VCD101: WEEK 6
“But I find that for myself, without exception, the more I deal with the work as something that is my own, as something that is personal, the more successful it is.”
Marian Bantjes
I was drawn to this quote because I felt it in my bones. The more of myself that I put into a work, the more proud I am with the end result. And I’m finding as I learn and grow as an artist and designer that doing this can be quite hard in the real world of graphic design.
When an artist gets commissioned to do a work, they’re still allowed to have a piece of them in the work – of course otherwise why would their art be recognised and chosen for said piece. But as a designer – you have to find a balance. A balance between a clients wishes and visions as well as your own. But what sticks out as well to me in the quote is the fact that she deals with the work as something that is her own; the way I interpret that is that even if she’s producing for someone else, she still creates as if if was just hers.
For me as an artist who was strict used to my paints and pencils on paper – expanding to the digital world hasn’t been as challenging as I had built it up to be in my head. In a sense – im kind of enjoying it a bit more, using colours through codes, using a medium like photography and transition it into a digital art making practising is exciting and fun. I’ve been stuck in my own traditional ways of making and the good thing about university learning is you’re allowed to branch out and experiment with mediums your stubborn creative mind never truly dips into.
In the design world individuality is important, even if you’re making something for someone else. It’d important have some uniqueness to what you’re bringing to the design world. And as Marian Bantjes puts it for herself the success lies in the more personal her work is. The more of her she sees, the more successful she believes it becomes. I hope my work reflects myself in it. I hope it doesn’t fall into the bank of generalised designs and templates. I want my world to be aesthetically pleasing to the heart and the mind, I want it to both show my beliefs and my hopes, I want my designs to show beauty and crudeness of the world.
The freedom of a designer is truly the beauty of the trade. The excitement of finding the perfect composition in your eyes and then others finding the excitement as well – I believe that feeling is hard to ever top. And being able to do that for the rest of your life (as stupidly optimistic as this is) would be a privilege. The more of me I can leave in my designs to then put into the boundless design world; the better.
swoon 