I started blogging at the beginning of 2006. I created my “Facebook” page in September ‘07; the same month I created my “LinkedIn” page. I now belong to several social networking sites including, “Twitter”, “FriendFeed”, and “Last.fm”.
Why? Well I think it was a combination of “web 2.0” curiosity, a feeling of being somewhat isolated (there are four of us in the studio), and a need to have an active and stimulating social environment. What I hadn’t expected was that by being a member of these sites it would also give me a sense of stability—no matter where my friends and associates are, I can always find them “on-line”.
In the “real” world, my world—my New York City world—finding social stability is pretty hard to do. Friends and associates move, split-up, get divorced, get married, change jobs…phone numbers…favorite restaurants…
That didn’t happen in my hometown. And if it did, most of the people we knew stayed nearby. My parents and I would still see them at the grocery store, the hardware store, at temple during high holidays, at school functions, or at the town dump on Saturdays. (Yes, the town dump—a source of innumerable go-cart parts.)
So why am I blogging about this today? Well, it occurred to me that while the Internet may be addressing society’s need for social stability—allowing each of us to create our own on-line community, our own hometown—it’s also changing the context in which I do my design work.
More and more, the medium I use to communicate my client’s message effectively and economically is restricted by the limitation of a computer screen. My client’s audience is becoming more heterogeneous. And the design tools I have at my fingertips are limited due to my lack of technological knowledge.
While this might seem to diminish my impact as a graphic designer, it doesn’t. In fact, it only serve to remind me that what a Graphic Designer does best isn’t found on a piece of paper, it’s what they do before they’ve even taken out their pencil.
To be successful, maybe I need to move back home (metaphorically of course!) and get to know my clients and their “customers” better. Spend more time listening. More time hanging out with them.
As Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local”. Maybe now, the same should be said for graphic design.
