Professional Interview

I interviewed Jane Nelson who works at Special T's in Lynch. Here were her answers: 1. What are some basic design principals? The main reason for graphic design is to relay a message/statement. You must relay that message appealingly to your consumer or client. There are four fundamental principals to always live by when you are designing something. CRAP Contrast - Avoid elements (fonts, colors, size, shape...) on a page that are similar. Contrast is what draws people into your work. Repetition - Repeat some aspect of your design throughout the entire piece. You want to make sure that you communicate the purpose of your design. Alignment - Everything should have some visual connection with another object on the page. It will help unify and organize the page. Proximity - Items relating to each other should be grouped together. This to will help organize and better clarify your message. 2. What are some tips you have from the field of digital design?Always keep up on the new technology. Programs, computers, printers... are changing everyday and if you can’t keep up, then you are in the dark. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Something that may seem off the wall may turn out to be an award winning piece. One huge tip is to take the time to learn shortcuts! Using shortcuts and speed keys will save both you and your client money. 3. And what is some advice you would give to a novice designer? Going into a career like Graphic Arts was one of the smartest things I have ever done. You can do so much with the training. Web design, billboard design, corporate identity... the list goes on. This field is expanding all the time. Graphic design is definitely the new age field of art. Try out a few different areas of graphic design before finding your specialty. (Logos, Website, Business Cards, Advertisements, Brochures, Billboards, Product Packaging, Posters, Book Design, Magazine Layout, Newspaper Layout, Greeting Cards). In college, we got to do billboards, computer animation, product marketing/packaging and even a photography class. We did a little of everything. It was amazing.