RE: Re: Mood Boards
"Jonathan Szczepanski" <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.hci.experiencedesign |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
I just read an interesting piece from Milton Glaser. It is called "10 Things I Have Learned", and it was written for the AIGA Voice Conference in 2002. One of the ten things was very relevant to this discussion so I have pasted it below. The rest of the article can be found at: http://www.miltonglaserposters.com/news/pub_10.htm I agree with Mr. Glaser. Design is subjective and collaberative. I think it is incorrect thinking to believe that there is only one answer to a visual problem. By showing a client only one solution is doing them a disservice. Jonathan P. Szczepanski Number 9 SOLVING THE PROBLEM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING RIGHT. Ultimately, if were lucky, we begin to understand that always being right is a delusion. There is a significant sense of self-righteousness in both the art and design world. Perhaps it begins at school. Art school often promote the Ayn Rand model of the single personality resisting the ideas of the surrounding culture. The theory is that as an individual you can transform the world, which is true up to a point but as someone once said In the battle between you and the world, bet on the world. One of the signs of a damaged ego is absolute certainty. Schools encourage the idea of not compromising and defending your work at all costs. Well, in our work the issue is usually all about the nature of compromise. You just have to know when compromise is appropriate. Blind pursuit of your own ends which excludes the possibility that others may be right does not allow for the fact that in design we are always dealing with a triad the client, the audience and you. Ideally, making everyone win through acts of accommodation is desirable. But self-righteousness is often the enemy. Self-righteousness and narcissism generally come out of some sort of childhood trauma, which we do not have to go into. It is a consistently mischievous element in human affairs.... =========================================== >From: "edguttman" <[email protected]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: [AIGAExperienceDesign] Re: Mood Boards >Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 03:11:48 -0000 > > >I'm with Michael on this. When doing visual design, the graphic designer >needs to walk >tall. We are hired because we are experts and therefore must have >confidence in our >convictions. > >I'll present more than one solution only when I think I've struck on more >than one option >with equal validity, or when there is an aspect to it that is utterly >subjective. I try to avoid >presenting solutions that I am not convinced are correct. Every time I've >broken this rule, >the result has been poor or compromised. > >With regard to mood boards, I don't really subscribe to their use - though >I can't discount >it as an internal design tool especially for complex web design projects or >multichannel >applications. I would not expose clients to mood boards, especially as a >way of asking >them to choose the path to correct solution(s). If one is involved in a >user-centered or >participatory design project, that might be a different story - but I still >say that mood >boards are not to be used to empower the client to guide the designers' >process. > >All too often I've seen mood boards used as a way to avoid making >intelligent (or even >intuitive) design choices and standing by them. When that happens, we are >not designing, >we are conducting focus groups. > >_Ed >-- >New York Chart & Diagram > > >--- In [email protected], Clay Bodine <claybodine@e...> >wrote: > > Answers to Questions about Solutions: > > > > 1. I always try for one. Two, when pressed (this hasn't happened very > > often). > > 2. Rarely are both rejected. When it happens it's usually because > > I'm ignoring what clients tell me they need because I get > > obsessesed with a concept. > > 3. I do initial concept sketches, usually 3 or 4 and then develop > > one. I do check in with the client as I go along, though. > > 4. Revisions depend on the agreement I made with the client. Usually > > not more than a couple. > > 5. I think the client usually isn't too worried about the fee when > > they're happy with the result. They allocate funds for the project > > and they want to get the result asap. They don't want it to be an > > elaborate process. We as designers are into the process, they're > > usually into the result. > > > > > > > > Michael James Pinto wrote: > > > > >--- Clay Bodine <claybodine@e...> wrote: > > > > > > > > >>I've always tried to present one and no more than two solutions. I've > > >>done this pretty successfully at four different business to business >and > > >>business to consumer agencies. Early on I used to present more, but > > >>found that invariably clients presented with choices wanted to mix and > > >>match from all the solutions I presented and ended up insisting on a > > >>half-assed compromise. I think it's in the pitch really. If you >believe > > >>in the solution you're presenting, sell it. I think you get the best > > >>results. > > >> > > >> > > > > > >Questions: > > > > > >1. Why two and not just one? Do you ever break your own rule? > > > > > >2. Have you ever hit a situation where both are rejected? > > > > > >3. I take it that you still create multiples, it just that > > > you aren't showing them? > > > > > >4. How many sets of revisions do you allow? > > > > > >5. I tend to do the multiple thing because I imagine that > > > it justifies the fee on some level - since you only show > > > two - does this financial point ever come up with clients > > > in terms of expectations? > > > > > >I guess I've always aspired to just showing one thing, and > > >when I did magazine and newspaper design not only could I do > > >that - but also as the art direction I could even (but not > > >always) push the editor or publisher my way as we were on the > > >same team. > > > > > >But running a firm/agency it feels like they sort of expect > > >the "dog and poney show" for their fee - and the three ring > > >circus of solutions seems to go over well. EXCEPT yes your > > >darn right it tends to result in weaker solutions. > > > > > >I also tend to work in multiple styles - so while I tend > > >to always have a favorite, should I just suck it up and not > > >show all the work that went into it? > > > > > >Just thinking out loud - any feedback on this would be useful. > > > > > > > > >===== > > >Michael James Pinto > > >Interactive Media Pioneer & Low-Budget Renaissance Man > > >http://www.vm.com | http://www.anime.com > > > > > >This is a must read essay: > > >http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=602558 > > > > > >Please join my Arts & Tech list: > > >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EIA_list > > > > > > > > > > > >- - - - A I G A E X P I E R I E N C E D E S I G N - - - - > > > > > >PURPOSE OF THE LIST: The objective of AIGA Experience Design is to >build an >interdisciplinary community of professionals who design for a world in >which experiences >are increasingly digital and connected. This list has been established as a >forum for the >exchange of information among community members. > > > > > >TO VIEW ARCHIVED MESSAGES: visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ >AIGAExperienceDesign > > > > > >ETIQUETTE: We ask that participants observe common principles of >civility and e-mail >etiquette in their postings. Specifically, it is more appropriate to >challenge ideas than >individuals, and the list should *not* be used for personal communications, >self- >promotion, commercial solicitations or job postings. > > > > > >JOB POSTINGS: Please post job listings on AIGA Design Jobs >http://www.aiga.org/ >designjobs > > > > > >TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send e-mail to AIGEExperienceDesign- >[email protected] > > > > > >MORE INFORMATION: http://experiencedesign.aiga.org > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! 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