Graphic designers are hungry...
At the recent Christians in the Visual Arts conference, I lead the Graphic Design Network meeting. I hadn't exactly prepared an agenda, but came with the intent of listening to what the members wanted/needed. However, in the back of my mind I was envisioning two hours of intellectual conversations; book swapping; brainstorming about a member's annual and intensive theoretical workshops; and writing some grand manifesto. I had a few delusions that we would all prefer design above other creative endeavors, definitely not painters who design to pay the bills. Deep down I knew better, but I wasn't quite prepared for what I found: a number of young members who were only semi-connected to design with little or no training. All having to make a go of it out there because design is a job, one conveniently related to creativity and technology. Even though design wasn't their passion, they wanted to do well at it. The meeting became a time of educating; those of us who were professors and business owners passing on resources, tips and tricks, and practical book titles.
To tell the truth, I was a bit disappointed. I was looking for a community of peers and mentors for myself (even though I have two degrees in design). But then I realized, that's what we all want. School, forums, books...none of them offer what real relationships can. We want to be challenged beyond the borders of academia no matter what our level of proficiency. Who is willing to step outside of the traditional competitiveness of our field and invest in the future that will honor yet replace them?
Posted by the editor for 'kwag', a professional graphic designer who's identity shall remain hidden under the TOP SECRET / B L A N K Graphic Designer's Protection Program.
To tell the truth, I was a bit disappointed. I was looking for a community of peers and mentors for myself (even though I have two degrees in design). But then I realized, that's what we all want. School, forums, books...none of them offer what real relationships can. We want to be challenged beyond the borders of academia no matter what our level of proficiency. Who is willing to step outside of the traditional competitiveness of our field and invest in the future that will honor yet replace them?
Posted by the editor for 'kwag', a professional graphic designer who's identity shall remain hidden under the TOP SECRET / B L A N K Graphic Designer's Protection Program.
posted by fivemcclungs at 1:10 AM
2 Comments:
I can understand your frustration.
But everyone has to start someplace, as I told myself at a recent conference "for writers who are Christian." I write business articles for a living, and was invited there to lead a workshop in how to express one's faith through one's work in the secular news media.
I thought there would be more of a community of serious writers, people who have considerable experience being published. Instead, I found myself in seminars, and at tables for meals, with people I unkindly thought of as being just "wannabes." As in, people who write poetry, short stories and GodLit novels without a hope of being published. I did a bit of thinking about that quick dismissal of them, however. I decided that my role there was in part to be an "encourager," to help these people find their voice and to fulfil their dream of getting their work published.
I've been coaching and mentoring some of the people I met at that conference, and it's been rewarding.
In some situations I'm the teacher, and in others, the learner. However, if you think it through, we're always in both situations. Always teaching, and always learning.
i really wish that i could have made it to civa. i would have been in that graphic designers meeting (and probably would have connected well to the designer who led it).
i'm currently in copenhagen on a summer-long international design project. i'll be back in LA in september, to finish up at art center. i help to coordinate an art center community called lightbox. if any designer in the LA area or visiting LA would like to make a connection and possibly visit with us, drop me a line.
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