WHY, GRAPHIC DESIGN?

     Of all the disciplines available at the Kansas City Art Institute, graphic design strikes me as somewhat unique, not only because of its "send you out into the world with a way to make a living" tactics, but also because of its natural and necessary inclination towards service and communication with other people.
     Because I think of myself as such a deeply people-centric individual, working only for my own satisfaction approaches, in my mind, vacuity. If I had wanted to turn myself inwards and art out my feelings, I could have gone elsewhere, but my desire is to help people communicate. Sometimes I feel like I may not have all that much to say for myself, but if I can learn how to help others better express themselves and spread their information, I will feel as though I am having a hand in the workings of the world, and that, certainly, is more than enough reason to try.

     Meggs's description of resonance is exactly to what I'm referring. The transcendence of the mere transferral of information into something striking, meaningful, and maybe even powerful, instructing, delighting, and motivating the viewer into the solid "thought-of-it-themselves" understanding that leads to the action the designer is calling for.
    
     Hiebert's discussion on "style" is something I intend on filing away to remember in the future. Style makes its appearance in two definitions... one of them being the positive, wherein style is simply the classy, recognizable, effective inconsistencies that emerge over a long time of doing relatively similar but never identical work. The bad style, on the other hand, is what you'd imagine: lame, cheap, faddish. It rises and falls within moments, parodying and abandoning itself until a new ideal style rises and it, too, is run into the ground until it gives up.

     Stefan Sagmeister talks about his working with a sort of incredible irreverence. "Having guts always works out for me," he says, and I believe it. Looking through his student Q&As on the Sagmeister, Inc website is reaffirming and energizing. Everything revolves around just DOING things, and doing them well, and cleanly, and legibly, and with passion and vigor. Bonus points if they're completely new, never-been-done-before type things.

     My original thoughts on the matter still stand, given that I threw a gentle, central statement about what graphic design is and should be used for. If I hear two people in a conversation around me misunderstanding one another, I'm not afraid to step in and politely explain to each one what the other is hearing. And when someone comes to me with a thing that they want said, it is my intention to help get that information out into the world for them, so that others can access it and be affected, whether it's life-changing and revolutionary or (god forbid) a 25% off sale.