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Design Sense on multiple mediums 2323 Responses
Last post: 2 months, 3 weeks ago | Thread started: Sep 6, 08, 12:29 p.m.
- Meeklo
I'm going to quote someone here, it's irrelevant who it was, I'm not interested in questioning that specific person, but instead I see an opportunity to open a debate regarding design and how us (designers) perceive it across multiple mediums.
So here is the quote:
After "QBN Member Y" posted samples of printed works and web works, "QBN Member X" stated the following comment:
Wow, cool. I'm not really able to appreciate web screen shots because I don't do web stuff, but I love the print stuff...
My question is:
Shouldn't we (as designers) should have an increased sensitivity towards any discipline related in design? and I'm not talking just about web design and print design, but architecture, furniture, video, interior design, industrial design, etc.Do you guys feel un-able to appreciate and distinguish the values that separate the facade of an interesting old pub building as opposed to the front door of a fast food restaurant just because you are not an architect?
Can you look at a nice designed printed marketing piece and have absolutely no emotions provoked by the piece, just because you only design websites?
Are you unable to distinguish the differences that a quick group friends photo shot at a birthday party with a photo shot with multiple strobes in order to enhance features of a subject with lights and shadows just because you only do motion graphics?
To keep this as objective as possible, I won't post my opinions till a few responses later.
- Sep 6, 08, 12:29 p.m. – Permalink
- PromotionalUseOnly
I won't judge a print designer, as i don't know the intricacies of taking something to print, just as they probably don't understand the array I've built or the sequencing of animation purely through programming in result of the users interaction... if that makes sense
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 12:46 p.m. – Permalink
- alicetheblue
its more likely called " a person with a computer that thinks he is a designer and has no clue "
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 12:47 p.m. – Permalink
- d_rek
Yes, appreciation of all aspects of design should be important to any designer. It's what makes you aware as a designer. Sure, some people are biased towards different types of design but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to appreciate good design when you see it.
Just because you don't 'do' web stuff doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to appreciate it either - cultures the world over have been saturated by web media and to the artistic eye it should be increasingly easier to differentiate the good from the crap.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 12:47 p.m. – Permalink
- dog_opus
Excellent subject, Meeklo. I appreciate good design – and cringe at bad design – everywhere I go. I couldn't not notice it if my life depended on it. After I'd taken classes with some passionate, knowledgeable, and talented professors I realized that I'd had an as yet unrefined and unfocused design instinct that would make look twice and think about stuff all around me: in books, builidlings, utnesils, appliances, posters, etc. (everywhere).
I appreciate god design that works, even if I'm not particularly fond of it – kind of like acknowledging talented musicians whose music I may not enjoy.
One aspect of design culture that I've been dismayed by, time and time again, is the cliche attitude of many designers: disdain, cynicism, pretentiousness, and hostility toward other designers or even everyday people who don't conform to their groupthink. I don't think that's good for design, or for people in general.
But, yeah, I'm a pretty optimistic person, and while this may set me up for disappointment sometimes, it's worth it to be able to appreciate all the beautiful design around me: it's frickin' everywhere.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 12:53 p.m. – Permalink
- NONEIS
Appreciation is not the point in my mind, good design is good design, interactive and print are founded on the same underlying principles of communication, concept and layout. Just because the format or experience are different than the one you have chosen to focus on or have direct experience with, or you don't understand the technical side of things (the least important factor in my mind) does not mean you throw out your understanding of those design basics, rather they should inform any medium.
Frankly, I don't get it, every designer I know would be just as comfortable critiquing a print ad, book cover or website.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 12:55 p.m. – Permalink
- six
i studied fine art at uni, and and have also designed lighting, textiles, interiors, print, web and clothing in the past. i love all kinds of creativity and appreciate good and bad in most disciplines. i don't think you can be creative in one medium and not be visually aware of other creative industries. it all kinda intermingles.
i think if your a visual person, you cant help but notice, be critical about, moved by and appreciate all the beauty in the world. both natural and designed/made by humans etc. sometimes i get blown away. there also has to be a balance between good and bad art/design.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 1:13 p.m. – Permalink
- Meeklo
Well, I as many pointed out..
I think NONEIS made a good point, all design no matter the medium share similar values of composition, color coordination, etcOf course there are several points/ rules that only apply to a specific medium, (type size on printed mediums vs TV/ broadcast medium, is one of many that comes to mind) but overall we should be able to distinguish those common links that differentiate good and bad design, and by good and bad, I don't mean pretty or ugly (that is subjective) but if the piece in question does a good job communicating the message or not.
On the other hand, I think that in order to become a good art director (a term that is being used a lot instead of "web designer" these days) you should understand the basic principles of all mediums, because when it comes to branding, you will need to be able to adapt your client's message to the best medium (and you should be able to understand what would that medium be).
If you don't have the expertise to complete a specific medium (or you think it could be done better by someone in that has more experience in that medium) then you can still have an idea of what can be done, and how it will be done in order to complete the piece, if you are only able to appreciate value of a single medium, then this should be a very complicated time for you, as the distance between them is getting smaller every day.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 1:19 p.m. – Permalink
- johndiggity
i think that in print especially, the element of craftsmanship is much more apparent, and therefor much easier to appreciate. you really lose that quality on the web. not to insinuate craftsmanship is foreign to the web as a medium, it's just that it is usually behind the scenes, in the code or the ia. in fact the more polished a website is, the less apparent it is to a user.
web is also much more of an experiential medium. again screenshots do little to convey the care put into the backend. as a design you can look at a photo or series of a printed piece and have a pretty good idea of its finish and production quality. the same cannot be said of a website.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 1:27 p.m. – Permalink
- akrokdesign
i am sure there also a lot of members here that just go with the flow. meaning if most people say they love the work, they would say the same. i could be wrong too. lol.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 1:37 p.m. – Permalink
- Meeklo
I think print medium can be as, or even more experiential medium (depending on the piece) you cover other senses that you can't cover on a computer, tactile, smell, opening a package with your hands, etc, on a website, you can navigate, hear sounds, activate movements etc.
But those are still benefits of specific mediums, you can tell if a website looks good or bad from a screenshot, typography, color, weight, composition, use of space, etc
I think at least- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 1:38 p.m. – Permalink
- akrokdesign
usually if you good at critiquing, your also good at designing.
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 2:01 p.m. – Permalink
- marchelo
I've worked with 10 yr olds with amazing command for coding webages, and have met 16 year olds that create very technically advaced scripts etc. Mind you their Aesthetic/Design ability were less developed but eventually print/web will mesh as one... Much like my iphone is a hybrid of different technology. It's only a matter of time, you already see plenty of job descriptions that want the designer to do print/web/programming/prepress/e… Personally I appreciate architecture more than some of the crap ad campaigns and bullshit that I've seen out there. But NYC has amazing buildings so...
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 2:15 p.m. – Permalink
- Point5
maybe when that person said that they can't appreciate web screenshots, it's possible that they are trying to say that they don't have a grasp or understanding of what went into building/designing that site. "Design" is universal, but when you get down to designing for print vs. designing for web there can be many differences besides just 300dpi vs. 72dpi and CMYK vs. RGB. Print: 3 dimensional, static, tangible, paper choice, binding, spots, varnishes, distribution etc. … web: accessible, interactive, dynamic, architecture, SEO, etc…
When I see a classic restored car, sure I can appreciate it, but can I truly appreciate it without knowing what the people that restored it actually put into it?
- Dog-earSep 6, 08, 2:38 p.m. – Permalink
- JackRyan
I really believe that good designers can work in really any media. Raymond Loewy would probably be the best example of this. I tend to notice that when I go to somebodies house that is involved in the design industry, they usually have good furniture.
- Dog-earSep 7, 08, 10:58 a.m. – Permalink
