Three very complex questions which are soon to be answered as my knowledge in design theory broadens. According to Terry Eagleton "there is no reading of a work which is not also a re-writing" meaning that no matter what the consumer depicts from the work in front of them, they are always re-writing new and interesting meanings. Therefore, no matter what kind of work we produce, whether it be personal or for a client, the way that the consumer reads it will be different.
Visual communication is something that must be considered at all times, it is the conveyance of ideas and information, in forms that can be read or viewed. These forms can be almost anything, from signs to drawings and many other different things.
Visual communication is key because seeing comes before words, and therefore a child looks and recognises before it can speak. This is the same with a developed mind, because as long as the piece is highly visual then the viewer can instantly acquire its intended meaning.
"A theory provides an explanatory framework which can be used to explore or support ideas, develop hypothesis or as a basic for critique" therefore, theory is important in no matter what kind of art / design you are producing, because without it, the piece has no internal inspiration or influence, and the piece will have no critical background.
The title of this post is taken from a quote by Paul Rand (the god father of Graphic Design) saying that "intuition is a flash of light conditioned by experience, culture and imagination" this 'flash of light' can come in all kinds of forms and will affect each designer differently. Therefore we cannot say that everyone is inspired by the same kind of thing, and this is what makes each designer different and unique in their own way. In order to command your own creativity you must firstly gain design authorship, a term coined by Stephen Heller, my thoughts on this is that you must firstly be your own client and figure out your own personal style before approaching others for their ideas and strategies, because theory must have substance as well as style, and if you as the designer has the style but doesn't know the substance behind it then you will struggle to develop it even further.
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea" - Oscar Wilde, I as a future designer strongly agree with this quote, because in order to develop your skills you must be dangerous and take risks.
During the seminar following this lecture, we looked at the First Things First 2000 manifesto. The activity was to block out any parts of information in order to create phrases which were personal to ourselves. A favourite statement which I created was "Designers devote their efforts primarily to help draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse", in simple terms, I think that this means that we as graphic designers need to make sure that we do everything possible in order to supply the public eye with visually complex and interesting pieces.
