Personal Manifesto

This week we were asked to create a personal manifesto, a document that reflects on aspects of your life such as your goals, rules and guidelines. It also highlights the areas in which you want to grow, and helps you to commit to what you feel is important. Writing out your manifesto ensures you won't forget these goals and helps you to stay focused on obtaining them. Your manifesto is not etched in stone, so remember that it is something that you may visit and re-develop many times over different stages of your lifetime. Always be creative, honest and most of all inspiring.

My Personal Manifesto:

1. Allow for creative growth be observant of the world around you. Collect inspiration and harvest ideas from what you see and experience.

2. Never stop learning; listen, understand and most of all question things.

3. Strive to always produce ‘my best’ possible work, set my own standards and don’t settle for anything less. Know your limits and how to push them.

4. Never be afraid to take risks, think outside the box and learn to not always play it safe.

5. Always do my best to follow through on my commitments, and uphold my end of any agreement, for this helps to shape you are as a person and as an employee.

6. Stay Organized, set goals for yourself.

7. Flexibility is key, everything doesn’t always go as planed, learn to roll with it and not be so stressed.

8. Indulge in personal and guilty pleasures after all we only live once.

9. Get away and change up the scenery, whether it is a vacation somewhere or just a day outside the office and away from the computer.

10. Always be true to yourself, know what you stand for and what you believe in and remain grounded. Keep that strong sense of self.

11.  Surround yourself with people you love. Make time for family and friends for they are what matter most. Cherish and nurture these relationships.

12. Stay Active; be sure to take care of yourself both mentally and physically.

13. Allow time to reflect on your work and yourself.

14. Never go to bed angry, and always look at each day as a new opportunity.

15. Love what you do, that way it won’t ever feel like work.

Ideals Learnt From Four of Today's Most Influential Designers

Over the course of this semester we, as a class have had the privilege of taking an in-depth look at four of today’s most influential contemporary designers; Marion Bantjes, Bruce Mau, Stefan Bucher, and Stefan Sagmeister. We have been able to critique and discuss not only their works but also their philosophies about design, and the business of being a designer itself. From observing different talks they have given about themselves and their work I have been able to analytically compare not only their design processes but also their thoughts on what’s important as a designer, and how to succeed in the industry.

During this analysis I have discovered that their have been numerous similarities that the designers all share in comparison, the foremost and most important being that they truly value the happiness in doing what they do which I myself have always thought as the most important aspect when choosing a career. If you are doing a job that you love then in a way you will never feel as though you are really working in a sense, which I think is a nice notion and ideal to have in a career. These designers strive to put themselves into their work, which in turn showcases their exclusive styles and talents setting them apart from each other, as well as other designers in the field. Incorporating yourself and your art into a design creates a connection to the work and therefore gives it a unique quality in itself, something I hope to be able to strive to attain as I venture into a career in design. These exceptional styles are attention grabbers for many of the clients and employers you will work with over your career, so understanding your strengths and finding your own niche is important for it helps you to make a name for yourself and like these designers have done, propel you into the realm of celebrity design status so to speak.

While your work may take you to great heights within the industry another important lesson I have learned from these designers is to know when to step back, take a break and indulge in the art of self-reflection. Keeping a journal or scrap book of thoughts and inspirational pieces is a must and not being afraid to take time to just observe and draw inspiration from all around you to bring to your designs is crucial. This will help you to stay current, fresh and not exhaust the same ideas over and over again. Taking time to write and draw allows you the traditional pen to paper aspect of design that many of us stray from and forget due to the many technological devices at our disposals as designers today. Revisiting these simple activities can help us all to become the best designers we can be, and it is something I want to incorporate more into my own process, for I feel that I myself need more time devoted to self-reflection and indulgence.

The final concept that I have learnt through this experience is that you really need to know yourself and the industry. While your young you may find yourself basing most of your design projects on the amount of money it will pay, for lets face it we all need to make a living and pay the bills, it is important to note that money should not always be first and foremost when considering a job. Understanding your values and knowing where you stand on certain issues whether they be political, or environmental for example is important for this may have a greater impact on your decision to accept or decline. Also educating yourself on how our industry functions is important for it will help you to tailor your own personal business model, allowing you to understand and know when you may need help or require a partner, whether it be another designer for a project or perhaps a more business oriented individual to help monitor your financial and client relations. Knowing how all of these elements intertwine and function can actually increase your own potential and ability to be a successful designer, just like the four inspirational practitioners above have done.

Letter to Stefan Bucher

After watching Stefan Bucher talk at the 2009 Make/Think AIGA Design Conference in Memphis we were asked to write a letter to Stefan regarding our thoughts and observations, the following is my own personal reflection. 

Please feel free to comment as feedback is always appreciated.

Dear Mr. Bucher,

As a Graphic Design student studying in my second year, I was asked to review the talk you gave at the 2009 Make/Think: AIGA Design Conference in Memphis, which I must commend you on your inspirational, and extemporary career as a designer in our field. I personally found your deconstruction of your own thought process to be extremely interesting, as I found myself beginning to analyze my own thought process in order to try and establish where I myself fit on the Make/Think scale. Like you had mentioned as designers I too think that we tend to see ourselves more towards the Make side of the scale, for as you stated we like to ‘make things’ generally speaking, for it ‘makes us happy and gets us excited.’ I do feel however that understanding how our own brains think is also an important asset in the design field, for it allows us to conceptually understand our creative process.

After reviewing your speech numerous times I feel that my brain too might be functioning more towards the thinking side of the scale, for I find myself spending a lot of time consumed in my own thoughts while working on design projects. It is in this state that I am constantly processing the many solutions that could be derived from the challenge I am faced with. The idea of needing to tire out your brain is an interesting take on the process, something I had never thought of before, however may have subconsciously been doing on my own. I can see how allowing yourself to experience outside influences and other activities and just stepping away from the task at hand can be beneficial to regain a clear head. When I find that I an getting frustrated and the ideas just seem to be becoming less supportive or in some cases more of a designers block I have found through my own trial and error that allowing myself that personal time to step away from the brainstorming process and experience something I enjoy like going to the gym, taking a walk, riding horses I am able to just step outside of that state for awhile and focus on something new.  Subconsciously while I am doing these activities I know my brain is still back there processing ideas however it gives me a chance to let other circumstances be at the forefront of my thinking, allowing all the unnecessary distracting bits to work their way out, so that when I do actually return to my work I am clear headed and ready to produce good quality work.

Some questions that your speech raised in my own mind are related to your discussion on how your thought process was better suited outside an design firm/agency where you would be able to go about your creative process in a less conventional way once you had decided to become your own boss and created your company 344. I have realized that I am most excited when creating my own work, as I think many of us designers are, however having somewhat of an unconventional thinking process myself, I begin to wonder how this will affect me once I enter a design firm or agency. I guess I question if I will be able to conform or tailor the way I think in order to excel in that environment, for while I would like to run my own business one day I feel that first I am going to have to get my feet in the traditional style. Another question that presents itself is how you determine if you would be good at running your own company and being your own boss, or is it better to stay in a more structured environment? These are just questions that I feel, I will have to ponder and explore answers to as I continue my career as a budding designer. I thank you for your insight and inspiration regarding your opinions and views on the make/thinks scale for it has allowed me to step back and really analyze my own process as you can see. I look forward to your next creations especially the monsters!

Sincerely

Jodie Cornel

Graphic Design Student

Humber College

Culture & Design

The popularity and hype of “Going Green” is a trend that has been shaping the market in the past few years, encouraging people to pursue a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, as well as becoming more aware and responsible for our ecological decisions. Its focus is on protecting the environment and sustaining its natural resources for our future generations. The “Go Green” campaigns have evolved from creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself and family to that of increasing popularity within business sector and consumer shopping trends. It has become an influential factor in our society and how we market and brand our products to reflect this new “Green” outlook.

Greenpeace “an independent, nonprofit, global campaigning organization that uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and their causes” has produced a new online ad that targets those who are environmentally conscious, and those who want to see a “Greener” planet and who have a desire to bring recognition and awareness to current environmental issues. The campaign entitled “NEW RAINBOW WARRIOR” encourages supporters to take part in there cause in a new and innovative way, by actually purchasing a piece of the New Rainbow Warrior Ship, currently in production in Germany. With contribution you will receive a certificate of purchase, and your name will be added to the dedication wall on the ship itself as one of the Warriors who helped make the ship possible, and which in turn will be helping our planet Earth.

The design of the ad is reflective of today’s society for it takes into consideration our cultures increasing use of media devices and social media sites. The ad itself is an interactive website where you can view the architectural plans for the ship, as well as follow the construction live via a webcam that has been installed at the shipyard where the ship in under construction. The site also allows you to monitor the construction process for it updates its percentage of completion each time another contributor purchases a piece, allowing another section to be constructed. You also have the ability to search and see who has already contributed to the project Prominent links to both the projects facebook and twitter social media sites allowing you to share your interest in the project with other friends and family who may or may not express the same concerns as you, however this is a great way to inform people of an issue that you think is important to our society.

Overall I have learnt that when designing it is important to be aware of the trends and issues that are currently taking place within our society, for this will help you to better target your audience and understand what is important to them. Capitalizing on our social media sites is also a crucial marketing plan, for this is an opportunity to reach a large target market in a short amount of time. With our society so media savvy and dependant targeting this outlet with your designs will be crucial.

Media Usage Infographic

Over a 7 day period we were asked to record our media usage in different areas of our personal lives, and from there we would design an interesting graphic to represent the data collected. The following is my information graphic regarding my own personal media usage and judging my my records I feel that I am not as connected as many of my classmates probably are for there were many areas in which I do not participate in such a twitter, IM, and chat for example. This was an interesting assignment for I don't think we really know how much time we actually spend using these media vises on a daily basis.

What is Design? (Initial Thoughts)

This is the question that I have been asked to define, a question that appears to be very open-ended and complex in its nature, for there are many different opinions concerning this topic. My first initial take on design is that it appears to focus on three aspects, all of which must be evident in order for a design to be successful. Three main pieces to a puzzle so to speak, which I believe are the following…

 A Rational: an underlying reason explaining the designs initial creation, which in turn will help to validate the designs existence or overall purpose.

Attention to Detail: elements such as color, typography, spacing, sizing, and texture which are chosen with careful consideration and are calculated in their placement within the design, for they all have a specific intention.

Content: this piece strives to provide answers to questions such as why the design was created, and what were the intentions behind the design itself. The contents main priority is to communicate through both the visuals and vocabulary chosen for that specific design.

That concludes my initial thoughts on what I think design is, or consists of, feel free to “Have At It” I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.

My Design Process

Upon receiving an assignment I tend to write side notes as the teacher/ client is going over the brief. I then review the brief on my own time again to make sure I fully understand what the projects criteria is and what it will entail. From here I sit with the project a bit jotting down any initial ideas that come to mind.  I then go on to research both the product/company, as well as ideas from sources such as the Internet, annuals, magazines, other designers, media around me etc.

I then begin to draw up my initial thumbnail sketches, getting all my ideas on paper good or bad. Once this is done I usually review with friends, teachers or colleagues to determine what concepts are actually working, with the projects specifications.

I then take these concepts and create linear, which will help me to determine what is working and what is not, as the design is now on a larger scale. I will once again review with friends, teachers and colleagues for input in order to determine what else may need to be adjusted before I begin the digital phase.

Once my linear have been refined I begin transferring the concept into a digital representation. On the computer I am easily able to adjust and change elements such as typography, colours, and proportions. I will often print out these digitals for further review once again with friends, teachers and colleagues. Once I have everything just as I want it, I finalize the design and print the finished product.

 

Creative Block  (how to clean out the cobwebs)

When I hit a bump in the design process there are a few things that I like to do that help me to overcome this obstacle. I like to clear my head and step back from the project for a bit and in order to do this I often take part in other activities that I enjoy such as going for a walk, hitting the gym, riding horses, reading a book, watching a movie or TV show or go shopping.  I also tend to go for coffee breaks where I may return to my research in a different environment, or meet with friends to bounce ideas off of. A trip to the library also helps. Once I have had some time away from the project I feel that I am less frustrated and in a much clearer stated of mind, for I am more relaxed, and then the creative juices just seem to flow.

If any of you wish to share your creative process or ways to overcome the dreaded creative block, feel free to “Have At It”, for I am always curious to see how other creative minds deal with and overcome similar challenges.