Design of a Decade
unicornpearlz asked: How the heck did you get so good at marketing?
I’d say there are probably three factors.
The first is just simple observation. Since no one can escape being marketed to, it makes sense for an engaged member of modern society to learn how mass media manipulate individuals and groups. This requires examining those media with a critical eye, giving thought to what the media are doing and how they go about doing it. I see that as just basic visual literacy.
The other is that it’s kinda of been part of my job. I’ve been designing Internet information systems since 1983, and that has included information architecture, data visualization, and (especially with the rise of the web) visual design. As such, I’ve gradually become attuned to the fact that layout and illustration do a whole lot more than just make a page look pretty; they control what information the user focuses on, what they perceive as important, and even how they react to that information.
In the early days, web developers and designers had to be jacks of all trades, and I was strong in technology, business strategy, and information design, but my weakest point has always been the creative side of visual design. Thus, the third factor: in 2001 I started classes at the New England School of Art and Design, with the idea of picking up a certificate in electronic graphic design. In 2005, due to extraordinary events in my life, I walked away from the program with just one class left to matriculate. But by then I’d gained all the knowledge I was going to get from the program.
Knowing I sucked at graphic design, that was an interesting and conscious exercise. When one is young, you always play to your strengths, looking for a job you will excel at; when you’re older, you start thinking more about new, more ambitious challenges and the value of exploring and strengthening the areas you’ve always found most difficult. When I started classes at NESAD, my work was actually well ahead of that of the kids in my classes, but over time, my work stayed at about the same level, while theirs improved dramatically. What I did gain was a better understanding of design and designers, and the incredible insights of the Bauhaus movement.
At the same time, it pretty much confirmed my lack of confidence in my creative ability. While I have expert skills providing critiques and making suggestions, and moderate skill at taking an existing design and improving it substantially, I’m an utter failure if I have to start with a blank page; the ideas just don’t come. So I didn’t overcome my weakness, but I definitely learned a lot, and refined my understanding of my limitations.
What’s ironic is that this lack of creative confidence has spread to my fiction writing, as well, which is one (of many) reasons why I decided to end my involvement with DargonZine. Fortunately, at least it hasn’t interfered with my blogging or photography, which have been my major “creative” outlets in recent years.
But really, I think my first two survey courses in graphic design were the most valuable in terms of gaining a degree of visual literacy. They taught me how to look at a piece of media and evaluate it from a designer’s perspective, and some of the techniques and methods used to influence the viewer, whether subtly or otherwise.