What Inspires You as a Designer?
I’m going to put a little twist on the topic and talk about when and why I decided to major in graphic design, as well as reflect on my choice and experience.
If we go back to when I was just a young boy in high school (I feel old now) about sophomore year when we started doing college tours, I had no idea what I wanted to go to school for. I knew I wanted to go to school at the time, partially because I didn’t know what else I could do. I always had an interest in computers and technology so I knew that could be a good starting point. I then took a few classes in high school that dealt with photoshop and illustrator and I was good at them, like really good compared to my peers. People would ask me for help on a project and it just came easy to me. My teacher at the time was actually the one who told me about a graphic design major, so from there on out that’s how I continued with my college tours. I made the quick decision of that being the major I was going to study, and I was excited about it.
I took the route of doing PSEO my senior year after deciding I was going to attend UMD majoring in graphic design. I took this route after meeting with Stacy on one of my tours at UMD and decided it would be a great way to take care of some generals so I could get right into the design courses. After I visit UMD to learn more about the Graphic Design program I was excited and would watch YouTube videos on design and how to do stuff. I felt inspired by all the people and designs I would see just doing my own research.
During my time at UMD studying graphic design, I have found many sources of inspiration, whether it be a well-known designer that came and spoke or a quick browse on Behance. I would even say that classmates have been a source of inspiration, as I’ve been able to take feedback and use that to fix or even recreate a design. I really have loved that aspect of design, as hard as it can be for many people to give criticism it is nice when people do! Someone speaking up inspires others to do the same, including me.
There are so many people, designs, and experiences that give bits and pieces of inspiration to me, and it really is never-ending. But I believe that’s what keeps me going especially when you do lose some interest or just hit a creative block, there is always something to get me going.
The Importance of Good Design | Travis Weidt
What makes a design good? I have asked myself this question many times during my time at UMD. Most of the time I don’t know where to start with what makes a design good, even though there is plenty of great designs out there! But over time there have been a few things I have learned that can make a design stand out among the others.
All designers always want whatever they’re designing to turn out good, and sometimes that can be hard as you hit a creative block or lose interest in the project. That’s why I believe that a good design has to be honest and true, just like you have to be with yourself as a designer. Never try and sugarcoat the design, go back and look for mistakes and little details that you may have not noticed at first glance. Those little details can sometimes be what makes a design good. The average person may never notice something so little but there is a good chance another designer will.
Now I may have just been covering a good value to have as a designer but continuing on, another thing I believe that makes a design good is the clarity of the design. What I mean by that is are you getting the message of the design across. Is the design getting to the point in a creative way? You want the message you are trying to give to come across, whether it’s a simple icon or a magazine layout. You want it to be easy to read while still being interesting and pleasing to look at. It can be a lot to think about while actually designing your work and that goes back to me saying it’s worth it to go back and look for mistakes and little details that need some fixing.
One last thing that I believe is important to make a design good, is going back to the basics and that would be the elements of design. Yes, line, color, space, texture, etc. I like to forget about these all the time, but they are essential to a good design. For example, if you forget about space your design could end up looking really awkward and unevenly weighted. Forgetting about these basic elements can quickly make a design go south really quick. Also, I truly think that just paying attention to these elements can make a design extremely successful because they are just the basics and that’s what a normal person may notice first!