‘Like bears, beating on tin drums, trying to move the stars for pity’. That’s Flaubert at his finest, right there. Though he didn’t exactly have designers in mind, when he wrote it.
What he did have in mind, however, were frauds. Well, not just frauds. Everybody. There were no designers back then, mind you. So all he had to go on was our passion for the extraordinaire.
And, in many ways, design is just that: a passion for the extraordinaire. For making things stand out, somehow.
There’s a couple of things you need to keep in mind when designing for mediocrity. Yes, mediocrity. Unless you think Flaubert had it wrong, and that it all matters, the fonts, the colours, the lines. To get back on track: some of you (maybe all three of you reading this) no doubt have tried escaping that which is to remain nameless. And this brings us to…
Number 1—Creative Direction
Very much like the Matrix, creative direction is… inevitable. You can try and avoid it, but it’s there for the long haul. It will likely outlast you. Strike that, it will definitely outlast you. And what can you do?
Nothing.
Designers usually embrace creative freedom. They abhor advice, indications and, generally, feedback. And that makes sense: the more people get in the mix, the more boring the result. So creative direction is, for all intents and purposes, the lesser evil. Like clients needing their logo modified after the download it off istockphoto. But really, it’s simple: as soon as creative direction becomes a factor, you’re just… a casualty. So avoid it at all costs.
Number 2—Smart clients
Every once in a while, you get a client that knows exactly what they want. Great deal, right? Well, if you’re anything like me and have just stopped using MS Word clipart, you know that’s not good.
First, if they know exactly what they want, what are they paying you for? And second, clients with something specific in mind are rarely prone to sharing their idea… from the beginning. You’re never sure what smart clients will say next. They may even go back to their in-house web designer or DTP guy, for no apparent reason. So you should definitely watch out for them.
Number 3—Working in an agency
The farther you can get away from any agency enviroment, the better. There are many reasons behind this, and if you’ve already worked in an agency, you know what I mean. But if you haven’t, here are two solid leads:
- agencies are constantly climbing what I like to call an ‘imaginary ladder of success’. That means they think in terms of projects, money saved, and international recognition. In an agency, designers are just well-oiled cogs, and nothing more.
- As a designer, you will taste defeat, fear and stupidity, working in an agency. And that’s because, in their heart, agencies really believe they can move a client from A to B. That they are in control. That, by some magical combination of project management, sales, art direction and maybe good copywriting, they can change the world.
Good luck with that.
What do you think are the top 3 things designers should avoid? Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated. Feel free to comment using the form below!
5 Comments
My top 3 things to avoid:
1. Browsing more, working less — this is very very hard to avoid. We should work more, not watch more.
2. Whining about clients’ stupidity instead of focusing on solving the problem — we are designers, not artists, the process of designing is not ours alone, it involves the people
3. Drawing less and less — paper & pencil should always be the start — it’s the best way to get clear ideas
Cheers
my 3 cents:
avoid:
1. beauty.
get over the beauty thing. there is no such thing. beauty comes from usefullness. the word “beautiful” should never exist in a designer’s vocabulary. in a client’s, perhaps.
(of course, considering you know what ugly means and you never go there)
2. working more than 2 hours on a project.
if it has to be, think 24 hours, than do it. if it has to be, work again another 2 hours after doing anything else, but don’t waste your precious life working on the perfect shadow
3. not communicating with the client.
we are all humans, we do stuff because we connect. we do stuff to connect. let the client feel he is connected and get yourself connected to him. even if you did not finish that task, let him have it. we all have our reasons, even if they are lazyness or bad timing.
Hi guys,
Some interesting comments here. Thanks for your time!
@iancu: I fully agree that hard work, properly organized, eventually pays off. But this is design we’re talking about! Nobody wants to do the actual work, do they? I think the question becomes: could we all work as fast as Paula Scher, for instance?
@picsel: your idea about only working for 2 hours on a project warrants a separate topic. It’s brilliant!
And yes, I too think beauty is something we could do without, as far as design is concerned. At the same time, this kind of freedom is something the lone and lowly designer rarely dreams about, I think. Maybe more a topic for creative directors?
yes, i do consider that discussing about this stuff is also a design process
so let’s make it happen.
the beauty topic is a huge one. not sure how to separate the mind of a designer from that of a creative director, as the latter is pretty much just seeing things in a larger perspective compared to the first, so there’s not much of a difference.
thanks for the kind words
I tend to disagree with the first point, simply because creative direction (if I understood correctly what you mean) has the purpose of overseeing the entire project and making sure that all the parts involved are headed in the same direction. On that level, creative direction is a must.
I am reluctant to agree to the title of the 2nd point – “smart clients”. The type of clients you speak are not the smart ones. They’re the “design expert” type of clients that want to hire pixel pushers and nothing more. The actual smart clients are those who will learn from you and respect your expertise in the area.
As for the top 3 things I believe designers should avoid, they are:
1. Art for art’s sake
A designer has a job to do, and that is to communicate something, build an experience, convey a message, and so on. Design that is “artsy” but fails to produce the results intended is useless.
2. Repetitive patterns
Designers should often try new styles and new approaches to what they have to do. Doing everything in the same style over and over again prevents evolution.
3. Excessive self-evaluation
Designers are not gods, they can also fail and they need to listen to feedback. Most designers tend to disregard negative feedback on account of their misunderstood creative genius. Very few are brilliant enough so they can afford to do that.
Regards