In our field, its easy to be swayed by trends. When Apples package design became the look to follow, and we were (and are) enamoured by the simplicity of design, many lesser products followed suit. We even tried it with a new product line at my job. The packaging looked amazing. It even won awards! But it failed to sell. It wasnt representative of our look, our heritage, or our brand. It wasnt authentic.
In a session called What Consumers Want at a TED Conference, Joe Pine summarized three rules to follow regarding authenticity. (the video doesnt take long to load, but it is almost 15 minutes)
- Dont say you are authentic unless you really are authentic.
- Its easier to be authentic if you dont say youre authentic.
- If you say you are authentic, you better be authentic.
This all may seem obvious, and it should have been obvious to us, but we missed it.
This came to mind when I was running through ideas about the poster series we will be working on later this semester. I have my director in mind, and I hope I get him, but he has such a unique and specific look and feel to his work, that I already have the rough sketched out in my mind of what the posters should look like. It wont look like his movie posters or the covers of his DVDs, which each authentically represent his films, but it will feel like him, like his cinematography, and hopefully will be recognizable as a series of his work even from a great distance.
It may not reflect my personal design style, but what better chance to stretch out of our comfort zone as designers than in a class like this?
15 comments:
Is better to be real, fake or fake, real? Pine does not address if one is better than the other in his presentation. Is it better to be Universal City Walk or the Magic Kingdom... or does it not matter?
In your introduction I completely agree that with being in the design field it is easy to be swayed by trends. I feel the same way when dealing with design ideas as well. I can relate to your statement because I often find design work that I absolutely love and ask myself why didn't I think of that?
Although I know it is good to look at examples of something similar I may be designing it sometimes hinders me from thinking of my own ideas, so I tend to refuse to look at examples of a similar assignment sometimes.
Final thought: I think everyone has their own sense of authenticity. :-)
I think the argument of authenticity is based around your audience. The same people who are buying Macbooks might not be buying a bunch of home improvement tools. Apple's design appeals to a "young, hip" crowd. While I prefer this style of design, it doesn't appeal to everyone--because it is good looking, doesn't mean that it represents the product in the best way possible. I think it's hard for designer to acknowledge that something that they think isn't the best looking design might be the best for the particular product that they are selling. Like you wouldn't want some modern book cover on a romance novel--it wouldn't represent what was inside it and wouldn't give the clues to the person buying that that is what they are buying.
Authenticity is a grey area. Who is to say what is truly authentic when it comes to design? Henry Ford was a major designer and innovator for the transportation industry. Was he not authentic because the tire wasn't his design? No, in fact the opposite is true. With the collaboration of design, something amazing was created that wasn't fake at all. Pulling inspiration from others doesn't mean you aren't authentic, it just means you may have to mold it, tweak it, and develop it a little more to get what you want...and to turn heads.
I think you need to separate package design and product here. The audience and public is to say what is authentic or not. A white rapper or an Asian opera singer is not the traditional cultural "packaging" for their respective audience but if that group of listeners finds value and meaning in their work does it make their art any less authentic? I think Hyundai designs one off cars from BMW and Mercedes but Hyundai's audience loves the value and durability of their product.
If the VPX line from Black and Decker works smarter, more streamlined and cleaner than regular Black and Decker tools maybe it was the right choice to go with a streamlined, clean package design, (those ideas arent exclusive to Apple btw) and the rest of the marketing failed to properly sell the product, there are so many variables here we dont know, although Jill, I keep looking at that packaging and wanting to see red diamond plate!
Jill! What a great post!!!
It's hard for me to get solid orange and black out of my head when I think of Black & Decker. I looked twice at the packaging not believing it was really B&Ds.
Stepping outside of our comfort zone sometimes means taking design in a new direction while maintaing tradition or what has always set product design apart from others. - You've got my wheels turning!
-Karen
The Black & Decker package design is slick, but it definitely looks too similar to Apple's branding. For some reason, a darker background seems like it would be more fitting. Either way, I've always been partial to Apple's products and designs, and easily get turned off by other companies that appear to be copying their style!
Sometimes I wonder if its possible to have any authentic ideas, given the fast rate people can access information. Everyday, designers prove me wrong.
Finding inspiration from others is a great tool to help shape a designer's approach, especially when starting out. I feel the true authenticity comes when you are able to see the concept in a new way and develop into something your targeted audience will enjoy.
PS: Fantastic TED talk!
I completely agree about "being swayed by trends". I, like Aprile noted, am not a fan of looking at examples of the exact same project you are given. Although, I do enjoy finding inspiration in unknown settings. If I were to walk down an aisle in a store looking at a variety of glass cleaners and their packaging than went home and designed my own packaging that incorporated bits and pieces of everything I saw, would that be completely authentic or would it just be someone getting inspiration from others?? I think everyone would have a different answer.
Echoing Jen Roche’s point, about the collaboration of design, I also think looking to other designers and their work for inspiration doesn’t mean your work isn’t unique – unless, of course, you completely copy it, kind of like the weird cereal brands in the grocery store on the bottom shelf.
But Jill’s point about not being swayed by trends is spot on – ask Amy about the use of distressed typefaces -- You want to design something that people will like and relate to, but something that stands out from competition.
When you incorporate too many super trendy elements into your design, you are limiting its shelf life and also possibly changing the entire meaning of the message you are trying to convey, perhaps even in a subtle way that people can’t really put their fingers on.
For example, take a look at President Obama’s campaign this year and the typefaces and color palette selected. Hand-drawn typefaces (even ones that aren’t actually hand-drawn but are meant to look like it) seem to be the super trend du jour, coupled with retro color palettes reminiscent of the early days of advertising. When I first saw it, I remember liking the typefaces but also kind of frowning at the same time and thinking that something was just … off.
And then I came across an article by Alexandra Lange of The Design Observer Group that hit the nail on the head:
http://observatory.designobserver.com/alexandralange/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/
“Rolled out during the president's recent Midwest bus tour, the fonts were chosen to present the Obama 2012 campaign's new slogan, "Betting On America." This only counted as political news because "America" was set in what looks like Revolution Gothic Extra Bold, from MyFonts, described as follows:
The original font is inspired by retro propaganda posters and wallpainting in Cuba from the 60s to 80s. And the original PAG Revolucion is the most popular font from Prop-A-Ganda. In other words: a Communist typeface conspiracy theory in the making.”
Lange asserts that President Obama is trying to create an image of reliability with the middle class and portraying his opponent as an “out of touch rich guy.” He also wants to portray a modern look and feel to attract those millions of young voters.
“The curved square corners, the low-riding bar, the slanted ends of the arms all suggest a pre-digital, possibly hand-drawn typeface, not 1980s but 1940s [or maybe 1920s]. When paired with the script [identified in the comments as MVB Mascot, designed by Mark van Bronckhorst in 2012], the combination suggests to me early advertising, printed but "personalized" with a script message. My first thought was fruit crate labels, which often combine block letters, script, and images of fruit orchards and fields. What could be a better association for a trip to the heartland in summer, when strawberries, if not apples, might be consumed? […] And yet, something is missing here. I see the possible references, but the result is mechanical, cold.”
I understand Lange’s point—about the somewhat forced “down home” feel, especially with the stark color palette and absence of context. I could definitely imagine this typeface on a crate of peaches. It almost feels a bit like pandering with that nostalgic look. But I suppose that’s what politics are – a never-ending game of pandering, so in that respect it’s appropriate.
It can definitely be hard to come up with a truly original idea. Often our designs are influenced by others and we may not even realize it. When following trends, it's important to think about if that is the way to go for a specific assignment or if we just like the look and want to incorporate it into our own work. I think it's good to look at similar examples just so we know what's out there.
I think that it is definitely true that was we feel looks good may not necessarily be what is authentic. The same way someone posing as something they are not would feel or look out of place, so would a design.
If authenticity is something that helps define our personal style in design, I can definitely say I don't think I have found mine yet! I think if I am always designing for someone else in mind, rather than what I, myself, like, then it is difficult to nail down. It speaks volumes to me that I am not at that point. How does one come up with something authentic when there are SO many things to influence us?
ooo this is just too deep for me! :-)
Marie- that article on the new Obama campaign designs is absolutely on point- it seems off to me because it is completely devoid anything vivid. If last elections designs excited me and seemed fresh, then these seem to be completely the opposite- and not like him at all. Where is HE in these designs?
Sara & Crystal- I agree with you, and also think that it can be challenging at times to come up with an authentic idea, but I do believe once you develop a clear concept and add your own unique style or clever twist to your idea, great things can happen.
This topic is really interesting. When I first read the post it got me thinking on what the difference is between authentic and orginal. So I obvisously turned to the dictionary for help.....
Authentic
1. obsolete : authoritative
2. a : worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact
b : conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features
c : made or done the same way as an original
Orginal
1. archaic : the source or cause from which something arises; specifically : originator
2. a : that from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made
b : a work composed firsthand
a : a person of fresh initiative or inventive capacity
b : a unique or eccentric person
**Source: Marriam Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
So based of these definitions I’d say it’s easy to be authentic but difficult to be orginal.
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