Designers with Style
Should designers have a style, or should they try and create a design that suits the clients requests? Are designers more comfortable creating in a certain style or are they really expected to be ‘pixel pushers’ and be entirely at the whim of the client, turning their hand to any genre that they are requested to do. Could or should the same designer one day create a site aimed to encourage learning for children and the next create a design for a speed metal band?
In every other area of creativity, artists have a personal ’style’ which distinguishes them from others. Musicians work is categorised into certain genres and writers tend to write only for one genre. Illustrators and painters tend to have a little more of a broader spectrum and their work can often be seen to have influences from a number of genres, but it is then pigeonholed into a genre of its own.
With this in mind, would it make sense for a designer to have a genre? It is often seen in portfolio sites that the designers create ‘clean and beautiful’ designs, but what does this really mean? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so what may be beautiful for one person may not be to the taste of another. This line is there to try and let a prospective client know that the designer is good at their job, that they create sites that are not so much ‘clean and beautiful’, but more often than not they create sites that are ‘usable and useful’ and this is really no bad thing. I believe that any site should be designed to be usable and useful before the aesthetics are even thought about. In this case, as long as the content can be read, found and understood it does not really matter what genre the site is being created for.
Sometimes designers feel more comfortable designing in a style that is more familiar to them, because the designer has an interest in football, they would spend a lot of time on sites containing information on football and would therefore become more influenced by that style of design than a designer more interested in metal music. Experience and influence will have an impact on what style is more identifiable for each designer.
It would be interesting to find then, if designers do believe that they have a style or genre, would they then pass on work that they feel they are less suited to work on because they truly feel that a designer with a more applicable ’style’ would do a better job for the client? Or would they keep the job and do their best, producing a design that could have been better?
4 Responses to “Designers with Style”
Gerard
Very interesting post, the concept of style could be applied to Illustrators and VFX artists as well as Web Designers.
I agree that when I look at some designer’s or artist’s work I can instantly recognise their style, I think this is a strong selling point to potential clients who may want that particular style, but its also important to be flexible and be able to work to other styles and briefs.
The question of passing on work is a tricky one, I think each person must decide if they are comfortable working in a different style and ask themselves “Can I really do this…and do it well?”.
Of course being out of your comfort zone as an artist or designer is a great way to push yourself and your skills further, but you must draw then line when the project stretches your abilities too far and your compromising the quality of the end result.
In most cases the client will appreciate that you have been honest about your limitations and hopefully remember you for future work that is more suited.
7th Apr , 2010
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19th Apr , 2010
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29th Apr , 2010
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12th Jul , 2010
What are your thoughts?