Like Jason Gross, I too have often been asked to make things look good or “pretty” because content looks quite mundane all by itself apparently. I’m quite competent in my skill sets that I can comfortably give things like a boring paragraph of text a face lift. In doing so however, I ask myself what the purpose of adding certain design elements is. Is it simply to make bits of content look beautiful or is it the need to emphasize certain parts to make them stand out based on their varying degrees of significance. Maybe paragraphs of text ought to be left alone. As long as text is legible, it serves its purpose. The purpose being of course is for the information to be consumed by the end user quickly and effectively.

It doesn’t stop at paragraphs of text.

Would you believe me if I told you that being a designer and practicing my craft professionally for a number of years now, that I can tell when a designer is just designing to make things look appealing rather than backing their design thinking with a purpose?

It’s easy to slap together some gradient highlights, shadows and transparent objects to make a design that’s eye catching but to present clusters of information in a structured manner that follows some level of consistency is quite another. Put it this way: do you want the user to absorb and take away valuable information from the site that you’ve designed or would you rather that they gawk at it for 2 min and exit without exactly knowing the purpose of it?

From personal experience working in the industry as a Web Designer, I’ve learned to design for the end user and not for the client. If a client or an account manager has feedback regarding my design thinking, I encourage them to engage me in backing up their opinions with rational arguments rather than saying what their personal preference regarding a color choice is for example.

It doesn’t stop at just design either. The web’s landscape is constantly evolving and while the potential of HTML 5 and CSS3 looks promising, as professionals, we shouldn’t be using these techs just for the sake of using them. I’m as much of an advocate for pushing new tech as the next web geek is in order to drive the web forward. Application, context, and a user base is important when considering the use of new technologies. Like design, application/execution through the use of new technologies should be done so with good reasoning as well.

A good designer and front end developer needs crucial understanding of fundamental principles behind their executions. Without these principles, they’re just designing and executing blindly without actually giving their decisions much thought.

I definitely had my fair share of expectations from Apple prior to the iPhone 5 announcement. Most of them dealt with a “complete re-design” of the phone as many in the blogosphere had been hoping/speculating. My hopes of a re-design though were being challenged by Apple’s consistency when it came to sticking with their signature iPhone outlook and marketing the product similar to its predecessor models. I took a step back and realized that as a non-fan of Apple, I too was succumbing to a visual appeal of the product. Looking from a technical standpoint, I knew that Apple would be playing catch-up as rivals like Samsung have pushed the boundaries with multiple devices to set the bar high. So has it come to this? As a company that strives for leading edge innovation (or so it says it does), we haven’t seen a drastic change in the design of its flagship product nor a technical advancement to ogle at.

To give Apple some credit, the whole world is watching and the expectations are high so it can be expected then that fans & non-fans alike would be disappointed in some shape or form. I’m not even going to mention the fact that Apple just can’t keep secrets anymore which leads to nothing new when they hold their events. That of course leads to more disappointments. But then again, they’ve built themselves to embrace that pressure. On the other hand, what more can we really ask for in a cell-phone device which is physically limiting in terms of its size. This goes for Samsung as well seeing as though it’s the biggest rival to Apple and is rumored to unveil its S4 device in Feb of 2013. It’s becoming harder and harder to impress a consumer who if smart would realize that there is a physical limit that prevents manufacturers and design engineers from including certain features. Your cell phone device cannot make you coffee, but you could download an app that lets you control a coffee maker. Not that you expect your phone to serve you coffee or anything…

Cell phone devices will become thinner but what will be the limit? They’ll continue to have better cameras. An increase in battery life will continue to be a successful focus. Faster performance will be there with each iteration. Are all of these really revolutionary? We’ve all come to expect this. So what’s new? At this point in the evolutionary era of cell phone devices, I can only come to expect physical design changes in products coupled with revolutionary UI interaction. If that’s enough to drive sales and keep stocks surging, who needs new built-in features that are as exciting as when the camera was introduced in a cellphone device (which I may add has helped in over throwing dictators across the middle east). That’s big isn’t it? Where are features of that magnitude that have had a profound impact on our global society?

When is it worth it? Granted that education is one of the best investments that you can make in your life, you have to ask yourself, is it really necessary to make towards a profession you seek? If you’re becoming a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer for example, then the answer is yes. When it comes to these types of professions, there’s a definitive route that one must take in order to be identified as such.

In the creative field, based on experience, one can argue that such lengthy education isn’t necessary. Creative individuals that hold titles such as Web Designers, Production Artists, Graphic Designers and Videographers don’t need a degree. This is the beauty of our industry. Your passion for producing great work and a strong portfolio will take you on a fruitful journey. Along the path you’ll come across individuals in the industry who’ll value your experience over education any day. To keep up with the ever changing technology you can take part time courses which show your continuous enthusiasm for learning. The more you can familiarize yourself with multiple creative tools of the trade, the more opportunities will open up for you. Combine that with the whole “practice makes perfect” mantra and you’ll find that the need for a 4 year degree just doesn’t make sense anymore.

Remember that educational institutes will always have their doors open for you but also keep in mind that it would be in your best interest to question your motives in trying to figure out why you’re wanting to attend school and what you hope to get out of it at the end.

I’ll even go as far as giving you an example but the rest is up to your imagination. While exploring the coast of California on a recent escape from reality, I passed through Redwood Forest. The sight of 1,800 year old trees, the abundance of natural life forms, and the bits of fog peering through the tree tops was majestic. The ground was musky and littered with humongous pine cones. I picked one up and to my amazement it felt heavy and sturdy, like it had been jointed together piece by piece with gifted precision.

This is it:

The plan’s to take it and cut the base so it’s able to sit flat on a surface with a small forward leaning incline. I’m hoping to clean it up a bit so it loses all its imperfections (bring on the Swiss Army knife). Finally, I’ll be looking to put a dark stain on it and voila! When it’s all set and done, this will keep me occupied at my desk while Photoshop tries hard not to choke on my large files. With its naturally organic outlook sprinkled with its complexities and patterns, it’ll have me relating it to my creative work for quite some time. To a creative, the challenge now is to find the time and get started. I’ve stumbled across my alternative inspiration for the time being. What’s yours?

So I was sitting around last week literally stumped as to what my next blog post would be about when it hit me. In a month or so, I would have spent 3 years at ZGM and seeing as how this is my first agency, I thought I’d use this as an excuse to share what I’ve learnt thus far. So without getting into the nitty gritty, here’s a brief overview of things that came to mind.

Deadlines are real. We always used to complain in school about multiple projects being due at the same time, but now when I look back, I think it was a necessary piece of grooming. It’s happened quite literally here at ZGM that we’ve rolled out a hand full of websites either on the same day or during a span of a couple of days at most. When dealing with such tight timelines, it’s important that we as creatives learn to master and harness our time management skills in conjunction with having to multi-task at a level where we’ll always stay ahead of the curve.

The web thrives on new technologies and experiences that shape the way users absorb content. Adaptability is of the utmost importance in a designer/developer to become familiar with and execute the bi-products of an account manager’s recommendations of such experiences/technologies to the client so that they can better engage their target audience.

Account managers can either be your best friends or your worst enemies. Like the client, they constantly need to be educated on what the best practices are for executing ideas online that require creative concept execution with the support of proper functionality. It’s only then that they’re able to relay that information correctly to the client so that the production team has enough flex room in various aspects of completing a project such as budgets and timelines. In Calgary there are good account managers and then there are the bad apples. Good account managers are organized, always willing to learn, clear & concise in their communication, and they aren’t afraid to fight back on things like budgets or timelines. Bad account managers of course aren’t any of the above.

Don’t jump into a lava pit if your art director says that it’s safe to do so. Art directors are just like any other creative trying to maximize the output of creativity by having a perfect balance between concepts and executions. I’ve managed to learn a lot from my art directors here at ZGM but I’ve also picked my battles whenever I’ve felt the need to fight back on my approach. It’s made me a better critic of my own work and it’s definitely increased my attention to detail.

It’s been said in this industry that more often than not, the concepts win awards as opposed to the way an idea is executed creatively. While I agree with that to some extent, I’ve seen eye candy being a useful tool in winning accounts or just getting through meetings. As far as judging creative work is concerned, I’ve always felt that it entirely depends on the mindset of a creative judge who will either make a decision of who bags an award on how pretty something looks or on the message a campaign is trying to get across. Just a side note on this topic: a budget should never come in the way of an amazing creative opportunity.

3 Years have flown by here at ZGM. I’ve been with the agency long enough to see it blossom into a powerhouse capable of tackling any creative challenge. With ZGM being a small to mid-sized agency, there’s no shortage of web work which really keeps me on my toes and gives me a lot of variation within a 9 to 5 time frame. I’m passionate about my personal development inside ZGM and out. I’m Umer Tahir and I hand craft websites with a lot of love from design to production. I’m also thrown into Photoshop from time to time at the request of our traditional side to perform creative voodoo.

I had the chance to ask my friends where they would start from if they had to conjure up a big idea which would be global in its application/execution. The responses varied from being in a comfortable surrounding, to researching, to using one’s own self-interests as a foundation, to using daily life as an inspiration, etc.

If we consider Facebook or Twitter to be great big ideas, we can agree for example that these social networking platforms have given people a gateway to connect and be informed instantly on world affairs/current events. An example could be the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound. The way I found out about Bin Laden’s death was through Twitter and not a news agency like CNN. This vast sharing of information wouldn’t have occurred if not for these social networking platforms and their ability to unite the masses globally. In doing so, Facebook and Twitter have solved a problem.

Could the answer be that simple? If we could identify a need or a gigantic problem facing our society, then a solution to that problem could ultimately be the biggest idea right? That’s good news! There are lots of problems in the world today (unfortunately). These problems should serve as a challenge and motivate us to find the appropriate solutions. These would be our big ideas. The capital needed to invest in such ideas of course is another story.

For me personally, I like to see the process behind the work so I thought I’d share a few screenshots of the progress before the final result. Be sure to pick up the print over at: umert.deviantart.com. Grab yourself a wallpaper on Smashing Magazine.

1. Personality
It’s what makes you different in a pond full of eager candidates wanting the same thing as you. Build a unique self-promotional brand for yourself and try to reflect your personality through that brand.

2. Portfolio
Make a portfolio. A number of industry pros aren’t fans of seeing school work within a folio so be adventurous with your pieces. Consider fictitious work. You’d be surprised in the value of someone understanding a different approach to something well known which already exist. Re-designing the home page of Nike for example or promoting one of their shoes through a print ad.

3. Contests
If you’re looking to develop your skills as a designer or an illustrator, there’s no better way to do it then by taking part in contests. Fierce competition always brings out the best in creative abilities, there’s a chance to win swag/money, and at the end of the day, you can include what you’ve done in your folio. *Win

4. Stay connected
Keep tabs on your peers as soon as you end your programs. There’s always a chance that the place your friend works at is hiring more staff. If you can’t find something stable and come across contract work to start, DON’T HESITATE. It’s a way to get your foot in the door. Make social media your friend. Absorb as much as you can from the best designers/illustrators, on Twitter for example and apply that knowledge. Network as much as you can at events happening around the city. All you need for that is a firm hand shake, some business cards and decent alcohol tolerance.

5. Criticism
Be prepared to get criticized with anything creative. Learn to take constructive criticism, act on it, and you’ll see the quality of your work increase 10 fold.

6. Stay Inspired
Whatever you do to be inspired, keep doing it, in fact do it more often. Observe what the trends are, how they’re progressing and take notes. Repeat the cycle, and set your own trends that others would gain inspiration from.

7. Consider Re-locating
Sure it’s a big step but keep your options open. You may not live in a creative jungle but you may be close to one. Also consider further studies which may expand your skill set. Teach yourself a few tricks if you’re able to.

8. Passion
Approach your work with love and passion. If you’re in it for the 9-5, you’re in the wrong industry.

That just about wraps it up, now get out there you crazy creative slugger you…

Feature image by Mike Harrison. Give his folio some love.

Going by the alias of “BC2010,” Ben Craig, a Scottish art director released this sci-fi short titled “Modern Times.” At this point, if you’re having flashbacks of Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 release, hang on to them. It’s nothing short of epic, providing a glimpse into the future. A future filled with modern-esque user interfaces and large self-sustaining mother ships. We’re introduced to a character going about his daily business. About 3/4 of the way through it, we realize that he’s a projectionist giving his viewers on the ship their daily dose of entertainment. When they orbit around the dark side of the moon, he projects one of Charlie Chaplin’s masterpieces on the surface of the lunar rock. Think it’s farfetched? Might be. But it’s just so cool! Take a look for yourself.

MODERN TIMES from BC2010 on Vimeo.

Being a man of detail, there’s a couple of things I noted. The number on the abandoned vehicle is an IMBD title number for Capricorn One. Another detail is the novel which our character starts to read: Jerome Agel’s “The Making of Kubrick’s 2001.” Ben’s team did a fabulous job in putting this short together. The filming was done over a weekend with little to no budget and the results in post can be compared to a sci-fi flick. It’s no wonder Ben’s already been approached by the likes of Warner Bros, Fox and Paramount for upcoming projects.

If you’re curious as to what went on behind the scenes in making “Modern Times” a success, here’s a peak. It just goes to show the kind of effort involved in making something like this come to life.

Behind the Scenes from BC2010 on Vimeo.