What it means to me to be a designer
I‘m not a designer for money.
I run a design business for money, but that’s a different thing. The money has always come as an incidental, as an effect and not the cause. I design and often people want to give me money for it. That’s a healthy relationship and a good way to stay alive.
But I design because I love it. I design because when I don’t, odd things happen inside me and the world takes on a certain pallor.
I’m a designer because when I walk around in the city I can’t keep my eyes off storefront signs, sandwich boards, even newspapers in their stands. Everywhere I look is typography for me to study and I often wonder if I’d have made the same choices.
I’m a designer because I see bumper stickers with type so small it can’t be read unless you physically run into the other vehicle. I wonder about the thought process behind that choice and why the designer didn’t care more for his audience.
When I go to the movies, I often pay more attention to the opening credits than the rest of the movie because they’re fountains of inspiration to me. Pacing, typography, layering, composition, mood and how music and images go together…every movie is a semester of schooling for me.
While I hate watching the news on TV I love watching their opening sequences for the same reason. A lot of info has to go into very tight time and space constraints. They’ve got pictures of news anchors, the station logo, stock quotes superimposed over the Loch Ness monster, pictures of Seattle and random shiny bits in motion all over the place and somehow it works. It’s fascinating and I can’t tear my eyes from it. That’s another semester.
Then there’s the internet. I started designing websites because I wasn’t happy with what I saw. Many people were trying to make their businesses thrive on the internet, and I knew they were failing just by looking at their sites. Would you give your money to someone who actually thinks green with pink polka dots is a pleasing color scheme? Or that a flashing star background behind a horse running through a meadow somehow makes sense? Sites like these always left me with a haunting residue. Like what happens when you eat asparagus.
Then there are the great sites. The one-in-a-million site that has 96 awards listed in the footer, and which is so good I feel a pang of jealousy. I see those and wonder why I’m a designer at all, or if I’m even capable of such magic. Those are the times when I spend 48 straight hours reading books on design and doing tutorials, just to keep up with the talent around me if I’m to stand any chance at all.
I’m a designer because I’m probably not slick enough to be a politician, but I’m unwilling to let things slide as I see them. Design is how an artist changes the world, even if it’s just a page at a time.
That’s what it means to me to be a designer. You look around and you wonder.
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9 Responses to “What it means to me to be a designer”
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I love that image.
And I’m going to write my reasons I love being a writer… just not this morning. Running short of time!
James -
Thanks, James. I can’t wait to read your post!
Charlie,
I do not come here to lurk often enough. Thank James for sending me today.
Gosh, that’s beautiful. I wish I had written it! Everything from the storefronts—eek, storefronts—to the movie credits to the 48 hours of reading in a row is also me. I’ve even done it to my kid (semi-accidentally?), who won’t leave the theatre until the very last name has rolled by, who knows her serifs from her sans, and who can tell you why Target’s a great name and Boston Market is a crap name. When we were watching 101 Dalmations (the real thing) the other day and discussing changing animation styles, I knew she is as hooked as I am, at 9. Oops!
I was laughing along with recognition when I came to this:
That put a tear in my eye. Thanks a lot for being a great writer, too.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly -
Well dang, that is just the type of comment that makes this all worthwhile. Glad James sent you my way. He’s good like that!
(Aren’t you, James? I know you’re out there lurking.)
Kelly, your daughter sounds like she’s well on her way to a career in design! Welcome her to the fold, hahaha.
Thanks again for the great comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed! Take care! C
SHH! No, I’m not!
Hey mate - good points, I literally felt as if you were speaking my mind while I was reading your post
The parts about how you so avidly keep an eye out for the credits in the movie to see how “differently” have they presented it from an aesthetic point of you was spot on!
Although I’m a strong believer in the saying “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” - we’ve all seen “bad designs”.
Good to know there are people like you out there, who in their very own way, are making this world a “prettier” place to be in
Cheerio mate!
Devesh -
Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, and it sounds as if your eye is a varied as mine. Inspiration is everywhere, isn’t it?
Glad I’m not the only movie credit freak out there
Thanks for the comment and making my blog a better place!
Take care, bud!
Charlie,
Thanks for this brilliant post. It so resonates with me and my need to draw and see material objects created from my drawings.
“But I design because I love it. I design because when I don’t, odd things happen inside me and the world takes on a certain pallor.”
I especially like this phrase and recognize how strong is the artist’s need to express his/her art.
Now that I have found your blog it will be a pleasure to check back often. With admiration and best wishes,
Ilaria Vilkelis
ilaria.vilkelis@artsofabundance.com
Ilaria -
Oh my, that is a wonderful comment. Thank you very much for that! I was just about to go off to bed when I saw it and it put a big smile on my face.
Thanks for coming by. I hope to see you around here some more. Especially if you’ll be heaping praise on me again
Best,
Charlie