Blog5: Reflections on Heidi's RGD Visit

I was very interested in Heidi's visit when she came to our class to talk about the RGD. Before this visit I vaguely knew what it was about and what it stood for but after she elaborated on what it was I thought it was really neat organization. What they do is certify graphic designers in Ontario who met the standard levels of professionalism through a successful completion of a portfolio as well as grasping the concepts of design, business, research ad theory. I think this is a great opportunity for every designer and I think a license like this  articulates something about your skills.

My out look on spec work is probably the same as the opinions of many designers. I completely agree with Heidi and how it is not fair when a company or a client asks you to do work for free. I think that when you choose to do something for free, you have to be passionate it about it and give out your work with permission. I think clients should pay their designers for everything that they design, even if it is rough process work.

Blog4: Values, Beliefs, Paul Rand & Me

I think that Paul Rand is a huge influence for any aspiring designer.  His ethics and influences shape us into better thinkers and creators because we want to continue what he has started. We ultimately all want for our design to be recognized all over the world and be understood in any language. I believe that designers have the opportunity to communicate any message to anyone though a creative solution anywhere in the world. It's our responsibility to please our client and also please ourselves with the work that we've created. And on top of that, we always have to keep in mind the people who will be influenced and effected by what we produce. Paul Rand has said that designers now-a-days make things beautiful instead of making them functional, I hope that one day my design work will reflect on what hes said and be practical.

Some things that are important to me as a designer are:
Clarity - is someone who looks at my design going to understand what it is, and what it represents
Emotion - every good design evokes a feeling inside which makes you relate it to a certain aspect of your life
Interest - is the design interesting to look at and something that the viewer hasn't seen before
Different  - does it have its own unique style
Entertaining - is the final product pleasing to look at as well as fun.