Imagine a world without Graphic Designers? What could it be? Needless to say, there would be no: Traffic signs, distinguishing icon between ambulance and police cars, distinguishing icon between brands, organized reading materials and flag designs.
Life could be at stake at any moment now. Every thing would be boring. Decision-making won’t be easy. Learning can’t be fun anymore. Imagine the catastrophe without them. Graphic Designers contributed so much we can live conveniently right now.
Yet it’s strange, only few can recognize even most iconic leaders in Graphic Design world. Why? Following are Timeless Life Lessons famous graphic artists taught us.
1. Milton Glaser
Doubt is Better Than Certainty
It makes me nervous when someone believes too deeply or too much. I think that being skeptical and questioning all deeply held beliefs is essential. Of course we must know the difference between skepticism and cynicism, because cynicism is as much a restriction of one’s openness to the world as passionate belief is. They are sort of twins. And then in a very real way, solving any problem is more important than being right…one of the signs of a damaged ego is absolute certainty.
2. Paula Scher
Nothing is Timeless
You never can do what the kids do. What you do is look at yourself and find your own way to address the fact that the times have changed and that you have to pay attention. You can’t be a designer and say, “Oh, this is timeless.” Nothing is timeless!
3. Saul Bass
Keep Pushing Until it Works
The nature of process, to one degree or another, involves failure. You have at it. It doesn’t work. You keep pushing. It gets better. But it’s not good. It gets worse. You got at it again. Then you desperately stab at it, believing “this isn’t going to work.” And it does!
4. Stefan Sagmeister
You Define Your Own Happiness
If you make more than fifty thousand bucks a year in the US, and a salary increase you’re gonna experience tiny influence on your well being. Black people are just as happy as white people are. If you’re old or young, it doesn’t really make a difference. If you’re ugly or if you’re really good looking makes no difference or whatsoever. You will adapt to it and get used to it.
5. Paul Rand
Simplicity Speaks
He understood the universality of symbols and how human beings communicate with shapes and color and form. If he did a logo for a company that happened to look like a face, he’d look at everything from pre-Columbian sculptures to African masks to naive drawings, all of which addressed how expressive the human faces could be. The big lesson you can take from rank is the search for simplicity
6. Otl Aicher
Good Art Inspires; Good Design Motivates
If we read between the lines, it says inspiration is different from motivation. While inspiration is the process of being emotionally stimulated by extraordinary quality feeling, motivation is the reason of doing something. In a nutshell, motivation is the pull and inspiration is the push. Thus, we need to be inspired and motivated at the same time to translate our goal to success.
7. Michael Beirut
Don’t Avoid The Obvious
Don’t avoid the obvious at all cost. Instead, embrace the obvious. The obvious can be your friend. No one else likes it, every single one of us avoids the obvious, it feels bad for itself, the obvious is lonely, and it needs friends. Be friends with the obvious.
8. David Carson
Utilize Who You Are, You Are Unique
You have to utilize who you are in your work. Nobody else can do that: nobody else can pull from your background, from your parents, your upbringing, your whole life experience.
9. Alan Fletcher
Be Driven by Your Inadequacy
I couldn’t actually do anything else. I always thought I could design well as a student, but then I would find someone who could do it better. But it wasn’t so far off, it wasn’t unattainable, it was just difficult. So I was driven by my own inadequacy, probably.
10. Chip Kidd
Never Fall in Love With Ideas, They’re Whores
The thought implies the danger behind falling in love with the idea. It hinders your capacity to rework ideas. It hinders your ability to evaluate them effectively. It clouds your judgment and your ability to see problems or conflicts in the idea.
