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I Hate “GRAPHIC” Design
Yes, I hate graphic design or at least I hate the categorization of being a GRAPHIC designer.
Consider this. The best actors don’t think of themselves as television actors or movie actors or theater actors. They see themselves as actors. In fact, most actors consider the name gender neutral. Each performance, within each theatrical medium, contributes to developing expertise without regard for the size or proximity of the audience.
In the same way, good designers should be capable of developing and applying a process unique to each challenge, across any and all applications. Those designers that begin by defining the task to be accomplished, rather than a product to be produced can design anything, from cars to dresses, tableware to trademarks and books to commercials. Designers, should not and are not, limited by assumptions, assertions and/or the categorization of design by the deliverable.
Some designers, Terry Irwin, one of the founding partners of MetaDesign, now Director of the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, has gone from the micro, to the macro, to the galactical. She and he cadre of Masters and Doctoral students are exploring the next generation of design, applying principles and practice tools to some of the worlds “wickedest” problems.
Anything is possible when design principals are considered and applied in the context of an objective to be achieved with ideas worthy of exploration.