The ‘Global’ Development of Graphic Design + Potential Collaborations.

Here is a very interesting and relevant article by John Watters. It touches upon themes I want to research into a little bit further on into my research but it's reassuring to see the issues exist and others are also analysing them.

With todays global culture - collaboration can easily take place all over the world, and does. And inspirational work can be seen from all over the world from any country in the world - last year I was researching into the Tokyo Design Conference of 1960 and this was the first time any European designers such as Müller-Brockman had ever been really exposed to contemporary Japanese design and it set off a whole chain of events - this isn't like now!

It's interesting to see where this change in culture takes us, even being a design student myself I feel regional stereotypes and reputations aren't as prevalent as they used to be, atleast to me. It'll be interesting to see if these reputations were/are justified and if we're going towards a global style, just one international style and language of design?


As touched on by John. The idea of collaboration in todays internet age is fascinating and has incredible potential. Skype, Facetime, e-mail - even language isn't a barrier you can simply just translate text at the click of a button... But at the same time in terms of design style, we're not working in isolation anymore - so what is the result of this in terms of design styles as representations of regions. The result could be styles overlapping and the whole world producing a similar overall visual language. Good or bad?


                                                                                                                                                                                          

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The 'Global' development

of  Graphic Design & 

Potential Collaborations

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John Watters, 2012

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Source

Wherever we turn we view an example of Graphic Design, from a logo on a coffee maker to a road sign whilst driving. I am not going into the differing areas and discussions of ‘what is’ Graphic Design, as this has been covered in many writings by others, and can become almost philosophical.

With the growing methodology and choices in forms of communication,we see everything from social networking, online advertising viral and tweeting. This ‘New World’ communication, brings information instantly (or almost instantly) from one area of the globe to another. We see floods and famines, celebrations and births, virtually as they happen. We sit in our armchairs and see political leaders toppled in real time, sporting events and pomp and circumstance as if looking through a window. Our window to this world.


Specifically in our profession as Creative practitioners, we see forums and sample boards from every country there is, viewing the work of Companies and individual practitioners from Argentina, to Paris and from the USA to Australia, and all stops between.

In my lengthy career I have dealt with projects within my own home country, France, Belgium, Spain, Holland, Germany, USA and South Africa and others I may have forgotten about. I have had the privilege of visiting my clients and having the benefit of one to one collaboration. This, brings with it a certain specific, the opportunity to develop from a purely business collaboration, to adding a social aspect, shaking hands, having coffee (or tea), dining together, all important in the ‘business relationship’. But, alas not vital, I now spend more time emailing and telephoning, and presenting work electronically, using Skype, ISUU and sending work as multi page pdf, Keynote or Powerpoint presentations. NOT what I prefer, but time constraints and budget constraints dictate in a lot of cases.
 

Again, in the distant past, I would prepare design work, arrange a meeting, say in Brussels, book a flight to Amsterdam, change flight and fly to Zaventem in Brussels, get a taxi to my client and present/discuss the project. In the evening I would invite the client for dinner and spend that time socializing and planning the furtherance, or any new projects. The costs incurred usually were added to the client bill, or inbuilt into the initial quote. With the ‘tightening’ of the global purse strings, a client would look to save as much as the could to make the project more cost effective and is some cases even viable at all?


What we have experienced in trading from the very beginning of time, from the Silk Road in Asia, trading with China and from Rome to the Middle East. Competition has always been there, making goods and services competitive and networking to boot.


Evolution in trading, from sailing ships to Steam ships to commercial flight all made this ’trade’ truly competitive and ‘global’. For good or bad? That is a discussion for the Pub or political rallies, and not something we need (nor want) to get into in this.


As I mentioned earlier, Boards and forums giving designers a ‘stall’ within the global market place such as Coroflot, Bitique, Cargo etc. showcase the talents and styles of millions of our peers, within an instant. 

Blogs are created and followed in all languages and every ‘global’ minute...as we sleep someone is working and vice versa. This happens 24 hours of each day.


The World is no longer constrained by distance. But by timezones.

With our usage of electronic communication, we can compete (in theory) anywhere on our homeworld (I use this word, bearing in mind that the potential is there for the distant future).


Using Skype and Apple’s ‘Facetime’ we can still visually communicate with clients, and all that we need to be aware of is the time in A and B, and when we need to be available to discuss our work, take a brief or simply catching up. There is still no requisite to NOT visit clients, but only potential cost aspects. This discussion is only to raise an awareness of the potential. Positive or negative?


Time travel.

Now we are onboard with the potential of ‘global’ practice, we can consider the potential, of not only working with clients anywhere on the planet, but collaborating with any other designer we can create links with. Websites, blogging and Design boards put us within a keystroke of each other. Language? this is a slight challenge, but not impossible. How many times have we clicked onto a Google Chrome site and it requests us if we would like a translation? There are countless translation sites at a tap, that we can use to communicate in most languages. The smart phone apps that will give us the ‘Star Trek’ instant translation both written and orally produced is available if not now, but tomorrow.


Finding associates online (no not dating) to work together, is a potential, and like minds are now working in collaboration as we speak (or write in this case). There is no reason why we can not work on a project together. We now have screen sharing where we can work on the same project at the same time, making input and editing work, making suggestions, changes or enhancing our collaborative work. This, is based on a single collaboration, it could be group? I talk to students, and I see who’s work they look at online and I encourage them to make contact and chat about the reasons they appreciate the other’s work. This scenario can be taken further, by working together, if not on a commercial job, maybe on a project of your own.


Adobe have created the wonderful Virtual Museum or Showcase, we can all have a global Showcase of Global work by collaborating Graphic or other designers. A Gallery of Global Collaborative Design.


It has always been a practice that Design Studios, when busy, would put work to freelancers and control the work for their own clients, well, we still can, but we now have a whole world to choose from. However the only constraints we can be aware of are the ‘timezones’, but that too can be not a negative, but even a positive. If we choose to work with someone, say in San Diego, while we sleep, they can progress the project (within a working day). All that is necessary is time planning and building in the collaboration rates. This is always a two way street and under the true meaning of collaboration, you may be contacted by your colleague in San Diego to work for them. Is this a pipe dream, pie in the sky or unworkable? 


This is a musing in respect to the shrinking of our planet and the instant communication between professionals across continents and cultures


One day sometime ago a merchant in Persia wondered if it was possible to sell his silk to the Chinese.