Week 10: Designer, Author, Maker
Research examples of designers as authors and makers.
An Author is the creator of a piece of work whether it is in the written form, in graphic or in music. Therefore, according to Wikipedia, in legal terms the sculptor, the artist or the composer is said to be an author, although normally an author is attributed to the written word. The Author is also the person who has copyright for a creation.
Authorship could be interpreted as working in an entrepreneurial way.
As we learnt in the last lecture from Eric Gill (1882-1940) who was a controversial figure, sculptor and typeface designer responsible for the Gill Sans typeface, one of the most widely used today. He had Authorship of his design.
One of the most famous designers who is an Author (of books) is JK Rowling. Due to the enormous fortune amassed from her books JK Rowlings has created a global business empire. Her business acumen is huge and she has gained worldwide popularity in addition to becoming an entrepreneur with the launch of her charity Lumos which aims to transform healthcare systems for children around the world.
Michael Rock in 1996 posed the question “What does it mean to call a graphic designer an author”?
He suggests that Authorship has become a popular term to describe someone who is a communicator of messages, and rather than is just an inventor, shows a deeper understanding of the problems and solutions.
Maybe an author has a legal ground for ownership.
One such example could be Chip Kidd. He is famous for designing the Jurassic Park logo-instantly recognisable even without the words.
Carolyn Davidson designed the easily recognisable logo for Nike in 1971. Although initially she was paid just a few dollars for the logo, she has since been recognised as the Author and has received an undisclosed amount from Nike.
Similarly, Milton Glaser has authorship of the I (HEART) NY logo. This logo was designed to promote tourism in New York, but since has been used as a worldwide symbol.
2. Research how designers as makers publicise their activities and the most effective platforms that they use to share their work.
Pinterest - ideal for the Creative, Hustler or Digital Nomad
YouTube
TikTok - used to promote Innocent Juice in the early years
Shopify
Conferences - great to keep in touch with like minded designers, learn new skills
Meetings- good to meet with like-minded designers
Becoming an influencer - There are now lots of design influencers online, YouTube in particular offering courses and opportunities to collaborate with one another. Abi Connick is a great example of this.
Tumbir - a tool for publishing and sharing your own work
Behance - An online design tool from Adobe used for creative to collaborate and share pieces of work.
References:
Rock M (1996) Designer as Author www.2x4.org accessed 05/08/2023@15.55
Author www.en.wikipedia.org accessed on 05/08/2023@ 16.20
Powell D (2021)Making the case for design entrepreneurs www.howdesign.com accessed 5/08/2023 @17.15
