I attended Semi-permanent this week, and it was an inspirational and awesome two days, here are some advice, insight and thoughts from some of the speakers:
BENJA HARNEY/PAPER ENGINEER: Importance of passion and drive to be successful.
Before the popularity of the paper craft boom; paper engineer was a rather obscure job title. Benja goes to show if you care about your craft and put in the time to see things through it pays off, as evident in his Hermes store window project which involved meticulously cutting out paper feathers to create wings.
KELLI ANDERSON/GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Making design = making experience.
Design is completed by audience interaction; it is not a solo activity. I think Kelli makes a very valid point that a lot of students forget at times. Design is a commodity; a successful final result usually entails a thorough understanding of your audience in social and environmental contexts. People come to design with an expected outcome, as designers we have the power to shape and engineer that experience.
BEC PARSONS AND BART CELESTINO/PHOTOGRAPHY: You don’t have to be original, just genuine.
The importance of originality is often put on a pedestal. It is pretty safe to say nothing is original these days, only original reinterpretations. Bec and Bart were over the over-polished magazine editorials where the main focus was selling the product. They wanted to do something for themselves and get back to the root of what inspires them. Rather than capturing a product they wanted a rawness to their photography, and with that they published LOVE WANT, a magazine born out of shooting photos they wanted, mostly about emotion and feeling. The magazine was not about making money, just an outlet for them to be creative in their own right. Bec goes on to say even creative industries don’t allow creative freedom anymore, everything is commercial. I think sometimes in our 9-5 creative jobs we get caught up in meeting client deadlines and budgets, and it is important to set time aside to explore your own creative endeavours.
MEGGS/ARTIST: Any opportunity you’re afraid of you should take it.
Whatever happens, it’s not a failure; you will always gain something from it.
DEREK HENDERSON/PHOTOGRAPHER: Communicate your ideas across everyone on your team.
This is extremely important when working in teams, it is so crucial that everyone you’re working with is on the same page as you about concept, ideas, and delivery of final outcome, it not only saves time but collaborating with others opens doors to creating possibilities you couldn’t do on your own, as a result, the final outcome is more refined and complete.
MEIRION PRITCHARD/ WALLPAPER* MAGAZINE: Print is not dead.
Print magazines still have a future, it is about creating a magazine for a niche with good solid content. No one needs mass produced gossip in hard copy when you can get access to it quicker online. I’ve always been a bit of a magazine junkie, but definitely selective about the ones I buy, and more often than not, I buy them for good articles that I can’t find online. There’s just something nice about taking 20 minutes of your day to wind down with an engaging magazine article and admire the layout rather than scrolling down on my screen.
LUCA IONESCU/TYPOGRAPHER: Be proactive.
You can give clients more than they expect if you’re really into your work and you are being proactive without hindering your work timeline and adding bonuses (eg: an extra mock-up design), it shows you care about the project and are giving the client more bang for their buck they will want to work with you again.
This is something I’ve always naturally done, whether it was for a uni project or client work. Not only is the client happy that I’ve added a bonus, it makes me happy too, because I like to think I’ve put in 110% in everything that I do. It is always better than thinking “I could have tried harder.”
VINCE FROST/FROST DESIGN: Retrigger senses and emotions.
Designers have the ability to play with people’s emotions, if you’re designing an identity for a location it is useful to look at the history of the place and pull inspiration from that. However don’t stick to one thing, gather from as many sources as possible. You want to trigger notions and ideas about something when someone looks at a design piece, instead of just seeing the obvious clichés.
BEC WINNEL/ILLUSTRATOR: Put your portfolio everywhere.
Especially if you’re a freelancer, with so many free online portfolio sites and communities now, it is so easy to set one up. You don’t have to stick to one platform, putting your work up on multiple sites and utilising social media is the easiest way to gain exposure, but don’t spam people because that is annoying. If your work is good, it will be noticed.
DAVID ALAN HARVEY/PHOTOGRAPHER: You don’t want a standing ovation.
As designers you should always be striving to learn new things and better yourself, you do not want to be honoured, because that means it is all over, you want to constantly be pushing yourself and pissing people off.
FLORIAN SHMITT/HI RES: You always know something works and is successful when kids love it.
Good design shouldn’t have to be explained, even if the idea is conceptual. Place the idea above everything and keep it simple and memorable.
GMUNK/MOTION GRAPHICS: Collect references and keep it organised!
I’m quite guilty of right clicking inspirational images and just saving them to some unknown vortex of my computer and never to see them again. I find using websites like Tumblr, Pinterest and designspiration works well in organising and sourcing my imagery and having them available anywhere I want.
THREE MONKEYS/ADVERTISING: Naivety serves you well.
You don’t have to know how to do everything, you don’t have to know where you’re going. Sometimes just knowing you want to do something is all you need. Now go create!
♥ BC
