’t fair to the client to allow that to happen, since it is up the designer to take the client’s ideas and design, NOT let the client design.

Even knowing this, however, it is difficult to fight the urge to do exactly what the client says. Shaughnessy states that listening to the client is key, and it is. A client you ignore will be very upset when you show them a design that has nothing to do with what they want. It is all about a happy medium. You, as the designer, must learn to humble yourself and take notes from the client, but you must also understand that the client cannot and should not design the whole thing.

Shaughnessy also mentioned maintaining intergrity, which I believe is important as well. While the designer may need to take some jobs simply in order to pay the bills no matter what it is, a designer cannot base their career on that. They would lose themselves and their passion for graphic design. Integrity allows a designer to make decisions about what work they really want to do and work they can feel good about. By doing this, the designer does not find themselves with a little empty hole inside…

While this book is basically relaying common sense (at least so far!) I find it is common sense that is very important to be spelled out and repeated often to the designer. And because the book is so pretty, it also inspires to do good design!

This design is too much fluff and silliness...where is the meaning?

this design makes the viewer think. It is conveying and underlying message through color and form. The designer DESIGNED and put care into this logo.

Stephen Sagmeister’s article had heart, even just in the writing, since he brought in his personal experiences and I can also see his search for the “heart” in graphic design in his work. I have often found myself struggling with trying to have my designs be more than pretty layouts and am learning to put myself into my designs. By doing so, I find that I am more pleased with the result, because it touches me in a much deeper way, and I hope that can translate to the viewer. Graphic design is meant to promote something…but this promotion can be more effective if it gets the audience thinking and involved.

There is something very beautiful and touching about this piece of Sagmeister's...it makes the audience stop and think

Pruitt and Grudin’s article about personas took a very different and seemingly scientific approach to connecting with the audience. While they themselves said their approach may be too “artsy” for some, I really felt they went overboard with the concept of personas and took it to a level where it became exhaustive research.

I can see how creating a persona, through research, can assist when designing, since it helps the designer find who their audience is…but I felt, when reading this article, they got lost in the research and the idea of the persona and forgot about the real people. No matter what, personas are going to end up generalizing the audience, and you lose out on the quirks and interesting aspects of the audience. Creating a persona is nothing like interacting with the actual audience…it can provide a good basis for understanding the audience, but I feel it leaves a little bit of a disconnect. I feel as if the design would lose its heart. Maybe I was really negative towards this article because I read it right after reading Sagmeister’s article, which I found touching and sweet……

personas, I feel, generalize and catagorize...not to mention there is the danger of creating stereotypes. I am not sold on it.