{"id":18148,"date":"2010-06-23T02:03:41","date_gmt":"2010-06-23T09:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/?p=18148"},"modified":"2010-06-23T02:21:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-23T09:21:28","slug":"why-design-marian%e2%80%99s-ted-talk-and-my-own-ruminations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/archives\/18148","title":{"rendered":"Why design: Marian\u2019s TED talk and my own ruminations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019ve known Marian Bantjes<\/a> a few years \u2013 mostly thru emails and online notes. I found her work years ago, it blew me away so I put it in an exhibition.<\/p>\n

And in watching her recent TED video (above), I\u2019ve noticed some career parallels. Though I’m not looking at a parallel of work (not even close), what I see is a parallel of thinking. <\/p>\n

design rut<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve been a designer working \u2018behind the scenes\u2019 for over two decades.<\/p>\n

I was a paste up artist and I have the scars to prove it. My first graphic design courses were part of a drafting program \u2013 no computers – and today I\u2019m shocked at how important work habits developed during that time have become. I don\u2019t consider my work innovative or new \u2013 simply bulletproof.<\/em> And I\u2019ve made a lot of money for a lot of other people. And mostly, I\u2019ve never quite fit in with my contemporaries. And the battles that come from this have raged on for a long time.<\/p>\n

A few years ago I had to ask myself this tough question:<\/p>\n

Why the fuck do I no longer enjoy what I do??<\/em><\/p>\n

The answer was telling. And not very simple. Part of it involves the temporary nature of my field. Most of what I\u2019ve designed, doesn\u2019t exist anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n

But most of the problems I saw came from letting too many other people have control over what I do and how I do it. Working within perceptions of how others see my field \u2013 graphic design \u2013 really took the wind out of my sails. For this simple reason: <\/p>\n

Graphic design can be so much more than people who work in our field think it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

I seem to see this. But not many others do.<\/p>\n

turnaround<\/strong>
\nAbout two years ago I made the conscious decision that I will only work on jobs that I enjoy. <\/p>\n

This is a key decision, in that I’d reached a bottomed out, enough is enough<\/em> point in my career. I had some serious work and financial setbacks and had to put a stop to the   . . .   bleeding.<\/em> For lack of a better term.<\/p>\n

And the work I have in right now, I love doing.<\/p>\n

I love teaching, so I just took on SEVEN classes (all typography, one design history course) and this was one of the most fun quarters\/semesters I\u2019ve had. And in my spare time, I draw fonts, design really goofy stuff and post whatever inspires me to this blog. Because I love it. <\/p>\n

Will it lead to something else? Who knows? Who cares?<\/p>\n

But enough about me. Watch Marian\u2019s talk. She\u2019s figured it out, mostly. And what she does \u2013 what all visual artists do \u2013 is very important. <\/p>\n

Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.<\/p>\n\r\n\t

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