4.6 week 4-3 article assessment
learning assignment - due friday february 10
description:
industry representatives tell us over and over that they are looking to hire competent designers who are able to express themselves well in writing and conversation. in the design world there are plenty of people who can create amazing things, but few who are able to communicate clearly and effectively. these little article assessments will help you to understand the industry and get practice in communicating your ideas. winner!
assignment:
the article this week is the 12 paradoxes of graphic design.
- i want you to read the article and then post your comments here. i want at least a paragraph of writing. the idea is to do some reflective thinking so i do NOT want you to summarize. go beyond just regurgitating the ideas.
- i would like this process to spark some conversations, so the second part of this assignment is to read and comment intelligently on someone else's post. let's get a dialogue going here.
grading
this assignment will be worth 20 points in the learning assignment category. grading will be based on...
- 10 pts for intelligent comments on the reading
- 10 pts for intelligent comments on someone else's post
I really like the first one, because at first I was like what??? That's not true.. But then I thought about it further and it sort of is true; ultimately the clients are the ones who are paying the designer for a product, and no matter what the client is like we have to be the one to come up with what they are requesting. If it is the other way around though, and the client does not like us, then we end up with no job.
Clients really are paying us to "fill in the gaps" that they left for us, it's part of the job. It's like any other line of work, in that the big idea is presented first, and you as a freelancer are expected to do all the little things to get to the larger picture.
I really thought at first that almost all of the fallowing in the article was a lie. But the more I looked at it more I realized that they are all true, along with being good things to think about and look back at on the road to be coming a graphic designer. In the long run I was glad that I read this because I will always think back to it as I'm doing a project.
The seventh one reminded me of a tv show called Project Runway. The clients were making suggestions about the clothes to make them fit better or represent themselves more and the designer was getting so frustrated and annoyed because he didn't care what they wanted or if they liked it because he was the designer so he wanted the clothes to look his way. By the next elimination Heidi Klum was telling him, Aufwiedersehen!
I think if the designer cant change their design for the client then they probably wont get far in any career. as well as probably get their reputation ruined by their actions.
its really frustrating when you make something absolutely awesome in your own opinion and make a couple other quick crappy ones to give the client options and they choose the ugliest one possible but you've gotta do what youve gotta do so your customers will always respect you
the first one is true because if the designer is not a good designer then the client will not want to be your client and you get a bad reputation.
I love how you said this so simplistically, yet it is exactly what is the case!
I like the 4th one a lot because really if our mind is too focused on the money, it'll distract us from doing our best work and I also like the 5th one as well because being able to have a clear conversation with the client is what gets the job organized and easier for the designer. I for one need to work on my communication skills but overall all of these are true.
Sometimes thinking about the money is a motivator though not a distraction. If you dont do the job good enough then you dont get the money and people realize that.
I agree, it's much more productive to focus on what you love doing, than it is to be concerned with how much a design is worth to you monetarily.
The second one is true, but I think that the client should become the designer, to see how much they go through just to make it how the client really wants the design.
i can definatly agree with that. the client should be a designer to see how tough it is to be a designer and how much of a crabapple a client can be.
Clients really don't know how hard it is to be the designer, when someone else is making them create a design and the clients don't know what they want or they keep changing their ideas. Designers really should become the client because they will get to see how hard it is to ask for a design and then keep changing everything.
Can definitely agree with this but as designers we have to put up with it if we wanna get and keep the job.
A lot of the posters are about clients and how we, as freelancers, should be dealing with them. The point is made that "there are no such things as bad clients, only bad designers." I agree with this statement... but to an extent. Most clients will demand things from you that you deem "impossible" or "Needing more context" as a designer, you should be the person to fill in the gaps that the client leaves for you. That's what they are paying you to do. But sometimes you will get a client that will ask for something that really is physically impossible. At that point the client really is stupid, and you should drop them.
You should drop a client not just for asking for something physically impossible but also just mentally draining and lengthy. Kind of like our Packard projects...
All the posters are guide lines on how you should approach a client/designer relationship. If you can fallow these rules you will probably succeed in the design world. Most clients depend on the designer to know whats going to look best and help them put their ideas into a design but dont want you to be snoby about it and act like what you know is the only way and what they think is the most horrible thing in the world.
I like number 9. Dont brag about yourself because your work probably isnt as good as you say it is. No one likes cocky people and they definitely wont go to you if they need a job done
agreed i hate listening to people who state how well their art is. when people don't talk about themselves it makes me want to know more of their work.
I really liked all of them, because I think that they are all true. Since I will most likely go into graphic design when I am older, I think these concepts will stay with me when I am working with clients. It also shows that graphic design can be difficult, but if you are making something for someone it is best to just do your job as well as you can and overcome any obstacles you may run into in the process.
I found this article extremely correct except for the one that state there are no bad clients only bad designers. there are a lot of bad clients out there. my favorite was the one that said to become a better graphic designer you need to become the client. it makes sense, to get better you must judge your work and keep telling yourself to improve it, just like a client.
I agree that their is no such thing as a bad client. You can advise them about what works, but at the end of the day they are the ones paying. You should show examples of attractive designs.
I really, really, really, really, really, agree with the 7th little picture's caption, "Designers who use the argument - 'I know best, because I am a professional'. Are usually unprofessional designers." That argument I HATE when people use. It's probably one of the most useless excuses to use. I think everyone is good at something and if a designer tells a client their ideas are bad and their's are good, then you should find a different designer. Yes there are some hard truths, but designers should craft what YOU want in THEIR designer, they're hiring you for that.
i definitely agree with you! and i really agree when you say that the argument a designer may use - "I know best, because i am a professional." is a good sign that the designer is not a professional
I agree with Levii and Mike. You can't decide what the client thinks looks good. If you're a professional designer you should be able to tailor your skills to what the client wants. A designer has to work with a clients lead, not lead the client with their own work.
Clients arent always necessarily bad but they arnt always nice. I have had some unpleasant clients..this one lady tried to make a business card on microsoft word...it sucked and she wanted me to make it exactly like hers and the day my boss asked me to make the card (the day after she came in and ordered it) she came back very impatiently with her husband and kept asking if it was done. then after it had already been shipped to the printers she called us and asked to change the card...for free then got pissed after she heard it had already been printed..not always are customers bad but they can be unpleasant. and if we want to make money dont concentrate on the money is a good one
i really like the 4th one because, to make good money as a graphic designer you need to be good at design, and not fully worried about the money, if you worry about the money more than your art, your art could possibly be not as good as should be. i also like the 5th one because, when you design something, more than likely youre gonna have to talk about it, so having good verbal skills along with good visual skills is very important!
I like all of these paradoxes. The 11th one stuck out to me as well. People need to have confidence in their work when presenting to a client. If they don't think you like your own work as a designer, why should they like it as a client. I also like the 4th one. You can't let the money involved fog your view on your work. It should only be a bonus for doing what you love to do.