AU Blogspot

With their latest groundbreaking video, created from 3-D data captured by the latest in laser scanning technologies, Radiohead continues to close in on the singularity many of our childhood friends may or may not be sleeping through.  The video speaks for itself, so my story ends here.  I’ve included a link to the “making of the video” as well.  These features are usually boring, but this one is actually cool.  Check it out…  

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University 

Jonathan Ive is arguably the most ingenious designer of the last decade.  An analysis of Ives’ portfolio requires almost a suspension of belief to comprehend.  The term portfolio could easily be replaced by “culture” in this case, since the products of Ives’ masterful mind have literally altered the way all of us, collectively, have learned to communicate, conduct business, entertain ourselves, etc.  Well, if you haven’t heard of Jonathan Ive, I’ll go ahead and reveal why his multifunctional industrial/graphic/technical design talents are recognized in the same scope as a Leonardo DaVinci.  Ives is the principle designer of the iMac, iPod, and iPhone.  He is currently the VP of Industrial Design at Apple.  The video I’m sharing today consists of a short interview with Ives in which he discusses the overall arch of his design style.  It’s simply an introduction that I hope will inspire you to reach your creative potential as you progress through your program studies.  I look forward to hearing what you think.  Stay focused!

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

I’d like to take this opportunity to summarize some points of extreme importance for you as a beginning designer.  I have followed these principles throughout my career and have used them to guide me in the development of your graphic design program.  I call this methodology the Michael R. Nelson “12-Point Program for Successful Designers.”

1. Be humble and ready to learn. Even after you complete your program, there is still a vast world of design out there for you to learn, experience, and absorb.

2. Always enter into a design project with clear objectives and criteria.

3. Establish a clear design process with a methodical intent of reducing possible solutions until a clear solution rises to the top.

4. Don’t be afraid to revisit parts of the design process as many times as needed to get it right.

5. Have a clear hierarchy of information in the graphics you design.

6. Respect typography.

7. Make your imagery meaningful. Don’t be overly simplistic with your imagery. Make sure it’s appropriate and communicates your core message.

8. Always push your designs for a higher level of excellence.

9. A successful designer must be willing to self-educate. Never stop learning about design and exposing yourself to creative outlets.

10. Make your own opportunities. Designers do not have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for prospective clients and employers to come to them.

11. Be discriminating in defining what good and bad design is. Whether you are critiquing yourself or work you randomly run across, or you are participating in a formal group critique, hold the work to a high standard and have the confidence to declare it successful or unsuccessful. Allow proven, high-quality work like we cover on this blog define your standards of good work.

12. Don’t let computer programs “own” your designs.

If you can excel at these 12 points, you will be well on your way to becoming a good designer.  Let me know how you are progressing through your program and please reach out to me through this blog if you need any direct assistance.  All you have to do is leave me a comment and I’ll follow up with you right away.  I’m here to do whatever I can to make this learning experience a successful one for you!

Michael R. Nelson
Graphic Design Instructor
Ashworth University

All you Graphic Artists out there give us a holler!! The upcoming Ashworth Newspaper is in need of your talents! We desperately need cartoonists. We would like a funny page! Any takers?   

If you’re interested, follow up with us on the Ashworth University Forum “Student Newspaper” thread.  Click here to view and participate in this thread.  Thanks!

David
Student
Ashworth University Criminal Justice Program

P.S.  Remember; Greatness is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. 

     Thanks to thinbegin for permission to use this Photo.

David Carson spent a decade building his reputation as an underground graphic designer before gaining mainstream popularity in the early 1990’s.  Some have labeled his signature style as “dirty” in the sense that it may appear unpolished, heavy, and visually dense to the common viewer.  Carson was one of the first graphic designers to mash seemingly unrelated typographical and photographic elements into one composition, a practice that is so commonplace today as to almost appear cliché, but at the time,Carson’s ability to convey what were perceived to be complex (subconscious) messages through his work was considered groundbreaking.  In the following video, Carson discusses how his design instincts have always guided his career from day one—and how important it is for young designers to develop their own intuitive style in order to consistently create substantive work.  Click on the image above to watch this video.  I think you’ll find some inspiration in the life and work of David Carson.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

Many designers help solidify their careers by becoming experts in a specialized area. Typically, these men and women possess a broad understanding and competence in many areas of design.  Their career focus revolves around being at the top of the field in one specific area of design.  Even for you as a new designer, computer programs like Photoshop and Illustrator are potential areas of expertise.  I can tell you from experience that almost every successful designer is generally competent in Photoshop and Illustrator, but a program expert achieves results that few others can provide.  The usual response to the work of an expert is, “Wow!  How did you do that?”  The advanced skills displayed by a program expert are often self-taught and involve a unique way of using these programs.  Illustrator presents a great opportunity for you to become such an expert.  If no one else can create beautiful graphics quite like you, your resume will set off “Must hire!” bells in the minds of potential employers, and you’ll become an irreplaceable expert and invaluable asset to someone’s company. 

There is no secret formula to design success.  You will never find in any textbook or manual the qualities that will make your graphics special and distinctly recognizable.  That quality is hidden deep inside you, waiting for you to discover and develop it.  Consider a designer like Josh Davis.  He uses Illustrator-like vector drawing programs in an innovative, bizarre, and brilliant manner.  You can spot a Josh Davis design almost instantly, because no one’s work quite is like his.   

As a designer, you must seek out a way to differentiate your skill-set or your work. Find something that you can do—and love to do—then do it to the best of your always-increasing ability.  You can accomplish this without compromising your other marketable design skills.  For instance, a graphic designer who knows more about the packaging materials manufacturing process than any other designer will never be out of a job.  Why?  It’s because this designer offers a value-added aspect to his or her position.  A packaging firm will hire someone like this, knowing that he or she brings two valuable assets to the job: knowledge of plausible, real-world manufacturing and an expertise solving difficult problems in this area.

In my career, I have always benefited from my broad knowledge base.  At my current job, I have become particularly useful because of my (1) exhibit fabrication knowledge, (2) ability to create digital interactive in Flash, and (3) expertise at implementing audio-visual hardware in exhibits.  And here’s the key message for you in all this:  No where in my formal design education was I specifically taught any of these skills!  No graphic design school will teach you “Wood Shop 101.”  So, I took the initiative and went out and learned these skills on my own.  This is what you’ll have to do find your niche in the design world.   

The fundamental point I want you to remember is that learning Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is an excellent starting point for your design education.  However, don’t any particular design software limit the scope of your creative growth.  As I’ve said before, these are great design software tools, but don’t let them “own” you, meaning don’t let them limit the horizons of your artistic creativity.   

I hope I’ve convinced you that, as you progress in design, you need to look for a niche where you can stand out as one-of-a-kind, while simultaneously building additional knowledge areas that will make you a solid design employee.

Michael R. Nelson
Graphic Design Instructor
Ashworth University

Joshua Davis is acknowledged as one of the most innovative multimedia-digital designers the world has ever seen.  Creator of such seminal web sites as Praystation, whose’ radical use of open source flash applications was almost unheard of at the time; Davis has redefined the very concept of “interactivity” for a generation of web designers.  His relentlessly creative work defies classification and incorporates elements of physics, mathematics, code, architecture, etc.  Are you getting the picture?  This guy is a monster.  I decided to post this video chronicling his work on what is now considered a legendary campaign for BMW’s Z4 automobile.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a web designer, graphic designer, or just someone who appreciates brilliance in any form; you should take a few minutes to learn from Joshua Davis.  Let me know your thoughts.  Who are some of your favorite designers?  If you’re not sure, simply share some of your favorite web sites with the Ashworth student community.  Talk to you later.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

              Thanks to Starck Ting for permission to use this Photo.

Throughout his career, Philippe Starck has positioned himself ahead of the design curve, practically ignoring it, but not through the prescient recognition and/or early adoption of trends.  Starck instead relies on ingenuity to reinterpret the concept of design itself, reworking the most mundane of objects (clocks, silverware, computer mouses, etc.) until they are capable of being perceived in different contexts—with new meaning and functions.  In this conceptual sense, one can detect traces of Marcel Duchamp and his influential readymade objects.  The following video offers a fine introduction to the vision of Philippe Starck.  Starck’s vision will inspire you.  Click on the image above to watch this video.  Let us know what you think. 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University  

        Thanks to Alex Whittaker for permission to use this Photo. 

The Brooklyn Digital Foundry does some great web and digital media work. I think what makes their designs excel is their control of information and how their interfaces gradually reveal only the necessary information.

They also appear to do an excellent job of attracting cool clients, which is a difficult and important design skill to master and taught no where.

Michael R. Nelson
Graphic Design Instructor
Ashworth University