What does the future look like?
Doug Perry a.k.a drperry
Here's a big question: What does the future look like (in terms of the
direction graphic design is headed)? Trends? Insights? Specifics of
the the influence of digital media?
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)
I believe the biggest trend in design will be the interface. We've been on
this slick smooth modern trend for so long that it seems as though there
will be a backlash to simpler times. Computers have really been about
Science not art. Look at computer equipment, not too long ago you got a
plain metal box when you purchased a computer. Now the box looks more
modern and professional. This trend will only go so far and it will revert
back to a more natural interface: made of wood-like material... To give a
better example, I picture a digital painter of the future looking somewhat
like Van Gogh standing in the countryside painting on a large canvas-like
monitor attached to an easel. And in his hand around his thumb is a digital
palette that contains painterly options for creating digital illustrations.
He can look and feel like the kunstler (artist) that he senses is true to
the craft. When I sit here stuck to my table in the basement of my house
doing graphics, I sense that this is not entirely who I want to be or what I
want to be doing. I want so much more.
The trend of the future will be a refinement of the standards that
have been set. It will be internalized and reinterpreted. Part of this
movement will be the establishment of digital media. Some may argue that it
has already been secured but I tend to believe that we rush too quickly into
thinking we are farther ahead than we are. If you really think of it, do
you truly trust digital art yet? I know when I work with digital art, I'm
nagged by the question: "how do I get this out on print media." When this
sort of question has been resolved, we will have established digital media.
We are infants in this digital age and just maybe, in the next twenty years,
we will put a statue up in the halls of fame for the digital arts. Standing
right next to that statue will be the statue of Photography.
>Here's a big question: What does the future look like (in terms of the
>direction graphic design is headed)? Trends? Insights? Specifics of
>the the influence of digital media?
Doug Perry a.k.a drperry wrote in message
<34efcde7...@news.greennet.net>...
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)
You can visit my graphic design and illustration site at :
Lee Fairbanks
Optical Relief -OR-
2012 Virginia Lane
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54703
715-832-4379
or...@werewolf.net
http://www.werewolf.net/~or337
Gadget
>Doug Perry a.k.a drperry wrote ...
>>Here's a big question: What does the future look like
It's purple !
>>(in terms of the direction graphic design is headed)?
Oh. Perhaps a vibrant shade of aquamarine then ? (sorry - just being silly
:)
>>Trends? Insights? Specifics of
>>the the influence of digital media?
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator) wrote ...
>I believe the biggest trend in design will be the interface. We've been on
>this slick smooth modern trend for so long that it seems as though there
>will be a backlash to simpler times.
I agree with that, but ironically I think that the medium of viewing (and
designing) these trends will be 'Computer'. Especially web design. This may
take over as the main format of Graphic Design.
>Computers have really been about Science not art.
And I think that they will continue that way in the future. Art just being
used to put a "user friendly" face on the machine.
> Look at computer equipment, not too long ago you got a
>plain metal box when you purchased a computer. Now the box looks more
>modern and professional. This trend will only go so far and it will revert
>back to a more natural interface: made of wood-like material...
Damn ! You just stole one of my multi-million $ ideas and broadcast it
throughout the world. <sigh> back to the drawing board. :)
<->
>When I sit here stuck to my table in the basement of my house
>doing graphics, I sense that this is not entirely who I want to be or what
I
>want to be doing. I want so much more.
So why not do it ? Create an oil painting and transform it into digital.
Take a photo or video of the location you would be in and edit the results
until it looks and feels like you want.
<->
Brief question: You are an illustrator who works in the digital medium, how
do you differentiate between this medium and others ? (eg. photography) What
can/can't you do in the digital medium that makes it your medium of choice ?
Gadget
gadge...@hotmail.com
lebe...@ix.netcom.com
In article <34efcde7...@news.greennet.net>,
drp...@greennet.net (Doug Perry a.k.a drperry) wrote:
>
> Here's a big question: What does the future look like (in terms of the
> direction graphic design is headed)? Trends? Insights? Specifics of
> the the influence of digital media?
>
Hmmmm....
I'll bet digital media will continue to grow at an exponential rate in
developed countries where the average middle-class person can afford a
computer at home. It seems E-Cash and all that other good internet commerce
stuff is coming along nicely, so I bet this segment will continue to grow.
This segment should also include CD-ROM development and whatever replaces CD-
ROM in the future.
However, not everyone in the world has computers or even TV. So I'll bet that
in most places, print media will still be the priority. Ink on paper will
never be replaced in my opinion.
You can already see the influence digital media is having on print media. I
can't count the number of ads that seem to want to look like a screen shot of
some hot new multimedia application, with floating buttons, lens flares, etc.
etc. As with other flash-in-the-pan trends, I'm betting this one will die off
as well, sooner rather than later.
One drawback of the digital revolution is that everyone with a copy of
PageMaker thinks they're some sort of designer. That makes the real designers
justify their skills even harder, which means more work for less pay. Gee,
thanks a lot, Adobe. ;)
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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lebe...@ix.netcom.com
In article <6crv5m$fcv$3...@biffo.sol.co.uk>,
"Gadget" <Gadge...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Brief question: You are an illustrator who works in the digital medium, how
> do you differentiate between this medium and others ? (eg. photography) What
> can/can't you do in the digital medium that makes it your medium of choice ?
>
What can't I do in the real world that I can on my Mac?
One Word.
Undo.
(Command-Z)
lebe...@ix.netcom.com
In article <6cpjeg$5g$1...@usenet55.supernews.com>,
> I know when I work with digital art, I'm
> nagged by the question: "how do I get this out on print media." When this
> sort of question has been resolved, we will have established digital media.
I see a rift appearing between digital media and traditional (read:ink on
paper) media. The digital media "elite" will stick to their own ways,
designing in virtual 3D space, where the output format will be a video screen
or 3D-projecting eyewear or some crazy doohinkey like that. The
"traditionalists" will design as we do now, on a computer but always thinking
about the final print output format. You can already see this starting in the
difference between multimedia designers and print designers. The skill sets
needed for both are not mutually exclusive, but the professions are drifting
apart. You will soon reach a point where you can't keep up professionally with
both. You will have to choose to specialize in one over the other.
jon...@alphacom.net
On Mon, 23 Feb 1998 13:52:56 -0000, "Gadget" <Gadge...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
>>I believe the biggest trend in design will be the interface. We've been on
>>this slick smooth modern trend for so long that it seems as though there
>>will be a backlash to simpler times.
The modernists were preaching for asymetrical and simple designs such
as the mix of photography and sans sérifs typography (fonts).
And no, we haven't been on this slick slow modernist recently. With
the works of Barnbrook and Neville Broody, called "new wavers" because
they startes wild typography in the beginning of the New Wave music
trend of the '80s.
However, perhaps that yes, we can see that Modernism is coming back a
little. I agree that we need to move on with post-modernism. But what
is post-modernism? Contemporary movement? Some critique say that the
contemporary movement has been active for quite a while, but getting
nowhere (no philosophical and concrete approach to design and art...)
So is the future what I call the post-contemporary society?
>I agree with that, but ironically I think that the medium of viewing (and
>designing) these trends will be 'Computer'. Especially web design. This may
>take over as the main format of Graphic Design.
The computer has been here for a while. We have seen it's impact. The
major change will be to bring graphic designers more to web page
design and multi-media, where programmers a way to much active (they
don't to domains that they don't have knowledge of).
>>Computers have really been about Science not art.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. ???
>And I think that they will continue that way in the future. Art just being
>used to put a "user friendly" face on the machine.
Well, industrial design has done a great job for machines like the
Silicon Graphics O2 or Indy-Indigo (look at the works from people at
Frog Designs, for example: no bad!)
>> Look at computer equipment, not too long ago you got a
>>plain metal box when you purchased a computer. Now the box looks more
>>modern and professional.
The Mac comes to my mind too.
>>When I sit here stuck to my table in the basement of my house
>>doing graphics, I sense that this is not entirely who I want to be or what
>>want to be doing. I want so much more.
I guess that people in the design arts, especially architects perhaps,
are utopists. We can't help it.
JonSon
jon...@alphacom.net
On Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:01:03 -0600, lebe...@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>In article <34efcde7...@news.greennet.net>,
> drp...@greennet.net (Doug Perry a.k.a drperry) wrote:
>>
>> Here's a big question: What does the future look like (in terms of the
>> direction graphic design is headed)? Trends? Insights? Specifics of
>> the the influence of digital media?
>>
>
>Hmmmm....
>I'll bet digital media will continue to grow at an exponential rate in
>developed countries where the average middle-class person can afford a
>computer at home.
Yes, good observation!
>It seems E-Cash and all that other good internet commerce
>stuff is coming along nicely, so I bet this segment will continue to grow.
Nicely? Arguable.
>This segment should also include CD-ROM development and whatever replaces CD-
>ROM in the future.
The DVD? It's not going to far right now. The companies producing them
are all waiting for film makers to develop the films for the DVD and
the film industry is waiting for those guys to bring on the market the
DVD units!!!!
>However, not everyone in the world has computers or even TV. So I'll bet that
>in most places, print media will still be the priority. Ink on paper will
>never be replaced in my opinion.
That's for sure. Unless some really good hand held devices are
developed.
>You can already see the influence digital media is having on print media. I
>can't count the number of ads that seem to want to look like a screen shot of
>some hot new multimedia application, with floating buttons, lens flares, etc.
>etc. As with other flash-in-the-pan trends, I'm betting this one will die off
>as well, sooner rather than later.
>One drawback of the digital revolution is that everyone with a copy of
>PageMaker thinks they're some sort of designer.
Exactly what I have been trying to say in a past trend (see: Re:
Graphics Designer / Graphic Designer / Graphic Artist)
>That makes the real designers
>justify their skills even harder, which means more work for less pay. Gee,
>thanks a lot, Adobe. ;)
Quite ironic isn't?
JonSon
jon...@alphacom.net
On Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:17:46 -0600, lebe...@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>In article <6cpjeg$5g$1...@usenet55.supernews.com>,
> "Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)" <or...@werewolf.net> wrote:
>>
>
>> I know when I work with digital art, I'm
>> nagged by the question: "how do I get this out on print media." When this
>> sort of question has been resolved, we will have established digital media.
>I see a rift appearing between digital media and traditional (read:ink on
>paper) media. The digital media "elite" will stick to their own ways,
>designing in virtual 3D space, where the output format will be a video screen
>or 3D-projecting eyewear or some crazy doohinkey like that. The
>"traditionalists" will design as we do now, on a computer but always thinking
>about the final print output format. You can already see this starting in the
>difference between multimedia designers and print designers. The skill sets
>needed for both are not mutually exclusive, but the professions are drifting
>apart. You will soon reach a point where you can't keep up professionally with
>both. You will have to choose to specialize in one over the other.
Another great observation! I saw recently on the web a lot of people
calling themselves MEDIA DESIGNERS... they have made studies in the
arts and in graphic design, but they jump to specialize themselves.
Perhaps this is what we need.
Don't know yet, my opinion is not set in stone right now.
JonSon
Doug Perry a.k.a drperry
Random Replies:
------------------------------
<Snip! author="JonSon">
>That makes the real designers
>justify their skills even harder, which means more work for less pay. Gee,
>thanks a lot, Adobe. ;)
</snip>
Jon, it's like carpentets now. Everyone can swing a hammer, but a
sense of craft is what makes a great carpenter or designer. Without
craft, the house will look ugly and will fall down. So far as more
work for less pay, I'm not sure. In a world of hacks, it makes the
true artisian more valuable in all aspects.
------------------------
IMHO, i see a trend in the use of humanist faces like Myriad. It
reflects a social need for things that are friendly and humanized in
the face of rapidly accellerating technology.
As usual, you'll see a contunuation of the nostalgia revival trip
(next on cue the 80's. are you ready for day-glo inks, teal,
condensed sans-serif faces, and stair-step motifs).
************************************************************************
A clarification: I was looking primarily for opinons upon a future
asthetic.
jon...@alphacom.net
>Random Replies:
>------------------------------
>
><Snip! author="JonSon">
>>That makes the real designers
>>justify their skills even harder, which means more work for less pay. Gee,
>>thanks a lot, Adobe. ;)
></snip>
>
>Jon, it's like carpentets now. Everyone can swing a hammer, but a
>sense of craft is what makes a great carpenter or designer. Without
>craft, the house will look ugly and will fall down. So far as more
>work for less pay, I'm not sure. In a world of hacks, it makes the
>true artisian more valuable in all aspects.
I wasn't the one who wrote the above statement, but I agree with you.
JonSon
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)
Gadget,
-Brief question: You are an illustrator who works in the digital medium, how
-do you differentiate between this medium and others ? (e.g.. photography)
What
-can/can't you do in the digital medium that makes it your medium of choice
?
As I said, I feel that digital art is not entirely trusted yet. I mean this
in the sense that a buyer really doesn't know what they're getting and how
does one display the art when it's done? Digital media takes on the value
that is typically associated with prints and photographs; it can virtually
be reproduced over and over again. The value of the original is ultimately
reduced because the image can't be sold like one would sell an oil painting.
You may buy rights to the image but you can't hang "rights" on a wall. What
I do with my own digital art,at the moment, is to take a picture of the
image on the screen using a camera. Could I hang that in a gallery?
I'd like to inject an idea here: maybe we need to be able to mark or
hand sign digital copies (#5 of 200) as we do with real prints and photos.
And by doing this, maybe we'll be able to increase the value of the work.
This doesn't solve the technological problem but it would give just a little
more value to the work that is done.
I really enjoy digital art and the possibilities in this medium enfolds
but I want it to have more value. Digital media,however, is so much like
candy. It's so easy to create something that looks complex and if you don't
have the integrity in the production of the art then you can pass something
off as a masterpiece without anyone knowing the difference.
Question, When a publisher wants to put a children's book out on the market
to be sold, would they be satisfied getting illustrations from an artist on
a zip disk?
Gadget
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator) wrote ....
<->
> I'd like to inject an idea here: maybe we need to be able to mark or
>hand sign digital copies (#5 of 200) as we do with real prints and photos.
>And by doing this, maybe we'll be able to increase the value of the work.
>This doesn't solve the technological problem but it would give just a
>little more value to the work that is done.
You can watermark digital copies. Why not use this ?
If you could make the file self-destruct once copied, or corrupt any copies
made of it's self, would you be interested ? In this way you could limit the
number available...
> I really enjoy digital art and the possibilities in this medium enfolds
>but I want it to have more value. Digital media,however, is so much like
>candy. It's so easy to create something that looks complex and if you
>don't have the integrity in the production of the art then you can pass
>something off as a masterpiece without anyone knowing the difference.
"...The simple things you see are all complicated,
I look pretty young, but I'm just back dated..."
And the complex things _look_ computer generated.
You can call anything a masterpiece; It is all in the eye of the beholder.
>Question, When a publisher wants to put a children's book out on the
>market to be sold, would they be satisfied getting illustrations from an
>artist on a zip disk?
Don't know. I wouldn't see a problem personally. Anyone ?
Gadget
gadge...@hotmail.com
P.S. You still didn't answer the question: Why *specifically* digital medium
over any other ? {'Undo' I agree is a big plus, but not the whole reason.}
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)
To me, digital graphics, illustration are not that much different from the
standard 2-D arts: photography, oil painting, pastels, charcoals,
typography... except for the fact that they are all possible products of
one: digital media. The fact that you can always go back and fix what you
don't like (Undo) or add on to something that is not to your liking makes
digital media very attractive. Computers given us the ability to combine
all of these modes of art into one. If you really think about it, that's an
increadible responsibility.
Must go to work
>
>Brief question: You are an illustrator who works in the digital medium, how
>do you differentiate between this medium and others ? (eg. photography)
What
>can/can't you do in the digital medium that makes it your medium of choice
?
>
>Gadget
>gadge...@hotmail.com
>
>
>
>
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator)
MagicMan
<Comments interspersed with your text.>
Optical Relief (Freelance Ilustrator) wrote:
>
> Gadget,
>
> -Brief question: You are an illustrator who works in the digital medium, how
> -do you differentiate between this medium and others ? (e.g.. photography)
> What
> -can/can't you do in the digital medium that makes it your medium of choice
> ?
>
> As I said, I feel that digital art is not entirely trusted yet. I mean this
> in the sense that a buyer really doesn't know what they're getting and how
> does one display the art when it's done? Digital media takes on the value
> that is typically associated with prints and photographs; it can virtually
> be reproduced over and over again. The value of the original is ultimately
> reduced because the image can't be sold like one would sell an oil painting.
Quite true, and you don't even have the advantage of an original
negative or slide. Photographers often get around it by signed prints
and 'certificates of auththenticy', but this is a real problem with any
easily reproducible work, even lithographs and etchings.
> You may buy rights to the image but you can't hang "rights" on a wall. What
> I do with my own digital art,at the moment, is to take a picture of the
> image on the screen using a camera. Could I hang that in a gallery?
Conceivably, but there are other ways.
> I'd like to inject an idea here: maybe we need to be able to mark or
> hand sign digital copies (#5 of 200) as we do with real prints and photos.
> And by doing this, maybe we'll be able to increase the value of the work.
A good idea, and there are programmers working on the concept now. In
the interim, you could possibly encrypt an image with pgp, and supply a
special key as a 'signature'...
> This doesn't solve the technological problem but it would give just a little
> more value to the work that is done.
> I really enjoy digital art and the possibilities in this medium enfolds
> but I want it to have more value. Digital media,however, is so much like
> candy. It's so easy to create something that looks complex and if you don't
> have the integrity in the production of the art then you can pass something
> off as a masterpiece without anyone knowing the difference.
>
One thing that makes a difference in anyon's art is his/her 'style'. I
am not familiar enough with normal art to differentiate; for example, I
could not tell a Picasso from a Mondrian in some cases, but in
photography, I can usually tell the difference between an image made by
Weston or Ansel Adams from images made of the same places made by
others. Works made by digital artists also have this element.
> Question, When a publisher wants to put a children's book out on the market
> to be sold, would they be satisfied getting illustrations from an artist on
> a zip disk?
Here is one answer to the question you stated way back. Perhaps you
cannot hang a photo of your screen in a gallery, but you can publish
your work in the same way as other artists who work in reproducible
media. Let's face it, many such do not make a large amount of money
selling individual prints of their work, but through just what you
mentioned above, published works contaning their work, such as coffee
table books (many photographers and others), calendars (Ansel Adams did
this), picture postcards, and so forth. In answer to your question, many
will accept zip disks. Some will even accept floppies, but these are
getting few and far between. Many are beginning to accept submissions on
Jaz drives, too. Check with the publishers first, though to see if they
want PC or MAC format.
MagicMan