Graphic Design Discussion and Questions

[Finch]

To quote the great Dr. Dan, "Yeah, exactly. Whatever that's supposed to mean."

[ChaoofNee]

No, I meant, "What?"

[Finch]

4th post. The important message is

I suck at teaching, but your teacher's just a douche.

[ChaoofNee]

Ah. Gotcha.

[Jester]

Fact: art teachers are assholes. (Finch excluded)
They want disciples not students.
If they weren't failed artist they would be famous or at least hacking it, not "teaching" someone in art or design which cannot be learned anyway.

[Regus]

They want disciples not students.

lol, there is a lot of truth in this. There is a teacher at my school that only likes it whn you mirror his style exactly, so by the end of the class you end up with a bunch of clones doing the same thing.

[FirstBlood]

Fact: BADart teachers are assholes. (Finch excluded)
They want disciples not students.
If they weren't failed artist they would be famous or at least hacking it, not "teaching" someone in art or design which cannot be learned anyway.

Fixed.

I go to a good school (not a design major, not anymore that is), where many of the teachers are brilliant, and they by no means force upon you any of their stylistic tendencies nor to they look down upon your individuality (because individuality is a huge part of art, but then again, isn't the whole, you need to find a balance, but anyways)

Hell, the best teacher I've had so far at school is the biggest asshole I've ever met. And by no means what he just "some failed artist making a buck".

Art School is a strange place, and sometimes what you need is a teacher who repeatedly kicks you in the ass, but only if they're actually a good teacher. A bad teacher that kicks you in the ass for no reason is just that, a bad teacher.

But anyways, while David Carson is in fact an exceptional designer, for a teacher to slam down your throat someone elses style, tells me that he's a terrible teacher, mainly because Design is an extremely fickle field, where diffrerent styles and poppy kinds of image are always moving in and out of fad and kitsch. So to pin your students down to one certain designer (and also to pin yourself down to one certain teacher) is a terrible idea.

[Drewbacca]

...not "teaching" someone in art or design which cannot be learned anyway.

Wrong. Your point lands but all of this stuff can be learned. It all depends on how committed people are to learning it. Talented artists will always have it easier than the ones who work their asses off to do stuff, but everyone has a capacity with in them to draw well.

[Drewbacca]

•Fact: Many people on here are graphic designers. To you I pose this question: Is he right? I see this messy, crazy style as much different than anything I've ever worked with. I can say for certain that I'm not a fan of a lot of what he does, especially with a lot of the illegible fonts and white on white. I guess I just don't see it. But, even when I just say something like, "Well, it's different from what I'm used to..." he interrupts with, "It's design" and walks away.

Am I missing the big picture or is there more to design than just this one guy?

David Carson is a great example of deconstructionism. He's a terrific designer and almost untouchable in the niche design style he's made a career out of. Most students can't pull off this style because they think being lazy and making things messy will be adequate. The thing is, and this goes for any art major, you have to tailor your work to individual teachers. In my design class I had five main teachers. One loved typographical, classy design. One loved ugly commercial design, one loved deconstructionalism and the other (the best one) could appreciate anything. I changed my approaches to every project depending on which teacher was grading it and I came out with one of the highest averages in the class.

Tibor Kalman is my favorite designer, if only because he's such a good teacher and philosopher of design. His thesis was that people needed to react to your work, it can't just look pretty. He said something like 'People don't talk about planes flying, they talk about planes crashing.'

Plus, who the fuck wants everything to look pretty. Leave all of the FISHBARN style BOLD AND NOT BOLD type work to the interior designers who think they understand print. Do what you want, and push your own boundaries before you start worrying about others. David Carson didn't even go to school for design. He just started doing it, probably in store displays. That's how all of the great graphic designers seem to get their start.

well, i don't think you can just get design advice from this one guy. or...you shouldn't. do you look at any design magazines or books? there's a lot you can learn from just taking in other kinds of design in general. i think it's pretty wrong of your teacher to just be on one guys nuts all the time. though, i'm sure there is something there that you can learn from....or even appreciate on some level.

http://www.printmag.com <-- Print Magazine's Design Annuals are awesome.

[Finch]

I've had some great teachers that never forced anyone to stick to a particular style or learn only from one artist or designer. More than a few of them were accomplished artists, maybe even most, who kicked my ass every day. Those teachers really were my favorite. They made me feel like i can accomplish something, even if i have a long way to go. I really miss school.

but everyone has a capacity with in them to draw well.

I don't believe that.