Graphic design: Use your eye not the rules!

[BeachBallEffect]

When grunge started getting into Web Design, I blamed Dave Carson.

[factumDiabolus]

1:30 sooo fuckin true! Many times I'm a bitch to that voice in the back of my head.

[sookmo]

"Doing what makes sense!" True so very true...

[Hartsema]

I believe his interpretation about "the rules" as in the sentence "know the rules before you can break them" is wrong. I think he would have understood better if the sentence was; Know aesthetics so you can break the rules. Cause basicly what he is saying is that he was just experimenting. And he was obviously getting to know the rules of aesthetics while he was working with them. It isn't a profession to see what works or doesn't. It's a profession to make it work

[Hartsema]

I believe his interpretation about "the rules" as in the sentence "know the rules before you can break them" is wrong. I think he would have understood better if the sentence was; Know aesthetics so you can break the rules. Cause basicly what he is saying is that he was just experimenting. And he was obviously getting to know the rules of aesthetics while he was working with them. It isn't a profession to see what works or doesn't. It's a profession to make it work

[berLinyes]

hey Great

[pat2bornot2b]

A great piece of mis-information, Carson had a lot of education and is lucky to have a natural design ability BUT all he says here is very flippant. He's very serious about his work and this is just showmanship here and trying to be cool, I know I've meet the man. Milton Glaser is a stunning Graphic Designer and I think Carson here is very disingenuous.

[oakiiedoe]

Oakiiedoe Is Also AN Artist ''Limitation Is Just Figment of the mind'' LEt go and your creativities pour.

[GazamYT]

2:37 - Milton Glaser a "good designer"... what?

Carson is an artist, NOT a designer, he's an artist, a good one. And uses graphic design elements for his art. Period.

[1augh0utL0UD]

He is a graphic designer.

[GazamYT]

Design is never boring if you love graphic design because its much more than pretty colors or supposedly breaking rules. Its about making information clear. You can design forms and love it. If you want to brake rules, then you're crossing over to being just an artist using type to create art. Graphic design is not art. I keep repeating that to fellow designers. Milton is an artist AND a graphic designer because you can still read and understand and get the message.

[GazamYT]

2:03 Readability - prescription 1pt type warning - NO the person reading it NEEDS that life critical information/warning at a higher clearer size. Its insulting and rude and unprofessional, dangerous as a graphic designer, no... as a product overall to provide that information at such an unreadable size. Thats a ridiculous argument. What is Carson saying that a crucial medical label that life depends on, that the rules for making that clear for the person using the medicine shouldnt apply?

[nextmarvel]

Artists that makes it into their own business or a successful freelance career is usually following his own rules and breaking them or following NO rules. Note that I did not say follows the rules. Artists worthy of acclaim always did their own thing. We can even see it in ppl like da Vinci. Today's designers/artists leading trends are people like nando costa, nopattern, electric heat, Joshua davis and so on. ARTISTS TAKE RISKS! W/ TRAINING OR NONE! Fancy ART DEGREES didn't always exist!!!!!!!!!

[bazookoidben]

I always found art to be such a generic term anyway. What is art but a word for an entire culture? I suppose its the way we think, we always need guidance to start, but we can clearly see throughout history that there have been artistic movements when the rules have been thrown out the window in order to provide something with substance art/design require life as well the effort to make them function. Sometimes we need to ignore the rules to give our own work the spark of 'life'.

[nextmarvel]

Heck yeah! Couldn't agree more

[johnniecochran]

The problem with him (and people who generally take into these philosophies) is consistency. The rules give you a base and help you make solid choices quickly. They also don't let you fly off the deep end. His work is a mix between things that are visually appealing and horrid chaos. So... why would I hire someone to produce something if it has such a high chance of coming out as garbage.

[bazookoidben]

Personally I dont consider Carson's work to be garbage, be ran Ray Gun from 94 to 99, a good set of years for a graphic design journal.

While I will agree some of his work is somewhat obscure, and maybe a little difficult to follow its all down to do with a certain way of understanding the rules of design. Carson understands the rules, and that is why he chooses, not to break them, but in an odd way not follow them, but still (in my mind) provide a very thought provoking result.

[wadehjb]

I follow the same philosophy. I've been painting and doing graphics for years and never had any formal training. I just trusted my creative instincts.

[davidedwardclark]

i disagree with him

[dianaclarke]

Candid, honest words, perhaps like his work.

[BchangingN]

In today's advertising market, there are million upon millions of ad's seen everyday. YOUR job as a graphic designer is to create an ad or design that will catch the eye of the target audience against all of the competing brands.

Sometimes, it might mean designing something edgy for a more conservative crowd....it might grab their attention to see their mag cover with Obama in a punk rocker outfit.. ok bad example.

I think at the end of the day, you need to BE PLAYFUL, and CREATIVE!

[sub7th]

Carson may not follow layout rules but he unwittingly practices a lot of other design theories and philosophies... though arguably, he could've been part of the development of those.

Ultimately your design needs to speak to your target audience. Carsons fortune was that he was an artist with the vision to do that.

If you applied that same "Surf" practice to Time Magazine you'd lose a lot of readers.

[julianaishere]

agreed

[Ortizticart]

THATS CALLED BEING AN ARTIST:)

[nnnicdddiaz]

How I, as a designer feel identified with, is the fact that now I regret having studied in university, cuz my mind is so full of prejudicial voices now, that it gets harder to listen to my creative inner voice.

[robbiebalboa]

i feel sorry for you. i'm sure you can get that out of your head soon.

[AtawallpaQuitumbe]

dont feel sorry for me, that is the kind of rethoric that I am sick of. If u dont agree, give arguments. I think that the set of rules that define what is goin to be readable to everybody are culturally imposed, and thus, do not represent the whole mass of possible readers, so there is room for design that gets out of that logic and can still be read and understood.

[BchangingN]

I agree.

I feel like I've always had a creative eye for things...and having taken college courses, I have been trained in a way, to moderate what I do and don't do.

[djaka401]

do you need to be a good artist as in drawing? to be a graphic designer?

[jimmymc10]

yes

[Ortizticart]

NO!!!

[RedCherryScorpion]

no, but it can be an advantage

[robbiebalboa]

hell no, it wouldn't hurt to have decent ability to sketch, but if you have an understanding of who you want to target then hey you can be a graphic designer.

the whole myth of graphic design as beng drawing is a load of crud, it's about simlifying unreabale shit and turning it into something that someone that doesn't know the alphabet can read.

BOTTOM LINE IT'S ABOUT GIVING THE VIEWER AN EXPERIENCE

[scootch7]

He had a great impact on me in school, he was at his hottest then. But I knew he wasn't the end all. And now a days I'm pretty sick of his schtick.

[BOLTgraphics]

Caron is NOT a graphic designer, he's an artist who uses graphic design tools. I like his work don't get me wrong, but he's not a graphic designer. Graphic design has a function (mainly conceying information), you need to know 'the rules' to be able to do this well. The only thing Carson's work does well is making what he applies his art to, look 'cool'. That's realy all, don't let him do a dictionary...

[balinmar]

this is so wrong.. the rules are there to create a balance..other wise everything looks wrong. It's not art, to just do what "looks good" it has to look right.

[pixelsin]

And who decides what is "Right"...

[EnnEyeSeaKay]

The Client! If you aren't getting paid, it's not graphic design. It's art. Then you can do whatever you like.

[rustleleafs]

he set a trend like jackson pollack no copying for him.

[etienneranc]

Carson's design style fits the products he's designed, he could never design Wallpaper Magazine or any other "neat" and functional magazine. He's not versatile as a Designer.

[etienneranc]

Carson's design style fits the products he's designed, he could never design Wallpaper Magazine or any other "neat" and functional magazine. He's not versatile as a Designer.

[iemai1974]

great, just great

[absi586]

The whole point of "the rules" is so visual design can be done consistently and effectively as possible.  Not just making something "look good". Graphic design is more of a science now than it is an art form. Yea you can get lucky once and a while but thats not enough to survive in the art world. Most likely if you follow principles of design entirely when working on a project, it will always look good. Wouldn't you rather produce consistently good work than try to fake your way each time?

[tojobasilisk]

David Carson has a LOT of talent, but i believe that theory on design is important, because when you're designing something that is going to communicate a concept or an idea, you HAVE to know how to explain it besides saying it just feels right...

[rictit]

College are for unsecure artists!!!! Picasso??? Van Gogh????? Dali?????????? Tolouse Leutrac??????WENT TO SCHOOL, BUT NEVER LIKED IT!!!!AND NEVER RECEIVED A DEGREE!!!

[hashir]

i think carson makes sense.. i've not gone to design school yet, and i do break the rules - not knowing that i have. that way i've gone to an extent that i would've never gone if i knew that i shouldnt go there.

[w3573y1]

an excellent reason not to have David Carson come speak at your design school or college...