🚀 go-pugleaf

Hearing you all talk about the 'good old days' makes me wonder if the technology is getting in the way of doing design.

I can relate to what you are saying. I was an architectural drafter for over twenty years. When I started a drawing was just that, a drawing made on vellum with a pencil, an eraser, a scale, and straight edges. About ten years ago I took over the CAD system at the company I worked for. The computer has completely changed that job. It was a Compaq 386 PC with a now extinct version of Unix for the operating system. In many ways things got easier, but it still took about the same amount of time to create the original drawing! People had the misconception that the computer was somehow providing the expertise that makes a drawing that communicates in a coherent way. More than once I heard someone say in all seriousness "You just press a button and the drawing comes out, right?" Nothing could be further from the truth. So far the same thing seems to be true in graphic design. Yes the technology is a boon to productivity. However just like anything if the person using the tool is untrained or incompetent the product will not be very good, if even usable. A similar situation seems to be true with graphics. People think all you have to do is loading the software onto their computer. Just having it and being able to follow the menus the software will somehow provide the expertise, but just like drafting the drawing happens first between your ears not the other way around.

The more I learn from all you kind folks the more I think I made the right decision to go into graphic design. As difficult as it is to find a chance to do work, what with the catch 22 of needing experience which you can't get because you need experience. I guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

Sorry for the babble but it helps relieve the frustration.

Steven