my design manifesto
Graphic Design is one of the greatest powers in the world. In five seconds
or with one glance you can convey an emotion, an idea, a theory, a story
or sell a product to someone who has no need for it. Graphic Design is
like a punch in the face. The impact is immediate and the message (if
designed well) can lead to great things. A designer can influence
someone to stop smoking or to start smoking, To vote Democrat or
Republican, to buy Ivory Soap or Irish Springs. When you design
something and it goes out to the public it goes on to have a life outside
of you; like anything powerful in this world there is a darkside. It is up
to the designer to decide how far to diverge and what they are willing to
do for a paycheck.
Graphic Design is almost never about the designer. It is always about the
client, unless self-initiated. We distill our ideas, concepts and experiences
into the work, but it is never really ours. The goal is to express somebody
elses product or service. The designer never really is working for
themselves, we work to please and get a paycheck by doing so. We are
still slaves to the paycheck and none of us can ever escape that.
Graphic Design has many forms: logos, t-shirts, newspapers, magazines,
traffic signs, billboards, and the list goes on forever. Whatever it is that
has been designed is more concrete and relevant because the viewer
knows that there was thought put into it; that it was considered and
planned out. Designers are the true rulers of our society (except for the
whole paycheck thing).