Few people actually understand what graphic design is. I’m not saying it’s rocket science, because it’s not, but that it’s often poorly understood. For example, how many people do you know who start a new career in Research with little or no experience? How about medicine? Construction? Demolition? Car repair? Zero. OK, now how many time have you heard someone say something like “I’ve decided to start my own desktop publishing company…” when you know they don’t have any experience. Personally, somewhere between fifteen and twenty.

The funny thing is that these people always think I will be understanding. I’m all for on-the-job training, it’s how I got my start, but I started at the bottom. I have a degree in art, but when I started in graphic design I knew nothing about the job of graphic design. I got trained to do my job over a period of years. I have continued to get training since then through my employers and on my own. I own several computers and thousands of dollars worth of software that I use to improve my skills and increase my knowledge of my field. (That’s only for home, not what I use for work.) Now why would someone with a Wal-Mart computer and Microsoft Word think I would be sympathetic to them starting a design company? They think I would be sympathetic because they think they can do my job. They don’t even know what my job is. Here’s a clue.

Graphic design is the applied art of selecting, creating and arranging marks on a surface to communicate a message. These marks may be letterforms (Typography) or of other media such as drawing or photography.

It encompasses the creative work done in many media, such as print, digital media, motion pictures, animation, product design, packaging, and information signs. Graphic design as a practice can be traced back to the origin of the written word, but only in the late 19th century did it become identified as a separate discipline.

Notice specifically what I marked in bold above. “Communicate a message“, and “19th century“. Graphic Design is about communication, and it predates computers. Despite any sarcastic comments I make about poor computers and poor software, graphic design isn’t about computers at all. It’s about communication. When I was in college no computers were used in the graphic design classes. None. It was only as I was starting to work in the field that they were becoming more prevalent in the workplace.

In it’s classic sense, graphic design is about arranging elements in a way best suited to communicating a message. These days a computer is usually used to do the work, but it’s just a tool like any other. Like any tool it doesn’t give the user the knowledge of how to best use it. The right software won’t make someone a designer, it allows someone who is a designer to do their job easier. You have to be careful not let the tool limit your design. Years ago I read an article about PhotoShop wizard Jeff Schewe. He was asked to supply an image of a melted phone for an advertisement. The elegance of his solution stuck with me.

The final image was so convincing that the director asked how he did it. He answered that he had merely placed the telephone in the oven and melted it.

“In this day and age, with so much technology at our hands, sometimes the easiest way to do something is to just do it for real,” Schewe said. “You see people beating their heads against a brick wall trying to do something on the computer, when it would have been easier just to photograph it on film.”

All our tools are just that, tools. They don’t replace knowledge, skill, or experience. A designer’s tools are one of the things least understood by our clients. There seems to be two schools of thought on the subject. One is that we use office software, but know it really really well. (Sorry to burst your bubble, I use little in the way of Microsoft products and given the choice I’d use none.) The second school is that designers use special software that magically does our work for us. (Close, but misleading) We use software that gives us much more control over the final product than office software. It is unfortunately not magic and doesn’t do the job without us. I personally spend hours every week doing mind numbingly boring things like proofreading text. I’d be happy to pass this job on to some “magic software”, but doing it by hand is the only way to make sure it’s right. Spell-check software can only take you so far. To communicate clearly, I have to make sure the right words are used as well as spelled correctly. Communication is as I’ve mentioned, the job. I spend more time on any given day making sure the writing is correct, concise, and clearly presented than anything else. Fancy layouts, dramatic designs, and graphics are great, but if the communication of information suffers because of the design, then I’ve failed.

“Graphic design is the applied art of selecting, creating and arranging marks on a surface to communicate a message.” Nothing more, but nothing less either.

Part 2

Misha had a great idea about addressing the problem of undocumented drivers the other day. It got me to thinking, he might want to address Undocumented Tenants next. Their rights are being trampled on constantly. They are arrested and or accosted every day all over the country just because the owner of the house had the audacity to come home at an inopportune time. That’s not even considering the problems they have with dogs.

Rightwingduck expanded the idea to include undocumented withdrawers.

Why stop there? I’m sure the that incident a few Septembers ago could be was just a mistaken attempt by a few undocumented pilots to land at unrecognized landing facilities. It was either that or another case of Involuntary Dissolution and Alternative Construction.

When you have young daughters you become invisible. I’ve noticed lately that when I’m carrying one of my daughters, people address them and don’t seem to see me. They talk to them as if I wasn’t even there.

The other day when I carried my youngest into daycare, the nice young woman looked right at my daughter and said “Hey pretty baby!” I immediately replied “You really shouldn’t talk to me like that, my wife is here.”

The young lady still says hello to my daughter, but she does remember to day hi to me now. Maybe the invisibility is wearing off.

It’s time I start posting here again. I’ve been working on a lot of projects at work and at home that having been taking most of my energy. Finishing up a bunch of home improvement projects at home, new floors, painting, etc. Almost done with what we’ve started. I likely start on something else, but it’s nice to see an end in sight even if it’s temporary. Work has been mostly about the web. Now I like webdesign, but online forms (yawn) aren’t exactly my cup of tea. I’ve also been working on a new three column theme for Taking Back North Dakota that should be up and running in the next few days.

I’ve been looking forward to a PhotoShop project that’s on my schedule, hopefully I’ll get to work on it later today. A client wants some framed prints of a local landmark. I’ve taken the photos, but he wants them to have a subtle pen and ink, watercolor wash look. I’ve done some low resolution rough drafts and I think I’ve gotten the filter set up figured out. A few days ago I managed to get the photos cleaned up and ready to work on. I removed street signs, a fire hydrant, and a few other obstructions. Now it’s time for the fun part.

I’ve been doing more PhotoShop work lately, it’s been a nice improvement over the online forms. I hope the trend continues.

Now this is funny. I’ll be laughing at this for while.
Lady Heather of Suburbia: 8 Morons (“Moh-rawns â„¢ In Southern Speak)

This guys got the right idea. He’s not giving his students the answers, he’s teaching them how to find the answers.

NewsForge | Switching art students to GNU/Linux

I’m an art professor, and last semester I embarked on an exciting new adventure by erasing Mac OS X from nearly all of the Macintoshes in our digital media lab and installing Ubuntu in its place.

Too many people learn software and not how to do good graphic design. Software is irrelevant and often obsolete before it’s installed. Operating systems change. Teach a person the basics of graphic design though, and they’ll adapt to the changes. Teach them how to use a specific software… and a year from now they’ll be obsolete themselves.

H/T Giant Mechanical Square: Tools or Talent?

I use FireFox and it’s assorted extensions almost every day. It’s a great browser, but when you add the various web developer extensions to it it becomes a great tool. Saves me a lot of time. I’ve used the online spell-checker extension called Spellbound quite a bit, but every time I get used to using it, FireFox upgrades and Spellbound doesn’t. This happened most recently with version 1.5.0.1. I recently found a development version that works though. I hope this one sticks around for a while. It seems to work quite well. The forum I saw it in mentions un-installing the old version first.

I’m obviously taking time away from my site. I’ve been reading Dies the Fire by SM Stirling. It’s quite good. I haven’t read much post-apocalyptic science fiction before even though I am a big science fiction fan. I just never got into it, too little character development, too much clique.

Oddly, Mr. Stirling doesn’t even really explain how this apocalypse comes to be. A flash of light and pain, and everyone is in the iron age. Electricity doesn’t work, gunpowder burns but doesn’t explode, the last five or six hundred years of technology are mostly useless. Despite giving no explanation of how this happens this story works. Quite good, I plan to read the sequel The Protector’s War when I finish this one.

Update: Loved them both. Very good author.

I started this blog as an experiment of sorts, in both writing and web design. It’s been fun playing with the design, but I’ve lately I’ve been only writing about politics. I’ve decided that a change is in order. Politics takes too much of my time and energy that could be better spent.

In the future I’ll be writing less overall, and writing about things that are more important to me. Family, friends, humor, painting and sculpture, probably web design, and very likely horses.

Note: I’ve gotten several comments about the Zogby poll post, both online and off (all bad). I was wrong on several levels. I didn’t follow up tracking down the actual questions, and my smart-ass comment about “left answers” was unintendedly rude. My point wasn’t about liberal or conservative at all, but about a pollster appearing to choose the answers they wanted to receive on a public opinion poll. Sorry again.

I criticized a Zogby poll the other day based on the criticism of someone else. I didn’t at the time find the poll questions myself. A commenter has kindly corrected my error. The questions are not nearly as misleading as the original author suggested. I will be investigating this further, but I’d like to apologize for my lack of follow through on the original post.

From the commenter:

The question as quoted from the poll is:

How long should U.S. troops stay in Iraq?
1. They should withdraw immediately
2. They should withdraw within the next six months
3. They should withdraw within six to twelve months
4. They should stay as long as they are needed
5. Not sure

The author you cite suggests that there is no middle of the road option there and criticizes the lack of “stay for” options. Obviously those troops wanting to “stay for X months longer than needed” were put out but then again… so is everyone who thought this author was higlighting a misleading poll rather than just being misleading himself.

Cheney responds to retirement allegations in his signature style.

I love it. I cheer for anybody who plays against UW.

The Seattle Times: Sports: Ducks drop Huskies, 84-73

Ryan Appleby wasn’t the only one who was flattened here Thursday night.

So were the Washington men’s basketball team’s hopes of repeating as Pac-10 tournament champion.

This woman needs to be behind bars for a long time, and more importantly never drive again.

TimesDispatch.com | Suspect killed girl, 13, in Tenn.

Richmond police have identified Payne as the driver of a white Ford pickup truck that ran down hotel worker Ashokkumar M. Patel, 51, as he was walking home Tuesday afternoon along a grass median between Midlothian Turnpike and the northbound ramp entrance to Chippenham Parkway.

Police officials said Payne will be charged with second-degree murder and felony hit-and-run in Patel’s death. Officials said she also will be charged with felony hit-and-run for fleeing the scene of a 4 p.m. wreck in the 6700 block of Midlothian Turnpike, which occurred moments before she allegedly crossed three lanes of traffic to get to the ramp and struck Patel.

While Richmond-area courts show no recent criminal or traffic offenses, Madison County officials said Payne was declared a habitual offender in 1992 after a driving-while-intoxicated conviction in Albemarle County. She also had prior offenses in 1991 for speeding in Orange County, Va., and for driving with a revoked or suspended license in 1991 in Charlottesville.

H/T to damnum absque injuria who’s written a nice serenade to the woman.

If you’re taking a poll, wouldn’t you want to take the time to get the right answers? Maybe they took the time needed to get the left answers…

RealClearPolitics – Commentary – Zogby’s Bogus Poll on U.S. Military in Iraq by Tim Kane

As a veteran, I have been hoping that a pollster would take the obvious step of asking our troops for their opinions, and I think Zogby International deserves credit for making the effort.

But as an economist, my appreciation eroded sharply when I took a closer look.

The smart troops who perceived this false choice probably set the clipboard down and walked away at that point. That leaves us with a biased respondent pool.

Update: The post quoted above is misleading, I’ve posted a correction.

Dick Morris in conjunction with Eileen McGann really have the Clinton’s number with this piece.

The Clintons pass in the night

Bill and Hillary Clinton are the first couple to appear simultaneously and independently on the national political stage. They are using their special circumstances as a convenient shield for one another, fulfilling, at once, Hillary’s dream of no accountability and Bill’s of being able to take both sides of an issue.

Marion barry in the news again. As usual, not in a good way.
Barry Sentenced to Three Years Probation

D.C. Council member and former mayor Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) this morning was sentenced to three years probation for misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal and local taxes.

Barry, who tested positive for cocaine and marijuana use in a court-ordered drug test last fall, will also have to submit to further drug testing, or treatment, if ordered to do so by his probation office, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson said.

He owes $246,000 in taxes, plus interest and penalties,

Michelle Malkin is linking to breaking news about the Dubai port deal.

She’s linking to Rossputin.com: Rational Thinking About Our World – BREAKING NEWS: Dubai gives up?

CNBC is reporting that Dubai Ports World will transfer the ports that they would have run as part of their takeover of P&O to a US Entity.

I’ll be watching both of these sites for updates. I was curious how this was going to end.

Update:
Dubai to give up ports control – U.S. Security – MSNBC.com

Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operation of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity,” DP World’s chief operating officer, Edward H. Bilkey, said in the statement.

Fortunately you don’t see this every day.

Make-up motorist: I was going on a date | the Daily Mail

A woman who was fined £200 after she was caught on camera applying make-up while driving at 32mph has defended her actions, saying she was preparing for a date.

“In my eyes it is hardly any different to smoking at the wheel,” she said.

“hardly any different to smoking”? Last time I checked smokers don’t take both hands off the wheel while waving the cigarette near their eyes. Moron.

This is a post I wish I’d written. BlackFive writes about a news story I noticed recently. I hadn’t decided how to write about it in away that would do it justice. BlackFive gets it right.

BLACKFIVE: The Saint In The Tank

This is just nuts. Eminent domain? Right. This looks a lot more like theft to me.

Newsday.com: Lawsuits in eminent domain fight over suburban golf club

Wilson said in a statement that the takeover “has nothing to do with a master plan that promotes the public good or eliminating blight, issues usually behind eminent domain. Rather, it is a naked grab for private property in an apparent effort to satisfy the private desires of a few elected officials.”

“We haven’t started any proceeding,” Natiss said, although he conceded that appraisals of the golf course property and environmental impact reviews of a potential takeover are under way. “We’re in the information gathering stage.”

What information does he need to gather? This is a successful golf course that doesn’t belong to the city. That’s all you need to know. Sure it would be nice if the city owned it… So buy it. Oh, they can’t afford it? I’ve never understood that sort of attitude. “We’re in the information gathering stage.” What the hell does that mean other than they’re making plans to steal this property from the owners, but haven’t actually done it yet?