reading response #8

"Attributes Needed by the Modern Designer" by Adrian Shaughnessy, from How to be a Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul

I can relate to what Shaughnessy says about album covers being a huge inspiration for a lot of designers. I, too, am extremely inspired by great album art, CD packaging, book covers, any entertainment medium really. I've got this in my own collection that I ogle constantly:

Of course it's Metallica's newest album, Death Magnetic, which the designer, Turner Duckworth, won a Grammy for! I don't have that special edition package collection on the bottom, but I do cherish my plain album version.

I also have this, Foreigner's Records. The great thing about mine is that it's missing the front labels so you can see the record through the slots, but I still love the original intent of the packaging. The inside picture shows the band at a diner, flamboyantly dressed and seemingly making the other patrons feel distressed.

I wish I had this, NIN's Ghosts I-IV. The whole design just rocks my socks off.

The three attributes a designer needs according to Shaughnessy are Cultural Awareness, Communication, and Integrity. I feel like we are learning these thoroughly at PSU; cultural awareness involves a lot of research that we take on ourselves to learn about our audience and their culture to appeal to them more sensibly, we constantly communicate with our professors and each other and constantly learn how to communicate our points clearly so that a client can understand them, and we have to have integrity with everything we do because our name is on it and our work is a reflection of our stance in the world. 

One thing that hit me the hardest was what Shaughnessy emphasized the most: the single most important thing you can do when discussing a job with a new or potential client is to demonstrate understanding, openness, and receptivity. The designer who shows only signs of self-absorption and narrowness of focus isn't going to inspire his or her client. He goes on to say that demonstrating knowledge about the topic you are designing for is more important than talking about your own work excessively; if you can show the client you know their industry well, you can spend more time listening to what they want for their design and how you can achieve their goals.