Designers are not good artists
It can be hard to find value in a design career. Although designers create tangible products that can be used for a variety of purposes, design work sometimes feels frivolous. I have created a good number of flyers and posters that are used one day and thrown away the next. The availability of design work is something many designers struggle with.
However, the amount of time that is used for our work does not matter. Rather, contributing to an ongoing visual dialogue is the important aspect of being a designer.
I know I’m not a good artist. In fact, I am learning to stop identifying myself as an artist. Although some in our industry may be upset about this, I believe it is vitally important that designers begin to see themselves as problem solvers using a visual vocabulary.
In many ways, being a designer is like being a scientist. When presented with a problem, scientists are tasked with finding a solution using the scientific method. This protocol ensures that the scientist arrives at the correct conclusion (or, in the realm of theoretical science, the best solution). It states that scientists must:
- Ask a question
- Research
- Assumption
- Experiment
- Record observations/collect data
- Reach a conclusion
Although not a perfect analogy, the designer profession is logical. We ask questions (often asking a client about their vision for the part), we thoroughly research the company or client, we hypothesize (sketches), we experiment (produce preliminary designs and mockups), we record observations (we present designs to clients and we listen to your feedback) and wrap up the process (finish and complete the design). Certainly no one would argue that a scientist is the same as a good artist, so why should we debate whether visual communication based on logic is comparable or not?
I think it’s not healthy for young designers to compare themselves to great artists. Doing that inevitably leads to feelings of failure and inadequacy as you perceive yourself as a sellout. It’s important to recognize that working with clients and producing design work for a client may not be sexy, but it is a profession that has gained immense importance over the last century.
Designers have a great responsibility to society. In our modern world, more people will walk through a grocery store and be surrounded by design than they will walk through the aisles of art museums and galleries surrounded by masterpieces and modern works. This means that, in many circumstances, designers are the new architects of our visual world.
The visual vocabulary of society was used once for religious reasons and later for philosophical reasons. Today, we find that consumerism is the driving force in the development of new visual styles.
In the words of the 2000 First Things First Manifesto:
“We propose a shift in priorities in favor of more useful, enduring and democratic forms of communication: a mind shift away from product marketing and towards the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of the debate is widening.” shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism runs unchallenged, it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through visual languages and design resources.”
For centuries, great artists defined the look of the world. Today, our visual vocabulary is created by the designer. A few dozen may attend an art gallery opening, but millions of thousands will see an ad on the side of a city bus. Clothing, interior, industrial and graphic designers are all responsible for creating value in the modern visual world. This gives immense power to designers.
We as designers must see ourselves as separate from the plastic artist if we are ever to recognize our immense importance to society. We must stop feeling like second caste creatives. Our work impacts people’s lives every day. We must recognize this ballast that we allow our profession to be driven solely by corporate interests.
To this end, the designer’s purpose is remarkably complex: to shape culture. The longer it takes for my fellow designers to recognize that, the longer it takes for designers to harness the power that they have.