Online viewweindividual pieces Theyou designs make are effected by our anonymous own personal work, experiences. of (often) not an We need to think about how individual studio or designer our work fits into a wider social After interviewing some acting practitioners If you matter don’t I have come to believe that it doesn’t know what it is wether or not the general public understand you want, how what we do. It was likened to the builder of a can we create bridge, everyone uses bridges and can it? see Let us interpret that they work but no-one cares who made it or the brief how we understands how it was constructed, they just see it, rarely will want itit to work. be the same
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This may come as a shock to anyone who has not worked in the industry but if you are looking Project Management for recognition, you’re in the wrong profession. Often you have to work on several jobs Our peers will appreciate our work, clients will at once as well as any self-initiated pay us for it but at the end of the day we are work. hired to provide a service not become famous.
Tell us what it is you want
way you do
INFO ON DESIGN & TRENDS Not everything can be produced in a day, if you have an idea first its easier
context outside of the client and 4 Let us be creative target audience. Every piece of work is interpreted differentlyUnderstand and that doing good work takes time with so much design bombarding Pleasethat don’t it’s hard We seeus so every much more now to figure daydesign it is make important that us copy out what ‘next big thing’ our peersis wetheare aware of actually this 5
Even small studios have a vivid online presence Your company will never stand out if we do this
5
Rarely are you the only client we’re working with
Instinct
Sustainability is desirable but still very expensive for clients
Doing a tutorial on InDesign doesn’t make you a designer
You hired us for our expertise not just to carry out orders
6
We wish you understood
Every designer has a set of principals that help shape the work that they do.
Our audience is lot what awareAof of what we do comes to goes ondown around instinct them so we have to be too
There is more than 1 way to communicate your message
This doesn’t make you any less important to us
Communication is a two way street
If we change 6 something it’s because it will look AudienceIf you’re unsure about something better, trust us always has to be The target audience don’t leave it until in the forefront of the designers mind.the day before print to tell us
There seems to be a common misconception that Graphic Designers simply ‘colour in’ or ‘make pretty pictures’. This is obviously not the case but why do so many members of the general public hold these views? It seems that it comes down to the simple fact that most people don’t know what a Graphic Designer actually does.
What is it that we actually do as Graphic Designers then? And is there a way that we can educate the public and our clients on what goes into the work we produce for them. More to the point, do we need to?
After interviewing some acting practitioners I have come to believe that it doesn’t matter wether or not the general public understand what we do. It was likened to the builder of a bridge, everyone uses bridges and can see that they work but no-one cares who made it or understands how it was constructed, they just want it to work.
This may come as a shock to anyone who has not worked in the industry but if you are looking for recognition, you’re in the wrong profession. Our peers will appreciate our work, clients will pay us for it but at the end of the day we are hired to provide a service not become famous.
1
Thinking
Each client wants a different style for a different product. No 2 jobs are alike.
1
2
2
Problem Solving
How can our outcomes change people’s perceptions of a product/company?
3
3
Communicating A Message
What is the best way to get the public to seek out this service/product?
4
Project Management
Often you have to work on several jobs at once as well as any self-initiated work.
4
5
5
Instinct
Every designer has a set of principals that help shape the work that they do.
6
6
Audience
The target audience always has to be in the forefront of the designers mind.
A lot of external factors depend on your work being produced in time for the deadline
Do good work, on time
You hired us for our expertise not just to carry out orders
Doing a tutorial on InDesign doesn’t make you a designer
We expect that you carry out your work in a professional and reliable manner Leave your ego at the door, there are plenty of other designers who would be happy to get this job
To come across well in meetings, present well, respond to e-mails well and produce work to deadlines, and basically be someone we could see ourselves working with.
A real conversation about our needs and a real response about that.
Your company will never stand out if we do this
Please don’t make us copy our peers Let us be creative We want a working relationship not just a bunch of e-mails and a bill at the end
Sole dedication 24/7
That’s what we expect
The impossible
If you don’t know what it is you want, how can we create it?
Let us interpret the brief how we see it, rarely will it be the same way you do
Tell us what it is you want
We’re not trained like you, so please speak to us in a way that we’ll understand We hired you because we feel your work exepmlifies our companies qualities
Not everything can be produced in a day, if you have an idea first its easier
Understand that doing good work takes time
Clarity There is more than 1 way to communicate your message
Remake that piece of work but, different
Rarely are you the only client we’re working with
If we change something it’s because it will look better, trust us This doesn’t make you any less important to us
A lot of what we do comes down to instinct We don’t have the budget to fund 6 week research projects before the design process begins
A quick turnaround
We wish you understood
Communication is a two way street
If you’re unsure about something don’t leave it until the day before print to tell us
HO
W S RE
CA It only takes a few clicks to see a completely different style of work by a different designer
Work and ideas are quickly discarded
T
OU AB
Frontrunners
Trends get exaggerated
Online you view individual pieces of (often) anonymous work, not an individual studio or designer
Even small studios have a vivid online presence We see so much more design now that it’s hard to figure out what the ‘next big thing’ actually is
& TRENDS
It is not enough for designers to simply communicate a message any more, we have to be aware of the social implications of our work before we create it
This has become increasingly important
Some studios use it as a USP
The designs we make are effected by our own personal experiences. We need to think about how our work fits into a wider social context outside of the client and target audience. Every piece of work is interpreted differently and with so much design bombarding us every day it is important that we are aware of this Sustainability is desirable but still very expensive for clients
Our audience is aware of what goes on around them so we have to be too
W
What is it that we actually do as Graphic Designers then? And is there a way that we can educate the public and our clients on what goes into the work we produce for them. More to the point, do we need to?
sole dedication 24/7
The impossible
CA
We want a working relationship not just a bunch of e-mails and a bill at the end
HO
That’s what we expect
1
There seems to be a common misconception that Graphic Designers simply ‘colour in’ or ‘make Thinking pretty pictures’. This is obviously not the case but Each client wantspublic a different style for a why do so many members of the general different product. No 2 jobs hold these views? It seems that it comes down to are alike. the simple fact that most people don’t know what a Graphic Designer actually does.
A real conversation about our needs and a real response about that.
S RE
1
To come across well in meetings, present well, respond to emails well and produce work to deadlines, and basically be someone we could see ourselves working with.
We don’t have the budget to fund 6 week research projects before the design process begins
A quick turnaround
Problem Solving
Remake that peice of work but, different
Leave your ego at the door, there are plenty of other designers who would be happy to get this job
We hired you because we feel your work exepmlifies our companis qualities
Clarity
We expect that you carry out your work in a professional and reliable manner
It only takes a few clicks to see a completely different style of work by a has different designer This
become increasingly important
Work and ideas are quickly discarded
Some3 studios use it as a USP
Do good work, on time
3
Communicating A Message
What is the best way to get the public to seek out this service/product?
T
How can our outcomes change people’s perceptions of a product/company?
A lot of external factors depend on your work being produced in time for the deadline
We’re not trained like you, so please speak to us in a way that we’ll understand
2
Trends get exaggerated
OU AB
Frontrunners
It is not enough for designers to simply communicate a message any more, we have to be aware of the social 2 implications of our work before we create it