re: graphic design industry today

[salrandazzo]

Hi 7twelve,

Your point is well taken.

Thank you.

Regards,

Sal Randazzo

[salrandazzo]

Hi Lauren,

I think your missing the point of accreditation... It will help elevate designers to an equal partnership with like-minded clients. It will give the designer an equal setting
as a strategic partner in the design process. Cheap clients who do not see the value of design will always be around and will probably lost their marketshare to those
competitors that focus on strategic partnerships with the designer. The AIGA is gravitating towards working more with NASAD to help students be better prepared
for the competitive marketplace.

I feel your attitude towards spec work is misguided. Designers, clients and agencies that allow spec work are morally bankrupt. The word spreads fast to most
designers that they should not work in an abusive spec relationship. The AIGA and other graphic organizations vehemently oppose spec work...


Regards,

Sal Randazzo

[lauren3g]

Sal:

I think you are misunderstanding me. It's not that I see accreditation as bad. I just don't feel it will have the value it has for other professions. Maybe large corporations will look for it but others won't care. It's just the reality. I rather see better education in the arts... and I don't mean at the college level. This is the real reason IMO that many don't respect or understand good design.

Also don't think I support spec... I don't. Ask anyone on this forum that knows me. Again I am speaking as a realist. There will always be folks out there willing to do it. I don't support spec in any field.

I am a card carrying member of AIGA too. Most of the time I support their efforts... but at times I do wonder if they/designers take themselves a little to seriously. I love design. I have been some kind designer for decades. I also know that what I do may be important but not as important as other fields. We don't save lives on a daily basis. Only once in a while with good signage. [;)]

[chrisfig]

Interesting discussion...a few things to think about...

What exactly is a "design degree" defined as? I studied architecture in school and got a bachelors degree and I'm reasonably successful as a designer, but never studied "graphic design" per se. How liberally do we cast the net of having "studied design" as a definition?

Also, how do you really accredit a designer, taking into consideration the wide range of styles and tastes? To use an example mentioned, there's many who'd say Carson is horrible, does messy/sloppy/unintelligible work, or shouldn't even be allowed to design anything...yet he's had one of the biggest individual impacts on the field in the last 20 years.

[salrandazzo]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for you insights.

I have to politefully disagree about your *** of Carson's impact on the design community...
his deconstructed view of design is a fine artist approach fails to communicate to most end-users/audiences...
he is all about surface and no real content/concept. Obsession over form only leads to the abstraciton of visual communication.

Regards,

Sal Randazzo

[chrisfig]

Hi Sal, thank you for proving my point [;)] You, for example, aren't a fan of Carson, while some corporations pay him some serious cash to art direct for them. Who decides if he's a designer or not?

And I don't necessarily disagree with your *** of Carson's work (though I do like it). However, I don't think his impact is really from his work directly but more his influence on design as a whole with regards to style, I'd wager his influence on young designers has been pretty significant as well.

[atd]

I don't see NASAD certs helping the current design climate, a few reasons off the top of my head

The field is overcrowded, throwing in accreditations is not going to change that in any way. Rearrange it any way you like and you still end up with too many people going after too few positions. I think natural selection will take care that over time.

What school a person attended comes in dead last on the list of what makes a person hirable. At the top of that list is talent / portfolio, experience, rate, even personality is ranked way above that. If the portfolio, experience, rate and personality don't fit the job no cert going to help.

NASAD is what a school earned, and says nothing of the person who went to that school. It's nothing that the person earned. I have seen plenty of crappy portfolios coming from "good schools".

[salrandazzo]

Hi Allan,

Thank you for your comments. I also agree that there are too many people looking for the few good design positions.

I side with NASAD accreditation so we can elevate our profession from a service industry to a higher level strategic partner
with more equal footing with corporate clients. I support the AIGA's efforts in accreditation and speaking out against abusive
spec work.

It is obvious that talent is important to get into and sustain a graphic design career.

What is your stance on spec work within our industry?....Do we just shrug our shoulders and let clients and uniformed designers
take advantage of each other and help degrade and drive down the value of our profession? Or do we take a stand and get behind
the efforts of the AIGA in refusing to do abusive spec work.

Regards,

Sal Randazzo

[nuff_b]

Just a little perspective from a recent graduate with a non-Design degree:

I graduated in 2007 with a 4 year BA from a university that didn't even have a BFA programme, much less any kind of design degree. Having failed to gain admission into a design graduate programme, I was fortunate enough to be 'mentored' by my design professor until April of this year. I eventually moved out to a larger city and after a lot of near misses and 'we were impressed with the quality...' talk, have just landed a decent Design job, beating off some more 'qualified' candidates in the process. I have also done a few trials, where my work has been evaluated favourably in comparison to other trialists.

I'm not suggesting that I'm in any way superior to Design graduates, and I'm under no illusions as to my weaknesses. I still plan on going for that higher level degree. However, I do believe it is possible to have a natural 'sensibility' for design and learn the ropes through unconventional means. No, you wouldn't hire a doctor without qualifications, but if s/he had a track record of saving lives, perhaps you'd be foolish not to.

[shirley06]

If you are a professional graphic designer and having many years experience, therefore, you don’t need any other help. Even if, you have to start your own graphic designing studio, from where you can increase your business in your way, you can do it successfully.