Stepping Outside the Circle: An Essay on Graphic Design

 S tep outside the circles in life, and your bound to nothing.  Stray from the common lines, and here is where you'll find us.  I am ideas, and images.  I am originality.  I am a universe devoid of boundaries.  I am worlds within one margin.  I strive to convey sadness.  I love to milk your tears.  I push to evoke anger, and sketch your happiness, all while exploiting your greatest fears. I am an aspiring graphic designer.  I recently discovered the limitless occupation of graphic design, and was in awe of its wide array of applicable job fields.  What fascinated me about graphic design more than anything, were the people.  Graphic designers can be viewed as a sort of perfect blend of the qualities in a human being.  They are smart of course, but also inherently creative and talented, and can be just as resourceful as Mcguiver, given an extremely challenging situation.  A good graphic designer can
overcome obstacles, by designing several ideas and using the most practical and easily communicable one.  They also are good people, usually with a broad sense of humor, and a knack for being able to charm an audience. 

     Feeling as if I fit this pre-conceived notion of what a good graphic artist consists of, I felt obligated to myself to give it my best shot.  Attending college for graphic design, I find now  I should exploit this essay writing opportunity to discover further, what it takes to make my dream of creating things for a career; a reality.  The important thing for everything aspiring graphic design student to realize, is that you must first be able to market yourself. If you lack the crucial people skills that this field requires, your work may be lost to unforgiving synapses of a judgmental brain.  It is vitally important that anybody aspiring to peruse their dream career/job remember that taking those first steps with confidence will encourage you to achieve your goal.  In the graphic design world, this consists of learning to convey messages through two dimensional arts; thinking outside the box, and marketing your personality with your portfolio.

A graphic designer creates and arranges two-dimensional visual elements to communicate a message (Trautwein, 1). This is a vital first step in understanding how to design effective artwork.  It can be the difference between catching the viewer’s eye, or winding up in the trash.  It’s important to know your audience as well, and to suit the needs of who will be looking at your artwork.  At the same time, that should not inhibit your creativity, but allow you to become more creative by learning new techniques.  It is only a poor graphic designer, who sticks with what he does best, and nothing else. (3)  Sometimes, it is difficult for a designer to know exactly what may be right for a certain project to communicate with its audience.  Craft skills and an eye for what is right aren't just the province of the designer. Equal responsibility lies with any technical collaborator, be it a pre-press expert, a printer, a manufacturer or a shop fitter, and the best work tends to come through close partnership between them and a designer - once an enlightened client has enabled the best design to go through. (Edwards, 6)  If it is successful, the finished product should be able communicate exactly what the client intended on.

Thinking outside the proverbial box, the cliché that has become more popular than such classics as "Go the extra mile", can be used perfectly to describe what it takes to become a successful graphic designer.  For example, in order to achieve a proper design for a logo, a designer can go in a number of directions.  If the designer lends from somebody else’s idea, or uses predictable ideas for their design, the outcome of the logo will be bland and predictable. While it may communicate with the viewer, the viewer may simply be turned off by the idea.  At the very best, their not turned on to it, and it’s usually thrown in the garbage.  Possessing the ability to think outside the box is wonderful, but it takes more than creativity to be a success.  "Thinking well outside the box may be your preferred modus operandi, but it is tempered with real-world pragmatism to get things done. Plan in advance. Make sure there's an outcome. It's all visual communication "(Edwards, p.13)

Being able to market yourself can be the difference between achieving a life long dream, and settling for some nine to fiver, stuck behind a cubicle, feeling dead inside.  If you lack the ability to develop strong rapport at your job interview, or out in the field working free-lance, you’re not going to be successful even if your artwork is fascinating.  The most important tool you have, in marketing your abilities to make communicable artwork, is your portfolio.  A portable enclosure carrying proof of your education in graphic design and is a document of your work. (Geissbuhler

Equipped with the ability to create communicable artwork, you’ll find an explosion of new design ideas.   Enlightened with the art of thinking outside the box, you'll be able to solve complex design problems and inconsistencies.  Possessing the people skills to communicate your work, you'll have connections in the most prestigious of circles.  It is important for any aspiring graphic designer to understand, that you must take pride in living outside the circle.  To be weird or different is the very trait that allows you to be as creative and unpredictable.  As a designer you must embrace this, while mastering the art of selling your eclectic personality.  Owning and understanding the important tools and abilities discussed will help you solidify a well disciplined yet custom fit approach to layout and graphic design.

Works Cited

Croghan, Lore. “Get it right or resume is lost”. NY Daily News 12 November 2006. November 19

2006. http://www.nydailynews.com/articles/nov/bus/24948.htm

Edwards, Susanna.  “Craft skills and technical prowess are vital for design”.  Design Week 5 Oct.

1. 2006. P.6 Infotrac-Onefile. Nassau Community College Lib. Hempstead, NY. 20 Nov. 2006.  http://library.ncc.edu

Edwards, Susanna. “Profile: Susanna Edwards”. Design Week 16 Nov. 2006. P.13-15

Infotrac-Onefile. Nassau Community College Lib. Hempstead, NY. 20 Nov. 2006

http://library.ncc.edu

Geissbuhler, Steff.  “Presenting Your Portfolio.” A.I.G.A Organization. 22 Nov. 2006

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm?Alias=portfolio_advice

Trautwein, Mary Beth. “How to get started as a graphic designer”. About.com. 23 Nov. 2006

http://graphicdesign.about.com/ocl/edresources/a/get_started.htm