Hillman's Carson Interview.
Out of context: Reply #51
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Peiter - I don't think anyone is saying Carson "is the best thing ever, such a revolutionary graphic designer".
He did do something that was a break from the norm (at the time), and I liked it. Was he the only one doing it? No. Was/is he a design genius? No, I don't think so.
Your characterization of Carson:
"I just picture him hitting a computer like a monkey..confused at it while accidently hitting the print key..bam mistake driven crap all over the place..."
seems like little more than a biased, personal attack - I'm really not sure where its coming from or why?
Balance is needed.
Carson is a self-indulgent designer? The man made his fame designing surfing and pop-music magazines!
Design is first and foremost about problem-solving. The scope and scale of the problem varies from project to project. Sometimes the problem can be as simple as "design a really sexy magazine cover that will grab the attention of the target demographic."
In other words, don't try to measure/judge all designers and their products by the same metrics.
Any healthy endeavour requires extremes which provide tangible limits or parameters. Completely 'self-indulgent' design is as necessary as so-called 'responsible', 'contextual' design, in order for the rest of us to be able to function in the in-between.
If a designer is unable to fit 'self-indulgent' into their definition of 'Design' then I would argue that their definition is far too narrow, and perhaps just a little naive.
Quite often self-indulgence is a label placed on designers who put forth their own agendas. Look around you - at ALL the design disciplines. Some of the greatest designers have very strong personal agendas in the form of themes, recurring ideas, theories; they are the ones who CREATE and/or DISCOVER the paths that the rest of us eventually follow.
I encourage you not to look at Carson's output as the beginning and the end. The fact that he did what he did, when he did it, allows others to come along and take his output in new or evolutionary directions which may ultimately have merit in your eyes.