- My mom L-O-V-E-S bright colors.
And during the DayGlo ’80s, she had them all over the walls of our new house. Our kitchen was lemon yellow, my dad’s bathroom was lime green, and my bedroom was hot pink.
Those colors were fine for a few years, until I became a teenager trying to develop my own tastes — by rejecting everything my parents liked, usually. The muddy color era of ’90s grunge reinforced my prejudice as I trained to be a designer.
What a surprise when Web design of the new millenium started to kick out brilliant colors! As I saw the bright color influence spread from digital into print design, I was drawn to them on a basic human level. They made pieces of a few years ago literally pale in comparison.
I had become my color-lovin’ mother.
Two things I learned from this:
1. EVERY STYLE IS A REACTION TO SOMETHING, yet there are definite ways to make a piece feel contemporary versus merely a throwback. I push myself to never get stuck in a certain era. Even if I have to design in a closet by myself for the rest of my career, I hope to reach out to the great wide world and participate in the current design conversation.
2. STYLE DOES NOT EQUAL SUBSTANCE. While consumer preferences may change, good design should stand the test of time. Did it solve the client’s communication goals? Did it make an impact for the audience? Design, for me, is about holding someone’s attention long enough for the message of the piece to shine through. Most people cannot state why they like a certain piece, just that it works. This is where I come in: as a trained designer with a constant eye toward innovation, I know what it takes to make communications work.
I’ve trained my eyes and brain to nudge this element here, use that color there, select this paper for the project, to utilize that fold for a better response...but more importantly to ask the question: What is the best way to tell this story?
My 11+ years of design expertise garners better consumer response and takes communications to the leading edge of interaction. For instance, the design of Bradley Hilltopics magazine has fluorished under my art direction of the past few years, with design approval ratings leaping 22% during my tenure (from a 2010 independent readership survey). I have also introduced its readers to social media channels and QR codes for content engagement on-the-go, practices the rest of the University has followed.
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As the palette of my portfolio has gotten brighter over the years, I can’t help but wonder what is next in the design world. Whatever — and whenever — that may be, I’m excited to find out!
