Good Question! An Art Director’s Insights and Advice for New Designers
Recently, one of our interns at EFM Agency sent me an exit interview asking for my thoughts on the graphic design industry. It was 6 simple questions, but they inspired some real reflection about how things have evolved since I was starting out, and what a young professional today might need to consider in order to be successful in this field. So much so, I thought I’d share the questions (and my answers). Perhaps they’ll inspire the same for you, and help remind us all why we chase the dreams we do.
1. What are important new directions in graphic design and visual communications?
Without a doubt, in a single word, technology. The way people interact with media and messaging has radically changed the game. While it’s true that digital platforms are moving audiences away from previous standards like print and traditional TV, the user interactions are providing valuable, measurable data in real time. This new information about how audiences engage with messages, their preferences and habits, has helped designers iterate and improve upon solutions at a rate never before possible.
2. In what ways has the profession changed since you began your practice?
I’ve watched the design world shift radically from printed executions to digital, in a very short time. But more than our output has changed. As I began my design career, creative software had already begun to add efficiency and economy to the designer’s workflow. The internet explosion made the world smaller and put inspiration, quite literally, at a designers’ fingertips. We went from doing design research in books and type catalogs to searching Google and Pinterest, and iterating at an amazing speed.
The second big change was economic. The recession hit the industry hard, and the first expense companies were willing to trim was advertising and design. The same software that creatives loved had become so accessible and relatively simple to use that companies started to develop in-house marketing teams to help stop the financial bleeding. The world of messaging and visual communication became much more commoditized, and agencies adapted with belt tightening and offering more itemized services in order to compete. The end result, as the economy has bounced back, is a new paradigm for this industry, with clients continuing to shop around for the best deals for every project, making the goal of long-term, meaningful and rewarding client-agency relationships a harder thing to establish, and small or independent competitors at home and abroad fighting with big agencies for the same work. Creatives are, now more than ever, required to be able to thoughtfully and strategically justify the value of their expertise and services to win projects.
3. What are the most important considerations to be aware of for young designers who are transitioning to professionals?
The most important thing you bring to the table is YOU, your unique perspective and creative problem-solving capabilities. It’s critical to be able to explain your work and your ideas thoughtfully and simply, with a clear strategy for any choices and recommendations you are making to your client or colleagues. It’s also important to understand how to collaborate with others, and in explaining your perspective, still be open to suggestions and creative input. Understanding how to assert your creative position and work, while being flexible and open to development through teamwork, will serve you not only with those you work with, but those you work for.
4. What are the most important skills and factors you consider when hiring a junior designer?
I look for designers with a strategic approach to their work and the ability to articulate it well. Even if work in a portfolio has room for improvement, if the designer is thoughtful in their thinking — clearly researching the problem, demonstrating an understanding of the target audience, presenting a solution with a defined path to a desired goal or result — that is someone you can develop and grow. Of course, design skill is important. I personally think finesse with typography is very indicative of a designer’s attention to detail, message hierarchy, and overall design acumen.
5. What is most exciting to you on the current frontiers of design or visual communications practice?
Designing solutions that people can integrate into their everyday, like mobile apps and other personal digital interactions, holds a lot of interest. Virtual reality devices becoming more affordable for general home users and the potential for 3D environments created entirely in a digital realm is also exciting, but the barrier to entry for this type of design still needs to drop considerably in price for execution. That’s when things will get really interesting….
6. Why did you get into this field?
To change the world of course! I truly believe that design impacts every single person in every moment of their lives, and that good design makes lives infinitely better. From a clearly structured price tag, to a grand concert hall, to the size of the numbers on your cell phone, good experiences with well-designed things, over and over, adds up to a better day, a better year, a better lifetime. The best design often goes unnoticed and unrewarded, and that’s ok. My goal is to change the world, quietly or otherwise, one solution at a time, with no interaction being too small or insignificant.
