preview of the promise of empty spaces

For evaluation purpose only.

Copyright 2012 Stefano Virg

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INTRo-DUCTION

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This book is about my thoughts on design. Design is an industry that excites me with its possibilities. Yet, it can be frustrating because of the limitations that audiences, clients, and we - as designers - put on ourselves.

I didn’t intend to write this book as a textbook or guide. It’s simply a consolidation of insights - of my contribution to design, and of my per-spectives on how this industry has evolved before my eyes. I started in the industry about eighteen years ago. I worked in design in my native country of Italy before moving to Singapore, where I live now.

The experiences I have had reflect not only on design and technology, but also on business and culture - and the way these factors inter-mingle when it comes to creating design.

I hope to inspire other designers - and non - designers to observe the world through a similar lens, and to understand how design and its corol-laries are changing the way we communi-cate visually.



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understandingthis

book

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I’ve used examples from my own experiences in this book, because I believe that experi-ences make designers who they are. I’ve also used examples from what I’ve seen around me, and what I observe in my world. As far as possible, I’ve tried to keep technicalities out of it because I don’t want technology to become the focus of design.

However, on some occasions, technicalities are requisite - and in these cases, I have kept things as simple as possible. When I refer to the term ‘design’ in this book, I am referring to a variety of design types - not just static de-sign. So I could mean video, animation, web design, or mobile application design - any-thing that is to do with visual communication.

The reason for this is that the term ‘designer’ has evolved in many ways over the past decade. For example, at one time, being a designer meant only one or two things. Now, you could be a web designer, or a mobile application designer. You could do front end or back end design.

You could be working independently, in an agency, or in a corporate environment. Per-haps you work in advertising only, or in social media only. Even more specifically - you could be creating tablet applications for hospitals.

The propensity for design has multiplied to in-clude a huge range of industries and areas, to an extent that has not been observed be-fore. This means that the term ‘design’ also has to expand in the same way. We need to be able to understand ‘design’ in the way that it applies to the world today, because that un-derstanding will shape the way in which we create, buy, sell and use design.



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3. Talent

A good designer can bring three things to the table:

1. Experience

2. Technical knowledge



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To some people, design is deeply personal. But when it comes to selling a product or com-municating a message, design should be clear. And it’s not always possible to DIY design - especially when you want de-sign with value.A young, gifted designer with a lot of technical knowledge cannot hope to command the rates of a veteran designer - because no matter how talented you are, you cannot become an expert in a month. An experienced and knowledgeable designer with little innate design talent cannot match a designer with all three components.

Ten years ago, a startup could decide to cre-ate a website or a business card - and choose to have it done for free with minimal conse-quences. Students, young designers, and even your nephew or niece who dabbles in design software are common sources for free or low-cost design. “It’s just the website,” or “The business card doesn’t have to look that nice,” are common sentiments that accom-pany these projects.

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itmyself?

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These are great projects in terms of giving young designers a chance to try out their skills. And, in fact, I recommend that starting designers do all the free work they can lay their hands on, because that is really the only way to get experience and exposure in the industry. You need to try things out with your own hands and experiment to create a frame of refer-ence for yourself.



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XPERINCE

3



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However, what often happens when the start-up becomes more valuable is that there is suddenly a disparity between the design and the company. When the company starts get-ting more revenue, and the website or business cards are still the ones that you got for free - then you end up with an imbalance between the value of the company and the value of the design.

This brings me to my point that design has val-ue. That value is determined by the three com-ponents which I mentioned earlier - experi-ence, technical knowledge, and talent. It then comes down to a simple math-ematical equation - design has higher value when those components represent greater numbers.

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This could be expressed in more years of experience,or greater talent, or more technical skills, or fluency in more software, or more pro-jects that the designer has worked on, or more awards that the designer has gotten. The point is that design - and designers - take on greater value when those components take on great-er value. This means that comparing designers according to price becomes a moot point.

It’s only natural that an experienced design-er will charge more than a young designer - because there is more value there. And the design itself will become more valuable. It will mean more. It will represent more. It will com-municate more, and there’s a higher chance that it will be more effective than a shot in the dark by a less experienced designer.



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Serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface (or serifed typeface). A type-face without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif.

DesignFacts



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therealities

of starting

offin design

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Becoming a designer is a process in itself. Many people ask me how I became a de-signer, and how designers get a foothold in the industry. This question is a common one because of the way the industry has evolved.

First, there is more competition than ever. There are so many designers, so many softwares, and so many opportunities. Therefore, there are also so many threats to a designer. It is only natural, therefore, for a new designer to look at the industry he or she is stepping into, and ask the question, “How?” When it comes to answering this ques-tion, one of the first things new designers do is something quantifiable, measurable, and - they believe - transferable.

They learn software. Then, they try to become very good at the software. Many new de-signers learn it very well. They become fluent in the tools, and know how to apply effects, transform shapes, and animate. They know all about the definitions of software terms and they know how to create a certain look. Then comes the first project, and then the first few projects.

Suddenly, the new designer enters a startup phase when his or her work isn’t as good as expected. If this has happened to you - or if it’s still happening to you - rest assured that this is a part of the natural learning progression of design and that it is a necessary part of your experience.

Some of the things that you might experience are that you’ll feel that you’re do-ing the right things and moving in the right direction, but some-thing will always be missing.



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Bleed refers to the information that etends pass the point where the page will be trimmed,and allows color or images to continue to the very edge of the cutpage.



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Mainly used for decorative purposes, a die cut can enhance the visual impact of a design through the creation of interesting shapes, apertures or edges.

diecut

DesignFacts



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“It’s not quite right,” and “Something is wrong here,” are very common thoughts that you’ll have. You may also find yourself assessing yourself with every design that you do. You may see every piece of design as a reflection of yourself as a designer, or of your design worth. No matter how well you know the soft-ware, and how much expertise you have with the tools, you might not know which ideas to build up.

It’s likely that you’ll have an abundance of ideas, but you’ll be unsure of how to express them or which ones to combine in each de-sign. This syndrome often results in staring blankly at the screen, or creat-ing random designs that you’re not a hundred percent satisfied with. You may not have anything to com-pare yourself or your designs with because you haven’t worked on enough projects.

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Once again, I urge all new designers to rest assured, because this is a completely natural and normal phase of starting up. This phase of self-assessment and self-critique is part of the process of be-coming a designer - and it’s a necessary one when you’re stepping into the field. It’s hap-pening for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it’s likely that you’ve flipped through the pages of a design magazine and seen great design. You might have been inspired by it. Then, you look at the design you’ve just cre-ated and you tend to compare the two. This leads to the second reason- you may be a gifted designer, or have an eye for colour, or you may know the software insideout. And that’s why you wonder. “How come I’m sup-posedly a good designer, but I can’t produce work that I’m happy with?” “How come I have the best tools at my disposal but I can’t create something special?”



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As you venture further into the world of being a designer, you’ll find that the tools themselves are not enough. You may find yourself getting frustrated with the software, or just using the same tools again and again to create design. At some point, though, there will be a breakthrough. You will start to envision a project in your head, but you won’t go straight to the tools. You’ll start with the idea, and then use the tools as a means to represent and recreate what you’re imagining.

That is the essence of design - to create an idea, not just to use the tools. This is a significant breakthrough for any new designer. However, it comes with its own challenges.

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You may have a very clear idea of the design in your mind but when you execute it, you’ll find a disconnection between your vision and the result. This stage disappoints many new designers - you may feel that you’re not good enough at the tools, for example. You may feel anxious - what if the market isn’t ready, or if people don’t accept your idea? What if you’re convinced of the design but the client isn’t?



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An image surrounded by a border that fades at the edges, specifically to highlight or isolate the central portion of an image is

called a Vignette.



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Vector is an image that contains many individual and scalable objects. Vector graphics can be displayed at any size and are resolution independent.

DesignFacts



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preview of the promise of empty spaces

Design

end design

focus of design

variety of design types

stefano virgillito

stefano virgilli3

term designer

web designer

mobile application designer