Design Questions?

OK, we're going to try something a little different this week.

Design Questions. Here's how it's gonna work. All week from today (Saturday) until midnight Friday it's Design Questions week. You, my beloved listeners, leave questions in the comments and I'll answer them as separate posts. I won't be posting anything but answers to your questions, so if you don't ask any it will be a quiet week on Noisy Decent Graphics.

One simple rule. I'll only answer questions about design, so don't ask me about the future of planning in Uganda.

Does that sound fun? I can tell you're excited.

Comments

[Bureau L'Imprimante]

Ok, I have this one: what's the best way to manage a design career?
The, let's say "japanese" way, wich includes beeing a real specialist in one domain during your whole life, learning and learning again 'til you become a master (not before 75 y.o.).
Or the, let's say "french" way, wich includes working on very various projects claiming that your opened vision is the key to a fresh, flexible way of thinking (but some call it ignorance).
So, what's your position?

[claudiu]

You still owe me a post on the ergonomics of design ;) You promised! Thanks

[Will]

How, for you, does great design come about?

Is it a very methodical process, dominated by procedure, or does it happen at 3am on a Sunday morning?

(Sorry for the lack of originality, but as previously discussed, I've got God awful taste in fonts/cannot draw).

[David]

EXPLAIN WHAT 'BRANDING' MEANS

And if you work for a design 'agency' it's a near-on certainty that it'll be bullshit peppered with words such as 'holistic' and 'paradigm'. Or something like this maybe:

"It all starts with the creation of a mark and a brand system which includes a mission, vision and customer promise. Once BigBoy has created these using our proven research-based methodologies you can move forward with identity creation, message architecture and creative implementation across the marketing mix."

Impressive, eh?

But my favourite definition is from Jeff Bezos of Amazon: "it's what people say about you when you're not in the room".

Anyone got anything better?

[russell]

what are the 5 worst bits of graphic design you can think of?

[Mark McGuinness]

How much is design down to the individual (inspiration + hard work) vs the influence of others (via their work + conversation)?

[Colman]

Is good design an art or a science?

[Mike Towers]

How do you sell design? Should good Design Sell itself? For Instance, Logo's - most new business who approach us for an identity shun at the thought of paying more than £50 for a logo/brand. How do you tell them that its better to start off with the "right image" rather than go to a printers around the corner who knocks up a logo and 500 business cards for £100!

[Mat]

Why do some designers only ever seem to use Helevetica (or similar)? I guess Mark Farrow would be one example of this.

[Marcus Brown]

What's the hardest thing about employing designers?

[J Drut]

What's the ideal relationship between creative/design and strategy/planning?

[Richard]

We're shutting up shop for a day in early December and flying over for the Alan Fletcher show. What would you recommend six designer types do to make the most of our limited time?

[Andrew Walkingshaw]

How important do you think it is for non-designers to learn some of the principles and language of design? More to the point, where would you recommend non-designers start?

[Ben]

Listeners, these questions are brilliant. Spot on.

Keep 'em coming and I'll start answering them in the next few days.

And thanks.

[Valarie]

Of all the projects that you've worked on, which one makes you the proudest?

If you could get your hands on one account, anywhere in the world, who would it be and what would you plan for them?

I also want to second Andrew's question. I don't know about England, but Design is not taught in American schools. What 'curriculum' would you come up with to teach design to teenagers?

[Mat]

Just realised you don't need to answer my Helvetica question because you already did a lengthy blog on it. Just found it, sorry! (Unless you want to re-iterate your original points of course).

[David]

How many designers does it take to change a light bulb?

[Tom Lewis - Reynier]

What do you mean by 'design' ?

[Rob Mortimer]

What do you think of the new BBC One graphic identity, and what are your favourite TV station logo/identities?

[Sarah]

What's your best advice for a young designer?

It's a hard road. Competition is high, pay is low and you get the worst uninspiring jobs to start out with. Ok, that's all expected and as we all must accept, 'just the way it is'. Fine. But sometimes we need some motivation to keep at it.

When I first started out, I thought that working somewhere small and creative was all that mattered. But after having done that for a bit, I was getting really worn out. With no job benefits, long hours and crap wages I thought I should try something different. So now I'm at a large agency where we pump out mediocre designs everyday, the pay is better and I work regular hours with benefits. But I'm not happy here either.

So I guess the bigger question is, do you have any advice how to make a lasting career in this business?

[Maynard Winter]

Why is there such importance placed on the celebrity designer? Getting useful information and picking their brain is one thing, but is it necessary to get autographs and treat them like they're Michael Jordan?

[Anton Berg]

Do you have any tips for a swedish graphic designer (since 6 years) on how to find work in London? The do's and dont's basicly. TA.

[Camiel]

Which (say, 5 or 7) fonts deserve a permanent place in every designer's font folder?

[ayu li]

i just want to ask u..
can i sell my design i made myself? it's a dress or gown for female.
if, yes, how and where..
fyi,,i live in Indonesia, but i sees lot of world fashion..
and am i can earn some money from it?
please help me to solve my problem..and send me your answer as soon as possible..
thank you for your inform..

[anna]

hay babe i think ur post is quiet hot! what saw of design wrk u lik doing illustration or mac wrk? c me i love to draw and wrk hands on love workng with lazer cutters and do a few designs n just chill! where u work want have lok at ur work babe?
XXXx

[Steven Warner]

hello, i've just completed my first 32 page magazine for a client and set all the crop and bleed up but when it went to the printers he seemed to have trouble with the bleed not overlapping the bleed lines he explained it to me but i don't get it as some of the pages are not supposed to be edge to edge i thought i had done it all correctly but am now really confused and not sure how to do this in the future, i was wondering if you can shed some light on it for me please? all the best, steve. ps i am using indesign