To create powerful visual communication, it’s necessary to have a multi-dimensional view of what design is and does. It is both a noun and a verb. It is semiotic at the root, relying on a relational understanding of context in order to work. It requires a concern for others: client, audience, society. For design to mean something, it needs to create an experience to which individuals can relate. Design is more than a passive vehicle for ideas. It is a force that contains communicative properties that are unique to visual experience. At its core, it is the effective, visual manifestation of ideas.
I consider myself an expressive functionalist. I use text and images to punctuate concepts, honor content, portray character, and provide information. I take an inquisitive, constructively critical, and informed approach to the process, striving for the invention of original and appropriate ideas. I value the efficient and economic integration of human and material resources. Technology is a critical participant in the realization of form, but to me, this term refers to more than computers. I see technology as tools and means of communication from a historical point of view, be they digital interfaces, printing presses, calligraphers’ pens, or chisel and stone.
Whether for culture or commerce, to agitate or facilitate, the art of design should add to a positive experience of life for those who encounter and utilize it.
