Gladys Glover

I have been trying to catch up on my blog reading and last night I came across an interesting article about the movie It Should Happen to You starring the character Gladys Glover.

Gladys had just lost her job when she met Pete Sheppard, maker of documentaries. After filming Gladys feeding pigeons, he introduced himself and offers to contact her when the documentary is complete. Gladys' expresses that her dream is to become famous, Pete encourages her to follow her dream and they part ways. While wandering aimlessly an empty billboard catches Gladys' attention, a few days later after following up with the owner, her name is up and she is thrilled. As it turns out another company, Adams Soap, typically uses the billboard. Adams Soap barters with Gladys and eventually she gives up the billboard in return for 6 other billboards. This skyrockets her fame and lands her appearances on television shows. When audiences realize the only reason she is famous is the billboards she is humiliated; Adams Soap quickly comes to her rescue by hiring her to be their all American model. Gladys has finally realized her dream, presumably making her happy and bringing the film to a close. In actuality Gladys feels empty and frustrated, next to rescue her is Pete. After meeting by chance, Pete harbored romantic feelings for Gladys, leading him to move in next door. Throughout the film he offers advice and eventually helps her realize that being famous will not make her happy. Cue the sappy, happy ending.

I loved this story for two reasons. One the ridiculous ways people find to get famous and two the realization that fame isn't sustainable, that fame doesn't necessarily lead to happiness. Can't wait to watch the real thing on the weekend!

On the Go

This week has been a busy, but very exciting one! I temporarily moved to Toronto for my placement at Parcel on Sunday, found out Wednesday that I made it to round two for the Next Gen Dinner Series and today the judging for the Reggies began.

Through my college I was given the opportunity to apply for a three week placement, while I live in Kitchener, I thought it would be great to take a stab at Toronto. So far I have loved it, the TTC is so much better than the transit in Kitchener, I'm getting the chance to experience working at a great design studio and everything I see is new (which I love). Everyone at Parcel has been so welcoming and get me involved in a ton of different projects.

The Next Gen Dinner Series is my next big news, I applied hoping for the best and have made it on to the interview process. The dinner brings together 63 students with 7 industry professionals. Each professional is an expert in a different field and students are placed at tables according to their interests. Overall I think it would be a great chance to meet members of the industry and also a neat opportunity to see what students like myself are up to.

Lastly, but never least, I saw on Twitter today that judging has began for the second annual Reggies. I can't wait to hear the results as this year I entered one of my favourite pieces, my Wite-Out package redesign.

My week so far has shown me that making the effort makes for a much more exciting life. Had I decided to not go on placement, or not entered either of the competitions, I would have been carrying out a boring old week.

RGD Resources

For the past few weeks I have been reading sections of the RGD's professional handbook. So far in my schooling I have found that it is hard to find textbooks or definitive information about the practices and rules of being a graphic designer. It seems that to every rule there are so many exceptions that there need not be a rule. After reading through the handbook I felt that a lot of my thoughts and assumptions had been justified. Many of my lingering questions about what to do in certain professional situations and what to include in particular documents were answered. I learned a lot in a short amount of time, the information was succinct and very helpful. On the RGD website I also found a great section called "Resources at your Fingertips", where design specific information is easy to find. I suggest checking out both.

A Graphic Showcase

It's common to go to an art gallery and observe art, but it is far less common for the public to go to a showcase focusing on graphic design. Rick Poynor, columnist of Print magazine, wrote that there is a lack of integrating graphic design into broader visual studies programs, departments and exhibitions. Steven Heller rebutted that there is at least one show that proves that assumption wrong, The Albany Institute of Art and History’s show titled Graphic Design: Get the Message!

The show exhibits typography and early printing, commerce and graphic design, political and social messages, and the creative process. Through posters, package design, paintings, decorative arts, historical photos and computer interactives, the four themes are thoroughly explored. Check out their site as well as a few of my favourites below.

Graphic Design: Get the Message!

Designing the Future

Earlier this week I started reading Robert L. Peters’ article on designing the future, I decided the best way for me to recap the article would be to pull out some of his most interesting points and summarize them.

Individuals are threatened by information overload, overwhelming change, an evolving ecosystem and staggering social imbalances. People are drowning in data; this makes it hard for the public to focus on what is important.

White collar workers encounter one million words per week, take in 16,000 brands and are part of the 200 million emails that are sent per day (90% are spam).

The top 100 economies are now mostly corporations rather than nations. 99% of the top 100 companies are based in industrialized nations and three quarters of the almost 70,000 transnational corporations are based in North America, Europe or Japan.

In the past is has seemed the some corporations were uncaring, impersonal and immoral. It appeared that they were using branding to create unique and attractive personalities for themselves to deceive consumers.

Globalization tends to exploit the earth’s resources for private gain. Corporations look for cheap labour, inexpensive raw materials and governments that are willing to ignore laws.

Globalism is the opposite, this point of view sees the earth as fragile, that it requires careful treatment and mutual respect.

Globalization threatens culture, language, traditions, beliefs, morals, laws, social behaviours, and the art of communities.

Our shrinking world calls for an increased respect for differences. We are threatened by mono-culture; designers need to help prevent this by celebrating societal differences. To create a better future we need to showcase the unique things that dignify us, make our civilizations meaningful and make life worth living.

Design can influence thinking, empower better decision making, help create economic success, and shape communities and culture.

There is a need for designers to question the status quo, reexamine the practices of past decades, and initiate change towards a more holistic, inclusive, sensitive, eclectic, empowering and sustainable manner.

Graphic design is finally developing an identity and the public is starting to understand its role and responsibilities relative to society. Graphic design improves communication, shapes culture and influences societal values.

We are the first to live by clock and calendar rather than sun and season.

It is said that 85% of what we know is learned through our eyes, graphic designers have a lot of responsibility as they are the designers of this information.

It has become increasingly important for designers to share ideas and act as part of the global design community.