I checked out the blog of Paul Kurzeja, one of the panelists at Tuesday's Big Debate. Some really interesting posts if you're into the future of publishing and marketing. A couple of posts caught my eye: this one, from June, about content and the way it is marketed. The other is more recent and is a speech made by Chad Hurley, one of the You Tube co-founders.
What is apparent from both is that more free content, distributed in an appropriate way, can actually build loyalties to a brand, publication or tv network. Also, that the traditional centralized distribution hub is on its way out. I like the statement:
“There is no old media. There is no new media. There is one media with one common purpose; to inform, move and inspire the world through information, art and entertainment.” – Chad Hurley, co-founder You Tube, 16 October 2008
I think these are exciting times to be a designer in publishing. It's like being back at art college where you get a chance to do a bit of everything – video, photography, graphics, illustration, etc. For years I've thought that the role has been in a straightjacket. Modern technology is now allowing us to participate, on a professional level, in what a lot of us do in our spare time. We, as trained and educated professionals in visual skills, can now start to influence the look and feel of a magazine beyond the printed page. We can now say how the content should be looking on the web, and how the pictures, vids, audio, etc will interact. The role of the designer will become more important as more visual elements are used, not just for layout, but to maintain the visual identity of the publication brand.
The only things holding us back are work colleagues who don't see it as part of our role (journalists deciding how best to crop images or edit video, or marketing people deciding which fonts to use!?), or us – designers, art editors, art directors – in the classic phrase "it's not my job."