Mind the Gap! It can be a doozy.
Are there gaps in your designing knowledge? Don’t think so? Are you sure? Then can you answer the question ‘why’ when describing the logic of your design solution? Is it possible that your strategic thinking is not as clear as your technical knowhow? This can catch up with you one day and cause quite a problem.
As the gap widens between technical execution and strategic plus conceptual thinking, we seem to be ignoring the solutions to this gap.
The junior designer today has a tight grasp on design software (maybe?) and social media platforms. This seems to be what today’s graduates have in their toolkit when they leave either a 6 or 18 month certificate, or an intensive time period watching YouTube and TikTok videos.
The struggle for a designer today is to explain why the solution works or how it solves the business problem, and this becomes quite evident with the first creative meeting. I am also witnessing this within my classes where I teach at the college level.
Beginning with and explaining about, the product or service’s target audience, does not seem to connect enough times, when asked about this primary part of the design process.
I have observed that young designers, design for the aesthetics. They design for the space given. And they design in unison with what they believe is going to be the ‘most popular’ which comes from what they see, the trends.
Problems: 1. not understanding the basics of typography and layout. Whether you solve for print or digital, these basics are rudimentary and absolutely necessary. 2. colour, like the other design elements, is to drive to something, to be used to cause a behaviour. (don’t get me started on WYSIWYG - it is actually WYSINWYG - this is due to designing on your laptop for print and not understanding the basics of ink, paper, resolution, DPI, materials, etc.). 3. attention to detail, for example; kerning and alignment - caused by not using guides and a grid! basically just visually winging it. the eye can catch the smallest infraction and distract the viewer. 4. speaking to or emailing the client and/or a subcontractor. This seems to have become too casual. Not to be a stickler but basic spelling mistakes an elementary school teacher does not allow, is unfortunately all too often. 5. sameness has become common due to template dependence. Even with the increased usage of AI, you still must go test its offerings and its final solution. I can’t tell you how many times I have to correct for what it doesn’t know or can’t do! This is not to say that utilizing it as an obvious tool, is not question.
Solutions: 1. make sure you combine strategic thinking with a strong, foundational understanding of the basics and a desire to review for the details even when using AI, rather than simply for the speed. 2. Look for ways to fill the gaps: classes, videos, seminars, tutoring ….
When all else fails - speak up! I won’t let you trip.
— the brand auditor —