A collection of thoughts on design and making it through life as a creative
One of my biggest pet peeves is when a design peer decides that they don’t need to know how to write. “That’s what we have copywriters for… We should never have to write our own copy.” While that may be true in an agency setting, I firmly believe that knowing the basic techniques and strategies of copywriting as an advertising designer will lead to a more refined design strategy and stronger, clearer, better work.
Read MoreDon’t get me wrong, any kind of design is hard, tedious work. But if you don’t have a good idea going into a project, you’re going to find more problems than what you started with. A good idea can easily carry a project from start to finish — this is why design professors put so much emphasis on process and brainstorming. If you put the work into getting a great idea, then the design work is just pixel-pushing. But getting an idea — ah, that’s the hard part.
Read MoreToday, I am going to do the impossible. I am going to argue that design is, in fact, a science.
Now, I’m not attacking STEM fields or saying they are less important than graphic design. I celebrate those who dedicate their lives to helping humanity through the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I’m just trying to spin a different perspective on a discipline that is often seen as less intellectual and less demanding than those fields, and further show that graphic design holds a high level of importance in today's society.
Read MoreAs a graphic design major, I dealt with many comments about being an “art student” and not having a “real major”. Add to the fact that I was co-valedictorian of my high school, and everyone from my peers to my school counselors to relatives rolled their eyes when I declared I wasn’t going to become a doctor or a lawyer or something more “substantial”. I have to admit there were a lot of times when I felt guilty about my choice in career and felt like I wasn’t using my “smarts” to their greatest potential.
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