Think about the art that has moved you: the movies that bring you to tears, the songs that validate your feelings, the paintings that take your breath away, the books that tell the human story. Why do these resonate with us? They connect to us because they are birthed in truth. The best design is the design that tells the truth. Design is a language that has the power to help us live better, but only if it's honest. There is a lot of content that is pulling us in different directions—spreading us too thin—trying to tell us who we are or what we need to be happier but end up making us want more. People can sense insincerity. Design that tells the truth connects to us on a deeper level and connects us to each other in a meaningful way.
Donald Judd said "Design has to work, art doesn't." Graphic design, at its core is about communication. It's about content. If aesthetics and style are more important than the content and the message, the design has failed. The key to graphic design is communicating the message in an as simple and concise way as possible. That means decoration needs to take a backseat to communication. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as print designers or web designers or interactive designers. Before anything else, we need to realize we are designers of content.
It's easy to look at design annuals and the latest websites for inspiration. The only problem is that is where everyone else is looking too. If you are only looking at other design for your inspiration, your work will suffer and just look like everyone else's. Inspiration is everywhere. Look to fashion, to architecture, to nature, to movies, to music, to poetry, to science, to industrial design. Look around you. Keep a small notebook in your back pocket at all times. Write down things when they come to your mind, draw pictures of the things you see. Really listen when in conversation. The fashion designer Paul Smith said "If you can't find inspiration in the things around you, you're not looking hard enough."
When one has become complacent, their work starts to all look the same. A designer must never stop learning and improving and expanding their portfolio. When you are in the place between what you already know and what you don't, you are forced to try new techniques, tools, and styles and more than likely, your work will be better because of it. But more than that, letting the audience meet you half way turns your design into a conversation. A conversation is a mix of the known plus the unknown; you know what you want to say, but you don't know what will be said back. This allows room for surprise and improvisation. And everyone loves surprises.
If a design is stuck, switch mediums. If you are working on a computer, print it out and cut it up. Rearrange it in the physical space instead of simply pushing pixels. There are times when every designer needs to get out from behind their computer screen and get their hands dirty. It's a nice change of pace to work with your hands, to actually touch your work. To turn it over and look at it from a different angle. It's incredibly refreshing to work on something without a command+Z option. Craftsmanship is becoming a lost art. You can learn a lot by working with your hands like our ancestors did. You become much closer to your work when you are physically invested in it and it becomes something more than just a series of flickering pixels.
Being incredibly passionate about something seems to be uncool these days in a culture where apathy tends to be popular. But passionate people are interesting people. Excitement is contagious. If you are not excited about the work you are doing, it will show, but when you are truly excited about what you are working on, it no longer is work. It becomes something to get you out of bed in the morning, something you can't stop thinking about. Find what you are excited about and give it everything you have. Once you do that, you'll find out you'll have a lot more fun.
The Roman poet Horace said: "The purpose of art is to inform and delight." I think delighting your audience is as noble a goal as any. You can very easily go an entire day without seeing one smile. There is so much in life that can make you depressed, discouraged, and unhappy. Design can be used to destroy, to ruin, and to tear apart. But it can also be used for good. It can rebuild, repair, and renew. At the end of the day, all that's really important is whether the work you are doing matters, whether it's making a difference. Design can be a light that shines into the darkness and lets people see the world as good. That can be as heavy as giving someone clean drinking water or as simple as making someone feel less alone. If you can make someone smile, you are making a difference. And that's what it's all about; just make someone happy.
