Posts Tagged ‘originality’
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Hi, I’m Justin and I’ve spent the last four months as a graphic design intern with the affable crew at Think Up. I came hoping to learn how to be a more efficient and clearheaded designer. And boy, I got that by the truckload. Sure, I’ve picked up Photoshop tips and InDesign tricks along the way. But what I’ve really learned was the art of condensing.
To better say what I mean, I offer Massimo Vignelli’s words from his recent talk at SCAD: “Keep sifting until you get to the essence of things. The essence never changes.”
And that’s what both learning and designing is about—getting at the essence of things. From that top-down view the next steps become clear (or clearer, anyway). Of course ideas still need some dressing up. That’s where style and interpretation come in. But we build on a framework, not heap style on top of arbitrary style. This internship has helped me understand that. I already knew how to make stuff out of ideas but I wasn’t as practiced at making ideas themselves.
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Tags: intern, originality, process, rockstar
Posted in learning | No Comments »
Monday, February 15th, 2010
During the past three weeks, the water cooler talk here in Greenville has invariably turned to the musical Wicked’s stint at our local performing arts venue—The Peace Center. And, while I could drone on & on about its many virtues – the music (I have been caught singing Defying Gravity at the top of my lungs while sitting at a stoplight more times than I care to remember), the plot, and the set—they can’t compare to the creative spirit the production represents. And, it was that creative spirit that spurred some interesting thoughts and discussion about original thinking.
Gregory Maguire’s book which inspired the musical is a parallel novel to The Wizard of Oz books written by Frank Baum and tells the classic story from a totally different perspective – that of the two witches. While all of us struggle to create original and innovative ideas, I would argue creating a parallel thought to a classic and timeless design sometimes may seem more daunting. How do you borrow from a masterpiece without appearing that you are shamelessly stealing? How do you retain the integrity of the original concept while giving it your own signature? Many times we shy away from turning to classic ideas for inspiration because we don’t want the output to seem contrived.
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Tags: greenville, originality, wicked
Posted in different perspectives, local | No Comments »