Over the past year, AIGA has been reorienting its own mission. One critical revision to AIGA’s course is that it will now be focusing on promoting the value of the designing process, rather than solely individual designers and their artifacts. While we will continue to honor great and effective design, we will also engage with “Designing” as a way of thinking.
This is interesting, the AIGA is shifting from Designer as a Rock Star to Designer as a Problem Solver. At least that’s my take on it. I think this will be beneficial to designers in general if the AIGA manages to change the perception of Graphic Design as a profession based on personalities rather than process + solutions. Read more about it here.
They also created a small brochure, available in PDF format, titled “Why.” It starts out pretty good, with some good reflections on why we do what we do. Then it delves into the design process and, to me, kind of rambles on in some marketing mumojumbo language that designers never use, using words like “victory, maps, prototypes, journey.” In my opinion it could have been a really effective tool to hand to our clients to explain the design process, but it’s too embellished and a little far-fetched too be used as an efficient tool.
Overall, I think this is a change for the better. Let’s see what happens.
This is an important point to make, and one that I know Clement Mok is taking on personally to make himself.
And we should be developing tools for designers to enable them to explain and detail the value they bring to business through their design process.
Not to pimp my own wares, but I'm writing a 'Designer's Guide to Brand Strategy', for this very reason. Which illustrates the theory and practice behind strategy and brand strategy - so that designers are no longer written off as simply the black polo-neck wearing odd people on the third floor.
Great site Armin - thanks for putting the time in.
On Jan.09.2003 at 09:36 AM