Julia Simons's List: 2.3 Industry Growth

• "Communication" conveys that the work we do is functional   and not just decorative. A "communication designer" must be   not only creative, but also strategic. Our work must deliver   a message, not just a "look and feel". We can work visually   and verbally in all media because our talent is communication,   not technology.
• "Design" once replaced the term "art". The term "design" communicated   that the work we did was more than artistic. Now it is time   to replace "graphic". A term like "communication" may be best   as it deals with all of the communication elements that today's   professional must work with: concepts, words, type, color,   sound, animation and, of course, graphics. It also suggests   that we help clients communicate in many mediums -- not just   print but also digitally and 3-dimensionally.
• Communication ability   -- not software ability -- should qualify them.
  
• Most business people -- the ones that hire us -- think that   we are at the table to create the "look and feel". They see   our work as decoration, a nice-to-have after the strategic   thinking is performed. This is why graphic designers remain   at the bottom of the communications chain -- below advertising   professionals, communication consultants, and marketing strategists.   As long as we are seen only as visual enhancers, we will never   command the respect (or fees) that other professionals do.
• As graphic designers, we've been so busy defining our client's   identities that we forgot about a far more important identity:   our own. Ironically, the entire communications industry is   in a state of self-inflicted confusion: marketing, advertising,   corporate identity, branding, web design, new media, multimedia,   interactive, packaging, graphic design. We have accumulated   so many terms -- old and new -- that people in our own industry   don't understand what we do, yet alone our clients. Many of   these titles have become obsolete -- especially "graphic design".  
   
    The term "graphic" limits the advancement of our industry.   Graphics refer to pictures and images -- not strategies, concepts,   words, sound, or animation. With the digital revolution, graphic   design has truly moved beyond graphics. Today's graphic designer   has outgrown the job title. Some have tried to combat this   by dropping the descriptor and calling themselves "designers".   However, this is a vague term that confuses people and bundles   us with other types of designers (interior, industrial, fashion   etc.).

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• Graphic design now encompasses print, the web, television, and mobile and tablet devices. It has become essential that designers know how to design and build content that can be used across these different platforms.

• As graphic designers use skills and software in interactive media, animation, and web design, the lines between what they do and what a web designer, animator, or multimedia producer does will blur.

   

  “One trend is going to be a greater fusion between different disciplines,” says John Judy, academic director of Graphic Design at The Art Institute of California — Hollywood. “Today’s graphic designer will have to design across all media and think in terms of visual storytelling.”
• It seems like everyone has gone green. Brands and companies have become more intentional about hiring designers who not only know how to incorporate visual elements inspired by nature, but also follow green practices such as recycling and using non-toxic materials.
• Design inspired by the Green Movement uses organic shapes, free-flowing lines, and earth tones and colors that are found in nature such as greens, browns, and blues. Plant-like and natural forms are also prevalent in the art.
• “Often the past and present are being integrated into works that are a hybrid of digital and hand-drawn or handmade processes,” Shanks says. “Digital work has seen a resurgence of vintage themes, color palettes, and styles, including textures, halftones, and Polaroid — anything that gives computer-generated designs the feeling of a human touch.”

• Although user-generated content in advertising and design is likely to stick around, some say its limitations prove there is still a need for professional graphic designers and possibly even expanding their roles.

   

  “Designers are being incorporated in design process from beginning to end,” Judy says. “Cutting-edge companies are hiring designers with MFA degrees to be a part of the entire process of product development.”

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• Graphic Designers are similar to Web Designers in that they too meet with clients and project owners to discuss the colors, the images, specific fonts and so on.  Web and Graphic designers have similar roles and responsibilities but the main difference comes in the final output of the project. Simply put, a Graphic Designer’s final output of a project is “produced” vs. “programmed”.

   

  For a Graphic Designer, it’s designing something along the lines of a business card, company logo, brochure, flyer, poster, t-shirt, sticker or banner; usually tangible goods. These designers need to be fully aware of the production capabilities of the vendor that will be used as well as knowledgeable of the file format needs to produce the project. Bleeds, margins, page-set up and color management are all aspects a proficient graphic designer needs to be aware of.

   

  As technology becomes more and more user friendly and easier for ‘anyone’ to create their own websites and graphic design material, its more imperative than ever, that today’s designer needs to be ahead of the competition and keep up with the rapidly changing landscape. The trend of uniting both the print and web realms is becoming more of a reality and being able to help marry these seemingly different areas is what helps separate a designer from the masses. I know that there are many graphic designers out there that are wondering what they can do to help better themselves and attract more clients, and the simple solution – besides becoming a social media junkie and blasting your work everywhere – is to become more involved with HTML and other coding languages. It is a tremendous advantage to have the knowledge of both the offline and online world.

• So a day in the life of a designer or even an art director or even a creative director; what does that look like? Whether you're a freelancer that's traveling from different agencies or whether you're an independent contractor that's at home and you set your own schedule, or whether you are being managed by a multitude of people and you're a production designer, every day looks different, no matter what job you do.
  
  You may be working on one project for three days in a row or maybe even a month in row, or you may be working on nothing for a week if you're an independent contractor, and you're wondering "Where's my next dollar going to come from?" The feast of famine. The way that my day works is very... It goes all over the place. Because I have a lot of clients on the West Coast, I don't get up until 11:00, so I usually get up and then I check my to-do list for the day, that I usually set the day before.
• Days of designers are not really structured at all and it can be very taxing, but also very exciting if you don't like mundane, and then also, if you're an independent contractor you have to find your own clients. You have to figure out what type of campaign am I going to do today or what networking event am I going to do today? Who am I going to meet? What am I going to say? What work am I going to work on? So it's really up in the air as to how each part of your day will go, but it's always an exciting one and at the end of it, you still feel like you haven't done enough.
  
  The part that I really hone in on the most, is project and time management. Because our brains are wired in a couple different ways. One, you can't do two things at once, you can't multitask. No matter how many times we can convince ourselves that we can, we can't. Then the second thing is that even though you may like to do something different every day, your brain craves structure. So it's one of those things where "Okay, I have to decide what days do I want to do this? What days am I going to look for clients? What days am I going to actually do work?"

• Chip Kidd, the reigning star of the graphic design world, is no stranger to new projects. He’s dreamt up over a thousand book covers, written novels, played music and worked on cartoons. His new book, “GO!: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design,” is packed with stunning images and project ideas to inspire the youngest budding graphic designers. Kidd opens readers’ eyes to design in everyday life, and challenges children to think about why things look the way they do.
• When were you first introduced to graphic design?
   When I was a kid, I didn’t know what it was yet. I never heard the term “graphic design” until I was in college. But I think this generation of kids is thinking about this stuff already. We’re so much more technologically advanced now than when I was 10, so I think it’s important for them to start learning about these concepts now.
• Your book talks a lot about fonts. Why do you have such strong feelings about them?
   I want everyone to educate themselves more about typefaces – a lot of them won’t hold up to the test of time, and will look super dated in 10 years.
• Why is design education such a big deal?
   Design shapes your world. Unless you’re a hermit that lives in the woods and never see anybody, you’re exposed to thousands of examples of designs every day – whether on a screen, as part of an object, or something you walk past. Design education helps you understand who’s creating the world and how.
• The book is intended for kids age 10 and up – why?
   The age is relative. It’s for anyone new to graphic design who wants an intro to it – I tried not to talk down to the audience, no matter who they are. But reading and writing is an important part of graphic design – it’s a form of communication.
• Any tips for the parents of future designers?
   Creative kids are extremely self-motivated. More than ever, kids are creating their own identities at home, in school and with friends. Parents should pay attention to how kids are doing that, and open up a dialogue about it. It’s important that parents encourage them.

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• In today’s economy most companies are known by their website, not by their building. Whether it’s a billboard on the side of a road or a flyer that goes under the wiper of a car, businesses have learned that if they are going to get the attention of their audience – they have to design accordingly.
• In today’s economy most companies are known by their website, not by their building. Whether it’s a billboard on the side of a road or a flyer that goes under the wiper of a car, businesses have learned that if they are going to get the attention of their audience – they have to design accordingly. This has created a new, growing need for graphic designers. It amazes me how many people are graduating college with graphic design degrees and immediately getting scooped up by any number of companies to work beside the owner or office manager to insure the company is represented correctly in print and the media. This has opened up an incredible opportunity in the industry and honestly, I only see it continuing to grow. I believe that in the next ten years you will see the graphic design industry double due to increased demand from business, and because of the enticing idea of going to college for art and design.
• My advice: work hard, learn everything you can, and start working on your portfolio every chance you get. Graphic design is art, and artists take time to mature and perfect their craft. Have you perfected your craft? Can you use all of the modern, industry standard tools? And if so, do you have a portfolio that exemplifies your work? I believe that over the next 10 years, the range of salaries for graphic designers will grow drastically. This is a simple game of supply and demand, so if you’re not the best at what you do, you will get stuck with the rest of the fresh college graduates getting a low paying graphic design job that will not use the full extent of your abilities. But if you work your butt off and you go for exceptional quality, you have the ability to make a very nice salary.
• Also, one more piece of advice: learn to code. Facebook won’t even hire a graphic designer unless they code too, and this is now the mentality of a lot of companies. The internet is becoming more and more accessible to the everyday person; some schools even teach coding in elementary school. So if you want that competitive edge and you want that high paying graphic design job – learn to code. If you don’t, you will be that unemployed guy saying, “I don’t understand this newfangled technology. Back in my day we did it this way” faster than you think.

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• “Flat design” is a major buzz word these days, referring to the use of sleek,  perfectly 2D web design elements that make no use of gradients, shadows or anything else that implies 3-dimensionality.

   

  By 2033, even this is bound to seem clunky and abrasive; user experience designers will be tasked with finding something more elegant than banal visual shapes. In solution, “ethereal design” will do away with the visual element entirely, instead making use of auditory tones, tactile signals and the 4th dimension, time, to guide users around a website, giving eye balls a much needed rest.

• Vintage logo designs, inspired by the blissful consumerism of the 1960s or the rugged, frontiersman-chic stamp emblems of the late 19th century, are all the rage nowadays.

   

  But soon the recent past will lose its novelty, and logo designers will have to find a way to renew the vintage look. Well, there’s only one way to go and that’s backwards, so look forward to a crop of hip designs invoking medieval design — feudal family coats of arms, regal seals and ornamental scrolls. Once there, hieroglyphics aren’t far off.
• If there’s one thing that Pinterest has revealed, it’s that words are superfluous, even somewhat undesirable for a global community that does not share a language. Rather, all you need are images, hyperlinks and perhaps emoticons to get the world communicating. By 2033, the post-linguistic society is going to be in full swing; welcome to the digital Chauvet Cave.
• Today, few things rank higher on the list of a web designer’s priorities than “responsive design” — layouts that adjust themselves depending on the size and shape of the screen the viewer is using, whether it be a desktop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.
• By 2033, developers will have grasped this and will take “responsive” to the next level, creating sites that adjust not only based on screen size but on the viewer’s personality and mood. Is the user agitated? Deploy the cool blue background to calm him down. Hold us, Siri.
• revolutionize the world of typography
• For centuries we’ve had to put up with the tearfully dull convention of 1, maybe 2 typefaces per page. Well, to heck with that! In 2033, every word on every page will be allowed to wear a different typeface, existing in happy ragtag harmony.
• Movie poster design will embrace radical minimalism
• Infographics will take on a more Orwellian flavor
• Not only will .gifs become the preferred means of billboard advertising and physical comedy, but it will have gained status as a legitimate art form, earning itself a category in the academy awards.
• With easy-to-afford and easy-to-use typesetting software, the rate of new typefaces being produced nowadays is simply staggering. We don’t know the exact numbers, but to make a semi-educated guess, we’d place it at a good handful every day.
• By 2033, typographers are going to be stepping on each other’s toes like awkward high school prom dates.
• By 2033, this state of reactionary conservatism will be so intense, it will be impossible for any beloved company to ever re-brand. So you had better get used to the logos we’ve got, because they’re here to stay.
• Another hot topic of 2013 has been destination branding — initiatives by cities all over the world to draw more tourism through the creation of a sleek and coherent graphic identity.
• By 2033, no destination, no matter how local or insignificant, will be without its own identity scheme.
• There is no shortage of stock photography. In fact, that is a crazy understatement. From an angry boy who is being written up to a labrador retriever pooing with sad eyes, it already seems there is a stock image portraying every scenario that could possibly exist, and then some.
• Dentist offices, chiropractors, yoga studios and law firms will assume the vanguard of logo design

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