THE FUTURE'S NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE.
The future's not what it used to be, or so the saying goes. Neither is the past if it comes to that. It all depends on where you have been, where you are now and how you got there.
The problem is
that we have all got to where we are by different routes and so we view
our current position in relation to our individual experiences.
Now,
as every young designer knows, anyone over thirty has lost the plot and
couldn't design their way out of a paper bag. If the value of
experience has not actually been reduced to nothing, it is a close run
thing. Anything over two years makes you a master, it seems.
Don't
laugh. Macromedia's Flash is still relatively new and yet it has taken
over a sizeable chunk of cultural real estate. The 'movie' is being
reinvented: animation is on every street corner, web cartoons are
ubiquitous.
Print continues to evolve. Computer-to-plate
technology is now unremarkable and has taken on a life of its own,
digital proofing is coming of age (about time, some would say) and
people have stopped talking about the death of the book.
Its demise is about as likely as the paperless office: mere wishful thinking by soothsayers. It
doesn't matter which area of visual communications you are in, a deep
understanding of the fundamentals are invaluable. These fundamentals
may be in technology, skills, business practice, culture or whatever;
you must understand why something is relevant.
For
instance, colour management has had a rough trot in recent years; it
has been neglected. Sure, there have been quite a lot of isolated
solutions and Apple Computer have done a splendid job with their
ColorSync group. They have fostered prolonged interaction between key
industry players that has been very beneficial.
But, when
all is said and done, do you know of anyone (including yourself) who
has had a problem with proofing or colour management recently?
One
of the things experience teaches you is that if you are having a
problem, it's a fair bet that lots of other people are having the same
problem.
On the other side of the coin, if things looks
easy, then maybe someone has done a lot of work to make it happen that
way. While we may take it for granted that certain things behave the
way they do, very little happens accidentally. Someone, somewhere made
it that way. The trick is to make it seamless. Like a stage show;
perhaps an illusion, but the effect is 'real' if the result is
concrete.
On the development front, isn't it great that the
so-called digital revolution is largely behind us and has now matured?
The seventies were full of promising horizons. The eighties full of
'baby's first steps', 'nice tries' and names we have long forgotten.
The nineties gave us wonderful tools we had only dreamed about and made
us realise that this was for real. The noughties have given us young
designers who have no idea why we think this is so cool anyway.
Our
children are truly mutants. It's probably a good thing that the ideas
keep coming. While we can all look around us and find people who resist
change, and might even admit to liking the occasional bit of stability
ourselves, we all tune in to the latest and greatest (and even
sometimes assume that the latest is the greatest).
But
where would we be without the sceptics? Stuck in the Dark Ages, that's
where. For blind acceptance denies improvement. Dispersal without
testing gives more than a little tummy trouble. Hail beta testing (or,
how to get a lot of people willing to improve your product so that you
can sell them an upgrade: brilliant!)
I used to be
sceptical, now I doubt that was the case. I will believe nothing, and I
will believe anything. Help. Please call the quantum mechanic!
About this article
This article is reprinted from Design Graphics, with permission.
Colin Wood
Colin Wood founded Design World magazine in 1983 and it became one of
the world's largest selling generalist design magazines. He published
it for 12 years in all. From 1990 to 1993 he published a large format
generalist magazine for Australia (only) entitled Design Ink. In 1993
this was relaunched internationally as Design Graphics. He also
publishes the annual Art & Design Education Resource Guide for
Australia and New Zealand, now in its 17th year. Next year sees the
publication of the second Oz Graphix, an annual showcase of the best
graphic design from top Australian studios.
Design Graphics
Design Graphics is a magazine devoted to all aspects of digital
publishing. It covers a wide range of related subjects from high end
printing, through new media all the way to the web. Each issue contains
inspirational work by top professionals, tips and techniques in the
Studio Skills articles, feature articles, technology updates,
information on the latest hardware and software, reviews, hardware
comparisons and much more! Design Graphics has a loyal and enthusiastic
readership, most of whom are professionally engaged in design,
communication, publishing or related activities.