- It's never been a better
time to be a creative.
Hey everybody, this is Roberto Blake
of robertoblake.com,
helping you create
something awesome today.
So it's 2017, and again this year,
I have to do a What is
Graphic Design video,
and talk about what it means
for the state of graphic design this year.
The reason that I do
this video once a year
is because the industry
is always evolving,
and there're always fresh,
new, creative professionals
entering the marketplace,
there're always new students
pursuing graphic designs,
there're always new enthusiasts
in the design world
that want to understand
this a little better
and what it might mean
for them professionally.
What is graphic design
and how does it differ from art?
Well, graphic design in its simplest form
could be considered visual communication.
The way that differs from art
is that art is about expression.
Design focuses on communication and intent
and being specific.
When we work as graphic designers,
we are using art sometimes
to convey or evoke emotion
and stir that in people
with the intention of driving
a call to action of some kind.
We use a lot of mediums in graphic design.
You can use a lot of different
mediums in art as well.
But when you think about web design,
when you think about UI and UX design,
when you think about
motion graphics design,
when you think about print media,
and you think about the differences
of all of these different
ways of communicating,
and then you think about what
these things have in common
and what they do,
you'll find that they are ultimately
leading us down a path
to take a course of action,
whereas art doesn't require that of us,
art just requires us to feel something,
it doesn't actually
require us to do something.
When you have UI and UX design,
it's solving a very specific problem.
It's trying to make the experience
and the understanding of how to use
a platform or an application
simple and intuitive
so that even if you spoke
a different language,
you still understand how
this thing is being used.
Logo design and iconography
is much the same.
When we see the symbols on a restroom,
when we see warning labels,
regardless of our culture,
regardless of our age,
regardless of our education,
a lot of times these communicate
exactly the same things to us,
and it simplifies them.
So for me, I think that communication
represents the fundamental difference
between art and design,
and I think it also helps
us understand really
the purpose of graphic design is,
and what your role, what your job
as a graphic designer looks like.
It's to solve these visual
communication problems
and to use visual communication
to the benefit of consumers
or to your employer, or for society.
There is a reason that the
typography on street signs
and highways exists in
the way that it does.
It needs to be readable,
it needs to be legible for
the far majority of people
regardless of whether they wear glasses
or they're a little
older, it doesn't matter.
And the reason that we
choose specific colors
to represent stop and go and yield
has to do with actual color theory
and the way that color
psychology and value works.
And it also means that
because of things like value,
that even if you were color blind,
you could actually still
interpret these things.
It's why the design behind
their being an order
to the stop light signs,
and it's consistent, is there.
That consistency, it creates
context in and of itself,
so that outside of the
ability to perceive color,
there's still a system and an order
that would allow you to understand
what you're supposed to
do at the traffic lights.
In 2017, design is still changing,
it's still evolving.
We're still finding new
ways to visually communicate
as the technology that we use evolves
in the form of social media,
we're developing new styles and new trends
as the user culture
changes in the marketplace.
This creates so many new opportunities,
like the fact that designers
can now make a living
if they want to designing
Snapchat Geofilters.
Because of the evolution
of entrepreneurship
especially here in the United States
and how much there's a resurgence of that,
graphic designers have
more opportunity than ever
in the freelance market
as do web designers, as
do UI and UX designers
because of the fact that there is
huge startup culture opportunities
for people who have those skill sets.
And with the robust amount of creators
that are pursuing online video
and platforms like YouTube,
and the live streaming community,
there's an opportunity for
motion graphic designers
beyond what there was even
just a few short years ago.
So when I say it's
never been a better time
to be a creative,
that's not rah, rah fluff.
In 2017, you may feel that
there's a lot of pressure
in the marketplace, in the job market
when it comes to creative professionals,
or graphic design.
That may have some validity to it,
but if you're open to the idea
of maybe being a freelancer
or starting your own creative business
and everything like that,
there's nearly limitless potential
for those who are ready to hustle,
and those who educate themselves
about what this could look like for them.
In the relative job market itself,
there are still opportunities,
and it's still a growth sector
because there's never
been a greater demand
for people who have the skills
to do great visual branding,
great visual communication,
great aesthetic,
and you know, be able to help brands
really push their products
because the marketplace for products
has never been more competitive.
We need great packaging design.
Apple has set a really high
bar where that's concerned,
and other brands have taken notice.
More brands are paying
into high advertising budgets in digital,
and so doing web banner advertisements,
doing Facebook ads,
understanding what that could look like,
doing ads for Instagram,
that's something that's new here,
and that creates more opportunity
for those who have the skills
and bring that to the table
so that brands can remain competitive.
So if anyone's telling you
that there's no money in
being a creative professional,
people are telling you there's no money
in being a graphic designer
or a web designer anymore,
I would ask them to explain that
versus the billions upon
billions of dollars alone
spent in digital advertising
and the simple fact that
even though I would argue the point,
billboards don't seem
to be going out of style
any time soon,
and they're still sold for the same prices
they were sold just a few years ago.
Even though I would argue
that their value should have diminished
due to digital online
advertising and social media.
But hey, if you love print,
the money's still there.
For those of you who are
working graphic designers,
I would love to know
what your thoughts on the
evolution of the industry is,
and what you think we can
expect over the next few years
in terms of trends and new technology.
Let me know in the comments section.
If you are an aspiring graphic designer,
and you have questions,
I'd love to know what
you're curious about,
or what it is that you
have concerns about,
and you can leave those in
the comments section as well.
Like this video if you like it,
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Like this video if you like it,
don't forget to subscribe.
Check out the other awesome
content on the channel.
As always you guys, thanks
so very much for watching,
and don't forget, create something
awesome today, take care.
