Beyond the 'D'

Design is Adobe. For the rest of your life you will be sitting in front of a computer, putting together other peoples dirty work with other peoples dirty work. The problem is that all this dirty work is so incredibly clean. Once upon a time you worked in a busy little place called a studio - a magical fun place where you could make all the mess you ever wanted. But with every impatiently waited astronomical techmogaget jump we delve deeper into the realm of being a glorified office worker. You might not have to wear a suit, or even a collar, but like every body else you are shackled to your desk bounded by the strongest of all human made substances, time.

Alas, a new breed of designer is emerging from the crevices where once magnificent studios were plastered over, bringing with them a new hand crafted aesthetic that does not happen in an office. William Morris eat your heart out. This stuff goes beyond the dimensions of clean Adobe created trends of vector or grunge, and actually involves the most gutsy of tools - a steady hand, one false move and you are starting again where no 'ctrl z' will save the day. Illustration, amateur photography, collage and sculpture are all areas within the visual realm making a comeback in a big way.
Art directors everywhere are leaving their desks and looking beyond Adobe for different tools for solving design problems.

Unfortunately for many, unless you can convince your boss that handicraft exploration is required for the betterment of human kind, or the budget is large enough to cover your mess, there is little chance that you are going to be given anytime to explore yet alone master this forgotten realm (tell them to look at the latest orange or nokia campaigns - uk). So like all great things of the design world, its going to be up to you and your own time, but at least its away from the computer and those darn stock libraries.

- all you have to do is think about it.


www.monaux.com
www.chrissiemacdonald.co.uk
www.siscottstudio.com
www.psyop.tv/main.php