Save Graphic Design

Congratulations! 'You' are named by Time Magazine for its 2006 'Person of the Year'. The cover design is a mirror on a computer screen intend to literally implies the idea of shift in power from Us to You which refers to the citizens of the wold in shaping the way the world changes in the information age. In the prior year, the New York Times columnist and the American journalist and author, Thomas Friedman metaphorically calls the world flat with regards to the empowerment of individuals as a result of new information and communication technologies in his bestselling book "The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century". The book is a historical narrative in which Friedman takes the readers on a journey from the days of Christopher Columbus to the today's modern state as well as the significant events in between in order to demonstrate the transformation of the world in getting more connected and becoming more flat.

He uses this narration to define globalization in three different eras: Globalization 1.0 between the 16th and 19th century in which colonialism enforced by the countries and governments to expand their markets; Globalization 2.0 between the 19th and 21st century when multinational companies globalized their markets and work force for more profits; at last, Globalization 3.0, the outcome of new information and communication technologies in the present time in which the shift from institutions to individuals is evident that results in the empowerment of individuals and providing equal opportunities for the competitors despite their social or cultural backgrounds. This new Fieldman's interconnectedness theory would definitely reexamine the logic behind the Old World and its transition into the New World, and the unexpected outcomes and growing concerns as a result of this modulation. If what Fieldman proposes is true, then it would clearly take far less than 80 days for Mr. Fogg to travel around the world in this era of great convergence.

Almost a week ago was the 8th-year anniversary of the birth of Facebook. The obvious impact of Facebook and other social networking services on our day-to-day activities and how quickly they have shaped our lives in a new way reinforces Mr. Fieldman's notion of the wold interconnection. The social media have changed the way of communication and interaction. They have brought together different societies and cultures by creating a global platform where information, works, ideas, and people can move around the world faster than ever. The impact of this groundbreaking innovation is so vast that has created a new way of thinking. They have also provided the less fortunates with opportunities to be able to express themselves. As a result of this phenomenon, even Average Joe can easily advertise his business to the market without spending a dime.

Aware of the impact of the growing digital revolution, in order to cope and stay ahead of the trend, corporations are also, slowly but surely, changing their business strategies and plans to meet the market needs. As a result, they are focusing more on digital technologies and social media and the ways they can use these tools to increase their productivity. According to Erica Swallow on mashable.com

, now, businesses even take advantage of the power of social media for recruiting. As a graphic designer these changes raises so many red flags for me as well as many questions with regards to the impact of the digital movements on the world of advertising and publication mainly in print. If every individual is able to easily use the digital and social media tools for advertising, if the businesses are leaning more towards the new communication technologies, what would be awaiting the advertising agencies, design companies, and publishing industries? How prepared are they for these upcoming changes? How are they planning on staying ahead of these trends in order to remain competitive? Are they willing to learn how to learn and teaching themselves to stay innovative? I recently saw a piece designed by Paula Scher on the future of technology which left me in absolute shock. The piece was the repetition of the word "blah" in different sizes, colours, and positioning implied a sense of chaos and negativity. If I see this unexpected reaction from a graphic designer and educator with many years of experience in the field like Paula Scher with regards to the new information and communication technologies, then I would rather find answers and solutions to these questions myself in order to stay ahead of these trends.

I recently finished work on poster designs for the Canadian Medical Association new online learning service on Alzheimer’s. For this project, I decided to experiment the significance of the design process in the creation of a memorable and unique piece. I did many research on the disease and talked to several doctors. I joint the Alzheimer's centre as a friendly visitor in the summer in order to directly interact with the patients and observe the affects of the illness with my own eyes. I wrote about my experiences with the patients after every sessions and compared them to the medical researches on the disease. The outcome of all the research and the thoughts was many ideas lead to the emerge of several strong concepts. My final pieces were two sets of designs with two different concepts: one was literal which garbed the audience attention right away, and one was memorable and unique which wowed the audience.

My point is one thing that certainly differentiates a work created by design firms from other so-called design works is the design process and the thoughts that are put into developing profound concepts. There are many designs to compete with, so in order to stand out, the piece needs to be memorable and unique. That is when the design process becomes significant. When businesses see good quality outcomes that help them to expand their market and stay ahead of their competitors, then they would trust the design firms with their promotional and design plans. Unfortunately, throughout my work experience in different workplaces from advertising agencies like Leo Burnett to the publishing departments at the Canadian Medical Association and Toronto Community News, I have witnessed how this most important stage of the design creation has been getting ignored in several occasions due to the bureaucracy, lack of time and disorganization, or willingness to fully fulfill the corporations' expectations. As the new world is moving forward rapidly in the 21st century, what I have experienced in the workplaces has been at least one step behind this movement. Individuals are being bombarded by information and news as a result of the new information and communication technologies. The design firms are responsible to create masterpieces that speak loud to the audience, so that they grab their attention. To achieve this, the design process is very important in creating an outstanding design in this competitive new world and the era of information. What would be the best practical solution in order to maintain the efficiency of the design process in the creation of the design? Which parts would a design process play in creating a memorable piece? Perhaps, this could be one of the solution that would save the future of the design firms.

I am intimated by the changes happening in my field; however, I strongly believe that by teaching myself to stay curious and innovative, I will stay ahead of these trends.

This new -ization

I feel like I am a minority in the world of social technology. I don't own a blackberry nor an iPhone. I have a regular phone, a Samsung which I bought 2 years ago, and it is still working perfectly. It does all the tasks that a regular phone is supposed to do. I can talk to my family, friends, and sometimes annoying telemarketers. I can make it ring or vibrate. But I usually have it on silent. I can calculate how much tip I need to leave for the waitress. I can check the date and time on it when I'm not wearing my watch. I can do my most favourite thing, text messaging with it. It also has a camera which I rarely use since I just got a new good ass camera, so no need to use a low-rez cell phone cam. I refuse changing it anytime soon, not at least until it stops working. And when it's time to get a new one, I don't think I'd go for a blackberry nor become an iUser.

I am at my favourite Starbucks, yes, again... while writing this. I didn't know I'd be inspired to write today, so I came unprepared. But my last conversation with my mum and my best friend and reading a piece in the New York Times on 'Social Technology' inspired me and started my brain engine. I don't have a laptop to transfer my thoughts into words. But I know I have to write them down right away before they disappear. So with my coffee I get a cookie, so that I can use the bag as my paper. I look around. Almost everyone is busy on their laptops or their cell phones. Some people look at me weird wondering why I am writing on a cookie bag. I've never felt desperate to have a laptop nor an iPad. I have a great PC at home and the best iMac at work. I use them for work since my full-time job and my freelance work depend on them. I also use them to communicate with my friends and family since most of them are in Toronto or outside of Canada. And sometimes I watch movies or TV shows since I don't cable.

I have a Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Skype, and LinkedIn account. And I use these accounts for specific purposes. My Facebook is to stay in touch with my friends and family, specially to get informed of what's going on in their life. Twitter is a great social medium to find out about the latest in politics, arts, design, and my other interests. My Blogger is my therapist. It is where I can write and write and just easily express myself. I use my Skype once a week to talk to my best friend who I dearly miss, and thank to Skype I get the chance to talk to her for free for an hour or so since she lives in Toronto and I'm in Ottawa, and it's a long distance for us to talk on the phone. At last, my LinkedIn gives me the opportunity to network with my current and former coworkers and other professionals out there.

I don't have access to my personal email nor Facebook from work. But I can still check my Twitter, blog, and my LinkedIn. I found it quite bizarre and very difficult to adapt in the beginning. But now I don't find it necessary to check my personal accounts while at work. If I need to check them, I can use the computer downstairs in the library, the only device in the whole company with 200 employees that I can use for my unrelated work purposes. But I'm too busy to do that anyway. And if my family and close friends desperately need to get a hold of me, they all have my cell and my work numbers. Or they can email me at work which they usually do anyway. So my personal accounts can wait to be checked until I get home.

What I find quite bizarre with the social media is people exposing their entire life on them. They write about their daily routines. Or where they are at the time. Or they upload their personal pictures or even their kids' pictures. Doesn't privacy mean anything anymore? Or maybe it's outdated, and I am the only one who's not aware of it?! Why is it important for Sally to tell the whole world on her Facebook that she's about to take a shower? Is she that desperate for attention? Or she has nothing better to do? Also, with all those child predators out there, how can parents put their kids' pictures on the cyberspace where everyone has easily view them? And why do people find the need to inform the whole world of where they are at the time? Aren't they afraid of the thieves and all those criminals out there who can easily break into their house and property while they are enjoying their dinner at their favourite restaurant or watching their favourite band performing? These days you don't need to be a CIA agent to find someone's profile. Your identity is very much exposed because of the social technology. The world of cyberspace has made it so accessible for everyone to easily find whom they're looking for. You can easily put her name in the google search engine, and there you go... you have her entire family tree or her contact info. But despite all these, people are still doing it. Even those who are afraid of change or taking risk in their life, taking all these unnecessary risks in the world of cyberspace.

Or maybe I'm being ignorant? Is there something that I am missing out here? Or am I scared? Is it my past experience which makes me vulnerable to this world of social media or cyberspace in general and not letting me to fully understand it? But yet whatever it is, I still find my privacy more important than getting fully involved with all these high-tech communications. I don't need to be in touch with the outside world the whole time. I value my time and space to do what I enjoy to do, to do something productive. I don't need internet on my cell phone nor carry a laptop to a coffee shop where I usually go to escape the cyberspace distraction in order to get some work done. It's my time when I can be creative.

However, I still find the social media quite fascinating and very much needed in our life only if they're used properly. Since the social media occupy most of our daily routines, we need to include it in our educational system. I think it is necessary to educate the public on this matter. Social technology is affecting our life big time. And sometimes it gets to the point that it take the leash away from us. Many and many relationships end because of that. Youths and adults are forgetting about a simple eye contact or how to express their emotions outside of the world of cyberspace since they spend most of their time on their high-tech devices. If this becomes a norm, I'm afraid we would end up with the rise in the number of people suffering from depression, broken families, divorces, troubled teenagers, and many more. So before it's too late, we need to take charge to stop this new -ization!