Today's design heroes
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- identity0
tobias wong
- neue75_bold0
// Gensler
- neonspice0
Keetra Dean Dixon
- neonspice0
M/M Paris
- polyestercorp0
Nessim Higson,
http://iamalwayshungry.com
does great work outside of a studio
- dijitaq0
i wouldn't go so far as calling them "design heroes", just designers whose work i admire. having said that, not since the days of vir2l, gmunk, once-upon-a-forest, yugop and all those guys from the early 2000s, i don't have a particular designer that i follow closely. mostly just bookmarking designs that i find interesting.
- utopian0
You can do anything at Zombocom
- tOki0
I'd say the lack of such heroes is not that they don't exist, it's just the internet has made us realise how many great designers there are out there. The world has become much smaller. Many of us compete an international level where as previously this wasn't really possible. It is subsequently much harder to shine as an individual because of the collective nature that has become the design scene, just take be.hance, deviantart, css galleries etc as an example. It's mass media displayed en masse.
Also in the digital space, there are so many people touching a persons work that it's very hard to sit there and say "it's all me". It's now the team, which may be comprised of notable figures, but a team nonetheless. The most painful truth is that because of this, it is often a huge fight to make sure those other people don't touch it with dirty hands and take away from your good work. If you are working in digital, as I am, you will intimately understand how frustrating this can be. We've all had clients who create content for their sites or developers who lack attention to detail.
Design has become a commodity more it has ever been, template sites and logo designer applications are proof of this. As a result, the person behind it doesn't really matter anymore nor does the process.
- Douglas0
For the most part, nothing has changed. Sagmeister, Carson, Glaser, Kidd, Brody, Saville, Oliver, Tomato, Maeda, Kyle Cooper, Joshua Davis, Beirut/Scher/Pentagram... all sell out auditoriums as Graphic Designers the fastest today. At the core of their work are subjects that 19yr olds can relate to: music, skate/surfing, crazy typography, and maybe a bit of experimental video, it's what gives their work credibility aside from the personal style.
Look at speaker lineups from conference like OFFF or Semi-Permanent. Those two probably draw the youngest crowds. You'll also notice the the landscape has changed in terms of mediums kids are into. Most student care more about the technology and making an iphone app or an interactive arduino project than they do about specific people in graphic design. Maybe someone like Aaron Koblin is a new individual making waves there. UVA.
I think another way those specific designers of 15yrs ago got so big were because they were the only individuals putting out graphic design books in the Art section at the book store. The alternative, picking up a design magazine like Print or HOW would bore me to tears back then with wine labels and stationary design. I would much rather get a bunch of music, skate, graffiti, comics, and fetish mags to draw inspiration from. Carson and Sagmiester were the closest to that in legit graphic design form.
Back to the question... modern type people like Marian Bantjes, Si Scott, Alex Trochut, Mike Perry, and Jessica Hische all get attention. Heads of State are pretty popular with their screenprints (music). Motion Design is much more of a thing now. Matt Pyke is a good individual there. So is Todd St.John. Danny Yount is taking over for Cooper in terms title talks. Companies like Psyop, Buck, DigitalKitchen, TheMill, BrandNewSchool draw lots of student attention... the more shiny particles, the better. Directors then start coming into play: Stop motion people like PES. Shynola is still loved by all. Gondry, Cunningham, etc.
sorry, tangent.
- very good and objective response..neue75_bold
- as usual - your opinion is always appreciated Douglas.identity
- Douglas0
i think that i actually would put the big street artist like Fairy and Bansky in a category of "design heros" today. they have that edge and design sensibilty that kids look up to.
- ********0
Seems like a great summary, of print and motion people anyway.
I also agree with what tOki said. I feel like when I was in college there was almost too much focus on these kinds of people...which led to a situation where everyone focused too much on developing their own style. In the early stages of your career its better to focus on how to successfully deliver what the client needs, a skill that is lost on a lot of young designers aspiring to be the next No Pattern or Si Scott.
So my question is, how much value is there in picking out certain "heroes" when what they do doesn't have much bearing on your average designer's daily work? Are there people we can point to who don't just pursue a certain aesthetic but are actually respected for addressing business and client needs?
- rascuache0
Jason Munn?
Perhaps not a hero but well respected in his field and popular outside it, or at least I think so!
- Fax_Benson0
In addition to what toki said, the same thing has happened to music. The sheer range and volume of what's available and the ease of access we have to it means that there will no longer be the huge mega-bands that dominate an era - Elvis/beatles/U2 etc.
There are still be those who are considered groundbreaking and the best at what they do, but it's just become harder to pick them out. The rash of software trickery / sub-standard design mags in the early 00's has probably had an effect, too.
- necromation0
Me
- joshtrix0
Non-Format?
- monospaced0
My old boss was, and in a lot ways still is, my design hero. He is a natural designer and he had his own firm running at my age and was able to teach me a lot. His name is Jason Schulte. Another one of my favorites Douglas mentioned in his novel above; Jessica Hische deserves her own callout. She's my hero at the moment.
- office is nice********
- Jason rocks, never met him but wonderful work.polyestercorp
- office is nice
- Glitterati_Duane0
One of my personal favorites at the moment is Jeff Staple
http://stapledesign.com/2010/03/…
- ********0
Jon.
- OSFA0
I think Douglas just summarized it for us all. Well said sir.
- ********0
for snuggles: