Things that make me...
Lately I've become more aware of things in design that make me cringe when I see, hear or experience them. Sometimes cringing is good, especially when your opposing something immoral, illegal or downright deceptive. Other times cringing is a sign that we are in some way held captive by the very thing we cringe against. I want to be more free creatively, so I've come up with a list of things that make me cringe in the design business. Maybe by identifying them, I can eventually see some good in them. Some may suprise you, others may not:
-- Marketing
-- Church marketing
-- Stock photography
-- Christian design
-- Advertising
-- Design conference
-- School
-- Grunge
-- Style
-- Design on a dime
-- Logos
-- Employer
-- Employee
-- Branding
-- Consumers
What makes you cringe?
-- Marketing
-- Church marketing
-- Stock photography
-- Christian design
-- Advertising
-- Design conference
-- School
-- Grunge
-- Style
-- Design on a dime
-- Logos
-- Employer
-- Employee
-- Branding
-- Consumers
What makes you cringe?
posted by fivemcclungs at 4:33 AM
17 Comments:
Martha Stewart Living
Oprah
Models
Why do those things make you cringe? What about them?
I was afraid someone would ask. I'll try to describe what I'm reacting against, without knowing exactly why:
-- Marketing: (See Advertising)
-- Church marketing: "They will know you are my disciples by your marketing." Nah. "And you will market the good news to the ends of the earth". Nah. Honestly, the only times these two words go together is when you're talking about the institutionalized/organized/denominationalized "church" and and the marketing methods of the world (branding, advertising, identities, etc.).
-- Stock photography: Cold. Fake. Staged. Little creativity. Doesn't reflect real life. Not authentic.
-- Christian design: All Thumbs.
-- Advertising: Basically, advertising & marketing usually involve some element of manipulating the audience...either at an emotional, physical or pyscological or spiritual level. The end goal is usually money or power or pride. It involves fear as the primary motivator: fear of not having; fear of being left out; fear of xxx. Could be the Big Bad Wolf
Syndrome.
-- Design conference: Half intimidation of being around so many folks more capable than I. And half revolution when I see how into themselves designers can be.
-- School: Artificial environment very seldom connected with real life or the interests of an individual
-- Grunge: A style. Overused.
-- Style: A replacement for originality and creativity.
-- Design on a dime: Cheap clients who want something for nothing.
-- Logos: Like rabbits, they multiply exponentially and all look the same.
-- Employer: Left over from the industrial age.
-- Employee: Left over from the industrial age.
-- Branding: Not sure why.
-- Consumers: The patrons of materialism.
Helpful? Maybe a bit too extreme.
I really wish I would have found this blog earlier, but I suppose with all things, timing is of essence.
Thank you for bringing to light so many issues we face as designers (and linking to previous posts as well.) You have captured in words and had the cajones to express them in public forum. So much black and white...and a never-ending search for balance (or color...?)
I have 30 minutes to kill, and plan on sitting right here to catch up.
Anne Jackson
www.FlowerDust.net
I love your blog.
I want to hug it.
Like a good hug, not just a polite one.
Thanks for such a nice comment Charlie. If folks want to hug the blog, then I know we're getting closer to design that touches the heart.
What makes you cringe Charlie?
five, you make some good points about your list. as a business person, i understand the need to for ads and such, but i like design this is more functional and less manipulative. stock photography, for example, shouldn't have to be cold, staged, and fake. if a company has a good product or service, why not show real people, real situations using their product or service?
also, why the proliferation of models in this culture? so much of this type of modeling advertising seems like an entire other world to 90% of the rest of the population. i understand the entire fantasy pull from these type of clamor ads, but in reality it is just pure spectacle and dream. nothing real, nothing you can really hug and love.
oh my,
so many things make me cringe and i believe your list hit most of them.
I especially cringe at christian rip off design, comic sans (of course), elitists, design = life and everything attitude, and there is so much more cringing.
too much to document.
oh no.
bakari,
You're right on about stock photography and models in advertising creating an entire other world that the foreign to 90% of the population. You're right, you can't really hug or love it. I guess that's why I've really enjoyed Flickr and photoblogs. The work is so refreshing to me.
Payprus makes me cringe, and trying to keep a straight face when I hear non-designers gush over it is almost - but not totally - impossible.
Also, the new red/blue combo their redoing all the 76 gas stations in...what's up with that? Orange was so classic
Spiders make me cringe. Oh and IT - didn't Stephen King write a book called IT? My IT department is killin' me!
Oh and Myriad, Cheltingham and Papyrus. Sick of em.
The word "moist". (Perhaps thats just me)
Big tractor trailer trucks with logos you can tell were set up using Microsoft Word and stretched Bodoni type. Try to outrun 'em if you can, but they're sure to catch up to you comin' down the next hill.
Politicians
Church newsletters
Meeting a client with a mullet, a low collar that shows too much cleavage, or both.
Hearing my doctor say "please turn your head and cough".
Most people I see wearing spandex when I'm at the mall.
Advertisements for Big Billy Bob's Auto Sales-A-Lot.
Auto racing and sport fishing on television.
Congeal Salad and red beets.
Logos with swooshes - can nothing else communicate movement?
Vendors who low-ball you to your clients.
"Can you please scan this real quick-won't take but a second."
"Can you make a couple of quick changes to this layout for me."
"I need this first thing in the morning - I gotta go. Have a nice evening!"
Political Design - Specifically all the stuff that is printed at a 'union' based press. For some reason if a union bug isn't on collateral, its a black mark on the political figure. I could deliver better quality and printing at a competative price, but since I refuse to be in a union...well that whole market is closed to me.
Church Design - Everything printed/folded in house, on laser copiers...and oh the clip art is terrible.
Fonts - Comic Sans...this needs to be banned.
Movies - Title sequences that just turn out terrible, I want to be drawn in by a nice title sequence...not turned off by it.
Other things make me cringe, but thats about it for now...
oh yeah one more thing, logo mills and most of the web based printing, but thats a whole rant in itself
One time I saw a poster that used comic sans, and papyrus together. And they were the only two fonts.
OUCH!
This looked like so much fun, I couldn't resist. Things that make me cringe:
Coming in first, Brush Script (it's EVERYwhere!)
Powerpoint Presentations
Reality TV
Big wings on the back of cars
Commercials that use more than six typefaces
The typical music video
Corn
Spam emails
Using sex to sell everything
Commercials that don't have anything to do w/the product they're trying to sell.
Thomas Kinkade
Graphic artists without figure drawing classes and the business men who control them.
Frank,
I loved reading your comments about stock photography--most of it IS awful.
We created The Art Bureau as a reaction against all of the hokey, predictable imagery that we were seeing over and over on other sites. It has definitely been a struggle to sustain something that isn't as commercially viable, but we are commited to avoiding the cliches, and presenting images that are simply beautiful and compelling on their own.
Thanks for such a thoughtful post.
Jennifer
www.theartbureau.com
I totally agree about the fake or stagedness of most stock photography. That's why we built our site Brownstock. We wanted to offer more real and natural images. We're still in early days, but we have been well received so far. http://www.brownstock.com
Alex Conner
Partner
Brownstock
http://www.brownstock.com
'creatively independent'
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