We
look at the pictures, scan the captions and skip the text. Is it because
graphic design itself is boring?
A couple of years ago I saw a presentation by Bill Cahan in which he showed
a video of one of his employees at work. Apart from the occasional mouse
click, or tilt of the head, the person was completely motionless, staring
at a computer screen. This, he said, was the life of a designer. Of course
he was having some fun at his own expense and deliberately underplaying
the real story. The real story was going on inside that designer’s
head.
A few months later I asked David Baker, a business consultant, to take a
look at our business. He gave us a lot of useful advice, and on one point
he was adamant, “You must have your own design process and preferably
you should trademark it.” The reason, he said, was that clients generally
couldn’t tell good design from bad, but they could understand process.
A trademarked process smelled of B.S. to us — something our competitors
did — so we ignored his advice. We were missing the point. People
want to be told a story. Stories are interesting, engaging… convincing.
We already had our own design process, it was just a story we weren’t
telling very well. As our storytelling improved, so did our bottom line.
David was right.
This book unearths the real stories: What went on inside each designer’s
head as they struggled with the demanding task of designing a logo. It does
what may designers do badly. It brings the design process to life in an
engaging and personal way. I didn’t get into this business because
I like sitting at a computer all day or because I want to “own a design
process.” I am a designer because design is challenging and unpredictable.
I am a designer because I think there’s nothing as interesting as
a blank sheet of paper. I’m a designer because I love designing. The
stories in this book go a long way to explaining not only how designers
work, but why.
There’s a story about Art Chantry designing dozens of logos for a
single client because he thinks logos are stupid. He believes creativity
is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Read his story and you’ll
understand why. There’s a story about Elixir Design taking a weary
cliché and giving it new dimension and meaning. The story of Mires
Brands’ work for Taylor Guitars is an ode to craftsmanship. Werner
Design’s story is about transforming paper into an emotional connection
between children and their grandparents. The stories are as different as
the logos themselves and yet there are striking similarities. Each reflects
the designer’s particular sensibility while illustrating the challenges
we all face. If you’re interested in logo design, and what makes logo
designers tick, here’s a book you’ll actually read, enjoy and
remember.
So the good news is that graphic design really is pretty interesting. To
me, that will always be a story worth the telling.
David
Turner
Turner Duckworth
San Francisco & London
