TARYN'S DESIGN THOUGHTS

FOR ANOTHER OPINION IN THE OVER SATURATED

[tarynsdesignthoughts-blog]

SURPASSING MEDIUMS

Recently I heard Society and technology will advance more in the next 20 years than the last 2000, which is a scary thought, but I don’t doubt it for a second. 

With VR/AR/MR, quantum computing, AI (and etc) on the rise, society is at a turning point in history, the Augmented Age. I’ve noticed, from working in the media, that most people aren’t caught up in all that is happening in technology, as barely am I. Ever heard of the Microsoft Hololens? Me neither until this summer, but it came out two years ago, in 2015, and could change how we live.

How does this apply to design? 

More like how does this not apply to design. Looking back at the last 10 years, even 5, the design and advertising industry has changed so, so, SO drastically. Not a lot of people are still setting type on a printing press. Not as many people are building files for print, but building the files for a developer to create. Every business, brand, and person is online, and thats where the design/advertising business is excelling right now. 10 years ago it would have been a sin to have a digital only agency, where now there are more and more of them internationally, but whats next? 

The design school I currently attend doesn’t teach a lot on software, or how to physically build a lot of our ideas, but focuses on teaching how to get to a great idea and how to implement design basics. Most of the time if you ask a teacher how to do something, their immediate reaction is “I don’t know, google it.” Its not fun to hear in the moment, but in this 4 year degree, I have learned to be thankful for it. 

Comparing it to our neighbourhood school, they have a 2 year diploma that focuses on the adobe creative suite, they produce quick work, but how will that work out for them when the next Adobe comes along? Invision and Affinity are already giving them a run for their money, and thats still all in the 2D realm of designing software. 

Great designers learn how to adapt. Not having someone to teach me how to use the pen tool in illustrator has taught me a much bigger lesson; teaching myself how to stay current. If you see my thinking, appreciate my concept, then I will figure out how to implement it by learning and working with the right people, such as a web developer (which is not the same as a web designer or UX designer, but thats a whole different conversation). 

“But Taryn, people don’t buy an idea, they buy a design.” Yes, Im not disputing that. However, theres a reason why the architect of a building gets construction workers to build it. The architect is responsible for learning 3D programming compared to blueprints, but ultimately, what people remember is the core thinking behind the building. Be weary of graphic designers who do quick work and seem to be able to do it all. Creating a design is half the battle as the concept is the other half. If you pay attention, you will see how a graphic designer values their work on that spectrum. 

Design thinking will carry on into the next age of technology, but all these current computers and softwares will not. Be able to learn for yourself, and take all things into consideration. 

Heres an awesome ted talk on Ai, and heres one of my favourite Youtube Channels explaining quantum computing, check it. 

[tarynsdesignthoughts-blog]

DESIGNING FOR LIFE 

As a graphic designer, you are told oh so often how hard it will be to find a job. You have to be self motivated, which is true, but that you have to give it your all, always. Designers believe they are hard workers until they see that in relation to someone else. At art/design school, there is a stigma with how long something took. People brag about how they only got 1 or 2 hours of sleep the night before a project was due. They wear on their sleeve that they slaved night and day and, most of the time, great work needs a lot of time put into it, but it has gotten to the point where in comparison, you feel guilty for taking a night off, which is not a healthy way to work.

Ultimately my point is, we are designing how people interact with life... how in the hell are we supposed to do that from behind a screen?

You don’t have to be working constantly for you to succeed as a designer. Just because you want to take a night off does not mean you love design any less. The guilt of not working 24/7 needs to be done with. In some of the happiest countries in the world, they have a minimum of 6-8 weeks mandatory vacation every year. Instead of living to work (like the North American mentality), they work to live, and prove that time and time again.

Before graphic design, I was a photographer, which I am very thankful for because it taught me to observe. On the train to work this summer, I would watch how people hold their phone, how they interact with it. Watch why people get confused by signage. Stepping away from the computer like this also means communicating with people. You should go to some house parties you don’t want to, (as long as your safe or whatever). Surround yourself with people who you don’t normally hang out with. It’s uncomfortable at times, but you can expose yourself to things you would have never known otherwise. We live in a social media dominated society; we get so caught up in our own worlds that we forget certain kinds of people exist. It is especially way too easy for that to happen when you work 7 days a week behind a screen.

Don’t just research your target audience when it comes up for a project for you to churn over in a few months. Observe. Be present. Have conversations. Live your life, and then you can learn to interpret that into designing how others live theirs. 

For all my introverted designers, here’s some help. 

[tarynsdesignthoughts-blog]

THE END BUT ALSO THE BEGINNING.

This indeed is the end of the blog if you have scrolled thus far, but it is also the first post for me to make so its sort of peculiar. I wanted to let you know why I have decided to start this self indulgent public diary.

I want to know if anyone reads it, that may be fun, but ultimately I want a place to direct people when they ask me how I view things. This summer I got very overwhelmed by design as it is everywhere and it was my job and side job. So I started reading about astrophysics and philosophy, which opened my mind enough for me to form my own opinions about it all. I started going on rants to my friends and by their reactions, I didn’t seem too crazy in what I was saying.

Simon Sinek once said, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” … So here’s the why.