I'm just over halfway through Debbie Millman's book "How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer" which is a series of interviews with reknowned designers. It's more of a "how they think" than "how you should think". I think it's really interesting how some of these people think and operate, especially when one person says something completely opposite to the previous person.
There seems to be two schools of thought: one is that graphic design is a way of expressing yourself and that as a designer you are always right. The other is that a graphic designer is the translator from A to B, where A is the person or company that wants to communicate to B, where B is the target audience.
I think the latter is nearer the mark. However, I do think that designers should be able to stick up for themselves if they think in their experience that something won't work. It's no good just saying "that's all you're getting". I'm guessing it's easier in a studio environment where you can bounce ideas around and get a second opinion from a designer. Working in a B2B magazine environment it's not so easy when you are the sole designer on the floor. The "journalists" are always right. Or so they think!
Better online design
The trend at the moment is for a greater online presence. This is being driven by a desire to create online communities that can then be "monetized". The magazine content is going "web first" which means that the copy is uploaded to the web and released before it has been laid out for the magazine. Other initiatives are in place such as video, podcasting, blogs etc.
Unfortunately, this means some of the old values of making the articles attractive to invite the reader in have been discarded or forgotten. This is for a variety of reasons. Some of which are: the web technology is being driven by IT bods who have about as much design awareness as a dead badger; the technology didn't allow for creative input; or designers themselves who are saying "I'm not interested in the web, I prefer print". Having said that, some designers who are interested and DO want to learn are not being given the opportunity. Well, take responsibility for your future – just get involved anyway. Give feedback. Make a nuisance of yourself until somebody listens. DO SOMETHING! Don't sit there and moan.
Gone are the days of having to learn html and coding. The design tools are now available to be able to do decent design online. There is even a free web-based version of Photoshop available!
Still life in B2B magazines
It is interesting to note that as many B2B publishers are exiting the magazine world, IPC seem to have woken up to the fact that there's money in B2B publishing. They have few B2B titles already, mainly in the yachting and boatbuilding sector. They have a different take on the magazine world. They invest heavily in magazine research, they ask their customers want they want, how they want it and act on it.
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