Art & Design

"But, is it Art?" - Kees Dorst

Dorst discusses the design and art as separate things. In Design, one has half of his goals determined by others since the designer is designing something for someone and is usually paid to do so. Certain guidelines are to be followed when designing for others. Artists, on the other hand do not necessarily have to have the goals of their artwork determined by others. For most of the time, they decide on everything because is is their artwork, and not to be made for somebody else. Dorst continues on to say that design and art is permeable, in that it is related and has a few things in common. I think that Dorst is correct in saying that artists and designers are similar in that both do produce art. Designers are artists too after all. When one stops limiting themselves and starts to think like another person, then they can start crossing over boundaries and make art that holds great potential.

• Artists and Designers are quite alike in various senses.
• Artists make most or all of their decisions and goals, whereas designers seem to have most of their goals decided for them.
• One an artist decides on set goals, it becomes similar to a design process of a designer.
• Designers quite often limit themselves and cannot unlock their full potential. The ones that do think outside of the box cross over into art.

"Art's Little Brother" - Rick Poyner

As the title suggests, arts little brother is design. Design seems to always come second to other types of art. In weekly reviews and such, design is rarely or never mentioned. It is as if design is not a serious subject and therefore cannot be talked about in depth the way art can. Art and design are in fact quite similar, they share many commonalities. However, there are people who agree and disagree on that issue. Design and art is a strong issue that has supporters from both sides. Norman Potter, author of "What is a Designer" clearly thinks that designers are not artists. He supports his statement with saying that designers works through and for others. Their decisions are partially made by others, and the ones made by themselves are based on others' expecations. An artist on the other hand, is free to do whatever they want as long as they are able to pursue and reach their vision and goal in the end. I personally thought that designers were artists this whole time. I have never truly looked into the issue and thought as to why I think what I think. After seeing what Potter wrote, I do see his point of view quite well. Designers design because it is their job and listening and following others' guidelines is what they need to do in order to do well. Furthermore, some designers themselves also argue that design and art differs. Sometimes they criticize others for crossing the line and making art.
          Moreover, design is all over and seen in everyday life. Poyner mentions that most people these days do not even go near an art gallery but still see and appreciate some art because design is everywhere and design is very much similar to art. Design relies heavily on visuals and people appreciate it because visuals make up everything that we see and feel daily. He ends saying that to move onward, we all must have a better understanding that design can reach art's level and can possibly exceed it.

• Poyner speaks about various designers and artists who give their own opinions on design versus art.
• Design is everywhere and normal everyday people that appreciate it think of it as art.
• There are many issues as to if art and design are the same
• Design is not quite on the same level as art, but can reach that level and possibly surpass it.
• Design is described as a little brother to art, or inferior.

M/M Discussion - Michael Amzalag, Mathias Augustyniak

Done in an interview style, Amzalag and Augustyniak talk about how is is better to become a specialist and know one field of art perfectly. Only then can you start working on something with another specialist form a different field to create something interesting. They also address the issue that design is looked down upon when compared to art because it is inferior. This is proven to be true because of one incident where Amzalag and Augutyniak's names were erased off after having multiple artists complain that they did not do anything but design the invitation card to the art show. These two designers being interviewed think differently and are more open-minded of design versus art. Design can be as good as art, or even better. And some art can be bad too. They believe in an equality where designers can also work together with other specialists to create something more amazing.

• There should be equality, where specialists from different fields can work together.
• The two designers being interviewed work together with many different artists/designers.

Sustaining Resources

There are many resources in life that are constantly being used. Of course, we need to use these resources, but there may be a way to lessen the usage and damage of it all. One thing that is used everyday is paper. Everyone uses it, including graphic designers. There are certain things we can try to remember and do to use less paper, or get the most we can out of the paper instead of wasting it.

1. When designing, see if you can possibly put two designs/projects on the same paper if one design won't take up the whole piece of paper. Leaving out blank space just means the rest of the paper will be wasted.
2. Make sure to check your printer to see that it is in perfect working condition so that it will not run out of ink halfway through, leaving you with an strange and unfinished print and a wasted piece of paper.
3. Also make sure that your printer is not jammed and will not be jammed by the paper in the paper feed. Making sure it is clear and ready to print will prevent paper jams that will crinkle and ruin a good print.
4. Check if you have 'old' paper that is big and good enough for your current design to be printed on.
5. If you need to test print a design, if there is old paper that is in usable condition then use that before using clean and fresh new paper. Reusing older paper for testing can help lessen the usage of paper by just a bit.
6. If you need to trim your paper down, go about the process carefully. It is easily to mess up, even with a paper cutter. If it is a really complex trim process for the design, have a professional do it or simply pay extra attention to cutting a clean and crisp line.
7. As like everyone else should be doing, remembering to recycle will greatly help. 
8. Only print the amount that is needed. It should be fine to have a few extra in hand for various reasons, such as your portfolio, but try not to overprint so that you can avoid having leftovers that will only be wasted away.
9. During the design process, you may need to send out examples and mock-ups to your clients. Instead of sending it printed out, you could send it online through e-mail. The benefits of this alternate route is that paper will obviously be saved and people can access easily and faster than a normal delivery.
10. Purchase and use recycled paper. Much less energy and resources are used to produce recycled paper. By purchasing recycled paper, you are supporting the process of recycling.

With these tips on how to sustain paper more efficiently, hopefully graphic designers will try the methods out. Graphic designers use a large amount of paper resources throughout their design process. Some things I have noticed are everyday flyers promoting various things. I have noticed a lot of flyers that show an advertisement for an object, service, or event and it does not cover the entire page. Sometimes, the advertisement is placed in the middle of the paper with almost 50% of the rest of the paper blank. This paper usage could easily be fixed by printing the advertisement at least twice and then cutting the paper into half so that 2 designs can be printed and created from just one piece of paper.

As seen in the example picture above, the advertisement flyer on the left side is placed in the center, thus wasting space on the piece of paper. This can be easily fixed by placing the advertisement horizontal so that it can fit twice on the same piece of paper.

Responses for 10/06/10 Readings

"Professionalism, Amateurism, and the Boundaries of Design" - Gerry Beegan & Paul Atkinson

This piece from the 'Journal of Design History,' addresses the line between professional and amateur practices of design. The two terms 'professional' and 'amateur' and thought of to be on opposite ends with no real relation to one another. However, the two are connected and both have been looked at with positive and negative connotations. Professionals are ideally those that have studied at a university and also have taken the role of an apprentice. Amateurs are easily more in number as it has a wide range. Do-it-yourself, or DIY, projects are one example that technically anyone can do. Another similar amateur project could be something from the Ready Made magazine where one takes ordinary objects and reuses the, thus recycling, to create something more useful and practical. The amateur arts and crafts all give the creator a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction. In fact, one designer in the passage thinks that DIY can be seen as a sort of first step towards a future career in design. As for professional designers, the definition of their profession seems to be ever-changing with many new technological advances such as Photoshop, which even an amateur can self-teach themselves.

• Turner Rahman describes design as a pastime, not an ccuptation.
• The Arts & Crafts movement near the end of the 19th Century inspired both men and women to make their own furnishings and decorative objects.
• Professions used to be only in the upper class in the 16th century, such as law, medication, and divinity professions.
• In the 19th century, more professions were added and recognized.
• Both professional and amateur can be viewed with a positive or negative connotation.

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"We're Here to be Bad" - Tibor Kalman &Karrie Jacobs

This article addresses an issue to all designers in the world. The problem is that everything in the design industry is slowly becoming the same. Is being good the new normal? The question is asked in the beginning of the article and the answer is that to surpass good and become great is to be 'bad.' By being bad, designers will be able to show that difference in their design. Design is crucial to the marketing industry and designers are slowly giving in to consumers by doing exactly what they request. Many designers do sacrifice some of their own creativity so that it stays within the guidelines of what the consumer is asking for. The article suggests that designers should really remember that they can create 'inappropriate designs,' to force viewers to rethink why they like a product.

• Schools generally teach young designers in training to create work that resembles 'professional' designs. 
• Schools also generally teach students to be prepared with a portfolio with designs similar to designs that are already popular. Thus raising the question, is good the new normal?
• Many designers who are accused of selling out and giving in will most likely not mind because they are in fact making money.
• Designs on packaging can become more important than the product itself because it becomes the symbol that people buy. People may end up buying it for the symbol/brand rather than for the product.
• Design plays a big part in everyday life, however the role of the designer themselves is lessening.