Graphic Design Rules - Part 4


The next book I looked at was this collection of essays and thinkings from the field of Graphic Design, I thought this would be useful for me as it features loads of writings from well known Graphic Designers and would hopefully give me more insights into the theory and how Graphic Designers use their practice in everyday working.

Starting right at the start of the book I found the introduction/forward to be really insightful and useful for me to understand, and place within my own workings. If this is what the rest of the book is like then I think this could be a very useful book for me to use throughout this project. The part that most resonated with me is about how students in Graphic Design are now being taught the "how" rather than to use "why", pointing out that students are taught how to use software, solve problems, or get clients. If I think about this quote and put it into my last 3 years taking a BA in Graphic Design here in Portsmouth I think some of it applies while some of it doesn't. We were taught "how" for some of the course but for me, this was useful as it allowed me to feel more comfortable with what I was doing with my designs, but we were not just taught this, along with the design briefs we were given throughout the 3 years we had projects from Visual Culture where we looked into art history and theory which allow me to further understand what exactly I was doing with my designs during those years. While I partially agree with this point I also disagree with it, which is what makes it such an interesting part to me and why I think the rest of the book will be really useful. 


This quote is exactly what I have been looking for in regards to answering the question that started this whole project, it basically answers it for me but not exactly. In fact, it has helped me to see how I should answer the project question, from the beginning of this project I have wanted to make something a final piece for it as I feel this would be the best way for me to answer the question. I have thought about writing a manifesto but felt that became too preachy and wouldn't suit the project well however now I think I know what to do. In this quote, they say that "Creating design theory is about building one's own community". It's interesting the way the writer uses the words "creating" and "building" where she is talking about design theory, which to me is untouchable only created by designers from the 1950s or later. However the more I think about it the more I come to think that every designer creates their own design theory, an amalgamation of other theories packed in together to create a new theory only used by the one designer. This is what I have been looking at when I have been investigating my own methodologies and past project, diving deep into my own design theory. So this is what I want to create, I want to now make a "rule" book that features all my own rules that I follow when it comes to creating a piece of design.

Graphic Design theory: readings from the field. Armstrong, Helen. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.

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