Becoming a Graphic and Digital Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, 5th Edition

Chapter 13What Comes Next

The thing about transition is that sometimes it is not clear what's coming around the corner. Transition is as much about shifts in society, culture, and technology as it is in personal directions. Yet, there are societal trends that are more likely to create new opportunities. Among them is the changing role of words in our culture: Long explanations and text-heavy dissertations are a thing of the past. People will have less and less time to read, yet their curiosity will expand as a wider spectrum of information is available to more individuals. One can imagine that the graphic language will speak deeper than words and that “understanding” as we know it will become more intuitive but not necessarily less penetrating.

Another trend that concerns us even more is the democratization of the design discipline due to the proliferation of user-friendly design tools. People with no training in design principles, typography, color theory, or even marketing will solve the kind of problems traditionally handled by graphic designers. More cacophony is sure to ensue before the dust settles! Badly designed publications will strain the eyes of more innocent readers, and ill-conceived interfaces will leave more unwary users stranded in cyberspace. But on the upside, consider the influx of talent when truck drivers, eye doctors, plumbers, sculptors, and third graders will begin to pitch in and propose design solutions.

The interviews in this chapter are for individuals ...