Lately I have been feeling the urge to learn about graphic design (and design in general). I have also been experimenting with Adobe Illustrator for designing my new business cards and letterhead and such, which would probably explain my newfound desire. I have always admired graphic designers and other digital artists so this recent interest in learning more is not surprising to me. I bought a few books on Amazon to help spark my creativity and to educate myself about color and type. One of the books, the one I am currently reading, is really causing me to think. It's titled Thinking with Type , and it's really interesting material.
Like most ACU journalism students I thought Dr. Marler was a little crazy when he spent 3 weeks talking about typography during the Publication Design class, but now that I have a few years more life experience and a much different outlook on life I think the topic is fascinating. Not only is typography interesting but how the designer places the text and positions it, sizes and colors it all go into creating a great layout. Coming from a school newspaper background I know that the body, or text, on a page is an element much as the art or photographs are and not just linear text, but somehow the author of the book presents this idea in way that is new and refreshing to me. I'm not saying I am going to switch to page design or try to become a graphic designer, but I do feel that dabbling in these fields is beneficial to me, the same way learning to record audio or shooting and editing video are skills that improve my creativity and story telling skills. As I write this I am reminded of a time when I heard David Leeson tell a group of photographers that he wanted to live an artful life, and I can understand that. It's more than just being a good photographer, in fact if I only do that with my life I will be a failure in my own eyes. I would like to understand and appreciate the art that is all around me, from subtle beauty of nature and God's design for it, to the buildings I work, live and play in and even the objects/devices/tools I use in my everday life, everything around me has been designed to fulfill a purpose or to elicit an emotion or feeling. Realizing this, and tapping into it, might just be the greatest thing I can do as an artist.
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