“On an average day consumers are exposed to six thousand advertisements and, each year, to more than twenty-five thousand new products,” according to Scott M. Davis in his book Brand Asset Management.

We often refer to this onslaught of media and marketing as “the clutter” and we say that good design “cuts through” this clutter, making it easier for people to chose the stuff that they take into their own little system.

As a graphic designer, I (and you other designers out there) have the task of cutting through the clutter. If not, I/we are merely adding to the clutter. One way that this process makes sense to me is to compare it to a filter. Filters work by taking a mass of matter and removing parts that are undesirable. A water filter, for example takes water that is full of, well, clutter, and as the water passes through, the unwanted gunk is kept back sending out only the clean, usable water. One notable dimension of any filtration process is that more goes in the in than goes out the out.

Graphic designers work as a sort of visual filter. We, like everyone else out there, take in thousands and thousands of visual messages each day. But! Graphic designers and other visual communicators are also sending out messages, hopefully relevant ones; the kind that cut through and stand out.

When I begin a project (an identity design project, for example), I begin by learning all I can about the company, the consumer, the product and so on. I take note of what in the mass of clutter is relevant to the project—what colors, ideas and concepts, competition, symbols, icons, et cetera relate and in turn communicate. This is where the filtration system comes into play. In order for my design solution to be effective, I have to start with more visual stuff than I ultimately send out and the stuff that I send out must be absolutely relevant.

The quality of any design solution is dependent upon not only the amount of ‘visual stuff’ that the designer takes in, but the ability of that designer to see in a truly unique way and an ability to somehow store that information in an accessible and “searchable” manner. Basically, in order to be innovative in the way we designers send messages, we need to spend enough time innovating how we receive messages. Doing so will make us very effective visual filters.

At this point, I don’t plan on elaborating on how we can innovate our methods of receiving messages, but I will argue that the really good designers seem to have a knack at such a thing.

If you have any thoughts on how we can innovate our reception of visual messages, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you!

My entry for Veer's first Take a Picture creative contest

I just won a $200 subscription to Veer’s new marketplace! I was one of five winners for the “big and blue” contest. I ran outside with some sidewalk chalk and went to work, snapped a photo and voila! Check out this contest and join in!

Cantalope

In my 3D Graphic Design class (as in package and environment design), we have been given a number of “exploration” assignments. This one was to be an exploration of textures.

Since the main project we are working on in the class is about farming/produce/gardening, we had to center our exploration around, well, farming/produce/gardening. I basically used black acrylic paint and applied to the paper with a variety of fruits and vegetables. This was a great exercise.

Carrot

Onion

Orange

Potato

Everyday, I wake up and go to work, open my email and my task management software and begin whittling away at the projects in the que. I love my work and am constantly striving to improve the quality of my work and my own capacity to create. One technique that helps me keep my creative mind limber is to turn off the que and do something for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the challenge that comes with doing any freelance project. The process defining and solving the problem in a creative and effective way is what keeps me going. But I feel that it is very important to break away from the needs of clients and work on my own problems, in a sense.

Recently, I took it upon myself to create a valentines gift for my wife. Knowing that she has been wanting me to get a little more exercise—for my own good, and for hers, I suppose—I set out to create a set of workout coupons. The concept was simple: about four books of coupons for running, pushups, sit-ups, etc., now to solving the problem. It was relaxing to skip the formal ‘client review’ stages, seeing that I was the client this time. Work moved quickly and I truly enjoyed crafting the coupons, the book covers and the box that they all sat in, striving to make this the kind of project I would be proud to show.

These types of projects really can be a sort of “designer’s therapy.” While it may be hard to find opportunities to do some self-made projects, some easy excuses include gifts for others, self branding and promotion (websites, business cards, thank you cards and so on), or some kind of propaganda.

Unfortunately, these types of projects don’t usually pay the bills (self promotion obviously can turn into profits), but keeping the quiver sharp really does have it’s paybacks. And hey, it feels pretty good to make something cool and keep it for yourself.

These days, all my creative energy is funneled toward one very specific vein of creativity: visual. As a graphic designer, I am always looking (and paying close attention) at art, design, textures, type, color, patterns, advertisements, opening credits and nearly everything visual. But this isn’t the end of my creative observation, nor is graphic design the end of my creative expression.

I’ve said it before, there is a lot of value in doing one thing and doing it well. Still, doing that one thing may start to suffer if it really is the only thing you do. As a creative professional—even one with a specialty—it is essential to allow one’s self to absorb more than that one thing to which one specializes in (whew!). I guess what I am trying to say is that creative energy (if you will) flows from so many places; it would be foolish to aimlessly create without letting that influence seep in.

Graphic design and visual art is not where my “creative career” began. In fact, I was always a terrible artist as a child (not that it ever stopped me). I began as a musician. I learned to play the drums when I was a kid and later the guitar. I played in bands, performed and wrote music, made recordings and was always working to polish those skills. In order to improve as a songwriter and musician, I, with my friends, would listen to music with a picky ear, looking for masters of their art. And to this day, music is a big part of my daily life; although I listen much, much more than I write or play anymore.

In high school I took film studies and video production classes and developed a love for film. I never became a great film maker, though I wanted to for a long time, but to this day I consider myself a great film watcher.

Now days, I spend most of my time making visual art and graphic design. I take the occasional photo, make a short every once and a while and even pull out the guitar and sing some of my old ‘hits’. I feel good about that. I feel that I have sort of ‘fallen’ into my place as an artist. Yet I cannot ignore the influence that other mediums of art have played in my selection of this focus, nor do I avoid absorbing the context that comes from an eclectic collection of creative hobbies.

All art is better understood when placed in context. It makes sense, then that art is better created when created in context. As we take in good art from a variety of veins—good books, good music, good films, good painting, etc.—we as artists can put our art into the context of our culture, something that can make all the difference in the realm of graphic design.

As I got to know the students in one of my foundations art classes, I wondered if those with obviously shallow tastes in entertainment would make it to the upper division courses. Just as I supposed, most of the less culturally aware found it hard to stick with it. Not to say that I am “Mister Culture”, but I do try to be selective and I feel that it has helped me succeed.