hello! sydney aaranson design manifesto
“design can’t save the world, but it makes the world worth saving.� -ralph caplan, by design Entering college as a freshman, you have friends studying to be doctors, lawyers, and kings of the world. Sometimes as a Graphic Design major, you may feel a bit lesser. This quote should serve as a reminder that design IS important ... just as important as being king of the world. Design is the power to make the world beautiful and worth saving.
Never doubt the power of design!
just because you don’t agree with peoples’ choices doesn’t mean that they aren’t happy with them. It would be great if everyone agreed with you on all issues in the real world. However, this is obviously not how the world works. Controversy is one of life’s greatest gifts because it makes you a unique being. In the design world, just because you don’t like someone’s work doesn’t mean that it isn’t great. In fact, how boring would the world of design be if everyone agreed on everything. All of our work would look the same!
Be yourself. Do your own style.
be worldly. things are happening outside of your bubble. In fact, widen your bubble. Do you know what happened in your apartment last night? What about in the city of Lawrence? What about politics in Western Europe? We live in this great big beautiful world so take advantage of getting to know all of it that you can. As a designer, use the world to inspire you. Travel and be energized by different cultures. Research designers from other countries. Even if you don’t speak the language, you can still find inspiration in their work.
Explore the world we live in.
give beneficial critiques. Designers should have a mandatory oath to practice this belief. Critiques are so important not only to the person being assessed but also to the person giving the critiques. Critiquing teaches a designer more about their own personal style, what is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and how to be kind but helpful. The person being critiqued gains a different perspective and valuable help to improve their design. A beneficial critique should be informative, helpful, and open. A non-beneficial critique would be too harsh, too opinionated, or too relaxed.
Critiques are very important for improvement.
originality, functionality, and aesthetic Who really knows what makes great design? This is something that every design student ponders at 3 a.m. the morning before a project is due. Personally I believe that these three factors will be the most beneficial in creating great design. Originality is key. If you have the most beautiful design in the world but it is plagiarized then you really have nothing. Design is about your own process, not stealing one. Functionality is also very important to design. Does your design work, and especially, does it work for its location? The last key, aesthetics, is the hardest but most important. Overall, does your design look nice? This takes a lot of practice to get right.
Don’t give up.
learn from those around you.
This is highly practiced from successful designers. Maybe your painting teacher is secretly a whiz at jewelry making? Perhaps your typography teacher is great at playing the flute. And possibly, your photography teacher can cook a mean steak dinner. Even if it is not design related, pay attention and learn from those around you. The best students are the ones who are constantly learning. From a design perspective, really listen to lectures from teachers and critiques from students in order to learn the most you possibly can. This will tremendously help you in the future.
Everyone has something great to teach you.
follow the grid. Design students learn many rules which they must follow. However, there is beauty in breaking the rules. The importance of design is to follow rules like this and to know when to break them. The rules are set to make you successful, and breaking them will make you unique. You just have to balance yourself so you are only breaking them at appropriate times.
Experience will help.
the importance of being a student Who am I as a designer? I am not sure about this since I am still just a student. This is okay! It is wonderful to be a student. There is still so much I am learning, and so much left for me to learn! It is important to take advantage of this time by asking questions, making mistakes, and trying new things. This is also a great time to take advantage of your environment! No other time in your life will you be surrounded by so many people working on the same projects you are! You also will most likely be at a school with many tools that you should take advantage of!
Don’t waste this time.
learning never stops. Even after graduation, you are forever a student to the world of design. It does not matter if you are a fancy pants CEO of the Kings of The World Design company. You are always learning! Learn from those who are above you and learn from those who are below you. Learn from a friend and learn from a stranger. Learn to increase your knowledge and learn to make you feel like you knew nothing in the first place.
Keep filling your brain.
still confused? As a designer, I am really still confused. But that’s okay. The good thing is that this is okay! It is perfectly normal to not know who you are as a designer or what you are doing. This confusion gives you an opportunity to make plans and to create a future. The unknown is a gift that needs to be savored. Sometimes it is better to just not know things.
Just go with it.
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thank you! sydney aaranson saaranson@gmail.com sydneyaaranson.com