“I understood Graphic Design is a Simpler way to cover the bills – as opposed to being a starving artist considering slicing off and eating your own ear”
Why is it that many talented men and women wind up as Graphic Designers instead of musicians and was it a good career option for them? We spoke to the design team at Artifact Advertising to get some interesting insights about their graphic design profession.
Contents
What is the thing you love about design and being a designer?
Doing my own layouts. (once I get a free moment).
B: Exploring new ideas! You want to hear your customer is pleased with everything you’ve done.
I enjoy designing corporate identities that mos. I really enjoy that!
C: Definitely being creative, seeing design otherwise to the average Joe and discovering it is something that’feeds your soul’… and of course coming to work in slippers if I really wanted to
D: The challenge of a challenging short, coming up with something fresh.
Are there some designers who inspire you?
A: hello! I enjoy browsing thedieline.com. Looking at all these designs always gives me a kick!
My favourite, favourite South African artists should be Louis Minnaar and Anthony Dart
And I really like the site”Behance”, in which they showcase additional designers. I simply love the creativity and new ways of thinking!
C: There’s an illustrator and designer I absolutely love – Rachel Riordan.
D: Designers like Charles S Anderson, Daniel Palavin, Neville Brody, Louise Fili, Paula Scher and Adolphe Mouron Cassandre Inspire me every day.
Which are the design trends right now and how have these changed over recent years?
A: Hand drawn and 3D fonts, and obviously textures and retro shapes. Mmm, they kind of change a bit each year, so that I can not tell – that’s what makes it exciting!
Now design is neater and not overly active, more vectors and illustrations are being introduced than the past.
C: I like clean, flat colors (no drop shadows). The”classic” look is very big at the minute with website design, with organic textures.
D: Keep it easy.
Where do you get inspiration for the first layouts?
A: By these designers and sites I have just mentioned. In addition, the fact that we’re not American, but AfricanAmerican! South African design principles!
B: On websites such as Behance – and – Exclusive Books!
C: I have a few websites I’m hooked on -thedieline.com for awesome packaging ideas and webdesignerwall.com for the latest trends in web design. Sitting for hours in a book shop looking at design books gives one great inspiration too.
D: Answer Censored
What is your ideal job as a designer?
A: I assume I’d love to work for myself or to be a creative director – just coming up with the big idea and everybody loves it!!
B: For one evening to work my way up as a designer and also learn from others. It would be great to become a creative manager one day
C: I would really like to conceptualise themes and ideas for events and do all of the design work that goes behind it. Something that involved traveling and designing would be good too but don’t believe those two go hand in hand.
Oh and designing novel covers
Any funny or crazy experiences you have had in your career?
A: Every day we like a few laughs in the studio. Every day brings something new. We had a client who thought he can do his own photoshoot for his merchandise and it would look fine. This customer sells food and among those hamburgers, he shot, had a significant fly onto it studio d’animation paris. Epic neglect!! What are the chances!
I had such a blonde moment at college! There were just two PC’s alongside each other in class and my buddy asked me to help him. I took the mouse looked at his display to reveal where to go, and spent ages wondering why the mouse was not working! Meanwhile I had been moving my very own mouse!
C: While studying I was a finalist for a packing contest and had a photo shoot and a post written with a journal concerning my design. Anyways, about 4 decades after I went on vacation and we stayed in this tiny resort in Kimberly – I believe we might have been the only ones staying in the resort – and the hotel had provided reading material next to my bed. Out of all of the magazines they could have picked in the world, it was the magazine I was in. I ran round the resort holding the magazine up to my head, grinning and smiling to the staff that was me. I believe they thought I was mad, certainly not anyone even mildly famous as I didn’t even get asked for an autograph
D: Answer censored
When did you first realize you wanted to be a graphic designer and why?
When I was small painting and drawing were my favourite things! I grew up seeing my Mother in the pottery studio and my father always made me draw and webpage through art books.
In high school I took art as a subject. I moved to a university’s open afternoon for graphic design, and I just understood – that can be for me!
B: At high school I took art as a topic and can draw quite well. Once I matriculated I did not know what I needed to perform but I knew that I must do something that involves being creative. I was advised that I could possibly examine graphic design or fine arts. I did not wish to draw (fine arts) as a livelihood because then something which you enjoy would just turn into another job.
C: I realized I wanted to be a graphic designer at Standard 5 (I went around telling everybody I was going to be a’picture artist’ and that they used actual computers to do the artwork ). I loved drawing and being inventive and that I was set on becoming a graphic designer.
D: I came to love design through studying the history of graphic design, designers throughout history are fantastic artists, but times have changed. I was studying Fine art, but realized I might still be creative when I followed a career in commercial art, plus finding its way easier paying the bills opposed to being a starving artist considering eating your personal chopped ear. I love typography in the first half of the twentieth century and the contemporary designers that revived it.
What was your perception of being a designer afterward and what is the reality?
Unfortunately, we spend a great deal of time sitting at an office in front of a computer. Not really that creative. Sometimes sticking to the identical corporate IDs really kills your creative spirit. But hey, I do not regret anything. Graphic design is full of amazing possibilities!