Boomer's Enterprise & Innovation Blog

so, entering my 2^nd year of my graphic design degree, the question of who I am as a designer and what skills I have for some reason seems about as ambiguous as when I started my first. What I can say however is that my knowledge of graphic design practice and my skill set have certainly developed since I started this course. I am also, fortunately or unfortunately, far more aware of my weaknesses than my strengths.

I’m the kind of person who tries to keep his finger in many pies, the kind of kid who when i read those fantasy books that lead you back and forth between pages kept my finger in as many as possible – just in case. this quite accurately defines my approach to design – I want to learn as many different processes as possible so I know how to do almost anything – just in case. the one thing I’ve learned about though is because of this I’m not really sure exactly what my particular, singular, individual skill or skills are. sort of a semi-good at lots of things than a really-good at a few. weakness or strength? I don’t really know.

how to answer this question then, of who I am (as a designer). quick personal history then – I started out as most kids do, doodling and sketching on my school notebooks, sights set on designing CD covers for bands I liked, while in the meantime doing detailed sketches of things in my spare time. I even got 10% knocked off a chemistry GCSE exam for drawing characters round the edge of my paper. then on to painting my own t-shirts for my friends’ bands to wear at gigs. In my first year of this degree I’ve learned all about type, image, layout, colour, all the digital software programs, screen printing, photography among others. all from scratch. fingers, meet pies.

one skill I feel strongly do have is idea generation. now I realize most budding designers say “hey, I’m an idea factory going nuclear!”, but I do think whereas my delivery is occasionally lacking, my ideas are usually quite expansive, often outstretching my available production time. I have noticed I work well in crits with a group, coming up with ideas for other people’s projects, and so I think I have a skill in that too. I work well with most people and am quite adaptable, and I think I would sit well as a part of a creative team. I need structure, something to work towards/in, to keep me focused and, most importantly, on time.

I have developed an interest in, and been inspired by, visual language and simply visual theory. it is a practice I want to work towards, to keep my work simple and to the point. I’m not a complicated man and neither is my work. signs, symbols, and pictograms hold so much meaning and are yet so completely focused, without any needless elements. that’s not to say I don’t appreciate complicated or detailed illustration, but it hasn’t been nor can I see it being a major part of my personal practice. iconography is a timeless practice, whereas a large amount of illustration, and more importantly demand for it, is based mainly on whatever style/approach is popular or in trend, and so can date quickly, meaning the illustrator need have more than one arrow in his quiver in order not to fall out of trend also.

as an aside recently I have been employed by a friend of mine who is starting a clothing company as his “head creative”, which, along with my own clothing brand currently in production and the focus of a group of business degree students promotion strategy project, is an ideal opportunity for me to implement the knowledge and skills I have discovered and developed since the start of this course. hopefully I can do better than when I was 17.