I was just reading the terriffic blog of Ashworth Graphic Design Instructor, Mike Nelson. The blog is called, The Ideation Phase, and it’s is a great resource for all of our graphic design, web design, interior design, and photography students.
Mike recently profiled a couple graphic designers that should definitely inspire our students. Check their sites out and be sure to drop in and say “hello” to Mike when you get a chance. Thanks Mike!
Greg Lamarche uses a collage to create his work and does a great job.
Hornall Anderson is a Seattle based graphic design firm that is simply phenomenal.
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…
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!
Thanks to Carol Esther for permission to use this Photo.
One of my biggest daily struggles is creating graphics using “dummy” images or filler copy, simply because a client is late in providing me with the final art work or copy. This forces me to make blind decisions in Photoshop, because I know they will all change once I receive the real artwork and/or copy. It’s no use coming up with the perfect way to make text fit a page, if the text is going to change in size when you receive the final draft. Working with dummy text or art work is okay for making general decisions, but don’t waste your time with it. If you are already working in your computer program, you are at the stage of making final decisions. Don’t make those decisions until you can be sure that they will truly be final.
I realize that operating efficiency isn’t the sexiest topic a designer can imagine, but let’s look down the road to your future in the industry. Remember, that’s what this course is about: your future. Suppose that you are working with a design team and you are in the comp stage of a project. Let’s add to this scenario that you’re working to get a promotion or a bonus. You’ll look like a hero to your art director if you arrive at critique sessions with twice as many comps as your peers, due to your higher proficiency with the design software. Also, the quality of your work will be higher because you can successfully flesh out ideas and create a better end product. Your final comps will also have more detail and therefore look better than the less-developed submissions of other designers. This is the kind of edge every designer looks for. It’s the kind of edge you need in the very competitive world of design. I want you to have this edge.
Thanks to Nic McPhee for permission to use this Photo.
I find maintaining and repairing plumbing systems the most interesting and challenging work in the plumbing industry. If you enjoy figuring out and solving problems, then plumbing service work will likely be a good field for you. Even as a seasoned professional, I openly admit that there are simply some problems will be difficult to figure out, diagnose, or repair. Here are some key points I have learned through many years of doing plumbing service work:
Keep your mind open and stay loose on your feet. When you first get to a job, try not to get locked into one course of action.
Before you jump into a course of action, remind yourself that the customer has probably been living with the problem for days, months, or even years. You have only been on the job for a few minutes. Give yourself time to choose the best course of action.
Listen to what the customer has to say. Try to understand the facts. It is appropriate to write down what the customer says.
Now, try to put what the customer has said aside. Look and test for the problems yourself.
Compare your independent observations with the customer’s comments. Do they match? Look and test some more.
Be aware that there may be several causes for a plumbing problem, or several independent problems that need repairing.
Before beginning work, list the various repair options along with an estimate of the cost and discuss this with the customer. Offer what you believe is the best course of action, but let the customer decide how to proceed.
Following these seven points is very important. If you just jump right into a situation without analyzing the entire job site, you are likely to see only a part of the problem, and therefore won’t be able to fix the problem correctly.
Here is an actual problem that I was recently involved with. The customer had smelled gas near the hot-water heater. (more…)
Thanks to Todd Euhlers for permission to use this Photo.
One of the most important components of a commercial or industrial project is the blueprintsandspecifications, usually called the “plans & specs.” The plans for a large commercial project will be far more complex and detailed than a residential blueprint. The electrical section alone can contain 40 or more drawings for a ten-story building. These plans are the “instructions” for constructing the electrical distribution system in a building. Your ability to read and understand detailed blueprints is paramount for a successful career in this industry! I know many electricians in this industry who are very skilled at installing equipment, but who are not very good when it comes to reading blueprints. They still earn a good living, but the lack of this one skill almost always prevents them from advancing into other areas of the industry, such as estimating, project management, project supervision, and even owning their own business.
Imagine how difficult it would be to develop a successful business if you have difficulty understanding the blueprints for all of your projects. This skill is not hard to master; it requires only the desire and willingness to learn how to do it correctly and efficiently. In the future it might be possible for you to obtain some old prints for completed jobs from your employer. You could then study them in your spare time in an effort to become more familiar with different types of blueprints. When I say different types, I mean that the blueprints were drawn by different engineers. No two jobs are the same, nor do any two design engineers draw their plans in exactly the same manner.
Reviewing different sets of electrical plans will help you see various ways of portraying electrical installations. One thing that you are sure to notice is that nearly identical electrical installations can be drawn differently on two different sets of plans. The drawings may look similar at first glance, but the way in which each one conveys information will not be exactly the same. Most of the time it will be up to you to interpret the intent of the electrical plans. Sometimes there will be details for you to install something in a specific way, while most other elements of the installation will be designed just enough for you to understand what to do without a great amount of detail. Otherwise, you would have 200 drawings for that ten-story building instead of just 40.
Specifications are another critically important part of any commercial or industrial project. These are the written construction documents that accompany a set of blueprints. The “specs” contain information about the contractual portion of the project, code compliance, quality assurance, documentation, and a host of other important pieces of information about the job. Unless specifically stated otherwise in the contract, the specifications govern the installation of a project, not the plans. The plans are to be followed, but if there is a discrepancy between the plans and the specs, the specs govern.
Specs are easier to follow than the plans because they are in a written document, usually resembling a very thick notebook. As you read them, you’ll see things like “this type shall be provided” or “testing will be performed in the following manner.” The trick here is to review the specs on a periodic basis throughout the life of the project. You cannot remember everything contained in the specs. Realize that it gets quite costly whenever you provide and/or install equipment that doesn’t comply with the specifications, simply because you forgot to or didn’t read what the specs called for in the way of approved equipment or installation practices.
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.
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
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