was speaking upon.

I feel that.

Fortunatly I’m all aout exploitation

and

$elling out!

I have a few fine art friends,. and to be honest

I don’t get the idea of NOT SELLING OUT.

I’m trying to survive.

stealing bread from CVS is getting old.

Most CCS students spend a great deal of time working incredibly hard at school, pouring their blood, sweat and tears into their work, I know I certainly did. However, as much as I would love to say I did all of this solely to better myself as a designer, at the back of my head there was a large part of me that was making the grades and pulling the all nighters in an attempt to prove to my friends, my parents, my former high school classmates that Art School isn’t a joke.

I’ve found even from my closest friends, a very bizarre sort of accomplishment when they realize the vast reach that some of the projects I have worked on have had. Generally, it’s not these same projects that bring me personal satisfaction with the work that I do. I do not sleep easier at night knowing that Bob Smith in Duluth, MN has received a very well typeset brochure about a sweepstakes sponsored by client Y. Reactions like this, from people are more well aware than the average person (because they are close to me I MAKE them aware) are even more telling of the importance for graphic designers to not only have necessary technical skills but additionally superb verbal communication skills. It is extremely important for designers to be able to not only articulate themselves but also to step back from their work and become an educator to their client who most likely, does not have the faintest idea why research and thorough process work are necessary in the early stages of their project.

On a secondary note, I think that this conflict of a lack of understanding of the significance design plays in their lives from the public at large is very much cultural. After having spent time in Europe (more specifically in the Netherlands) as a member of Deprogram 07, I can assure you this is not the case everywhere. It was certainly refreshing to see that there are places in the world where even the government understands that design is something worth investing in. This understanding is what allows for designers working in the Netherlands to create interesting, conceptually rich work. In fact, there were a number of small firms that were able to start their independent firms right out of college because they applied for government grant money from the government to pay for the expenses of starting a company. That’s right, not a loan, not something they have to pay back, the government granted these designers the funds to start their own firms because the Dutch government has a very good (and might I add unique) understanding of the importance of design.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had the luxury of working in such an environment? How did the Dutch government and public get to this place, to this level of appreciation and understanding? It’s hard to say, I really haven’t the faintest clue myself other than that I think it takes a tremendous amount of pressure and open communication from our end to educate those ignorant of design’s influence on their lives. Is it impossible to have “good” clients in Michigan? No, I don’t think so, but I think it’s largely up to us to make them good clients.

*Also, to answer Megan’s question about HOW to convey what we do other than listing things like “I make logos” I think its crucially important to drive home the fact that what drives Graphic Design is conveying complex ideas in a simple and visual way. Graphic Design is about ideas; Advertising is about selling a product. Either way, the end medium (print, web, business card, logo, poster etc.) could be anything; it’s the concept and the idea driving the design that dictates the medium of the end product.

i still don’t know what “DO” meant, but what i know is that we as a design community must do a better job of promoting our craft to a broader audience and educating our clients. if not, we will continue to witness the look of bewilderment and confusion on people’s face when they ask us about our beloved profession.

Especially with the DIY stuff now, I don’t think people really value design anymore. They think anyone that has illustrator or photoshop can instantly design. They believe the ability to design only comes with obtaining design software.