PDMS consulting
A call for visual clarity
As a working graphic and typographic designer, and one who trained in those dark technological days before the arrival of the micro-processor, I am consistently amazed by the magic of today's graphics software. It seems to offer the user almost limitless possibilities,and its rate of technological development has been staggering! Many of the everyday working tasks which little more than a decade ago took hours of toil to complete can now be finished in seconds.
The power and quality of many of these software tools have empowered us as never before. The change which they have instigated goes beyond the designer's core tool set (the pen, the brush, the type scale, colour, space, form . . .), it has also had a far reaching influence on our attitude towards design and, the very people who create it. This democracy can both free the mind of the professional designer from the mundane and provide the amateur with the necessary tools to produce a professional job.
New technology has the ability to bring design to life. But, only artistic acumen can give it soul. Why do some 'brands' succeed, where others fail? More often than not, the successful product, service, company, charity, city, authority . . . possesses a certain unidentifiable element. They present a personality to the world, an intangible quality unique to that entity; a certain something which appears good to be associated with. We might call this its spirit or soul. Yet for such a significant management resource, it is little understood and often abused.
In today's global marketplace, the need to differentiate, inform and identify has become a more important issue than ever before. Recent surveys suggest that design is one of the main concerns on the minds organisations. However, the majority freely admit that they don't really understand what design is, how it functions, how to value it, or how to manage it. Creativity is, by its very nature, difficult to define. Perhaps that's why it is so often misunderstood. Digital technology and mass communication media have also lead to this resource becoming so ubiquitous.
Design now touches just about every aspect of our daily life. It is impossible to avoid its existence. In such a climate, the desire to differentiate runs into the ever present danger that by wanting to do something 'unique', it can all end up being the same. Our new software tools frequently compound the problem: unfortunately they foster an attitude which can easily become focused on visual technique rather than quality thinking and intelligent problem solving.
The prime function of visual communications design is to define and present messages to an audience in a form which they can understand. In our increasingly visually cluttered world, the true value of this information is often lost; buried and obscured between visual layers - layers that were created to 'catch' the viewer's eye. Successful, enduring design solutions are a careful balance of thought and artistic interpretation, executed with clarity and efficiency.
It may be impossible to resist as you look with pride at your new graphics workstation, loaded with fantastic multi-layered software tools: but remember, without informed input, more really can yield less.