Cristal Castro is a European-American communication design student at the New York City College of Technology, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She hopes to refine her skills in all types of design to expand her knowledge in the field and become successful.
For this project, I decided to do a designer statement. A designer statement is similar to an Artist’s Statement, which is a brief description of the creative process and the work produced. A designer statement allows the reader to gain insight on the designer’s inspirations and style, along with their creative perspective. They are often written as a short (50-100 word) and/or a long (500-1000 word) version of the same statement, and they may maintain and revise these statements throughout their careers. They would be edited to suit the requirements of specific funding bodies or galleries as part of the application process.
When you are writing a designer statement, you don’t just want to discuss the process of creating your artwork; you want to think about your thought process, what your work and inspirations say about you as a designer. Some questions that you should have while writing this kind of statement would be: “What does your work express? Why are you doing this? What inspired you to make this?” Creating a mind map before putting your designer statement together is a great way to jot down all of your ideas.
I chose this type of statement because it allows me to express myself in a way that others can understand me. I like to look at it as the grand tour of your mind, you show the steps you took to create the product, how your creative perspective reflects on your work, etc. I believe that as a designer it is important for your audience to see from your perspective and understand why you do what you do/how you create something. because once they see it, that’s when their entire perspective of your work changes. For example, if I were to create an orange blob, your first thought may be, “Okay, this is just an orange blob. What is the point of making a blob?” However, if I were to write about how it represents my love for making slime and that the first one I ever made was the color orange, you may see it differently. You see how much impact a designer statement can have on your work? It’s amazing.
Sources
“Artist/Designer Statement.” PacificGraphicDesign, 16 Nov. 2015, https://pacificgraphicdesign.wordpress.com/becoming-an-art-student/job/artistdesigner-statement/.
“Artist & Design Philosophy Statements.” Artist and Design Philosophy Statements | Fashion Institute of Technology, http://www.fitnyc.edu/writing-studio/guides/art-design-statements.php.
“What Is a Design Statement?Print.” Auckland Design Manual, http://www.aucklanddesignmanual.co.nz/resources/design-statements/DesGuideDS/guidance/designstatement/definition.
