Daniel Lee
2/14/17
Topics in Graphic Desin
First Impressions
We live in a world where first impressions are everything. For instance a teachers first impression of a student who is doodling in class would most likely be negative from the start. One may think this student is being inattentive and is a slacker when in fact there is much more going on than can be seen by the “first impression”.
We learned in TED Talks that the term doodle has definitely changed meaning over the years since its origin. We often associate doodling with someone who is anti intellectual because it goes against the ideas of focus and attentiveness. However we see that the reality of things does not meet the perception of what doodling actually is and does.Doodling is a very powerful tool in our visual language and can not only help us by getting out our ideas in a spontaneous way, but also focus our mind during a verbal presentation.We are told that people that doodle during a verbal presentation are 29% more retentive that their non doodling counterpart. We also learned that doodling does not make you loose focus but is a preemptive measure to keep your mind more attentive. In conclusion i learned that we actually need to keep our mind engaged in order to absorb the full extent of the information being presented to us.
On the topic of information being presented we are also taught in TED Talks that there are ultimately two ways a designer communicates his or her information. The first way we learn about is the “mystery’ way that Chip Kidd explains to us as being a way to communicate information with the least amount of visual aid necessary. We are shown a series of lines and dots which almost seems to be abstract until just two more lines are added to the picture. We later see that this image is the iconic Charlie Brown and it isn’t until we are given just a little more visual information that we can put the mystery together. He states that nothing more is needed in this image to communicate that this was a book about the creator of Charlie Brown. We then learn about an opposing idea which is the second way to communicate amongst designers and this was the idea of clarity.
The train schedule change that the MTA loves to confuse us with was the perfect example of how to present clarity in a visual language. Most of the time the basic information of what is actually being changed on the MTA flyer is lost in the over abundance of information that realistically isn’t needed. In this presentation Chipp shows us his take on what the MTA schedule change posters should look like. His design is very easy to understand and the information is presented in the most basic of ways. With just enough information to let the reader know what exactly is going on without confusing the eye with no clear visual hierarchy or representation of what train is being changed. In this design less is definitely more and in doing this the information becomes clearer to the viewer. We also learned that clarity can also be used in an unsuccessful way. Coca Cola, who delivered such a beautiful mystery with the rebrand of their can, missed the ball on their advertising.Their “your on coke” advertising was pulled due to obvious reasons that maybe that wasn’t the clear message they wanted to be delivering.
Daniel Lee
2/21/17
COMD 3503
What kind of Designer am I?
In the graphics world I soon learned that there are many different visual languages that are used in the vast field of graphic design.Deciding which one of those languages I would become well versed in was definitely a lengthy task but it was one I was willing to face head on.
In my initial semesters as a young graphic design student I wasn’t really even sure what this industry had to offer I was just sure I had a passion to create. After being in the major for a few semesters I began to realize that graphic design was much more than most people think it is. It is a plethora of different departments that all come together to form what we see as graphic design and finding my niche was going to take some time. After exploring and researching a few different departments I soon landed on graphics however I believe my true passion lies in advertising design.
I never thought of advertising design as something I would have a passion for but throughout my years in the graphic design major I’ve noticed I’ve had a niche for conceptualizing ads and executing that concept for specific target audiences. I started to really enjoy the strategy of executing an ad campaign and working in a design team to ultimately carry out an original idea in a unique way.The process of selling or promoting an idea or product in a way no one has done before became more and more appealing as my graphics career went on. After realizing my sudden drive towards the advertising side of the industry I began to nurse this urge and try to develop it further.
After taking certain classes I began to realize my strong suit was definitely my writing and concepts. I realized that although I can execute I definitely have a better eye and mind than hand. One of my best advertising campaigns was for Gotham Writers Workshop solely based on the fact that it was a type based advertising campaign. I began to work on my strategy process and really began to fall in love with the process of bringing a campaign from strategy to execution. From the psychoanalysis of the target market to the exploiting the benefits and features of a product became something I looked forward to doing in class.
In conclusion I still ask myself everyday what kind of designer I want to be however I think that question will be answered along the way. With so many different sub fields within the genre of graphic design I think I need to try my hands at a few more things to truly decide what kind of designer I am. As appealing as advertising is to me now I may be more fit as a creative director or art director than as a designer one day. As for right now though I am without doubt more prone to the advertising and conceptualizing aspect of the industry and plan to nurse this talent into a bountiful career.
