This topic is a particularily broad one for myself, as I feel that it is impossible to single out one person as being the most influential on my life. We are deeply influenced by the people we grow up with, and the people we choose to be around, however, everyone that has ever taught me something or given me advice has contributed to my growth as a person. I feel that all these people that have influenced me have allowed me to learn a diverse array of lessons, and experience life in ways that have allowed me to expand my mind. I will attempt to credit them all, but for the sake of this blog, I will focus on the ones that are closest to me.
My parents are a gigantic influence on me. They taught me my first lessons and instilled in me the values that have made me into the person I am today. They preached discipline, hard work, and never giving up on your dreams. My father made it very clear that I have a dream and never let anyone stand in my way of reaching it. My coaches in hockey had similar values and further reinforced them on me through hard work and dedication. My parents also made it clear that you work hard and finish what you start.
Teachers throughout my educational career have had great influences on me as well. Consistently through the years, they preached working hard, but also being open minded and thinking for myself. My high school art teacher contributed to these influences in a large way. She helped me to think "outside of the box" and to be aware of the power that we wield as creative people. We have the ability to influence people in our society with pieces of work that cause them to see things differently, and to raise awareness towards different issues. She was always very positive, and never overly critical. I felt that this was good because as a high school student, you are trying to develop and gain confidence in you abilities as you choose a career path, and harsh criticism, while constructive, can be detremental, as it can be received the wrong way.
I feel that all the people I have been around have influenced me and have contributed to the development of my mind. As a creative person, these experiences and lessons are vital as I can bring them back to my work as a graphic designer/artist.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Kevin King's Design Manifesto
1. Allow for the bad ideas – in the conceptual stage, write down anything that comes to mind, even the bad ideas, as parts of them may form the basis of a great idea.
2. Do not rush the conceptual stage – The computer is just a tool, a very sophisticated tool. It does not dictate your creativity, you do. The most time on a project should be spent researching the brand/product/service, writing down thoughts and ideas, and sketching down concepts freely and in an explorative manner, so that all creative options and solutions may be viewed without the constraints of the computer.
3. Experience life – Get out and enjoy life. Whether you are a designer or not, experiences outside of your normal realm will make you a more creative person and more knowledgeable as well, and can be brought to the table for any project. You only live once. Enjoy it!
4. Be passionate – Anything you do in life, especially something like a job, should be something you love and are passionate about. In a field such as graphic design, being passionate about your work and the profession is essential to producing good work and finding the ambition to put in countless hours of work on a project. Great ideas come from people who are passionate about their work.
5. Think about constraints later – although design may be created in response to constraints, it is important to not let them cloud your creativity in the conceptual stage. Think of all your ideas, push them as far as you can, and be free of constraints in this earliest stage. After you have generated several awesome ideas, pull them back and make them work within these constraints.
6. Work around others – People make design what it is. It is a response to their needs. Working in a confined area all the time with no outside interaction limits your insperation and ignores the very people you are designing for. Even if it is not other designers you work around, dialogue between you and them will open your mind to what they want to see, and will allow for feedback and open, fresh thought.
7. Beware the computer – We love our macs, but they can be the worst thing for us as designers and thinkers. All those fancy effects and tools that seduce us into designing solely for the asthetic, and can force us into using the same styles and visual solutions over and over again, making them old and boring. Think on paper with a pencil first, as their are no limits to what you can do or create, then use that sophisticated tool to make it all slick and mass-producable.
8. Theres no such thing as a stupid question – If there was, mankind would not be where it is today. Ask anything and get answers. Learning is one of our greatest tools and we can never expand our knowledge if we don't ask questions.
9. Do not fear failure – We learn from making mistakes, from childhood to death. Do not be afraid of mistakes, embrace them. A grade is symbol that does not necessarily help us. Our mistakes force us to learn and become educated, therefore school is about learning from mistakes and not grades, as is life in the professional world.
10. Indulge into Typography – As graphic designers, words are essential to how we communicate and so is the type we choose to set those words in. Allow yourself to become addicted to it. Take the time to select an appropriate typeface and apply the typography in a way that gives meaning to the word. Type is ever-changable. Manipulate it in creative ways, draw your own, look at other designers type use, look at typographic art, and study the history of type and its current trends to better understand the fonts you are working with and why you chose them.
2. Do not rush the conceptual stage – The computer is just a tool, a very sophisticated tool. It does not dictate your creativity, you do. The most time on a project should be spent researching the brand/product/service, writing down thoughts and ideas, and sketching down concepts freely and in an explorative manner, so that all creative options and solutions may be viewed without the constraints of the computer.
3. Experience life – Get out and enjoy life. Whether you are a designer or not, experiences outside of your normal realm will make you a more creative person and more knowledgeable as well, and can be brought to the table for any project. You only live once. Enjoy it!
4. Be passionate – Anything you do in life, especially something like a job, should be something you love and are passionate about. In a field such as graphic design, being passionate about your work and the profession is essential to producing good work and finding the ambition to put in countless hours of work on a project. Great ideas come from people who are passionate about their work.
5. Think about constraints later – although design may be created in response to constraints, it is important to not let them cloud your creativity in the conceptual stage. Think of all your ideas, push them as far as you can, and be free of constraints in this earliest stage. After you have generated several awesome ideas, pull them back and make them work within these constraints.
6. Work around others – People make design what it is. It is a response to their needs. Working in a confined area all the time with no outside interaction limits your insperation and ignores the very people you are designing for. Even if it is not other designers you work around, dialogue between you and them will open your mind to what they want to see, and will allow for feedback and open, fresh thought.
7. Beware the computer – We love our macs, but they can be the worst thing for us as designers and thinkers. All those fancy effects and tools that seduce us into designing solely for the asthetic, and can force us into using the same styles and visual solutions over and over again, making them old and boring. Think on paper with a pencil first, as their are no limits to what you can do or create, then use that sophisticated tool to make it all slick and mass-producable.
8. Theres no such thing as a stupid question – If there was, mankind would not be where it is today. Ask anything and get answers. Learning is one of our greatest tools and we can never expand our knowledge if we don't ask questions.
9. Do not fear failure – We learn from making mistakes, from childhood to death. Do not be afraid of mistakes, embrace them. A grade is symbol that does not necessarily help us. Our mistakes force us to learn and become educated, therefore school is about learning from mistakes and not grades, as is life in the professional world.
10. Indulge into Typography – As graphic designers, words are essential to how we communicate and so is the type we choose to set those words in. Allow yourself to become addicted to it. Take the time to select an appropriate typeface and apply the typography in a way that gives meaning to the word. Type is ever-changable. Manipulate it in creative ways, draw your own, look at other designers type use, look at typographic art, and study the history of type and its current trends to better understand the fonts you are working with and why you chose them.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
20 words relating to my design theory
1. Function
2. Visual
3. Asthetic
4. communication
5. Ideas
6. Form
7. logic
8. composition
9. purpose
10. simplicity
11. innovation
12. thinker
13. reaction
14. educate
15. inform
16. strategy
17. create
18. creativity
19. reason
20. sketch
2. Visual
3. Asthetic
4. communication
5. Ideas
6. Form
7. logic
8. composition
9. purpose
10. simplicity
11. innovation
12. thinker
13. reaction
14. educate
15. inform
16. strategy
17. create
18. creativity
19. reason
20. sketch
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