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Design Educators
BY
Ninart Lui
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Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Ed Fella
TAXI >> I found out through AGDA’s website that after 30 years of professional practice, you took the leap and enrolled in the graduate program at Cranbrook Academy of Art at the age of 48. What were challenges that surrounded the decision?
Ed Fella >> Two reasons; one was validation and the other "empty nest Syndrome". Without an academic degree I just was an anonymous Detroit commercial artist, no matter what relationship or influence I had had with the larger "avant-garde design community and especially Cranbrook, so I went and joined up ! Also, at that time my two daughters went off to college and so I decided to do likewise...
I deliberately subjected myself to the grad crit process, letting go of all my previous conceits, and in that I not only reiterated, but reinvented myself and my practice...the best thing that I would ever experience...
TAXI >> You are a member of CalArts Graphic Design faculty. Would you relate the approach of grooming the next generation of designers analogous to your work style? How similar and how different is it?
Ed Fella >> No, not at all. First of all I don't use any digital means (only because I do not know how to and it's too late for me to start learning...) and do everything in the old fashioned analogue way. On the other hand, everyone still has to figure out how to make an interesting and intelligent "page', to which I hope I still contribute, both in the crit room and through my own "exit-level designer" work!
TAXI >>Massimo Vignelli once wrote: “In the new computer age, the proliferation of typefaces and type manipulations represents a new level of visual pollution threatening our culture.” What do you think?
Ed Fella >> The answer is no, of course not, all type design has a place and most importantly, a context, so there can be no such thing...
TAXI >> Well-known for its cult of diehard aficionados in the creative community, Helvetica celebrates its 50th birthday this year. What do you think is the secret behind the enduring appeal of a typeface?
Ed Fella >> Simple: more than perfect default face that appeared at just the right time...
TAXI >> Clients usually have something to say in regards to colors, images, the layout, the copy… but hardly a word on fonts. In your opinion, are fonts under-rated or over-rated today? What kind of role do fonts play in the design world? And, Do you think a designer’s personality is reflected in his works? If you have to choose amongst your works, which one would be most representative of Ed Fella?
Ed Fella >> No, they don't, because I would say it's the designers' necessity to know and decide what the best face to the best use would be... and yes, the personality can be reflected, if allowed to and when a total neutrality isn't needed or wanted. But how a "personality" translates exactly into an esthetic is difficult to pin point, unless it means a set of particular interests and histories. In my case it's what I call my "commercial art" vernacular background and the work that I I've done that most closely deals with using it...
TAXI >> What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Ed Fella >> "digital handmagic".
..........................................................................................................
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Nik Hafermaas
Challenges like environmental issues are not solved with well-designed singular products, but with design-thought applied to entire systems. Green cars for example can only be effective if at the same time we re-think how we live, work and play in urban spaces. This systemic approach might be a daunting task, but we have to embrace it if we want to live up to our full relevance as creatives.
In design education we have an enormous responsibility: we are educating the next generation of designers, who will be active in a near-future world that we can't claim to fully know yet. So more than dealing with the status quo, we have to anticipate change and provide our students with creative survival skills to master it.
TAXI >> You were a student at the University of Arts in Berlin. You were also the former principal and chief creative officer of Triad Berlin and you founded UeBERSEE. Then you went to become the professor of environmental design and temporary architecture at the University of Arts in Bremen before you were appointed department chair of Graphic Design at Art Center College of Design in 2004. You have come full circle. Sitting in the hot seat of grooming the next generation of designers, what do you think are students’ expectations of educators now?
Nik Hafermaas>> When Art Center students google their instructors, they expect to find them and learn more about their accomplishments as active creatives. Also, students want to take an active part in a stimulating environment: they are aware that they learn as much from co-opetition with their creative peers, as from any professor alone.
Our curriculum is constantly evolving to anticipate and keep up with the fast pace of change in industry and society — the proverb "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" does not apply in design education.
At Art Center we are in the great position to work on real-life design challenges, brought forward to us from leading corporations and organizations. In our funded educational studios for example we deal with communication strategies for humanitarian organizations as well as with visionary products and services for top consumer brands.
Looking back on my own studies in the Berlin of the eighties rather taught me what not to do in academia. The old guard of lifetime-tenured faculty didn't want to be bothered by overambitious students, and there were sadly neither incentives, nor ramifications for an effective and efficient journey through the school. With 10 half-year terms to my design degree, I was on the extremely fast side — good pacing is clearly a benefit of a tuition based system. One thing, however, that I clearly learned in my path — and later in my teaching at the University of Arts in Bremen — is the great value of moving across various design disciplines. A more open curriculum automatically fosters a cross-pollination between different fields of study, a fact that the more inquisitive students benefit greatly from.
In my own practice as professional designer I constantly benefit from a broader vision of communication design that spans from two-dimensional graphics, narrative and immersive spaces, to motion based and interactive media.
TAXI >>You conceived the PowerPLANTs and PowerSEEDs project, which transformed a former industrial zone into a symbolism of idea expression. Given the experience, what sort of persuasive powers does it take to meet the challenges of pushing such public art proposals through to authorities?
Nik Hafermaas>> Images sell. And a good story. Show your clients how good your design will make them look, and tell them why this artwork makes ecologic and economic sense for their community. Let them take ownership of your design and give them the courage to embrace it. Strive to produce win-win situations for clients and various constituents. Although there are individuals who can apparently sell almost anything to anybody, it's the integrity of an idea that will resonate most with people.
TAXI >> Each freestanding PowerPLANT is self-sustaining. The structures are powered by solar energy stored in a rechargeable battery and they naturally interact with the environment. Sustainable design and interactive design are already gaining ground in all aspects of design, be it architecture or fashion. Do you see a similar evolutionary process for self-sufficiency?
Nik Hafermaas>> Self-sufficiency and autonomous behavior is a fascinating phenomenon. It's the next frontier not only in engineering and robotics, but also in the creative arts.
The PowerPLANTs that my friends from realities:united and I have conceived, can swing freely in the wind, and their movement is superimposed with computer algorithms that control the light impulses. Every unit is synchronized by an atomic clock. The entire system is designed with energy neutrality in mind. I believe that we will see the concept of self-sufficiency emerging in all aspects of our contemporary culture.
TAXI >> You were determined to embark on the YouOrleans project in aid of Hurricane Katrina. Based on your observation, what do you think, or hope, student volunteers gain from such participation?
Nik Hafermaas>> Our new generation of students wants to be involved in relevant projects. Designer are no longer the 'pretty makers' that get called upon once everyone else has completed their work: designers can be at the forefront of research and ideation - their unique skills enable them to define a problem, and to translate and communicate it adequately. In the case of the Katrina project our students created a new brand and visual identity for a local self-help organization that builds furniture from reclaimed wood of buildings that were destroyed in the flood. The line of beautifully crafted furniture, as well as the visual identity is currently on display in the exhibition "Design for the Other 90%" at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City. Students want to make a difference, and they can learn to do this to the highest aesthetic standards as well.
TAXI >> I read your open letter you wrote to your daughter in Ourlifeswork.com. In it, you spoke of courage. To realize your dream of becoming a full-fledged architect, you quit your first job as a creative director in a well-established agency to return to your studies. How would you describe your philosophy of learning?
Nik Hafermaas>>In this letter I encouraged my daughter to dare to be outstanding, to resist the temptation of blending in with the crowd. Seeking shelter in mediocrity is often the more comfortable route at the moment, rather than aiming for uncharted territory. But when things get too predictable around me, I become really nervous. I push myself to leave my creative comfort zone on a regular basis to allow for new things to happen. As it turned out I didn't become a full fledged architect in the classical brick-and-mortar sense — I have evolved into an architect of design education.
TAXI >> As the Department Chair of Graphic Design, what is the future you see for graphic design? Conversely, how can graphic design in particular shape the future of the global culture?
Nik Hafermaas>> To me, Graphic Design is more than ink on paper. Graphic Design can span across all conceivable media formats: it has successfully conquered three-dimensional environments, motion, and interactive interfaces as well. It is the translation from raw data into relevant information — it's the graphic designer's voice that helps us make sense of the world around us. In a sense we have to become visual engineers, our tools are surprise, empathy and beauty.
TAXI >> What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Nik Hafermaas>>Wow — you kept the toughest question for the end. How about a word that will disappear over the next ten years? Right now my favorite candidate would be "sustainability". This term will hopefully be so absorbed and embedded in the DNA in our design work that we won't have to even mention it anymore. Then we're free to talk about beauty again. Unashamed.
..........................................................................................................
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Richard Wilde
Richard Wilde>> I’ve been asked this question many times, and my answer rarely changes. Every problem that I offer my students is one where I create conditions, placing them into the unknown, back on their heels so to speak, where no cliché solutions exist. An example is the Sound Problem where one has to visually interpret the sound of subjects such as: thunder, car crash, jackhammer and a busy dinner; where one must work in a non-literal way dealing specifically with abstraction so that innovation becomes the only tool in order to proceed.
In this very moment of unknowing, students are often faced with fear and anxiety that can lead to a lack of participation. Hence, this condition must be carefully addressed at the onset so that students don’t become prey to these habitual reactions, enabling a shift to occur moving one from “looking for the answer” to “finding the right question”. Also, my assignments encompass, not one, but numerous variations of each project to be solved giving students a greater chance of creating an original solution.
The idea of starting anew again and again, as opposed to dwelling on one solution, gives one the opportunity to open toward experimentation and play. Also, generating multiple solutions for each given project offers one the opportunity to move from what initially may be a chore to embracing the struggle, where the rigor and expectations of the assignment now serve as a support in opening one to new possibilities.
TAXI >> Can you identify an environment that nurtures and fulfils the potential of designers? Patrick Burgoyne, in an interview with TAXI, felt that arts and cultural institutions is the next best hope apart from music, but “they are increasingly being branded and run as businesses with all the demands and restrictions that entails.” What are your thoughts on this statement?
Richard Wilde >> Concerning a rightful environment that nurtures a designer’s potential, there are two areas to be considered; the external, where cultural institutions have their place, yet the less obvious ones can be even more stimulating, including aquariums and Natural History Museums. I would add that a forest, jungle, or body of water, with all their magnificence could feed one for a lifetime with an array of rich impressions. Yet, of equal importance is one’s inner state. It can produce an environment, where through the art of questioning, which is the definitive tool for all designers, leads to the world of wonder that opens to an array of experiences that can fuel any creative endeavor.
TAXI >> Amongst the many books you have written, two titles stick out in a twist of irony: 101 Ways to Stay Young and The Senior Library. If you could have one thing —anything— from a young, fresh-out-of-school designer and one from an established senior, what would you ask for?
Richard Wilde>> First allow me to clarify any misconceptions regarding the two books that you’ve mentioned. 101 Ways to Stay Young is a book based on humor, marketed toward adults, demonstrating exercises of youthful activities. In essence it is a book done in the spirit of play. The Senior Library, on the other hand, is an annual publication of a compendium of work done by college seniors that reflect a wide range of directions that graphic designers pursue, including authorship of one’s own projects, as well as motion graphics, which is the next dimension of graphic design.
Regarding the young designer and the established one, I would ask the same of both. What I would hope for would be that they would have developed a conceptual ability to solve visual communication problems. Working as a designer, when the energy arises that connects one, in a real way, to the given project, to experience this energy can sustain one’s entire career. Connecting love of process in a rightful way is the real gift that one can carry throughout their lifetime.
TAXI >> “You’re on a short flight. The person in the seat next to you asks what you do. What do you tell them?” When Jonathan Barnbrook was posed the question, he replied: “It’s difficult because graphic design is completely invisible to most people, so when you say you are a graphic designer most people won’t know what you’re talking about. And when you explain further that you put images and text together, it never seems very significant.” Do you encounter similar difficulties? What would your personal reply be?
Richard Wilde >> I too am often taken aback when asked the question, what do you do? I could answer that I’m an educator, a designer, art director, publisher, art chairperson, illustrator, author, lecturer, international workshop facilitator, etc. In short, I wear many hats, but what I feel defines me is not the actual job title, but that I’m always looking to be challenged, specifically in the creative disciplines.
TAXI >> You have amassed a jaw-dropping 175 awards. Do you think talent in creative work is in-born or nurtured?
Richard Wilde>>The answer is, it is inborn and then nurtured. Everyone is born creative. It’s our birthright. As a child, there is a seriousness of purpose, wonder and enthusiasm. When children play, all their attention is focused in the moment, which results in the kind of spontaneous expression we are always looking for as designers.
TAXI >> Leo Burnett has this to say about creativity: “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people.” If creativity were a person, what sort of person would it be?
Richard Wilde >> If creativity were a person, he or she would be in an ongoing state of questioning, which gives one the possibility to formulate new concepts. If everything is looked at through a questioning sensibility, it follows an uncharted road where innovation lives.
TAXI >>What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Richard Wilde>> The word that separates the wheat from the chaff, the cream from the milk, the aristocracy from the peasants is concept, the ability to think visually in a new way. The ability to come up with ideas that translate into formal equivalents that are unique to each individual range, from the possibility of touching a single person to an entire generation. So in effect, since the dawn of civilization this has been the word…concept. Had you asked for two words, I would have said visual thinking.
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Read OTHER INTERVIEWS on DESIGN LEADERS
Steven Heller, Chip Kidd & Stefan Sagmeister
Sara Little Turnbull & Darrel Rhea
Adelia Borges & Linda Fu
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© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Interview with Ed Fella
 | TAXI >>Hello Ed. You are noted for your influences on modern typography. Does typography have the ability to drive an emotional experience?
Ed Fella>> I don't know if "emotional experience" is the right description for what looking at and recognizing a typeface or the typography of a page or poster. It...seems a bit strong, Isn't that what some great art ‘masterpiece’ does ? Wouldn't it be more like a wave of recognition, either as a delight or a distaste as to what the typography is doing to the words (which still needs to do the lion's share of the work) Is it adding an extra dimension to them, strengthening completing or enhancing them ? Typography also gives words nostalgia, history or an aesthetic energy that seem right, just so, or just AMAZING ! ...When you see it you know it...I don't know about "feeling" it, but maybe it all amounts to the same thing! |
TAXI >> I found out through AGDA’s website that after 30 years of professional practice, you took the leap and enrolled in the graduate program at Cranbrook Academy of Art at the age of 48. What were challenges that surrounded the decision?
Ed Fella >> Two reasons; one was validation and the other "empty nest Syndrome". Without an academic degree I just was an anonymous Detroit commercial artist, no matter what relationship or influence I had had with the larger "avant-garde design community and especially Cranbrook, so I went and joined up ! Also, at that time my two daughters went off to college and so I decided to do likewise...
I deliberately subjected myself to the grad crit process, letting go of all my previous conceits, and in that I not only reiterated, but reinvented myself and my practice...the best thing that I would ever experience...
TAXI >> You are a member of CalArts Graphic Design faculty. Would you relate the approach of grooming the next generation of designers analogous to your work style? How similar and how different is it?
Ed Fella >> No, not at all. First of all I don't use any digital means (only because I do not know how to and it's too late for me to start learning...) and do everything in the old fashioned analogue way. On the other hand, everyone still has to figure out how to make an interesting and intelligent "page', to which I hope I still contribute, both in the crit room and through my own "exit-level designer" work!
TAXI >>Massimo Vignelli once wrote: “In the new computer age, the proliferation of typefaces and type manipulations represents a new level of visual pollution threatening our culture.” What do you think?
Ed Fella >> The answer is no, of course not, all type design has a place and most importantly, a context, so there can be no such thing...
TAXI >> Well-known for its cult of diehard aficionados in the creative community, Helvetica celebrates its 50th birthday this year. What do you think is the secret behind the enduring appeal of a typeface?
Ed Fella >> Simple: more than perfect default face that appeared at just the right time...
TAXI >> Clients usually have something to say in regards to colors, images, the layout, the copy… but hardly a word on fonts. In your opinion, are fonts under-rated or over-rated today? What kind of role do fonts play in the design world? And, Do you think a designer’s personality is reflected in his works? If you have to choose amongst your works, which one would be most representative of Ed Fella?
Ed Fella >> No, they don't, because I would say it's the designers' necessity to know and decide what the best face to the best use would be... and yes, the personality can be reflected, if allowed to and when a total neutrality isn't needed or wanted. But how a "personality" translates exactly into an esthetic is difficult to pin point, unless it means a set of particular interests and histories. In my case it's what I call my "commercial art" vernacular background and the work that I I've done that most closely deals with using it...
TAXI >> What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Ed Fella >> "digital handmagic".
..........................................................................................................
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Nik Hafermaas
 | TAXI >>Hello Nik. Art Center was founded in 1930. More than 70 years on, it is still at the forefront of design leadership. In your personal opinion, how is adaptability related to the creative practitioner?
Nik Hafermaas>> Not curiosity, but complacency killed the cat. As creative practitioners we need to be a lifelong learners. In order to stay relevant, we need to anticipate change, embrace it, and deal with it in a nimble and elastic way. There are very few eternal design recipes in an ever evolving society which breeds fresh design challenges quicker and more complex than we can generally keep up with. Even though deep down inside we are probably all motivated by striving to produce beautiful and sexy creations, formalism alone will get us only this far. As designers we are currently moving from problem solvers to opportunity seekers — increasingly we are creating our own design brief in pro-active ways. |
Challenges like environmental issues are not solved with well-designed singular products, but with design-thought applied to entire systems. Green cars for example can only be effective if at the same time we re-think how we live, work and play in urban spaces. This systemic approach might be a daunting task, but we have to embrace it if we want to live up to our full relevance as creatives.
In design education we have an enormous responsibility: we are educating the next generation of designers, who will be active in a near-future world that we can't claim to fully know yet. So more than dealing with the status quo, we have to anticipate change and provide our students with creative survival skills to master it.
TAXI >> You were a student at the University of Arts in Berlin. You were also the former principal and chief creative officer of Triad Berlin and you founded UeBERSEE. Then you went to become the professor of environmental design and temporary architecture at the University of Arts in Bremen before you were appointed department chair of Graphic Design at Art Center College of Design in 2004. You have come full circle. Sitting in the hot seat of grooming the next generation of designers, what do you think are students’ expectations of educators now?
Nik Hafermaas>> When Art Center students google their instructors, they expect to find them and learn more about their accomplishments as active creatives. Also, students want to take an active part in a stimulating environment: they are aware that they learn as much from co-opetition with their creative peers, as from any professor alone.
Our curriculum is constantly evolving to anticipate and keep up with the fast pace of change in industry and society — the proverb "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" does not apply in design education.
At Art Center we are in the great position to work on real-life design challenges, brought forward to us from leading corporations and organizations. In our funded educational studios for example we deal with communication strategies for humanitarian organizations as well as with visionary products and services for top consumer brands.
Looking back on my own studies in the Berlin of the eighties rather taught me what not to do in academia. The old guard of lifetime-tenured faculty didn't want to be bothered by overambitious students, and there were sadly neither incentives, nor ramifications for an effective and efficient journey through the school. With 10 half-year terms to my design degree, I was on the extremely fast side — good pacing is clearly a benefit of a tuition based system. One thing, however, that I clearly learned in my path — and later in my teaching at the University of Arts in Bremen — is the great value of moving across various design disciplines. A more open curriculum automatically fosters a cross-pollination between different fields of study, a fact that the more inquisitive students benefit greatly from.
In my own practice as professional designer I constantly benefit from a broader vision of communication design that spans from two-dimensional graphics, narrative and immersive spaces, to motion based and interactive media.
TAXI >>You conceived the PowerPLANTs and PowerSEEDs project, which transformed a former industrial zone into a symbolism of idea expression. Given the experience, what sort of persuasive powers does it take to meet the challenges of pushing such public art proposals through to authorities?
Nik Hafermaas>> Images sell. And a good story. Show your clients how good your design will make them look, and tell them why this artwork makes ecologic and economic sense for their community. Let them take ownership of your design and give them the courage to embrace it. Strive to produce win-win situations for clients and various constituents. Although there are individuals who can apparently sell almost anything to anybody, it's the integrity of an idea that will resonate most with people.
TAXI >> Each freestanding PowerPLANT is self-sustaining. The structures are powered by solar energy stored in a rechargeable battery and they naturally interact with the environment. Sustainable design and interactive design are already gaining ground in all aspects of design, be it architecture or fashion. Do you see a similar evolutionary process for self-sufficiency?
Nik Hafermaas>> Self-sufficiency and autonomous behavior is a fascinating phenomenon. It's the next frontier not only in engineering and robotics, but also in the creative arts.
The PowerPLANTs that my friends from realities:united and I have conceived, can swing freely in the wind, and their movement is superimposed with computer algorithms that control the light impulses. Every unit is synchronized by an atomic clock. The entire system is designed with energy neutrality in mind. I believe that we will see the concept of self-sufficiency emerging in all aspects of our contemporary culture.
TAXI >> You were determined to embark on the YouOrleans project in aid of Hurricane Katrina. Based on your observation, what do you think, or hope, student volunteers gain from such participation?
Nik Hafermaas>> Our new generation of students wants to be involved in relevant projects. Designer are no longer the 'pretty makers' that get called upon once everyone else has completed their work: designers can be at the forefront of research and ideation - their unique skills enable them to define a problem, and to translate and communicate it adequately. In the case of the Katrina project our students created a new brand and visual identity for a local self-help organization that builds furniture from reclaimed wood of buildings that were destroyed in the flood. The line of beautifully crafted furniture, as well as the visual identity is currently on display in the exhibition "Design for the Other 90%" at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City. Students want to make a difference, and they can learn to do this to the highest aesthetic standards as well.
TAXI >> I read your open letter you wrote to your daughter in Ourlifeswork.com. In it, you spoke of courage. To realize your dream of becoming a full-fledged architect, you quit your first job as a creative director in a well-established agency to return to your studies. How would you describe your philosophy of learning?
Nik Hafermaas>>In this letter I encouraged my daughter to dare to be outstanding, to resist the temptation of blending in with the crowd. Seeking shelter in mediocrity is often the more comfortable route at the moment, rather than aiming for uncharted territory. But when things get too predictable around me, I become really nervous. I push myself to leave my creative comfort zone on a regular basis to allow for new things to happen. As it turned out I didn't become a full fledged architect in the classical brick-and-mortar sense — I have evolved into an architect of design education.
TAXI >> As the Department Chair of Graphic Design, what is the future you see for graphic design? Conversely, how can graphic design in particular shape the future of the global culture?
Nik Hafermaas>> To me, Graphic Design is more than ink on paper. Graphic Design can span across all conceivable media formats: it has successfully conquered three-dimensional environments, motion, and interactive interfaces as well. It is the translation from raw data into relevant information — it's the graphic designer's voice that helps us make sense of the world around us. In a sense we have to become visual engineers, our tools are surprise, empathy and beauty.
TAXI >> What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Nik Hafermaas>>Wow — you kept the toughest question for the end. How about a word that will disappear over the next ten years? Right now my favorite candidate would be "sustainability". This term will hopefully be so absorbed and embedded in the DNA in our design work that we won't have to even mention it anymore. Then we're free to talk about beauty again. Unashamed.
..........................................................................................................
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Richard Wilde
 | TAXI >> Hello Richard. I mean no offence but out of curiosity, has your family name been a boon or a bane for you? Would you be in any way related to playwright-novelist Oscar Wilde?
Richard Wilde>> I was often teased as a youngster when I was first introduced. I feared that someone would react in a way that I would find upsetting. Yet, over the years, I have felt my name was a boon in terms of it being memorable. In a way, I was branded the “wild guy”, which led to a certain amount of popularity. I’ve no reason to believe that I’m related to Oscar Wilde, but I like to think that some of the more positive attributes of a ‘wild’ person were somehow genetically passed on to me in terms of risk taking and daring. TAXI >> In your capacity as an award-winning design-practitioner-turned-teacher who is also the writer behind many creativity-focused books, how do you get the most out of your students? |
Richard Wilde>> I’ve been asked this question many times, and my answer rarely changes. Every problem that I offer my students is one where I create conditions, placing them into the unknown, back on their heels so to speak, where no cliché solutions exist. An example is the Sound Problem where one has to visually interpret the sound of subjects such as: thunder, car crash, jackhammer and a busy dinner; where one must work in a non-literal way dealing specifically with abstraction so that innovation becomes the only tool in order to proceed.
In this very moment of unknowing, students are often faced with fear and anxiety that can lead to a lack of participation. Hence, this condition must be carefully addressed at the onset so that students don’t become prey to these habitual reactions, enabling a shift to occur moving one from “looking for the answer” to “finding the right question”. Also, my assignments encompass, not one, but numerous variations of each project to be solved giving students a greater chance of creating an original solution.
The idea of starting anew again and again, as opposed to dwelling on one solution, gives one the opportunity to open toward experimentation and play. Also, generating multiple solutions for each given project offers one the opportunity to move from what initially may be a chore to embracing the struggle, where the rigor and expectations of the assignment now serve as a support in opening one to new possibilities.
TAXI >> Can you identify an environment that nurtures and fulfils the potential of designers? Patrick Burgoyne, in an interview with TAXI, felt that arts and cultural institutions is the next best hope apart from music, but “they are increasingly being branded and run as businesses with all the demands and restrictions that entails.” What are your thoughts on this statement?
Richard Wilde >> Concerning a rightful environment that nurtures a designer’s potential, there are two areas to be considered; the external, where cultural institutions have their place, yet the less obvious ones can be even more stimulating, including aquariums and Natural History Museums. I would add that a forest, jungle, or body of water, with all their magnificence could feed one for a lifetime with an array of rich impressions. Yet, of equal importance is one’s inner state. It can produce an environment, where through the art of questioning, which is the definitive tool for all designers, leads to the world of wonder that opens to an array of experiences that can fuel any creative endeavor.
TAXI >> Amongst the many books you have written, two titles stick out in a twist of irony: 101 Ways to Stay Young and The Senior Library. If you could have one thing —anything— from a young, fresh-out-of-school designer and one from an established senior, what would you ask for?
Richard Wilde>> First allow me to clarify any misconceptions regarding the two books that you’ve mentioned. 101 Ways to Stay Young is a book based on humor, marketed toward adults, demonstrating exercises of youthful activities. In essence it is a book done in the spirit of play. The Senior Library, on the other hand, is an annual publication of a compendium of work done by college seniors that reflect a wide range of directions that graphic designers pursue, including authorship of one’s own projects, as well as motion graphics, which is the next dimension of graphic design.
Regarding the young designer and the established one, I would ask the same of both. What I would hope for would be that they would have developed a conceptual ability to solve visual communication problems. Working as a designer, when the energy arises that connects one, in a real way, to the given project, to experience this energy can sustain one’s entire career. Connecting love of process in a rightful way is the real gift that one can carry throughout their lifetime.
TAXI >> “You’re on a short flight. The person in the seat next to you asks what you do. What do you tell them?” When Jonathan Barnbrook was posed the question, he replied: “It’s difficult because graphic design is completely invisible to most people, so when you say you are a graphic designer most people won’t know what you’re talking about. And when you explain further that you put images and text together, it never seems very significant.” Do you encounter similar difficulties? What would your personal reply be?
Richard Wilde >> I too am often taken aback when asked the question, what do you do? I could answer that I’m an educator, a designer, art director, publisher, art chairperson, illustrator, author, lecturer, international workshop facilitator, etc. In short, I wear many hats, but what I feel defines me is not the actual job title, but that I’m always looking to be challenged, specifically in the creative disciplines.
TAXI >> You have amassed a jaw-dropping 175 awards. Do you think talent in creative work is in-born or nurtured?
Richard Wilde>>The answer is, it is inborn and then nurtured. Everyone is born creative. It’s our birthright. As a child, there is a seriousness of purpose, wonder and enthusiasm. When children play, all their attention is focused in the moment, which results in the kind of spontaneous expression we are always looking for as designers.
TAXI >> Leo Burnett has this to say about creativity: “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people.” If creativity were a person, what sort of person would it be?
Richard Wilde >> If creativity were a person, he or she would be in an ongoing state of questioning, which gives one the possibility to formulate new concepts. If everything is looked at through a questioning sensibility, it follows an uncharted road where innovation lives.
TAXI >>What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?
Richard Wilde>> The word that separates the wheat from the chaff, the cream from the milk, the aristocracy from the peasants is concept, the ability to think visually in a new way. The ability to come up with ideas that translate into formal equivalents that are unique to each individual range, from the possibility of touching a single person to an entire generation. So in effect, since the dawn of civilization this has been the word…concept. Had you asked for two words, I would have said visual thinking.
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