Design Diary
by Nathan Monk-
Design can save lives
I was having a discussion with one of my ex-tutors whom I respect on both an intellectual and design level. He asked me, “Where is design going?” I had no immediate response but I replied, “I think it’s at a crossroads. It could go one of two ways. It can carry on with this excessive visual fluff, or it could be useful again.”
He started to talk about the role of design in the world and asked me; “What do you sell to your clients?”
I thought this was an odd question and quickly replied with “Design”. He told me that I was wrong… and I was. Anyone with access to a computer can quickly put something together and pass it off as ‘designed’. The role of the designer has changed, and perhaps the title has become somewhat defunct. A good designer is a thinker. It is our ability to think in unorthodox and creative ways that separate us from those who have access to design software.
To further compound his point he reminded me of a concept he proposed to me nearly four years ago. Design can save lives. On the surface this sounds ridiculous and it took me some time for it to sink in. I said it over and over in my head trying to make it click. There are many things that I was told that didn’t take effect until I left university, but “design can save lives” has only just started making sense to me.
I came home and watched a documentary on the children of Zimbabwe. It made me stop in my tracks and reassess everything. At the same time I was still trying to figure out the “design can save lives” riddle. How could my design save the lives of these children in Zimbabwe?
Then I had my lightbulb moment. I was thinking literally, not laterally. “Design can save lives” is not a reference to saving lives in a direct manner, he was telling me that design can be meaningful on a socioeconomic scale. When you combine this with the revelation that designers are thinkers, there lies a powerful underlying statement. We could solve huge problems.
Back at uni he would give me these riddles and the answers made me feel like I could do anything. Today I have that feeling back.
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Web FontFonts
Excuse me, this is important to us typographers. Especially typographers that deal with the web.
So many different models starting to appear. Really want to do a write up on them - I still don’t think it’s perfect yet.
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From this typewar leaderboard could one assume that boys are better than girls with type?
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Can you spot the mistake?
I spotted this in a large department store.
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Adobe BrowserLab
Just used BrowserLab for the first time. It was a good experience. I’ll use it again.
If you need to test browsers quickly without access to the real thing, this is good.
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Woke up this morning to a cup of Metroscript.
