Design Sense on multiple mediums

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  • patrykbot50000

    good design transcends all mediums. however, the design needs to be approached differently depending on how the user interacts with the piece whether it's print or web. context. context. context.

  • mcLeod0

    design is about solving problems. anyone in the world can critique the aesthetics of a particular piece in any medium, but to truly understand what the designers intentions were and whether they accomplished their task as a designer, then you need to see it in context. A screen grab of a website can show you how cool it looks, but if you can't navigate the site and find the information you want to find, then it's a failure.

  • doesnotexist0

    who cares?

  • Meeklo0

    this logo?

  • vcr0

    jezus fucking christ dude!, chill out and dont write so much bollocks.
    and by the way that logo you made with the volume wave and text is childish,unimaginative and utter shite!

  • JackRyan0

    I really believe that good designers can work in really any media. Raymond Loewy would probably be the best example of this. I tend to notice that when I go to somebodies house that is involved in the design industry, they usually have good furniture.

  • marchelo0
  • Point50

    maybe when that person said that they can't appreciate web screenshots, it's possible that they are trying to say that they don't have a grasp or understanding of what went into building/designing that site. "Design" is universal, but when you get down to designing for print vs. designing for web there can be many differences besides just 300dpi vs. 72dpi and CMYK vs. RGB. Print: 3 dimensional, static, tangible, paper choice, binding, spots, varnishes, distribution etc. ... web: accessible, interactive, dynamic, architecture, SEO, etc... 

    When I see a classic restored car, sure I can appreciate it, but can I truly appreciate it without knowing what the people that restored it actually put into it?

    • exactly... often a good design has come from a gift of a project... imagine making walmart look great... thats the real achievementPromotionalUseOnly
    • achievementPromotionalUseOnly
    • APPRECIATION IS NOT THE POINT :DNONEIS
  • Point50

    • someone had to hijack this threadPoint5
    • print, motion or web?uan
  • marchelo0

    I've worked with 10 yr olds with amazing command for coding webages, and have met 16 year olds that create very technically advaced scripts etc. Mind you their Aesthetic/Design ability were less developed but eventually print/web will mesh as one... Much like my iphone is a hybrid of different technology. It's only a matter of time, you already see plenty of job descriptions that want the designer to do print/web/programming/prepress/e... Personally I appreciate architecture more than some of the crap ad campaigns and bullshit that I've seen out there. But NYC has amazing buildings so...

  • akrokdesign0

    usually if you good at critiquing, your also good at designing.

    • maybe the other way around...good at design -> good at critiqueuan
    • true. :-)akrokdesign
    • basically, you know what your talking about.akrokdesign
  • Meeklo0

    I think print medium can be as, or even more experiential medium (depending on the piece) you cover other senses that you can't cover on a computer, tactile, smell, opening a package with your hands, etc, on a website, you can navigate, hear sounds, activate movements etc.

    But those are still benefits of specific mediums, you can tell if a website looks good or bad from a screenshot, typography, color, weight, composition, use of space, etc
    I think at least

  • akrokdesign0

    i am sure there also a lot of members here that just go with the flow. meaning if most people say they love the work, they would say the same. i could be wrong too. lol.

  • johndiggity0

    i think that in print especially, the element of craftsmanship is much more apparent, and therefor much easier to appreciate. you really lose that quality on the web. not to insinuate craftsmanship is foreign to the web as a medium, it's just that it is usually behind the scenes, in the code or the ia. in fact the more polished a website is, the less apparent it is to a user.

    web is also much more of an experiential medium. again screenshots do little to convey the care put into the backend. as a design you can look at a photo or series of a printed piece and have a pretty good idea of its finish and production quality. the same cannot be said of a website.

  • Meeklo0

    Well, I as many pointed out..
    I think NONEIS made a good point, all design no matter the medium share similar values of composition, color coordination, etc

    Of course there are several points/ rules that only apply to a specific medium, (type size on printed mediums vs TV/ broadcast medium, is one of many that comes to mind) but overall we should be able to distinguish those common links that differentiate good and bad design, and by good and bad, I don't mean pretty or ugly (that is subjective) but if the piece in question does a good job communicating the message or not.

    On the other hand, I think that in order to become a good art director (a term that is being used a lot instead of "web designer" these days) you should understand the basic principles of all mediums, because when it comes to branding, you will need to be able to adapt your client's message to the best medium (and you should be able to understand what would that medium be).

    If you don't have the expertise to complete a specific medium (or you think it could be done better by someone in that has more experience in that medium) then you can still have an idea of what can be done, and how it will be done in order to complete the piece, if you are only able to appreciate value of a single medium, then this should be a very complicated time for you, as the distance between them is getting smaller every day.

  • six0

    i studied fine art at uni, and and have also designed lighting, textiles, interiors, print, web and clothing in the past. i love all kinds of creativity and appreciate good and bad in most disciplines. i don't think you can be creative in one medium and not be visually aware of other creative industries. it all kinda intermingles.

    i think if your a visual person, you cant help but notice, be critical about, moved by and appreciate all the beauty in the world. both natural and designed/made by humans etc. sometimes i get blown away. there also has to be a balance between good and bad art/design.

  • NONEIS0

    Appreciation is not the point in my mind, good design is good design, interactive and print are founded on the same underlying principles of communication, concept and layout. Just because the format or experience are different than the one you have chosen to focus on or have direct experience with, or you don't understand the technical side of things (the least important factor in my mind) does not mean you throw out your understanding of those design basics, rather they should inform any medium.

    Frankly, I don't get it, every designer I know would be just as comfortable critiquing a print ad, book cover or website.

    • Yup, design is design, irrespective of it format.dog_opus
  • dog_opus0

    Excellent subject, Meeklo. I appreciate good design – and cringe at bad design – everywhere I go. I couldn't not notice it if my life depended on it. After I'd taken classes with some passionate, knowledgeable, and talented professors I realized that I'd had an as yet unrefined and unfocused design instinct that would make look twice and think about stuff all around me: in books, builidlings, utnesils, appliances, posters, etc. (everywhere).

    I appreciate god design that works, even if I'm not particularly fond of it – kind of like acknowledging talented musicians whose music I may not enjoy.

    One aspect of design culture that I've been dismayed by, time and time again, is the cliche attitude of many designers: disdain, cynicism, pretentiousness, and hostility toward other designers or even everyday people who don't conform to their groupthink. I don't think that's good for design, or for people in general.

    But, yeah, I'm a pretty optimistic person, and while this may set me up for disappointment sometimes, it's worth it to be able to appreciate all the beautiful design around me: it's frickin' everywhere.

    • well saidd_rek
    • I'd also like to point out that I think open-mindedness, broad knowledge, tolerance, and...dog_opus
    • ...a broad weltenschung are essential qualities to the good designer.dog_opus
    • haha Sorry about wrecking my post with typos. Jeez.dog_opus
    • exactly, I find myself sometimes being hostile to other designs, but after a few days I realize I was a doucheMeeklo
    • I'm working on fixing that!Meeklo
    • Sometimes honesty is only perceived as hostility though, the place I am at now has a guiding principle...NONEIS
    • "Be brutally honest at every stage"NONEIS
    • Meeklo & NONEIS, I think that there's a happy medium between both of these viewpoints. Both are valid.dog_opus
  • d_rek0

    Yes, appreciation of all aspects of design should be important to any designer. It's what makes you aware as a designer. Sure, some people are biased towards different types of design but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to appreciate good design when you see it.

    Just because you don't 'do' web stuff doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to appreciate it either - cultures the world over have been saturated by web media and to the artistic eye it should be increasingly easier to differentiate the good from the crap.

    • Although I will say I still don't and probably will never understand Fashion Designd_rek
    • I agree!Meeklo
    • hahaha I'm with ya on the fashion thing.dog_opus
  • alicetheblue0

    its more likely called " a person with a computer that thinks he is a designer and has no clue "