GALLERY: TOWARDS A POETIC MORPHOLOGY BY THE CLOUD COLLECTIVE
A temporary installation for the 22nd international poster and graphic design festival of Chaumont.
Wednesday, July 6
Tuesday, July 5
INFINITI Digital Art Competition
INFINITI Digital Art Competition
C A L L - F O R - E N T R I E S
Designboom in collaboration with INFINITI announces an international competition in digital art. participation is open to to applicants from every country in the world, to professionals, vjs, students, and design-enthusiasts.
C A L L - F O R - E N T R I E S
designboom in collaboration with INFINITI announces an international competition in digital art. participation is open to to applicants from every country in the world, to professionals, vjs, students, and design-enthusiasts.
more details here:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/13768/infiniti-digital-art-competition.html
C A L L - F O R - E N T R I E S
designboom in collaboration with INFINITI announces an international competition in digital art. participation is open to to applicants from every country in the world, to professionals, vjs, students, and design-enthusiasts.
more details here:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/13768/infiniti-digital-art-competition.html
more details here:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/13768/infiniti-digital-art-competition.html
| rAndom International |
::: rAndom International ::: swarm study/iii at the V&A
'swarm study / iii' by random international (2011), at london's victoria and albert museum
image courtesy of V&A images
image courtesy of V&A images
some r a n d o m works
Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Halle 5 / Stand G31
daily from 11AM -8PM
rAndom's 'Study of Time # 1' is based on the studio's recent scenography for the contemporary dance piece FAR by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance.
To be premiered at Design Miami Basel 2011, the installation takes light, it's presence and it's absence, as a medium for the representation of time. A vividly illuminated autonomous algorithm magically reveals the time of the day, re-imagining the principle of telling time from falling shadows as a contemporary light installation.
For more information, please contact
gallery@carpentersworkshopgallery.com
Audience, February 2010 from rAndom International on Vimeo.
Audience by rAndom International with Chris O'Shea
Installation in the US for private art collector
Filmed 28/02/2010
People walking along Euston Road will encounter an unusually arresting reflection of themselves in a new light installation, Reflex, created by rAndom International. The work inhabits the windows of the Wellcome Trust as though it were a living organism. Reacting to viewers, passers-by and traffic on the Euston Road, Reflex produces mesmerising flows of light, inviting a physical response to the building.
The installation's swarming behaviour is based on an algorithm developed to emulate the collective decision making that we see in large groups of creatures such as birds or ants.
The work is constructed from hundreds of brass rods and thousands of LEDs arranged on small custom chips. Their movement is based on programmes that aim to simulate complex natural phenomenon. Reflex recreates "stigmergy" whereby traces left by random actions stimulate further actions that build on one another, leading to the spontaneous emergence of apparently patterned activity.
James Peto, Senior Curator at Wellcome Collection, the Wellcome Trusts' public venue says: "An estimated 5,000 people walk past the Wellcome Trust's windows every day. rAndom International's Reflex is the seventh in a series of annual design commissions for this prominent site. The window designs have always provoked interesting reactions from passers-by. With Reflex the passers-by can provoke a reaction from the windows."
Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities; its breadth of support including public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. The Trust is independent of both political and commercial interests.
www.wellcome.ac.uk
rAndom International was founded by Stuart Wood, Flo Ortkrass and Hannes Koch in 2002. The studio was set up to extend the perspective of contemporary artistic practice. Working from the fringes of art, design, science and architecture, rAndom develop projects and installations that re-interpret the 'cold' nature of digital-based work and emphasise the interaction between the animate (audience) and the inanimate (object), bringing the two into a powerful relationship of performance. The studio's work has won many awards in the fields art, architecture and design. rAndom are represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London.
www.random-international.com
By rAndom International
Shown at Spazio Fendi during Milan 2010
Photography by www.jamesharris.co.uk
"Let's Go" by the Shoes
SELF PORTRAIT
by rAndom International 2010
‘Self Portrait’ is the archetypal blank canvas that engages the spectator, with a large-scale, ephemeral representation of himself. All evidence of the encounter exists only in the moment of interaction between the viewer and the work. Gradually, moment and image fade away, never to be repeated.
‘Self Portrait‘ / rAndom International 2010 (S.Wood, F. Ortkrass, H. Koch)
Light reactive screen print on canvas, Corian frame, custom rail system, motor, electronic UV Glass LED print head, rapid prototyped components, proprietary software, proprietary tracking software, camera, lens, Computer
Dim: 270cm by 120 cm
by rAndom International for REGUS, Berkley Square London. Curated by Artwise Curators
by rAndom International 2004-2009
rAndom International was founded by Stuart Wood, Flo Ortkrass and Hannes Koch in 2002. The studio was set up to extend the perspective of contemporary artistic practice. Working from the fringes of art, design, science and architecture, rAndom develop projects and installations that re-interpret the 'cold' nature of digital-based work and emphasise the interaction between the animate (audience) and the inanimate (object), bringing the two into a powerful relationship of performance. The studio's work has won many awards in the fields art, architecture and design. rAndom are represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London.
rAndom International | The Old Warehouse | 2, Michael Road | London SW6 2AD
Copyright © 1999-2011, rAndom international and operation:Schoener Ltd All rights reserved
Thursday, June 30
"How on earth can we live together - how can we agree to agree?"
"How on earth can we live together - how can we agree to agree?"
Tällberg Forum 2011 in Sigtuna would be Live broadcast for the 1st time | |
http://bit.ly/kSq1L8 http://webbtv.compodium.se/tallberg11/ |
Saturday, June 18
AUB panel .. some Reflections
AUB panel
Reflections on Citizen Revolt in the Middle East
A diverse academic panel from the American University of Beirut completed a three-day speaking tour at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York on May 17.
The aspirations of the individuals involved in the protests across the Middle East are ones that would resonate in the United States a desire to have influence in their own society, to have personal liberty and opportunities for their future. These values also lie at the core of the liberal arts education that AUB has been providing from its home in Lebanon for almost 150 years. The speakers for this program are all experts from AUB who will consider rapidly changing issues in the Middle East through the lens of their particular specializations, including regional and international politics, the environment, the media, public health and food security. AUB has proven to be highly resilient and influential in a region of constant change and transformation.
Although located in the heart of the Middle East, staff and scholars at AUB could no more have predicted recent events than the diplomats, policymakers, intelligence officers, and other professional observers of the region. However, recent developments have given AUB an opportunity to observe, comment, and engage in unfolding events with an intimacy and immediacy, as well as with cultural and historical perspectives, that are unique. Although American both in origin and in the standards and quality of the education it provides, AUB is absolutely indigenous to the region.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ32BWCkkR4&feature=channel_video_title
Friday, June 17
OMA (IM)PURE, (IN)FORMAL, (UN)BUILT
(IM)PURE, (IN)FORMAL, (UN)BUILT
exhibition opens today in Paris |
| ||
Friday, June 10
Robot Competition
Bambuser Robot Competition
Bambuser Robot Competition
Bambuser Robot Competition
Calling all Bambuser users with a bit of imagination! We were inspired by our friends at Sortedam Ventures who built a "crowd-sourcing" Bambuser robot that can receive remote orders. It looks like they're not the only ones. Check also Give Away Candy that lets you participate from your twitter account.
Do you think you can even do better and want a challenge
Build a Bambuser robot and get the chance to WIN a professional media campaign, and be featured in some of the world's biggest newspapers and TV shows.
To launch the competition Michael from Sortedam Ventures gives us an interview explaining how they built their robot and what you would need. Watch it embedded below, or at Bambuser.
An email will be sent to the winner informing them of their win. Only persons registered with Bambuser are eligible. Prizes must be claimed within 14 days. Unclaimed prizes will be void. Bambuser reserves the right to withdraw this competition at any time. Winner must have a smartphone or web/DV-cam that is capable of live broadcasting.
Do you think you can even do better and want a challenge
Build a Bambuser robot and get the chance to WIN a professional media campaign, and be featured in some of the world's biggest newspapers and TV shows.
To launch the competition Michael from Sortedam Ventures gives us an interview explaining how they built their robot and what you would need. Watch it embedded below, or at Bambuser.
How to participate
Build a Bambuser robot based on Bambuser broadcasting technology (using a smartphone or webcam/DV cam) with crowd-sourced functionality built-in to enable interaction with the audience. To enter the competition a team or individual should:- Create a Bambuser account (if they haven't got one yet)
- Broadcast the construction phase and finalized version of the robot using the hashtag #robot. (You can broadcast as many videos as you like)
Competition run time
The competition is running from the 24th of May until the 14th of June 2011.Prize
The video generating the most views and the most appreciation from the Bambuser Crew (based on creativity, engagement and fun) all together, will win a professional media campaign and will be featured in some of the world's biggest newspapers and TV shows.Competition Terms and Conditions
The competition is running from the 24th of May to the 14th of June 2011 (12:00am GMT). The winners must be aged 18 years or over. This promotion may be conducted over several different websites simultaneously. The broadcast of the robot needs to be publicly available on bambuser.com until at least the 30th of June 2011. Participants can broadcast as many videos as they like to participate, using the hashtag #robot in the broadcast title.An email will be sent to the winner informing them of their win. Only persons registered with Bambuser are eligible. Prizes must be claimed within 14 days. Unclaimed prizes will be void. Bambuser reserves the right to withdraw this competition at any time. Winner must have a smartphone or web/DV-cam that is capable of live broadcasting.
Thursday, June 2
...although my blog's becoming associated with what's going on in #Siria [spanish] I will break that Valid [connectivity] a bit.
I got a message from Architter a free tool for Architects and product designers that I've been following for a while on twitter.
Architter is now in Beta and offering designers and architects a chance of Cyber exposure ..
making a design portfolio with Architter would be a nice experience in a growing community of designers and architects..
Best Luck +)
http://www.architter.com/index
http://www.architter.com/news
http://www.facebook.com/architter
http://www.architter.com/faqs.php
I got a message from Architter a free tool for Architects and product designers that I've been following for a while on twitter.
Architter is now in Beta and offering designers and architects a chance of Cyber exposure ..
Best Luck +)
http://www.architter.com/index
http://www.architter.com/news
http://www.facebook.com/architter
http://www.architter.com/faqs.php
Wednesday, May 25
Sunday, May 22
May?
so may i? Just say how awful the social-media space is becoming.. one is cornered there & is forced to feel...
it's becoming a routine hearing bad news.. first you'd be surprised but now it's totally ordinary to read the news while eating and drinking.. you may even ...
Laugh.
i Just want all this to end.
Dates are running fast & i can't stop feeling tired.
it's becoming a routine hearing bad news.. first you'd be surprised but now it's totally ordinary to read the news while eating and drinking.. you may even ...
Laugh.
i Just want all this to end.
Dates are running fast & i can't stop feeling tired.
Wednesday, May 11
Sunday, May 8
Sunday, April 24
a communicative Corpse
an old work never progressed
who said one can't feel death before Dying.. you could feel it in these silent moments of Cold dead social encounters..
in these empty rooms between you and another body that you have to Live with ...
Death is there
Living with you everyday
Death is there.. in the news..
at the sight of the corpses.. and the flesh you see them till you could smell..
smell the odor of Death..
Monday, April 11
Saturday, April 9
Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do?
Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER"
Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER"
Wednesday, April 6
M Gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
mourning gray
Wednesday, March 23
Saturday, March 19
Tuesday, March 15
29 Things Young Designers need to know...
Too bad there's not a handbook for making the shift from design student to design professional. To make that transition easier, Doug Bartow, principal of id29, and his colleagues share 29 things they think all new designers need to know. The list appeared in the January 2011 issue of HOW along with a limited edition poster designed by id29.
Interacting with students and young designers has always been a fulfilling endeavor for all the working professionals at id29, one that has kept alive the notion that design education is a lifelong experience. Fostering design thinking through mentoring relationships at the local level is particularly exciting, as we get to see the designers we’ve helped nurture go on to fabulous careers in a variety of creative fields.
We regularly invite design students to tour our studio (in Troy, NY), and we participate in local student portfolio reviews and exhibitions; our involvement is a team effort.
Many of the questions and concerns young designers share today are the same we had as graduating students looking to make our mark in the professional world, with only a résumé and portfolio of student projects to get our collective feet in the door. There’s nothing different in the design industry today that makes getting—and nailing—that initial interview or client pitch any easier.
Throughout the years, I’ve collected these questions and have tried answering many of them as an ongoing personal project. Here are 29 of my thoughts on how to approach and interact with our culture as a young designer, in no particular order.
1. SWEAT THE DETAILS
You are a professional communicator; act like one. Carefully edit everything you publish: résumés, social media, e-mail, blog posts, letters, text messages, everything. Get a copy of “The Chicago Manual of Style” and keep it handy. Most potential employers and clients don’t appreciate text shorthand, so don’t use it. They won’t be ROTFL, and you will end up SOL.
2. PLAY NICE
People you work with and for will make your blood boil from time to time. Whenever possible, be a pro and take the high road. Avoid burning bridges, as people change jobs more often than they did a generation ago. Your paths may cross again in a much different situation, and having a good working history together will make rehiring you easy. Apply this to your online persona as well. Anonymous jabs are petty—be better than that.
3. DON’T FEAR TYPE; BECOME ITS MASTER
Often, being a good typographer means not making the simple mistakes. To accomplish this, you’ll need a working knowledge of classical typography. Go get one. “The Elements of Typographic Style” by Robert Bringhurst, “Thinking With Type” by Ellen Lupton and “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” by Josef Müller-Brockmann are cover-to-cover must-reads. Repeat after me: “Free fonts from the internet are crap, I will not use them.” Keep saying that
4. DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE
Who are you speaking to and what is the objective? If you can’t definitively answer both of these questions about a project you’re about to start working on, go back to the drawing board. Graphic design is simply a plan that visually articulates a message. Make sure you have the message and its intended viewer sorted out before you start making. Communicate with purpose—don’t just make eye candy.
5. BE YOURSELF
Be confident in yourself as an author, designer, photographer, creative. Don’t work in a particular personal style. Rather, develop a personal approach to your creative work.
Your commissioned work should never be about you, but it can certainly reveal your hand as the designer. As your work becomes more well-known, you will get hired for exactly that. For your personal work, don’t be afraid to tell your story. No one else is going to do it for you.
6. LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’
Some of your best design business decisions will ultimately be saying “no” to clients or projects. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few disasters to gain the experience to know when to walk away from an impending train wreck.
Carefully measure the upsides of any project—creative control of your design work, long-term relationship-building and gross billing—versus the potential downsides—the devaluation of the creative process, being treated like a “vendor” and ongoing scope creep (where the volume of what you’re expected to deliver keeps expanding, while the schedule and budget don’t).
7. COLLECT AND SHARE EVERYTHING
Find and save relevant and interesting things and pass them along to your friends, co-workers, followers and clients. Use the web and social media to share your own photos and work, as well as the work of others you find engaging. Be funny, serious, irreverent, businesslike, self-promotional, curatorial, whatever—just be yourself. For everyday inspiration, surround your workplace with the design ephemera you collect (see No. 5).
8. BE A DESIGN AUTHOR
Develop ideas. Write them down, edit them, share them and elicit a response. Poof! You’re a design author. Read design blogs and participate in the discussions. Have an opinion. If you find yourself spending hours a week contributing to other designers’ blogs, consider starting your own. The cost and effort for startup are minimal, and the opportunities are diverse.
9. BUILD YOUR BOOK
One piece of advice I give young designers looking to fill out their portfolios is to find the best local arts organization with the worst visual brand identity or website and make a trade. They get some great design work, and you get creative control and real-world projects in your book that other potential clients will recognize.
10. CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
Manage your online profiles carefully and be sure to keep all your listings accurate, consistent and (mostly) professional. You can count on co-workers, potential employers and clients to Google you, so make sure what they find won’t be too incriminating and sink your chances for that new job or project. Employers read social media posts, too—especially ones that include their proper names—so use common sense.
11. RESEARCH (AND DESTROY)
You’ll never know as much about your clients’ businesses as they do, but part of our job as designers is to try. Learn as much as you possibly can at the inception of a project about your client’s business space, their goals, their competition and their history. Dedicate a half- or full-day download session, ask a lot of questions, and then shut up and listen.
12. OBSERVE TRENDS (THEN AVOID THEM)
Keep current on the state of our industry by reading books, magazines and blogs, and attending conferences. RSS feeds will allow you to quickly skim design- and culture-related content. Avoid design annuals as a source of inspiration, as they’re a record of what’s already been done. Study the work of others to understand it, not to duplicate it.
13. DEFEND YOURSELF
One of the biggest benefits of a formal design education is the lessons learned in the crit room defending your work in front of your instructor and peers. If you can articulate your ideas and design process in that hostile environment, learning to do the same in client meetings usually comes easy (see No. 21).
14. THE PAPER MATTERS
Contrary to what you might read on the blogosphere, print is not dead. The beauty and tactility of a well-printed piece on quality paper cannot be appreciated or replicated on a screen, tablet or mobile device. Paper manufacturers, merchants and printers are doing a terrific job helping designers make sustainable paper choices to minimize the impact on our environment. Become well-versed with the Forest Stewardship Council certification program, and use this knowledge to choose your papers wisely. Clients are demanding it (see No. 28).
15. CONTENT IS STILL KING
Technically, Elvis is still the king, but for the sake of this argument, let’s put an emphasis on the message, and consider design as a plan for delivering it. The most effective and memorable visual communication almost always has the right mix of form and content, regardless of medium. Good design can engage a viewer, but interesting content will keep them reading, and thinking, past the headline.
16. REJECT PERSONAL STYLE
Picasso had his Blue and Rose Periods, Georgia O’Keeffe obsessed over flowers and animal bones. The difference between them and you? They were artists solving their own personal communication problems. We are designers, primarily tasked with solving the communication problems of others. Using one singular style or direction for multiple clients or projects will rarely be successful and, in retrospect, will look one-dimensional (see No. 11).
17. SAY NO TO SPEC WORK
Speculative work, or spec work, is a request by a potential client for uncompensated creative and design work at the inception of a project. Avoid this like the plague—it’s a devaluation of the entire design process and marginalizes our efforts as a whole. AIGA.org has great resources for dealing with spec work, including a sample letter that you can personalize and send to clients explaining why their request is unappreciated (see No. 19).
18. BECOME INDISPENSABLE
What are you really good at? Contrast that to the skill sets that could help you advance at the workplace. Could your studio benefit from having an in-house photographer, web programmer, video editor or screen printer? Follow your bliss and get the additional training you need to expand your talents and, ultimately, your role at work. Now, does the studio come to a grinding halt when you’re home sick for a day? Congrats. You’re indispensable.
19. JOIN AIGA
Founded in 1914 in New York City, AIGA is the professional association for design, representing more than 21,000 professionals, educators and students with 65 local chapters (find a chapter near you) and 200+ student groups. AIGA supports our efforts at the chapter and national levels through the exchange of design ideas and information, research, innovative programming and as a source of inspiration. If you’re missing that sense of design community you had in school now that you’re in the professional world, AIGA will help reconnect you for life.
20. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Build personal relationships with everyone you work with, not just your clients. Get to know your delivery people, paper merchants, printer reps, local politicians and business leaders. Attend Chamber of Commerce events, network and meet people. Get on people’s radar screens—they will be impressed with your well-designed business cards that prominently feature your website address.
21. SEEK CRITICISM, ACCEPT PRAISE
As a designer, listening to your ideas being questioned and your hard work being ripped apart isn’t usually very pleasant. However painful, though, constructive criticism of your design work is the most effective way to grow as a visual communicator. Remember this when you leave the crit rooms of design school for the boardrooms of the corporate world. Build a network of friends, co-workers and mentors you can use to collect feedback on your work. Online sites (heavy with anonymous commentary) are not an acceptable substitute for this discourse.
22. NEVER COMPROMISE
Once you’ve built strong relationships with everyone you work with (see No. 20), strategically use them to get what you want. Convince your clients to use the offset printers or web developers you know that value design and will actively work with you on the final quality of your project. We work too hard as designers to accept compromise at any stage of a job, especially when it can usually be avoided with proactive planning. Timelines that detail every step of a project and outline responsibilities for everyone involved are required to accomplish this.
23. KNOW YOUR HISTORY
Learn as much as you possibly can about the history of graphic design—its movements, terminology and important figures. Understanding design’s cultural past will help you design in the present and future. Study typefaces and their designers, and share with your clients the significance and history of the particular typefaces you’ve chosen for their projects. In addition to being a go-to design resource, this knowledge will help position you as a trusted adviser moving forward.
24. VALUE YOUR WORK
A common mistake designers make early in their careers is undervaluing their work in the marketplace. The best design jobs aren’t always awarded to the low bidder—even a client with the smallest budget often values work experience and compatibility over price. Set an hourly rate for your services, and take a close look at the number of hours a job will take to accomplish, including revisions. Your estimate is simply your rate multiplied by the hours. Make sure you have a firm understanding of the entire scope of work you’re providing an estimate for. Trade? Sure, but don’t make a habit of it—this is your livelihood, not a hobby.
25. MAKE MISTAKES
Take a measured break from your comfort zone and experiment with an approach you’ve never tried before. Force yourself to take chances with form: Use a different technique or medium with text and image to create work you’re unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. Save and display your best piece as a reminder to think differently.
26. KEEP A SKETCHBOOK
You don’t need to be prolific at drawing to benefit from keeping a small book in your bag or back pocket. Ideas tend to arrive at the strangest times, and being able to record them on the spot will help you remember them later. When you fill a book, date, number and shelve it. Soon your bookcase will be a library of your best thoughts and ideas.
27. REMEMBER THAT YOUR MAC IS A TOOL
Twenty years ago, many people in our industry were sure that desktop publishing would mark the end of professional graphic design as we knew it. They confused the convenience of new technology with the skill and passion required to design with it. Take a good look at your design methodology and the role technology plays in your work. Can you select “Shut Down” and still be an effective visual communicator? Practice that.
28. RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT
Make the everyday effort to create a positive environmental impact by integrating sustainable alternatives in your work. Start small by identifying the things you can do in your studio to save energy and resources, and build from there. Present a digital slideshow rather than traditional color output spray-mounted to mat board. Get creative with your consumables by investing in reusable kitchenware and cloth towels in place of disposable plastic and paper products. Consider adopting the Designer’s Accord—a global collection of designers, educators and businesspeople working together to impact the environment through positive social change.
29. TEACH OTHERS
Regardless of your experience, get involved with mentoring younger designers—or students who may be interested in design as a potential career path. It doesn’t require developing a curriculum to get involved. Find a local AIGA chapter, design program or arts center and volunteer some of your time. Participate in local student portfolio reviews, and share your knowledge and expertise with aspiring designers. You’ll find the experience rewarding for everyone involved.
Read more: HOW Design - 29 Things That All Young Designers Need to Know http://howdesign.com/article/29things4#ixzz1Gfq2eRFz
For great design products, visit our online store! MyDesignShop.com
Interacting with students and young designers has always been a fulfilling endeavor for all the working professionals at id29, one that has kept alive the notion that design education is a lifelong experience. Fostering design thinking through mentoring relationships at the local level is particularly exciting, as we get to see the designers we’ve helped nurture go on to fabulous careers in a variety of creative fields.
We regularly invite design students to tour our studio (in Troy, NY), and we participate in local student portfolio reviews and exhibitions; our involvement is a team effort.
Many of the questions and concerns young designers share today are the same we had as graduating students looking to make our mark in the professional world, with only a résumé and portfolio of student projects to get our collective feet in the door. There’s nothing different in the design industry today that makes getting—and nailing—that initial interview or client pitch any easier.
Throughout the years, I’ve collected these questions and have tried answering many of them as an ongoing personal project. Here are 29 of my thoughts on how to approach and interact with our culture as a young designer, in no particular order.
1. SWEAT THE DETAILS
You are a professional communicator; act like one. Carefully edit everything you publish: résumés, social media, e-mail, blog posts, letters, text messages, everything. Get a copy of “The Chicago Manual of Style” and keep it handy. Most potential employers and clients don’t appreciate text shorthand, so don’t use it. They won’t be ROTFL, and you will end up SOL.
2. PLAY NICE
People you work with and for will make your blood boil from time to time. Whenever possible, be a pro and take the high road. Avoid burning bridges, as people change jobs more often than they did a generation ago. Your paths may cross again in a much different situation, and having a good working history together will make rehiring you easy. Apply this to your online persona as well. Anonymous jabs are petty—be better than that.
3. DON’T FEAR TYPE; BECOME ITS MASTER
Often, being a good typographer means not making the simple mistakes. To accomplish this, you’ll need a working knowledge of classical typography. Go get one. “The Elements of Typographic Style” by Robert Bringhurst, “Thinking With Type” by Ellen Lupton and “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” by Josef Müller-Brockmann are cover-to-cover must-reads. Repeat after me: “Free fonts from the internet are crap, I will not use them.” Keep saying that
4. DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE
Who are you speaking to and what is the objective? If you can’t definitively answer both of these questions about a project you’re about to start working on, go back to the drawing board. Graphic design is simply a plan that visually articulates a message. Make sure you have the message and its intended viewer sorted out before you start making. Communicate with purpose—don’t just make eye candy.
5. BE YOURSELF
Be confident in yourself as an author, designer, photographer, creative. Don’t work in a particular personal style. Rather, develop a personal approach to your creative work.
Your commissioned work should never be about you, but it can certainly reveal your hand as the designer. As your work becomes more well-known, you will get hired for exactly that. For your personal work, don’t be afraid to tell your story. No one else is going to do it for you.
6. LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’
Some of your best design business decisions will ultimately be saying “no” to clients or projects. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few disasters to gain the experience to know when to walk away from an impending train wreck.
Carefully measure the upsides of any project—creative control of your design work, long-term relationship-building and gross billing—versus the potential downsides—the devaluation of the creative process, being treated like a “vendor” and ongoing scope creep (where the volume of what you’re expected to deliver keeps expanding, while the schedule and budget don’t).
7. COLLECT AND SHARE EVERYTHING
Find and save relevant and interesting things and pass them along to your friends, co-workers, followers and clients. Use the web and social media to share your own photos and work, as well as the work of others you find engaging. Be funny, serious, irreverent, businesslike, self-promotional, curatorial, whatever—just be yourself. For everyday inspiration, surround your workplace with the design ephemera you collect (see No. 5).
8. BE A DESIGN AUTHOR
Develop ideas. Write them down, edit them, share them and elicit a response. Poof! You’re a design author. Read design blogs and participate in the discussions. Have an opinion. If you find yourself spending hours a week contributing to other designers’ blogs, consider starting your own. The cost and effort for startup are minimal, and the opportunities are diverse.
9. BUILD YOUR BOOK
One piece of advice I give young designers looking to fill out their portfolios is to find the best local arts organization with the worst visual brand identity or website and make a trade. They get some great design work, and you get creative control and real-world projects in your book that other potential clients will recognize.
10. CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
Manage your online profiles carefully and be sure to keep all your listings accurate, consistent and (mostly) professional. You can count on co-workers, potential employers and clients to Google you, so make sure what they find won’t be too incriminating and sink your chances for that new job or project. Employers read social media posts, too—especially ones that include their proper names—so use common sense.
11. RESEARCH (AND DESTROY)
You’ll never know as much about your clients’ businesses as they do, but part of our job as designers is to try. Learn as much as you possibly can at the inception of a project about your client’s business space, their goals, their competition and their history. Dedicate a half- or full-day download session, ask a lot of questions, and then shut up and listen.
12. OBSERVE TRENDS (THEN AVOID THEM)
Keep current on the state of our industry by reading books, magazines and blogs, and attending conferences. RSS feeds will allow you to quickly skim design- and culture-related content. Avoid design annuals as a source of inspiration, as they’re a record of what’s already been done. Study the work of others to understand it, not to duplicate it.
13. DEFEND YOURSELF
One of the biggest benefits of a formal design education is the lessons learned in the crit room defending your work in front of your instructor and peers. If you can articulate your ideas and design process in that hostile environment, learning to do the same in client meetings usually comes easy (see No. 21).
14. THE PAPER MATTERS
Contrary to what you might read on the blogosphere, print is not dead. The beauty and tactility of a well-printed piece on quality paper cannot be appreciated or replicated on a screen, tablet or mobile device. Paper manufacturers, merchants and printers are doing a terrific job helping designers make sustainable paper choices to minimize the impact on our environment. Become well-versed with the Forest Stewardship Council certification program, and use this knowledge to choose your papers wisely. Clients are demanding it (see No. 28).
15. CONTENT IS STILL KING
Technically, Elvis is still the king, but for the sake of this argument, let’s put an emphasis on the message, and consider design as a plan for delivering it. The most effective and memorable visual communication almost always has the right mix of form and content, regardless of medium. Good design can engage a viewer, but interesting content will keep them reading, and thinking, past the headline.
16. REJECT PERSONAL STYLE
Picasso had his Blue and Rose Periods, Georgia O’Keeffe obsessed over flowers and animal bones. The difference between them and you? They were artists solving their own personal communication problems. We are designers, primarily tasked with solving the communication problems of others. Using one singular style or direction for multiple clients or projects will rarely be successful and, in retrospect, will look one-dimensional (see No. 11).
17. SAY NO TO SPEC WORK
Speculative work, or spec work, is a request by a potential client for uncompensated creative and design work at the inception of a project. Avoid this like the plague—it’s a devaluation of the entire design process and marginalizes our efforts as a whole. AIGA.org has great resources for dealing with spec work, including a sample letter that you can personalize and send to clients explaining why their request is unappreciated (see No. 19).
18. BECOME INDISPENSABLE
What are you really good at? Contrast that to the skill sets that could help you advance at the workplace. Could your studio benefit from having an in-house photographer, web programmer, video editor or screen printer? Follow your bliss and get the additional training you need to expand your talents and, ultimately, your role at work. Now, does the studio come to a grinding halt when you’re home sick for a day? Congrats. You’re indispensable.
19. JOIN AIGA
Founded in 1914 in New York City, AIGA is the professional association for design, representing more than 21,000 professionals, educators and students with 65 local chapters (find a chapter near you) and 200+ student groups. AIGA supports our efforts at the chapter and national levels through the exchange of design ideas and information, research, innovative programming and as a source of inspiration. If you’re missing that sense of design community you had in school now that you’re in the professional world, AIGA will help reconnect you for life.
20. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Build personal relationships with everyone you work with, not just your clients. Get to know your delivery people, paper merchants, printer reps, local politicians and business leaders. Attend Chamber of Commerce events, network and meet people. Get on people’s radar screens—they will be impressed with your well-designed business cards that prominently feature your website address.
21. SEEK CRITICISM, ACCEPT PRAISE
As a designer, listening to your ideas being questioned and your hard work being ripped apart isn’t usually very pleasant. However painful, though, constructive criticism of your design work is the most effective way to grow as a visual communicator. Remember this when you leave the crit rooms of design school for the boardrooms of the corporate world. Build a network of friends, co-workers and mentors you can use to collect feedback on your work. Online sites (heavy with anonymous commentary) are not an acceptable substitute for this discourse.
22. NEVER COMPROMISE
Once you’ve built strong relationships with everyone you work with (see No. 20), strategically use them to get what you want. Convince your clients to use the offset printers or web developers you know that value design and will actively work with you on the final quality of your project. We work too hard as designers to accept compromise at any stage of a job, especially when it can usually be avoided with proactive planning. Timelines that detail every step of a project and outline responsibilities for everyone involved are required to accomplish this.
23. KNOW YOUR HISTORY
Learn as much as you possibly can about the history of graphic design—its movements, terminology and important figures. Understanding design’s cultural past will help you design in the present and future. Study typefaces and their designers, and share with your clients the significance and history of the particular typefaces you’ve chosen for their projects. In addition to being a go-to design resource, this knowledge will help position you as a trusted adviser moving forward.
24. VALUE YOUR WORK
A common mistake designers make early in their careers is undervaluing their work in the marketplace. The best design jobs aren’t always awarded to the low bidder—even a client with the smallest budget often values work experience and compatibility over price. Set an hourly rate for your services, and take a close look at the number of hours a job will take to accomplish, including revisions. Your estimate is simply your rate multiplied by the hours. Make sure you have a firm understanding of the entire scope of work you’re providing an estimate for. Trade? Sure, but don’t make a habit of it—this is your livelihood, not a hobby.
25. MAKE MISTAKES
Take a measured break from your comfort zone and experiment with an approach you’ve never tried before. Force yourself to take chances with form: Use a different technique or medium with text and image to create work you’re unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. Save and display your best piece as a reminder to think differently.
26. KEEP A SKETCHBOOK
You don’t need to be prolific at drawing to benefit from keeping a small book in your bag or back pocket. Ideas tend to arrive at the strangest times, and being able to record them on the spot will help you remember them later. When you fill a book, date, number and shelve it. Soon your bookcase will be a library of your best thoughts and ideas.
27. REMEMBER THAT YOUR MAC IS A TOOL
Twenty years ago, many people in our industry were sure that desktop publishing would mark the end of professional graphic design as we knew it. They confused the convenience of new technology with the skill and passion required to design with it. Take a good look at your design methodology and the role technology plays in your work. Can you select “Shut Down” and still be an effective visual communicator? Practice that.
28. RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT
Make the everyday effort to create a positive environmental impact by integrating sustainable alternatives in your work. Start small by identifying the things you can do in your studio to save energy and resources, and build from there. Present a digital slideshow rather than traditional color output spray-mounted to mat board. Get creative with your consumables by investing in reusable kitchenware and cloth towels in place of disposable plastic and paper products. Consider adopting the Designer’s Accord—a global collection of designers, educators and businesspeople working together to impact the environment through positive social change.
29. TEACH OTHERS
Regardless of your experience, get involved with mentoring younger designers—or students who may be interested in design as a potential career path. It doesn’t require developing a curriculum to get involved. Find a local AIGA chapter, design program or arts center and volunteer some of your time. Participate in local student portfolio reviews, and share your knowledge and expertise with aspiring designers. You’ll find the experience rewarding for everyone involved.
Read more: HOW Design - 29 Things That All Young Designers Need to Know http://howdesign.com/article/29things4#ixzz1Gfq2eRFz
For great design products, visit our online store! MyDesignShop.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)