Re: Who are you folks--reality check?

Really nice encouragement, Greg.   Perhaps one of the reasons the group
works is because those who have a certain amount of skills are willing to
share what they do know in order to become better artists themselves.
Reading over the list of bios, it's clearly apparent that many of these
people do not have a formal education in Art.  Be that as it may, they are
willing to work with their art over and over again, and in some cases,
succeeding.  And while they have not yet developed their "Designs", they are
developing skills which is the first major leap into artistic development.
Perhaps instead of criticizing these people for trying, you should,
yourself, impart some of your greater wisdom to help these people become
better artists.  Give us suggestions on what is a better design - lead us
into better artistic development and offer encouragement to those of us who
are willing to assert ourselves and try.

You never know - One of these yet undeveloped artists might be the next Joan
Miro' or David Russo.

Shay
=====================================
Bare Tranquility Web Design
http://www.wcnet.net/shay/index.html
shay(at)wcnet.net  /  shay(at)Bayou.uh.edu
Member of the HTML Writer's Guild
http://www.hwg.org/
=====================================




>I'm an art director for a communications and advertising company on the
east
>coast.  Lately I've noticed, as I have been hiring for a recent vacant
>position in my company, that nearly any schmuck who owns a computer and can
>fill a selection in PhotoShop will consider themselves a "graphics
>professional".  The proliferation of easy-to-use plug ins and PhotoShop
>compatible programs (Alien Skin, KPT etc.) have produced a glut of graphic
>artists eager to grab a job somewhere and prove that you need no artistic
>ability to work in this industry.
>
>I have been besieged with all kinds of slides and portfolios filled with
>beveled boxes,  rainbow colored spheres that reflect infinitely, disks
>filled with Director animations, and URL after URL filled with examples of
>"excellent web page design".
>
>In my work my days have been filled with clients that have provided me with
>"camera ready" work from their own home computer.  Mainly things done in
>some simple paint program or something slapped together in Print Shop.
More
>often than not it takes many times longer to make these creations workable
>than it would if we were able to do the job ourselves.  Several times a
week
>we get work from basement-based "art agencies" who vainly attempt to
provide
>us with "camera ready" work, only to cause us far more work when we have to
>make something of the incredible mess we have been left with.
>
>What has been lacking the most in these cases?  Design.  Simply put.
DESIGN.
>Its painfully clear that anyone with a computer can produce an
advertisement
>or a web page by dropping in some graphics, filling in with some text or
>learning a little bit of HTML.  No, wait, now with HTML WYSIWYG programs
you
>don't even need to learn HTML!  However I have seen very few who can create
>a piece that entices the viewer to do something.  To scroll down or click
>somewhere or to buy something.  Very few have the ability to masterfully
>draw the eye across a page using art or photos or even color, finally
>bringing the viewer to the place the designer wants them to be.
>
>In my office we have a saying about these things.  Why would you create a
>spinning rainbow-colored undulating beveled flashing deeply shadowed sphere
>to advertise your company?  Because you can.  Not because it is pleasing to
>the eye or because it conveys a point, but because the artist can.  Graphic
>artist or computer user.  There is a big difference.
>
>Greg
>
>

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