I started a recent project to design a main title design sequence in Cinema4D and Octane. I think I’ve been neglecting studying design for quite some time. I started picking up new books on layouts, grids, and typography. I am going to treat this as a graphic design project for now in the hopes of gathering better knowledge in how to present work.
This project, called “Serva” for now, kind of came out of a need to refine the presentation element of my previous projects. I consider myself to be better at coding than I am at creating visuals. But, I am sure that a lot of creative developers would agree that it’s hard to make your body work relatable if you don’t put some emphasis on how your work relates to things you see in real life. For instance, I could develop some cool algorithms that renders out hundreds of weird cool looking cubes on a screen. However, it’s hard for an average person to see the context of that algorithm if presented by itself. The same can be said about concept art. An artist could develop 10–20 frames of an environment. But, by themselves, they don’t stand for much except for the ideas they present (and their illustration skills).
I’ll admit… I started crawling behance a lot more over the last 2 weeks. Aside from the amount of inspiration it gave me, it made me understand the importance of not only presenting work in a nice manner but presenting work in a real-world context. I’ll explain what I mean by that. It’s one thing to present a couple of frames of a 3D environment. It’s another to present those frames as a moving titles sequence or a set of movie posters. Likewise, the same thing can be said about logos portrayed as a simple png image versus on a mockup of a person holding a business card. What I am trying to say is that context goes a long way when you are trying to maximize your reach with these projects. I find that the better projects on behance (and in general) do exactly that. They guide you through the process and, by the end, they leave you with a solid idea of where it belongs.
“Great Codrin! This is all nice for graphic designers and concept artists. But, it’s different for programmers! You can’t just create mockups out of everything you code”
I disagree! I think creative coders ought to try to create those mockups. Often times, you see those same developers posting progress shots of their latest shader, generative algorithm or procedural generator. You can see that they put a lot of time and effort into creating these things and I credit them for their grit and persistence. However, just try to imagine if they put 1/5th of the time they used to create said program into creating context for those said programs. I think you can agree that we would see a lot more programmers/creative coders on sites like behance and dribble.
Now it might seem like I am going on a rant. However, the point I making here is much bigger than programmers needing to create mockups. For instance, you may notice that a lot of people like to call themselves “Multidisciplinary” (myself included). But, I’ve only recently understood what that word meant. You might think that the word is synonymous with a person who knows how to use multiple tools/software while simultaneously diving into multiple disciplines all at once. But, I’ll argue that it’s only half of the definition. I believe that being multidisciplinary has to do more with your ability to create at the cross-section between disciplines. In other words, someone who combines knowledge from distinct disciplines to create something new and exciting. I think you are starting to see where I am going with this.
Being a creative coder can sometimes feel like a Daniel Shiffman tutorial. You write some code in processing or openframeworks and then you end up with some nice visuals that looks like some of Casey Reas’s work. And granted, you now have interesting patterns to look at.
However… IT DOESN’T HAVE TO END THERE! Part of being a good designer (not that I am the best of ones) is tied to your ability to make sense of the work you produce in a real world setting. So, the next time you try to code something in processing(or whatever framework you like to use). I would highly encourage you to think how your output could manifest itself in other mediums.
You made a bunch of procedurally generated cool-looking cubes? GREAT! How about you make a poster with those visuals or some motion graphics!
You made some triangles that react to experimental music? GREAT! How about you incorporate them in a VJ toolkit for live performances!
You discovered some interesting patterns in your generative algorithm? GREAT! Make an infographic with it to drive a narrative!
The list goes on and on…
I believe this to be a great creative exercise for people who strive to be more multidisciplinary. You stand to gain so much from it on top of that.
1. You won’t be limited to what you currently know.
2. You become more attractive to companies/clients by making them understand how your work can fit into other people’s work. **You become resourceful!**
3. The work you produce will truly be one of a kind.
So, the next time you dabble in creative code. Think of how you can extend your work beyond your medium and into the real-world.
