Design Guy, Episode 1, Intro Episode

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Design Guy here, welcome to the show.

This is our premier episode, so, by way of introduction I'd like to explain what the show is about, and how you'll benefit.

We live in a design-driven age. We've witnessed a productivity revolution and the spawning of vast amounts of new products and services. Along side of that, we see the rise of design as the high ground or competitive advantage, the differentiator, really, that allows business to stake out and hold unique market positions longer.

The other amazing phenomenon that's occurred is this power-to-the-people shift that places creation tools in the hands of us all. Desktop publishing, of course, is old, old news by now. But across the board, whether your arena is the graphic arts or publishing or music or film, the cost of entry and the ease with which people from all walks of life can participate has become democratized. The tools just get better and cheaper every day. So, there's a sense in which everyone is a designer, or at least it feels that way. We're all design guys, and I mean that in a gender neutral way, of course. The impetus for this new program, therefore, is to recognize these facts, and help make the principles of design accessible to professionals and ordinary folks, alike.

Now, there's lots of stuff out there about design, including podcasts. So, why this one? Well, often, these programs focus on technique. Others keep us abreast of industry happenings. And, while these, indeed, are helpful, and while I'll probably refer you to these programs from time to time, that kind of information tends to have a short shelf life.

What I'll endeavor to do, instead, is point up the timeless stuff. I want to impart information that doesn't change. Ideas that don't expire with successive software releases or date themselves to current events. This way we can concern ourselves with principles that'll stick in our long term memory, rules we can recall when we've lost our way, creatively speaking.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,

If you learn only methods, you'll be tied to your methods, but if you learnprinciples you can devise your own methods.

My own background is graphic design. And while I'll be speaking to it in particular, I think we'll find that many principles relate to design in general. So, whether you're engaged in print or web or film, or anything else, a lot of these concepts will apply because they transcend the media you're working in.

A few words about the format of the show....And I know some of you have got to be wondering - how are we supposed to discuss visual media in an audio format? I suppose it's a reasonable concern. But, what I intend to do, is to point to the pictures we've all got in our heads. The coca-cola logo. Or the proportions of a human being. And I think we'll do just fine. As far as length is concerned..My aim is to keep each episode brief, so that in mere minutes we can get a new concept under our belts. And hopefully, over the course of time, some lightbulbs will appear above your head and you'll have some new tools to apply to your craft and some markers to guide you on your way.

Until next time, this is design guy. Thanks for listening.

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