Ze Frank played host to a lively bunch, including Stefan Bucher the creator of the Daily Monster series; Eric Rodenbeck of Staman Design, the company behind the live data visualization mapping of Flickr and Digg Labs; and Katie Salen the co-creator of Karaoke Ice, the interactive traveling Karaoke machine. The panel spoke about the issues facing not only graphic designers, but discusses how society at large now posseses the ability and tools to define oneself graphically. A deep understanding of typography, composition, or technical design is no longer required. Instead, a general knowledge of how to "pimp" a MySpace page passes for graphic know-how.
The discussion shed light on the issues that face not only the design industry, but explored just what exactly represents "good" design. We've all witnessed the explosion of Youtube and the plethora of creative ideas and "crapacopia"- to paraphrase Ze Frank- that it makes available to anybody with an internet connection.
The discussion helped shed light an issue many creatives are struggling with: how do you let go of creative control. As there is a very hungry audience who wants to participate, designers and creatives are trying to map the terrain and find a middle ground between utter amateurism and a closed aesthetic world crafted soley by design elite. It's readily apparent that if done incorrectly, bringing consumers into the design process can cause your brand could be seen as a joke. Instead enable your audience to use a variety of tools that you present to them, fostering inclusion while defining parameters that maintain some modicum of control. The end result is dialogue and smarter ads.
Amy Daroukakis for EMERGE
